NEW DELHI, November 8: Over a thousand Tibetans and supporters from all walks of life on Wednesday took part in the ‘Tibet Solidarity Campaign’ in New Delhi, urging the world community to listen to the calls of Tibetans suffering in Tibet.
Organized by the National Democratic Party of Tibet (NDPT), the protesters began their march from Ram Leela Maidan to Jantar Mantar where a gathering was held.
“These self-immolation protests set a pattern of desperation among the Tibetans and set themselves on fire as a last resort to bring to the notice of the International Community on the systematic destruction of Environment on the Tibetan Plateau for mineral gains, genocidal policies to exterminate the Tibetan race, destruction of Tibetan language, cultural & religious traditions to sinicize the entire region of Tibet and eviction of Tibetan pastoral nomads from their grassland to ghetto-style concrete housing blocks,” said Gelek Jamyang, President of National Democratic Party of Tibet.
Tibetans carried the Tibetan national flag and portraits of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Mahatma Gandhi.
The campaign demanded that China stop firing on peaceful Tibetan protestors, destroying traditional and cultural entities of Tibet, harming Tibet’s fragile environment, exploitation of Tibet’s rich mineral resources and called for the release all the Tibetan political prisoners.
Since 2009, 122 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet protesting against the Chinese hard-line policies.
