Rallies will be taking place all over the world this week in honour of the day that the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army began.
Tenzin Lhundup is an event organizer for the local Victoria march and the son of two Tibetan refugees who fled the country after the failed uprising in 1959. Lhundup’s parents raised Lhundup in a remote part of the northeastern Indian province of Arunachal Pradesh; he lived there until migrating to Canada two years ago.
“We want to raise awareness,” says Lhundup. “Most people don’t understand our cause, or they think Tibetans are just a minority group in China, but it’s a completly different thing. Right now there are a couple different opinions for a solution. Some Tibetans think we should go for full independence, and there are some, including the Dalai Lama, who think it is now unreasonable to hope for independence, and even if we regain national sovereignty, we would still have to live next door to China. The second opinion is that it is in everybody’s interest for Tibet not to regain comeplete independence, but to pursue genuine autonomy under the Chinese government, not a puppet government or a province, but a genuine Tibetan government.”
The abduction of their Panchen Lama—who chooses the next Dalai Lama—and the forced exile and intimidation of their Dalai Lama, has had a significant effect on Tibet’s population, which is primarily Buddhist.
“He was actually trying to find a middle way between the Chinese and the Tibetans,” says Lhundup about the Dalai Lama. “He knew that if the Tibetans resisted the Chinese, a major crackdown would follow. He didn’t want to risk peoples’ lives, and he spent 10 years trying to negotiate with the Chinese to find a peaceful solution, but the Chinese were bent on controlling everything.”
The Dalai Lama is currently living in exile in India, and the Tibetans are living under an aggressive occupation until both sides can agree on a solution.
The Victoria rally will begin at Centennial Square at 12:15 pm on Saturday, March 11. From there, people will march to the Parliament Buildings, where the event will conclude with Tibetan speakers and other activities.
Walk and Rally for Tibetan National Uprising Day
12:15 pm Saturday, March 11
Centennial Square