Tibetans and supporters rally in New York on the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising.

Click here to view more photos from NY on the SFT Flickr.

For Immediate Release:
March 10th, 2011

Contact: Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director, +1 646-724-0748
Kate Woznow, Deputy Director, +1 917-601-0069
Tenzin Dolkar, USA Director, +1 917-664-5530

GLOBAL PROTESTS MARK TIBETAN UPRISING DAY AS CHINESE FORCES CLAMPDOWN IN TIBET
New Generation of Tibetans Lead Nonviolent Resistance Movement in Tibet

New York – Thousands of Tibetans and Tibet supporters in dozens of countries will take to the streets today, March 10th, to commemorate the 1959 National Uprising when tens of thousands of Tibetans rose up to demand an end to China’s occupation. Chinese forces intensified security measures in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital in advance of the sensitive anniversary, barring foreign visitors and conducting late-night raids on hotels. In spite of China’s military stranglehold on their nation, a new generation of Tibetans is embracing nonviolent resistance tactics that defy Beijing’s authority, strengthen Tibetan identity, and inspire hope.

“50 years on, an entirely new generation of Tibetans – in Tibet and in exile – is rising up,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “Young Tibetans are taking leadership of our movement by engaging in bold political acts and expressing their desire for freedom through music, literature, and social media; this generation is determined to finish what began a half century ago.”

A homegrown grassroots movement has gained momentum in Tibet in the past year, as a growing number of Tibetans engage in simple yet powerful actions – speaking only in Tibetan, eating in Tibetan-owned restaurants – particularly on Wednesdays, a day believed to be auspicious for the Dalai Lama (1). Well-known Tibetan musicians and intellectuals have also been boldly asserting their political views, prompting Chinese authorities to ban popular songs and detain more than 60 Tibetan cultural figures.

“The recent uprisings in the Arab world, along with the growing dissent in China itself, has further galvanized a new generation of Tibetans committed to taking nonviolent action to end Chinese rule,” said Tenzin Dolkar, Students for a Free Tibet’s USA Director. “The Chinese government has tried – and failed – to crush the Tibetan spirit. As we see people around the world rising up for freedom and democracy, we know it is only a matter of time before change comes to Tibet and China.”

In advance of the sensitive anniversary, the Chinese government has heightened security measures in Tibet in an attempt to deter Tibetans from engaging in any form of dissent. Three years ago today, Tibetan monks marching for the release of fellow monks were violently stopped by Chinese forces, sparking the largest and most widespread demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet since 1959. Chinese troops have been permanently stationed throughout Tibet since.

“The Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom has long enjoyed the support of the global community and we urge our government leaders to follow suit by pressing China to commit to a just and lasting resolution for Tibet,” said Kate Woznow, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet.

Tibetans and Tibet supporters in at least 100 cities worldwide today, including in the USA, Poland, UK, France, Germany, Canada, India, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan, are demonstrating their support for the Tibetan freedom struggle through rallies, marches, candle light vigils, and government lobbying initiatives.

Note to Editor:

1) More information about the nonviolent resistance movement in Tibet can be found at http://www.Lhakar.org a website launched on March 9, 2011 by a diverse coalition of Tibetan writers, artists, and activists.

-30-

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak, on what is one of the most important days for Tibetans everywhere, for six million Tibetans around the world and for our supporters, for freedom loving people everywhere. Standing here in Union Square in New York city, it’s easy to feel for a moment like we are lost in the middle of a busy city doing important things, everybody leading their lives going about their daily business passing on the street and not necessarily understanding how much emotion and how much strength and courage there is right here in this little Union Square.

But if we could just stop for a moment and think what it is to lose a nation, what it is to lose your freedom, for that’s what has happened to the 6 million Tibetans, since China invaded and occupied Tibet in 1950 and then in 1959 our people inside Tibet lost their beloved leader the Dalai Lama because he had to flee into exile to escape for his life into India. And so in the middle of New York City where everybody has a story, our story might seem far away, distant. 1959 might even seem like a long time ago to the person passing by but 1959 for us is like yesterday, even for me, born and raised in exile. Even though I’ve never seen Tibet with my own eyes, I know what happened there, I know what’s happening there, I feel it acutely everyday. As do people here in this Square.

