From Asia News – Dharamsala (AsiaNews) – Thousands of Tibetan women met yesterday in Dharamsala, shouting that they would never accept Beijing’s “slavery.” They gathered in the Indian city to observe the 48th anniversary of the day when thousands of other Tibetan women rose up against Chinese rule only to be forced into exile by the invading People’s Liberation Army.
The women came from across India to the city that is home to the Tibetan government-in-exile to remember the uprising led by the Dalai Lama on March 11, 1959, which was followed one day later by the women’s revolt against the invader.
Chanting anti-China slogans like “Never accept the Chinese hegemony” or “End Chinese desecration of Buddhist heritage”, the women marched through Dharamsala’s streets in the company of Indian and Buddhist religious women who came to show their solidarity to the exile movement.
“This day [March 12] has become a part of our history. We want to remember that women too joined the Dalai Lama’s uprising against China and that this opposition shall never end,” said Deckyi, a Tibetan woman activist. (source c/o worldpulsemagazine.com )
Statement from the Tibetan Women’s Association
March 12, 2007: The Tibetan New Year of 2134 Fire-Pig marks the 48th anniversary of Tibetan Women’s Uprising day. It was on this day that brave Tibetan men and women rose in unison against the brutal Chinese occupation of Tibet in March 1959. During the unrest, the Tibetan Women’s Association unofficially formed on March 12th when thousands of Tibetan women took to the streets of Lhasa and courageously voiced opposition against the Chinese imperialists. We are deeply humbled by the sacrifices of the older generations of Tibetans and inspired to continue the struggle in exile.
Atrocities committed by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in Tibet have scarred the past 48 years for the Tibetan people. Still rampant as before, the agitprop of the Chinese government obscures the ongoing tragedy inside Tibet to the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the Tibetan Government-in-Exile under His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s leadership has repeatedly sought peaceful means to resolve the Tibet issue. Delegations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama have met five times with Chinese heads of state since 2002 without reaching a concrete solution.
Despite every effort of the Tibetan Government to create a conducive environment for dialogue with China, there has been no reciprocity on the Chinese end. The Chinese government continues its ironclad rule even in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, only further restricting Tibetans’ inalienable right to a happy life and to practice religion. The Chinese policy of mass population transfer into Tibet threatens the very existence of the unique Tibetan culture, religion and heritage. The Golmud to Lhasa railway, notwithstanding inclement weather, geographical obstacles and political uproar against the construction of the railroad, was so diligently constructed only to expedite the population and military transfer that will marginalize Tibetans to a minority in their own land. (read the full statement)
Further Reading
The History leading up to March 10, 1959
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