For Immediate Release
June 29, 2008
Contact:
Tsewang Rigzin: +91 9805247259
Dr. B Tsering: +91 9418792810
Ngawang Woebar: +91 9418102483
Chime Youngdung: +91 9418069179
Tenzin Choeying: +91 9816368335
MARCH TO TIBET CONCLUDES AS JAILED MARCHERS RELEASED
Tibetans prepare for actions during the Beijing Olympics in August
Dharamsala - After 110 days, the March to Tibet was officially brought to an end on Friday morning with a closing ceremony held at the Tibetan refugee camp in Paonta Sahib. The presidents of the five participating NGOs told the marchers to return to their settlements to enlist and energize their friends and family members to prepare for larger initiatives in August, during the Beijing Olympic Games. (more…)
GuChuSum President Kusho Ngawang Woeber and March Coordinator Tsering Choedup travelled to Rebkong Piu to learn about the situation of the 31 marchers who were arrested while they attempted to cross the India border to Tibet on June 19. Permission for the visit was granted thanks to the efforts of Shimla RTYC President and Shimla Tenzin la who is also a member of the Local Assembly.
From the 31 marchers arrested, 10 who had crossed the inner line were released this morning on personal bond after a hearing before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Rebkong Piu. Ten others were released on assurity and personal bond from Rampur. The other 11 marchers have their hearing on June 26 before the Sub Judicial Magistrate at Rebkong Piu. The Organizing Committee is working on the documents for their release.
Tenzin Choeying, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet India, Lobsang Yeshi, March Coordintor and Tenzin Tsundue, activist and award winning poet, had their 4th hearing before the Dehra Sub Divisional Magistrate regarding the ongoing case from their arrest in March. Two witnesses - a local videographer and Sub Inspector Bhagat Singh Thakur - made statements after being cross-examined by the lawyer for the three. They are being charged with ‘threatening to breach public peace and tranquility’. The statements from the cross-examination were recorded and will be used for the final judgment which has been postponed until August 27.
The defending lawyer, Mr. Jitendra Rana is a volunteer with the Human Rights Law Network which is based in Delhi. Mr Rana runs its Dharamshala chapter with his lawyer colleagues.
In total, 169 marchers have been imprisoned since the beginning of the March and all marchers, including the presidents have been arrested once or twice.
By Tenzing Sonam
The Return March to Tibet ended three days ago at the entrance to the remote border town of Darchula, deep in the hills of Uttarakhand state. The fifty remaining marchers surrendered peacefully, albeit with great emotion and passion, to several hundred policemen who blocked their way. Having intermittently filmed the progress of the march from its inception in Dharamsala right up to its conclusion at Darchula, and having spent 14 days camped out with the marchers during the police blockade at Seraghat and Banspatan, I believe that the significance of this march goes beyond simply a judgment on whether it achieved its stated goal of reaching Tibet or not. In its own humble way, the Return March to Tibet could possibly signal a turning point in exile Tibetan politics; it could be remembered as the first genuinely democratic action initiated and carried out by ordinary Tibetans desperate to do their bit for the larger Tibetan cause, despite opposition and even condemnation from within their own leadership. (more…)
More than 350 marchers from the March to Tibet and over a thousand exile Tibetans from seven different refugee camps in Uttarakhand, Poanta Sahib, Deckyiling, Rajpur, Puruwala, Hebertpur, Clementown, and Tsering Dhondenling, staged a massive protest at Gandhi Park, Dehradun, to condemn China taking the Olympic torch to Tibet. The protestors gathered at the Park and the proceeded to march 7 kilometers through the Dehradun market.
