OTTAWA, December 11 – Tibetans and their Canadian supporters flocked to Canada’s national capital from Toronto and Montreal today to mark the visit of Chinese Premier Jiabao Wen. Wen travelled to Ottawa to foster enhanced business relationships between the People’s Republic of China and Canada, for public meetings with the members of the business community, retiring prime minister Jean Chrétien, and a private meeting with Canada’s prime-minister-elect Paul Martin. Tibetans in Toronto had to get up at 3:30am in order to take the five-hour bus ride to Ottawa but a full busload arrived in Ottawa by 9:30am in time for the rally on Parliament Hill.
The Tibetan groups rallied in support of the Tibet, China Negotiation Campaign: concerned about the continuing human rights violations and lack of democratic freedom in Tibet, Tibetans and non-Tibetans in Canada believe that Canada could play an important role as honest broker in a dialogue between the Tibetan-Government-in-Exile and the People’s Republic of China. To date, 126 Members of Parliament, representing millions of Canadians, have signed letters urging that the Prime Minister of Canada offer Canada’s services to facilitate that negotiation.
Premier Wen’s itinerary included many destinations, but this did not deter the persistent Tibetan-Canadians and their supporters from making sure that they were there to ‘greet’ the premier (with megaphones, pro-negotiation placards and plenty of Tibetan flags) at each of his major stops from early in the morning until past nightfall. Enduring constant rain and cold winds, the group piled in and out of coaches that made their way from one event to the next, shadowing Wen’s schedule. The group provided a noisy and visible presence at Parliament Hill, when Premier Wen met with outgoing Prime Minister Jean Chretien, the Westin Hotel where Wen addressed members of the business community, the Governor-General’s Residence where the Premier met with Governor General Clarkson, back to the Westin, where there was a meeting with incoming Prime Minister Paul Martin, and finally to the city of Gatineau and The Canadian Museum of Civilization where a state dinner was held.
At the morning Parliament Hill rally, pro-negotiation Tibetan supporters were joined by New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and foreign affairs critic Alexa McDonough, who spoke of Canada’s responsibility to act as a facilitator of dialogue between the PRC and the Dalai Lama’s Government. For reasons that are unclear, Chinese Embassy supporters had taken up a position directly across from the Tibetan group in this area, and as Ms McDonough commenced her speech, she was drowned out by the noise from the group’s cymbals and drums. She had to pause several times before finally making herself heard. At the Westin, the Tibetan group found itself contending with a contingent of PRC supporters and their large red flags, who had swamped the rally area. Fortunately, with the assistance of RCMP and city peace officers the groups (together with the peaceful and friendly Falun Dafa demonstrators) were able to share the sidewalk without incident.
After a long day standing in the cold and the rain, the Montreal and Toronto demonstrators piled back into their buses for the long ride back to Montreal (200 km & 450 km respectively). When asked at a press conference whether former Prime Minister Chrétien had raised the Tibet issue, he stated that Tibet had not been raised. At this time, it is unknown whether Canada’s new prime minister discussed Tibet in his private meeting with Wen. Pro-negotiation supporters are hoping for a shift in direction on the Tibet question from Canada’s new prime minister.
