Tibetans demand China halt Derge dam work
The Chinese government is constructing a hydroelectric dam on the Drichu river in Derge town of Southwest China's Sichuan.
In the week marking the 59th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising day and the 10th anniversary of the 2008 mass protests, several Tibetans protested at Parliament Street near Jantar Mantar to demand freedom from Chinese “occupation”.
The protest was organised by five major Tibetan NGOs from Dharamshala ~ Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women Association, National Democratic Party of Tibet, Gu Chu Sum Movement of Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet.
“10th March 2018 marks the 59th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising day, and 14th March marks the 10th year anniversary of the brutal crackdown of widespread 2008 protests in Tibet.
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We commemorate the two crucial days of resistance and pay our tribute to the resilience and sacrifice of the courageous heroes. For freedom from Chinese occupation we have to unite and fight for our freedom,” the Tibetan NGOs said.
The NGOs described the 10 March uprising and the 2008 Pan-Tibetan movement as the two most powerful resistance stirs by the Tibetans driven by “the strength of unity and collective power of the Tibetan people”.
The Chinese policies led to the first self-immolation by Tapey on 27 February 2009. Since then the world has witnessed an unprecedented number of non-violent activism in the form of 152 confirmed self-immolations in Tibet, the NGOs said and urged governments around the world, the United Nations and international human rights organisations to hold China accountable for the rapidly declining situation in Tibet.
“We request the Indian government and the United Nations to support us and urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop its intensifying repression of the Tibetans under various disguises of policies which limits the right of life of the Tibetans,” the NGOs said.
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