It’s amazing if you think about it, just look around, we know the stories that are in the Square. Every single person, every Tibetan whether it’s your personal story of escape, some people here are from the furthest most amazing and beautiful lands far on the other side of the Himalayan mountains and they made the journey to safety and to freedom on foot. They escaped and left their children behind or maybe their parents behind, their families, their land. But they have incredible…you have incredible individual stories of courage, of bravery but also of suffering and lost. And then there is those of us who grew up in exile and we’ve heard those stories time and time again in a way that we can’t ever forget them, even if we wanted to. Even if we wanted to go and live a normal life, we never can, we never could because it’s not just about our stories, it’s the people inside. All those Tibetans living everyday in Tibet without their freedom and under Chinese oppression but the other side of the story is not just one of suffering and lost, it’s of incredible, incredible, courage and of spirit of resistance so strong that the Chinese government, this rising super power, this massive nation has not been able to conquer us.

They have our land and our people there temporarily… But they have not been able to conquer the Tibetan spirit. Tibetans inside do not think they are Chinese, Tibetans inside Tibet don’t feel an allegiance to the nation that is China or to the Chinese flag. That is China’s ultimate failure and they know it and so they have to use tanks, they have to use the People’s Armed Police, the People’s Liberation Army, the Public Security Bureau, they have to use all of these violence and all of these force to keep 6 million Tibetans down. But everyday they are failing and we can see this now.

There’s a new movement inside Tibet, it’s sort of just coming clear. There’s a movement inside Tibet where people are saying, young Tibetans are saying, I am Tibetan and I am proud of that. It’s a simple statement to say I am Tibetan, it doesn’t sound very revolutionary but it is, because the Chinese government has spend the last 50, 60 years trying to make Tibetans inside Tibet either turn them into Chinese or snuff out all of their pride and all of their individual strength. And yet even after all these years there’s a generation of young Tibetans who have grown up in the Chinese system and they have not given up and now they are feeling a new strength and a new pride. They’re writing blogs, poetry, rap lyrics, books, they’re speaking openly on camera, in videos that are being made, amateur videos and they’re saying we’re Tibetan, we’ll never give up and that is for us- the light. There’s.. look around here there’s all the young Tibetans here, the young Tibetans here are also carrying the spirit forward, the young Tibetans inside are carrying the spirit forward and in actually hundreds of cities around the world today, young Tibetans are carrying the Tibetan flag, singing the Tibetan national anthem. There’s a new resurgence of the Tibetan language so all the things that China is trying to do over all these years, they’ve failed. They’ve failed so baldy.

There’s a new… hip hop song that has come out, it’s online, you can watch it. It’s by a group called the Green Dragon. Hear some of the lyrics, just to give a sense, any .. as Ngawang Sangdro la, the former Tibetan nun and political prisoner in Tibet was just saying, she sang a song, she went to jail for years in Tibet. But she said “Free Tibet.” She said it very directly, she said “Long live the Dalai Lama”, those are very political and dangerous statements to the Chinese government. Well now, there’s a new youth inside Tibet also taking strong and courageous action and speaking clearly but in a slightly more subtle way that any Tibetan who hears these lyrics will know how strong they are.

They say:
The noise of vehicles has woken us
Among the crowded tall buildings
Our dreams and belongings have all been packed

See the polluted sky and know
We can’t afford to wait for tomorrow’s sunrise
Now wake up…

It’s already time to walk on the road
It’s time to walk, time to think
Our bare shoulders wet with sweat
Our long hair tangled by the wind
Our faith and lives are adorned by freedom
Our collective path is determined by individual choice
As much sweat as you shed
That much result shall you reap

So said our great forefathers
But our forefathers are long gone
We don’t have to keep quiet

The owner of karma has left me like a toy
With strength and talent I need to somehow respond
Even the old lady neighbour says I’m spoiled
With power and ability I’ll prove them all!

