Dharamshala, 19th October: Tibetan and Hong Kong student activists were arrested at Athens’ Acropolis in protest of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, only 48 hours before the Olympic Torch is handed over to the Beijing delegation at the same location. The Tibetan activist is recognized as Tsela and Joey as the Hong Kong activist.
Tsela Zoksang, an 18-year-old Tibetan student, and Joey Siu (BE), a 22-year-old exiled Hong Konger, are members of the “No Beijing 2022” movement, according to a statement from the New York-based organization Students for a Free Tibet. They and a third individual paid to enter the archaeological site, and then Zoksang and Siu climbed some scaffolding to try to unfurl the flag from there. A security officer hurried over and removed the banner from them. The two women stayed on the scaffolding, waving a Tibetan flag and a smaller banner that read, “Free Hong Kong Revolution.”
“Free Tibet,” “Boycott Beijing 2022,” and “No freedom, no Games” were among the slogans that were raised. The demonstrators were apprehended by police and detained. The incident, which lasted around ten minutes, occurred hours before a dress rehearsal of the torch-lighting ceremony for the Games, which is scheduled in Olympia, the ancient Olympic capital.
Tsela and Joey will be held in custody for the night and were to appear in front of a Greek court the next day at 10:00 a.m. local time in Athens. Joey and Tsela have been granted official release and are now free to depart the country. Their court date is scheduled for January. According to Student for free Asia, After witnessing powerful action at the Torch Ceremony, they are feeling strong and motivated.
Tibetans would never tolerate an Olympic Games hosted by a regime that is committing genocide and oppression against Tibetan people.
There was another Peaceful Protest:
Jason Leith, Chemi Lhamo, and Fern MacDougal of Free Tibet were arrested in Olympia for interrupting the lighting of the Olympic torch in protest of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Jason was in Greece with activists Chemi Lhamo and Fern MacDougal to draw attention to the fact that China is hosting the Olympics once again despite continuing to conduct human rights violations against a variety of groups.
This is the moment Free Tibet activists were detained by Greek security today for peacefully protesting the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Chemi Lhamo questioned how Beijing could be permitted to host the Olympics while committing genocide against Uyghurs in East Turkistan.
Tibet activists clutching their “NO GENOCIDE GAMES” banner and flag as a security guard RIPS it from their clutches! Tibetan campaigner Chemi Lhamo, Free Tibet’s Jason Leith, and activist Fern MacDougal are all shown. Free Tibet is collaborating with other organizations to free Jason, Lhamo, Fern, and the other activists as soon as possible.