PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9th, 2007
CHICAGO – Tibetans and supporters from all around the Midwest are taking to the streets of Chicago and to the front of the Chinese Consulate on Saturday, March 10th, 2007. They will begin downtown at the Water Tower Place (835 N. Michigan Ave.) at 11:00 am and march down to the Chinese Consulate (100 W. Erie St.). There will be many photo opportunities during the demonstration, with political theatre and noted speakers from various Midwest Tibetan Alliances and Tibet Support Groups.
This demonstration emulates to commemorate the protests that occurred 48 years ago in the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa, when thousands of Tibetans flooded the streets to protest the illegal occupation of their country by the Chinese government. Instead of emancipation, however, they were violently suppressed, culminating with the political and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fleeing out of Tibet for fear of death. In India is where the Tibetan Government-in-Exile now resides.
Yeshi Tenzin Dremagang, the president of the Tibetan Alliance of Chicago, comments on the rally: “It’s inspiring to see so many groups coming from hundreds of miles around to add their voices to one strong shout for Tibetan freedom. In 1959 tens of thousands of Tibetans lost their lives for the freedom they believed in. Today we commemorate their sacrifice, but we also stand together to take up their fight once again. The movement for Tibetan independence is strong. And we Tibetans will not tire until Tibet is free.”
Hilary Edwards, the Midwest regional coordinator of Students for a Free Tibet and one of the main organizers of this demonstration, agreed, adding: “We have an unprecedented opportunity with the 2008 summer Olympics being in Beijing to force the spotlight from the lie propagated by the Chinese government to the harsh reality that is Tibet and all of the human rights violations suffered there. We’re going to use this demonstration as a platform to get people talking about Beijing now.”
This year’s Chicago demonstration is just one among over 30 happening all around the world on March 10th. It promises to be the largest of its kind in Chicago, with Tom Boman, the Chapter Coordinator of Students for a Free Tibet in Madison, Wisconsin, stating that “Now is the time to scream at the top of our lungs. Now is the time for all supporters of the Tibetan freedom movement such as myself to stop cursing the Chinese government underneath our breath and instead say it to their face. People risked their lives in 1959 and lost. We will not forget and we will not lose.”
Rise up, resist, return; Out of exile, into the streets!
Students for a Free Tibet (Madison, Wisconsin; Berea, Kentucky; Bloomington, Indiana)
Tibetan Alliance of Chicago
TIBETmichigan
International Tibet Independence Movement (Indiana)
Contact:
Yeshi Tenzin Dremagang; President, Tibetan Alliance of Chicago, (773) 743-7610, yeshitenzin@yahoo.com Hilary Edwards; Midwest Coordinator, Students for a Free Tibet, (608) 852-4698, hdedwards@gmail.com
WEBSITE: www.march10.org
