Dharamshala, 22nd January: Tibetan activists urged that Allianz withdraw its sponsorship of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Friday, citing charges of human rights violations and China’s treatment of minorities as reasons, according to Reuters. Students for a Free Tibet and Tibet Initiative Germany conducted a sit-in in front of the insurer’s Berlin headquarters, holding a poster that read: “Allianz, stop playing genocide games.” Two more activists attached themselves to the Allianz building’s door.
Tenzin Zoechbauer, the executive director of Tibet Initiative Germany, said it was unacceptable “that a German company like Allianz, that advertises itself as an insurer for human life, cannot seem to take a public position on the human rights situation in China”
Allianz said it had been in communication with the Tibet Initiative for several months and that its partnership with the Olympic and Paralympic Movement was long-term and extended beyond the 2022 Winter Games.
Activists claim that China has incarcerated at least 1 million Muslims in facilities in the Xinjiang region, accusing officials of torturing, enslaving, and sterilizing them. China disputes human rights violations, claiming that its internment centers provide vocational training and are necessary to combat radicalism.
Protesters in Berlin also called for an official diplomatic boycott of the Games by Germany. Over human rights concerns, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia have launched diplomatic boycotts of the Games. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not yet decided whether or not to attend the event and has stated that Berlin is currently talking to its European Union allies about it.
In what it terms a “peaceful liberation,” China acquired control of Tibet in 1950. Tibet has subsequently become one of the country’s most restricted territories. China rejects any involvement and claims that its assistance brought an end to “backward feudal serfdom.”
Disclaimer: The information presented above is based on Reuters. Tibetanjournal is not responsible for any misinformation presented above.
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