57th Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day Observed in the European Parliament/ENG

2016. március 11./CTA/TibetPress

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BRUSSELS, 10 MARCH: Mr. Thomas Mann, a prominent German member of the European Parliament and chair of the Tibet Interest Group, a cross-party group of European Parliamentarians today issued a statement to mark the 57th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising of 1959 in which thousands of Tibetan men, women and children were killed by the Chinese military.

“We wish to express our concerns about the current lockdown and oppressive atmosphere prevailing in Tibet,” he said. “This year again, in the run-up to this anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day, the Tibetan Autonomous Region will indeed remain closed to all foreign visitors until the end of March. We condemn this annual process of sealing off Tibet from the outside world, and urge the Chinese authorities to end the closure and isolation of TAR.”

“We also wish to express our sympathy to the families of the two Tibetan teenagers, Kelsang Wangdu and Dorjee Tsering, who self-immolated on 29th February to protest against the wrong policies of the Chinese government”, he said.

“Furthermore, we wish to reiterate our concerns about the new Chinese law on counter-terrorism, which came into effect at the start of the year, which may lead to further violations of the freedoms of expression, assembly, association and religion of the Tibetan people”, he said.

MEP Mann also issued a video message on the occasion of 10th March that will be available at : http://tibetinterestgroup.eu/category/news/.

Over 250 Tibetans and European friends gathered in Schuman Square next to the European Commission and Council to commemorate 10th March. The Tibetan Community in Belgium, Regional Tibetan Youth Association, Tibetan Cultural Center, Chushi Gangdruk and Global Tibetan Volunteers for Truth organized the commemoration.

After singing the Tibetan National Anthem, a minute of silence was observed to pay tribute to our Tibetan brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives for the just cause of Tibet. This was followed by speeches from the organizers.

Mr. Karma Choeying, Secretary of the Office of Tibet, Brussels, read out Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay’s statement, Mr. Johannes Ulke read Mr. Mann’s statement and Ms. Melanie Blondelle read out ICT’s message to the gathering.

From Schuman Square the crowd marched towards the Chinese Embassy shouting slogans.