MB Civic

Tibetan exiles set Olympics date for homeward march (Times of India)
———————————————-Times of India, India
24 Feb 2008

They have been living in exile for almost
five decades. Now they are planning to
return to their homeland in an effort to
reassert their identity and ties.

As the countdown to the 2008 Olympics
begins, Tibetan exiles and their supporters
all over the world have renewed their
resolve to counter China’s stranglehold on
Tibet. They are bracing for a “return march”
to Tibet, which is slated to begin on March
10 from Dharamshala.

With a 100-odd core participants and more
joining in on the way in batches, the group
plans to reach the border and cross over
into Tibet in August, to coincide with the
opening of 2008 Olympics in Beijing, in
order to attract the attention of the
international media present there to cover
the sports event. “Our message to the
Chinese leadership is loud and clear – that
after 50 years, Tibetans in exile are
determined to return to their homeland,”
said Ngawang Woeber, president of the Gu
Chu Sum, the ex-political prisoners’
association.

Poet and activist Tenzin Tsundue, who has
been spearheading various efforts in the
fight for a free Tibet, says it’s too early to
decide the exact point on the 4,000 km
long Indo-Tibetan border for the cross-over, if at all. “The last time I went to Tibet
in 1997, I was arrested by the Chinese
authorities, beaten up, interrogated,
starved and finally thrown out of Tibet
after being in their jail for three months in
Lhasa. But this time, I am not alone.”

Asked if they had taken permission from
the Dalai Lama for the march, he
says, “Since it will be a peaceful march,
inspired by Gandhi’s salt march, I do not
think anyone – either Indian authorities or
Chinese – would impose themselves on us.”

Other activists of the group say they will
not be seeking the approval of the Dalai
Lama, as he has a more moderate position
and is okay with Tibet getting partial
autonomy rather than complete
independence.

Officials in the Dalai Lama’s office say they
are aware of the march but the
government-in-exile neither plans to
participate nor disrupt the initiative.

B Tsering, spokesperson of the Tibetan
Women’s Association, says, “We stand at a
historic point as two important events
approach – the Olympics and the 50th
commemoration of the March 10 uprising
against China’s occupation of Tibet. We
need to take this opportunity and give
impetus to our freedom movement.”

Choeying of Students for a Free Tibet
says: “China will use the Olympics to
legitimise its colonisation of Tibet. It will
parade the Tibetans in colourful costumes
along with the people from other occupied
countries like Mongolia and the Islamic
East Turkistan (Xinjiang) to show ‘unity’ in
China. We want to participate as an
independent nation.”

The march is a part of the Tibetan People’s
Uprising Movement, a united effort by five
groups: Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan
Women’s Association, Gu-Chu-Sum
Movement of Tibet, National Democratic
Party of Tibet and Students for a Free
Tibet, India.

Tibetans have been taking special
exception to the Beijing Olympics. In
August last year, they held a friendly
football match between Delhi-XI and Team
Tibet, although they had to shift the venue
after cops refused permission for the event
to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in
Delhi.