The chief guest, Shri Vinod Chamoli, Mayor of Uttarakhand, addressed the protestors at Gandhi Park and expressed his wholehearted support for the marchers and all the Tibetans in our freedom struggle. Mr. Jingar Pon Damdul, the former Representative Officer of Uttarakhand, also encouraged the marchers and the March organisers to carry the struggle forward. (more…)
For Immediate Release
June 20, 2008
Contact:
Tsewang Rigzin: +91 9805247259
Dr. B Tsering: +91 9418335155
ARRESTED TIBETAN MARCHERS ON HUNGER STRIKE FOR SECOND DAY
41 Tibetans arrested in border district, stopped from restarting March to Tibet on eve of torch relay in Lhasa
Shimla - 41 Tibetans headed to the Indo-Tibet border on Shipkila pass to restart the March to Tibet were arrested by Indian police in four separate incidents. 10 Tibetans arrested in Rampur in Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh yesterday sat for the second day of hunger strike today, refusing to eat and drink unless they are released and allowed to continue the march. 21 Tibetans arrested yesterday in Reckong Peo in Kinnaur district, after a day of hunger strike, were promised by the police authorities that they would be allowed to protest China’s occupation of Tibet. On their way from the police station to the SDM office, the marchers took to the street, shouted slogans and pleaded with the authorities to facilitate their safe passage to Tibet. (more…)
All the marchers, who were stopped at the Indo-Tibet border area in Uttarakhand State and forcibly sent to Ponta Sahib, hung a banner at their campsite today to protest media censorship in Tibet. Since the massive uprising of the Tibetan people in Tibet on March 10 this year, the Chinese government has refused all media access to Tibet. The lack of foreign journalists and tourists guarantee that Chinese government can get away with its atrocious human rights violations in Tibet.
Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement strongly condemns the Chinese Government’s denial of media freedom and demands immediate access to Tibet for any foreign journalists.
***IMAGES AVAILABLE
Watch low-resolution video: http://blip.tv/file/1005157
Download mp4: http://blip.tv/file/get/SFThq-part1a645.mp4
For Immediate Release
June 19, 2008
Contact:
Tsewang Rigzin: +91 9805247259
Dr. B Tsering: +91 9418792810
Tsering Choedup: +91 9816486253 / 9418221605
EXILE TIBETANS PROTEST AT INDO-TIBET BORDER ON EVE OF TORCH RELAY
Three detained at Shipkila border post after staging protest; 38 others detained in Pooh, Reckong Peo and Rampur
Shimla - Two exile Tibetans were detained by Indian border forces at approximately 10:30am today as they attempted to cross the Indian border into Tibet near Shipkila Pass in Himachal Pradesh. With Tibet in view, the two Tibetans staged an iconic protest, raising a Tibetan national flag, calling for an end to China’s occupation, and denouncing China’s plans to take the Olympic torch into Tibet. Chime Youngdung, President of the National Democratic Party of Tibet, aged 33, along with Konchok Yangphel, Public Relations Officer of Tibetan Youth Congress, aged 29, held up Tibetan flags and a banner reading, “Free Tibet Now,” and started marching the last ten kilometers toward Tibet when they were arrested by Indian border forces. Legdup Tsering, 20, who helped document the incident, was also arrested a few hours later. (more…)
For Immediate Release
June 17, 2008
Contact:
Tsewang Rigzin: +91 9805247259
Tenzin Choeying: +91 9410936743
Tenzin Choedon: +91 9756969133
50 MARCHERS ARRESTED CLOSE TO INDO-TIBET BORDER AS CHINA CHANGES TIBET OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY ROUTE
Pithoragarh - Around 9:30am, Indian police arrested 50 Tibetans on their March to Tibet as they entered Dharchula, the last Indian township before the Tibetan border. In groups of 4, the marchers approached the blockade of police officers, attempting to break through in order to continue on their way. The 200 police officers forcefully loaded the groups one at a time onto two waiting buses. It is currently unclear where they will be taken. (more…)
The final chapter of the 90-day long protest journey will be written today.
By Tenzin Tsundue
Hindustan Times
June 17, 2008
For the last 90 days, 300 Tibetans have been walking through the green fields, valleys, mountains and busy streets of India. Braving the heat, we have covered 1,300 km to walk back to Tibet, our home. Though ours has been a non-violent march, we have spent days in jail. Now we wonder what will happen to us today when we try to enter into Tibet. (more…)
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