The new generation has a resource called youth
The new generation has a pride called confidence
The new generation has an appearance called playfulness
The new generation has a temptation called freedom

The new generation has a resource called youth
The new generation has a pride called confidence
The new generation has an appearance called playfulness
The new generation has a temptation called freedom

At one time I thought that love was everything
Then love turned me into nothing
A girl I loved so much
Has given me a very beautiful gift
Now I haven’t lost her
The dream of love has not been lost

Deceit and cunning!
In a society where people are deceived by money, fame and power
Will I ever find a meaningful love?
Will i ever find a definite pledge?
Who among us will?

We are caught up in our thoughts of pain and of mere fashion
We wrote our own darkness and we’re scared of living
We embody the pride of youth and search for future aspirations with full willpower

Search!
Search!

We are the new generation of today

As I achieved what I wanted to achieve
My dreams don’t waiver in the night
As I said what I wanted to say
I didn’t turn into a mute
I did it for me only!

As I achieved what I wanted to achieve
My dreams don’t waiver in the night
As I said what I wanted to say
I didn’t turn into a mute
I did it only to represent myself!

Get used to me!
I am the decadent breath of your uncontrollability

Get used to me!
I am under your limitless uncontrollable watch

Get used to me!
I am the manifestation of today and the substance of tomorrow

I am very light, in your imagination
I am very small, in your vegetable patch

Does your advanced theory wish to blow up my head?
Does your forced bullet wish to shoot through my heart?

I am just an old and damaged vehicle
The horse of time departed early morning
The small flame under your saddle
The blood and bodies frozen in the ice are bound to fade

We are the sharp wisdom that your speeches and lectures haven’t reached
We are the smooth darkness that your flame and power hasn’t absorbed
We are the response with playfulness that makes your heart ache
We are the infection and fright to your livelihood!

The new generation has a resource called youth
The new generation has a pride called confidence
The new generation has an appearance called playfulness
The new generation has a temptation called freedom

The new generation has a resource called youth
The new generation has a pride called confidence
The new generation has an appearance called playfulness
The new generation has a temptation called freedom

Our story has not ended here
It’s just the beginning
We never fall asleep but are awake forever

Get used to dreaming
Get used to unlawful damage and uprisings
Get used to this way of living
Get used to moving forward

To our beloved and proud new generation

This new pride, this new force that we are seeing in the signs we have here because I am Tibetan, that in itself is a revolution. And one that the Chinese government has no power over. And as long as Tibetans inside move forward in this spirit and as long as Tibetans outside, keep walking the path that we’ve been on for all these years and never give up, the Chinese government will fail ultimately. They’re failing now and they’ll fail in the end, that’s the way it goes. That’s the lesson of history.

There are some things though that we have to do right here in our own city. You will see the Chinese government is attacking us, they are trying to take the support that we have gained for Tibet around the world, and they are trying to take that away. The Chinese government is going into even little cities like Portland, Oregon to the mayor’s office. Sending Chinese government representatives to tell the mayor of Portland, “You must not issue this symbolic Tibet day proclamation on March 10th.” Now the mayor of Portland told the Chinese government “We don’t care what you think, we’re gonna do this anyway”. That was a victory for us, the same thing happened in Minneapolis. The same thing happened in Saint Paul. But in the case of Saint Paul, in Minnesota, the mayor was almost going to give in but the Chinese government sort of came and threatened and the mayor of Saint Paul seemed like maybe he wasn’t going to issue a March 10th statement. He’s done it for the last two years, if he didn’t do it this year that for us is a loss, a symbolic one but it would have been a loss. So, what did we do? We rallied, we organized, we got everybody calling the mayor’s office. We told them the media wanted to speak to them, we started to put the pressure on them and suddenly the mayor’s office called and said, “Actually no, we are going to issue a March 10th statement, that was just a miscommunication”. We knew that wasn’t true but in the end it doesn’t matter. They issued that statement; the Chinese government has another loss on their hands. That for us is an important symbolic victory.

