‘100m Black Flag Unfurls for Tibet’
by D Chaudhuri
(The Asian Age | March 10, 2003)
As the 100 meter-long black banner of protest unfurled along Marine
Drive, Bombay the undying efforts and dedication for a 'Free Tibet',
from the clutches of the People's Republic of China.
Celebrated as Tibetan National Uprising Day world-wide, March 10
is remembered in memory of the massacre of 10,000 Tibetans at the
Chinese Army at Lhasa in 1959. The banner which took six men and
three days to paint was to mark 44 years of this struggle. Organised
by Friends of Tibet (INDIA), fifteen Tibetans from different parts
of India, all in their mid-twenties, the Tibetans were in the city
to strengthen the link that was formed years ago, with the arrival
of the Dalai Lama at the small Himachal Pradesh town of Dharamshala.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Friends of Tibet (INDIA) Generel Secretary
Tenzin Tsundue said, no efforts by the Chinese government will stop
them from trying to free Tibet. "My words are that of thousands
of Tibetans, both in and out of our homeland. Free Tibet is not
just a dream or a conviction. We are confident that we'll live to
see Tibet free from the Chinese atrocities — a Tibet where we all
will be able to follow Buddhism without being punished."
"The political atmosphere in Tibet is all set to explode. Besides
the seething tension between the minority Tibetan population and
the Chinese community communal violence is commonplace. These
problems can only be solved by giving back Tibet to us," Mr Tenzin
Tsundue said.
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