2nd June: Sunny Sonam, vice president of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress in Canada, recently began a 10-day march to oppose China’s colonization of Tibet, according to TAG TV. Sonam walked about 180 kilometers through the Canadian cities of St Catherine, Winina, Grimsby, Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, and Toronto, appealing for a free Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as an end to Chinese occupation. Sonam began his march from the Rainbow Bridge on the US-Canada border to the Chinese consulate, according to TAG TV.

“I have walked for almost 170-180 miles,” he told a small group of people. “I walked in solidarity with our Tibetan brothers and sisters who are still struggling. It’s the same in Hong Kong, and it’s the same in Uzbekistan. As a result, we must never forget that our brothers and sisters continue to endure over there.” He and the other protesters also chanted “Free Tibet!” “China out!” and “Hong Kong free!”.

Current Situation in Tibet:

With around 500 000 Tibetans currently incarcerated in labor camps, China employs the same repressive approach against Tibet as Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. For the last 70 years, many scholars have pointed out that Tibet’s history, legacy, culture, and identity have been challenged by the Chinese Communist Party and its assimilationist policies and programs in Tibet.

Tibet currently ranks as the world’s least free country along with Syria according to Freedom House, a non-governmental organization (NGO). The Buddhist places are prohibited most of the country, their flags pulled down, nuns and monks held up in camps, as China attempts to destroy this thousand-year-old civilization.

Chinese interfering in religion to assimilate Tibetans:

Recently, on the 26th anniversary of the forced disappearance of Tibet’s 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, various countries conducted rallies and accused Beijing of interfering with the hundred-year-old reincarnation religious tradition in Tibetan Buddhism. Read more

China has stepped up efforts in recent years to eradicate the Dalai Lama from Tibetan religious lives to crush their identity. The Dalai Lama, who is currently 85-year-old, had earlier announced that upon turning 90 he will decide whether he should be reincarnated. China has argued that the Dalai Lama’s successor should be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn in Lhasa, but the present Dalai Lama, who turns 86 in July, has refuted this. Read more 1 and 2

Picture Courtesy: in.news.yahoo.com

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