Again with President Obama, lets just talk for a moment about President Obama. He declined to meet the Dalai Lama. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a global symbol, respected man of peace, Nobel Peace Prize winner. Now back in the Fall, Obama said he wasn’t going to meet the Dalai Lama because he was going to go to China, and we all knew what that meant. He didn’t want to offend the Chinese government by meeting the Dalai Lama before he went…[inaudible]

They (Chinese government leaders) know in the end, their government will fall, things will change and as long as we have kept the support and kept the movement alive the time will come. There will be a reckoning and Tibetans will have a chance of freedom again. That’s why our job in the outside is to keep the movement alive to keep the political support strong and to fight the Chinese government and whatever battlefield we need to meet them in. Whether with our local leaders or national leaders or the global UN and other leaders.

The final thing I want to say and I’ll stop talking, is that there… From this point on many people wonder where now? What do we do? The situation inside Tibet is still bad, the military is in the street, have we really made any difference? And I would just ask that every single person here take time to reflect on how much has been achieved, in 51 years. Since His Holiness the Dalai Lama, first came over those mountains. In 51 years, six million people with one leader bearing no arms, no weapons has become one of the single biggest problems for the Chinese empire and for the leaders that rule in Beijing. And now Chinese people inside China know there’s a problem in Tibet. They might not agree with us, they might not change their minds, but they know there’s a problem. And that’s the beginning of the end. What we need is for people in China, for Chinese leaders to know, there is a problem and a problem needs a solution. And up until two years ago, most Chinese in China didn’t really even think about Tibet. It wasn’t an issue, we belong to them, and that was it. Now there is a problem, now there is tension and tension is good. Tension isn’t a bad thing because tension, that kind of friction, is where you get action that can lead to a resolution. So I think our job, Tendor said it earlier, our job wherever we are in the world, people inside Tibet is to keep moving forward. Keep that tension alive, be uncontrollable and in the end we will win. Thank you.

Kirti Kyab, arrested teacher

A new article on the Tibetan language news website dawakarpo.com has reported that 5 Tibetan Teachers have been arrested by Chinese police in Zoege County in Ngaba (Ch: Aba), Amdo Tibet. The arrests came after students and teachers took bold solidarity actions, mourning the victims of the 2008 protests in Tibet, on March 10th and 14th this year.

Students and teachers were said to have worn chuba’s (the Tibetan national dress) and lit butter lamps in their school campuses as an expression of solidarity for the Tibetans who died in the protests which swept the Tibetan plateau in 2008.

The arrested teachers names are Sonam, Kirti Kyab, Tamey, Choephel and Tohlha. Police also arrested 16 Tibetan students including two by the names of Sodhon and Gonpo Drakden on March 10, many remain in detention.

More information on the arrests and student protests in Ngaba can be found on Phayul.com
Student protests around the Tibetan national uprising day have been reported across Tibet this year.

Reported Tibetan student protests in 2010:

• March 22 | Primary school students stage protest in Kham Driru (Phayul)
• March 16 | Tibetan students in Sangchu County, Labrang protest (RFA)
• March 15 | Unconfirmed report of Tibetan student protest in Neijiang
• March 14 | Tibetan students in Tsoe stage Protest (Reuters)
• March 14 | Tibetan students in Machu County stage Protest (RFA)
• March 10 | Tibetan students in Zoege County, Ngaba stage solidarity actions (Phayul)
• March 10 | Tibetan students in Zoege County, Ngaba stage solidarity actions (Phayul)

KATHMANDU—The Tibetan headmaster of a middle school in China’s Gansu province has been fired, together with his assistants and the head of the county Public Security Bureau, following student protests at the school, according to Tibetan sources.

Students at the school remain confined to school grounds, sources said.

“The school is surrounded by armed security forces, and all the students are locked inside the campus,” a Tibetan resident of the area said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“They are not allowed to move in and out.  Tension is extremely high in the Machu county area,” the man said.

The man’s account could not be independently confirmed, and a Machu [in Chinese, Maqu] county government official, reached for comment, denied knowledge of the events before hanging up.

Dozens of students at the Tibetan Middle School in Machu staged a protest March 14 on the second anniversary of a region-wide uprising against Chinese rule in Tibetan-populated areas of western China.

