New Delhi: Tibetan activists staged a protest outside the Chinese Embassy here on Tuesday to mark Tibetan National Uprising Day, raising slogans demanding freedom for Tibet.
Several protesters were later detained by the Delhi Police.
Many Tibetan students and activists gathered near the embassy to voice their concerns over the situation in Tibet and to highlight their demand for independence from China. Protesters carried placards and banners while raising slogans calling for global attention to the Tibetan issue.
Speaking to IANS, one of the protesting students said: “It’s been 67 years since we have been refugees in India. We want our freedom back, and we want to preserve our own language and our own culture. We want our own nation and the UN to focus on this issue.”
Another protester said that they had gathered to highlight their demand for a separate nation and to draw attention to what they described as China’s claim over Tibet.
“We have come here to protest against China. We want our country back. I want to request that you all show our issues. China claims that Tibet is part of China. But Tibet is a separate nation. We have our national anthem. We have our national flag also. As the Iran-Israel war is going on, there are countries that are supporting them, but during the Tibetan Uprising in 1959, we didn’t have any support at that time. Free Tibet.”
One of the protesters also displayed pictures of Chinese leaders, including Mao Zedong and Chinese President Xi Jinping, while expressing anger over their role in Tibet’s history.
“It has been 67 years. They are the killers of a lot of Tibetans. This guy (Mao Zedong) killed more than Hitler.”
Another protester raised slogans demanding an end to what he described as violence against Tibetans.
“China is the killer. Stop killing Tibetans. Stop genocide in Tibet. We want a free nation. Tibet was not part of China, and it will never be. Free Tibet.”
Tibetan National Uprising Day is observed every year on March 10 to commemorate the 1959 uprising in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. On this day in 1959, tens of thousands of Tibetans took to the streets to protest against China’s rule over the region.
Chinese troops had entered Tibet in October 1950, overcoming resistance from the Tibetan army. China later formalised its control over the region in 1951.
Following the uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet and sought refuge in India, where he has been living in exile since then.
The day is observed worldwide by Tibetans and their supporters to remember those who lost their lives during the violent crackdown that followed the uprising. It also serves as a platform to raise awareness about Tibetan culture, human rights, and the ongoing demand for greater freedom and autonomy.
(IANS)
