Exile Tibetans getting their Tibetan flags to participate in the 61st Tibetan Uprising anniversary, in McLeod Ganj, India, on 9 March 2020. Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal
By Lobsang Wangyal
McLEOD GANJ, India, 9 March 2020
Exile Tibetans are marking the 10 March anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule at their base in McLeod Ganj despite the coronavirus scare.
The official function will begin with a singing of the Tibetan national anthem while the President of the Central Tibetan Administration Lobsang Sangay raises the Tibetan flag. He will also deliver his annual public statement.
Frantisek Kopriva, founding member and co-chairperson of the Czech Parliamentary group for Tibet, will attend the function as the chief guest. All the exile Tibetan administration officials will take part in the event with the Tibetan residents of McLeod Ganj and surrounding areas. Local Indian and foreign supporters are also expected to participate in the event as well as in the march down the hill to Dharamshala.
School children are not expected to take part due to the concerns of coronavirus.
The march after the official function at Tsuglakhang Temple in McLeod Ganj is organised by five Tibetan NGOs.
Unlike the usual route of the march in the past, ending at Kacheri (the court) in lower Dharamshala, the route has been changed to grounds near the Lower TCV School in Dharamshala, a source told Tibet Sun.
In preparation for the anniversary event, posters have been put up around town, and Tibetans in McLeod Ganj have been seen getting their Tibetan flags to participate in the event.
The chief representative of the Tibetan community in Nepal has asked Tibetans there not to observe the anniversary due to the restrictions put on the event in the past by the Nepalese government. Nepal has been increasingly warming up to the Chinese government and has restricted Tibetans from organising any political and social events that highlight their Tibetan identity and the plight of the Tibetan people under Chinese rule.
Tibetans across the world have come out in force to commemorate the momentous event of March 10th, when the Tibetan people spontaneously rose against the occupying forces of communist China. The “17-point agreement” signed between the Tibetan Government and the Chinese regime was an eyewash to fool the international community. They had no intention whatsoever of abiding by the spirit of the treaty. Tibet was bullied by the CCP to sign against her will. The Tibetans therefore rose in revolt, which culminated in the flight of the Dalai Lama.
The present policy has weakened the Tibetan Movement. It has emboldened China to think that the Tibetans have raised the white flag. Instead of winning the supposed hearts and minds of the Chinese people, we have lost the hearts and minds of the International community. The CCP continues to call the Dalai Lama a “reactionary” despite his genuine effort at reconciliation.
Tibet is regarded as one of the most restricted countries in the world, and Tibetan language advocates are languishing in jails despite the overtures of remaining in association with China to allay Chinese fears of separation. The Chinese are determined to snuff out all aspect of Tibetan identity, as is demonstrated by their insistence on imposing Mandarin as the medium of instruction for Tibetan children.
The impending visit of an UN official to E Turkistan but not Tibet clearly demonstrates the level of disinterest the international community shows towards the Tibet issue today. Despite all efforts of claiming that the Tibet issue is an “internal affair” of China by S Rinpoche, and despite vouching that Tibetans are “not demanding democracy” in Tibet by Sikyong, the Chinese only extract more concessions without giving anything in return. Are we lambs to the slaughter?