“[They] were joined by 500 to 600 other Tibetans,” a local resident said.

“They were shouting against their lack of freedom, and were calling for Tibetan independence,” the source said.

Teachers fired

Following the protest, the school’s headmaster, Kyabchen Dedrol, and two assistants—Do Re and another man, unnamed—were dismissed from their jobs, a source said.

“[The Chinese authorities] also relieved Sonam Tse, head of the Machu Public Security Office, of his title. It is feared that another seven or eight teachers from the Machu Tibetan Middle School will also lose their jobs,” the man said.

The head of the Machu Education Department, with direct responsibility for the middle school, has been allowed to keep his job, though, a source in Machu said.

“Local Tibetans suspect that he was spared because of his Han ethnicity,” the source said.

Academic instruction at the Machu Tibetan Middle School will be suspended for a month so that the students detained there can be “given political re-education,” Dolkar Kyab, a former Machu resident now living in Dharamsala, India, said, citing sources in the area.

Other protests

On March 16, students at a second school, Kanlho Tibetan Middle School No. 3, also protested, but were stopped from leaving school grounds by school security officials and teachers.

Students at another school, the Kanlho Prefecture Middle School, managed to leave school grounds, though, and gathered in the street, a resident of Sangchu [in Chinese, Xiahe] county in Gansu province said, also on condition of anonymity.

“Police and armed PAP [People’s Armed Police] surrounded the students and forced them back into the school compound.  About 20 students were detained and were later released after being interrogated,” the source said.

Students and teachers at the school are still being questioned, he said, adding, “The increased presence of Chinese forces is causing tension and fear in the area.”

Meanwhile, at Ditsa monastery in Tsoshar [in Chinese, Haidong] prefecture in Qinghai province, posters were put up March 14 calling for freedom for Tibet and for the long life of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

“Soon after the posters appeared, local police and the PAP arrived in the area, tightened security, and took away two monks—Jamyang, 19, and Yeshe, 20,” a local resident said, confirming an account from another source with contacts in the region.

The monks’ teacher, Tulku Woeser, and three of his attendants were also detained, he said.

“Tulku Woeser was released after three days of detention and interrogation,” the source added. “He was released because of his bad health.”

Original reporting by Lhumbum and Chakmo Tso for RFA’s Tibetan service. Tibetan service director: Jigme Ngapo. Translations by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Radio Free Asia: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/firings-03192010161218.html

Tibetans in San Francisco Bay area declare “I am Tibetan” on March 10, 2010.

Nepal – Tibetan activists protest in Kathmandu (Demotix)
View powerful photos of Tibetans protesting in Kathmandu on March 10th despite severe police crackdown:

London – Reuters footage of March 6th March for Tibet

Watch the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTM3-E60HHg

San Francisco – KTVU including quote SFT’s Yangchen Lhamo:

24-year-old Yangchen Lhamo said Tibetans have been using the internet, text messages and blogs to organize quickly and efficiently to call attention to their cause.

“We’re seeing the younger generation of Tibetans is carrying the Tibetan movement forward and taking it to new levels with creative nonviolent tactics,” said Lhamo.

Watch the video: http://www.ktvu.com/bartshooting/22805457/detail.html

New Mexico – Albuquerque Journal

Kalsang Lungtok carries a photo of the Dalai Lama as he and around 50 others march to the State Capitol on Wednesday March 10, 2010, to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising against Chinese occupation.

(Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)

New York – Free Tibet Takes on Union Square (NYU News)

Tibetan nun Ngawang Sangdrol said she was imprisoned for 11 years for shouting “Free Tibet” during a protest and secretly recording Tibetan music.

“I know from personal experience, it is very helpful when free people lead a free nation to put pressure on the Chinese government,” she said. “It makes a very big difference.”

Read the full article here with quotes from Lhadon Tethong, Director of Tibet Action Institute and Tenzin Yangsel, SFT Bard College: http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2164

Taipei, Taiwan – Tibetans Rally in Taipei for Uprising Anniversary
Read full article here: http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_asia/2010-03-15/125517626081.html

All photos © Wasfia Nazreen