Tibetan protest march

Yesterday the Tibetan community shut up their shops and restautants, dressed in their traditional clothes, gathered their Tibetan flags on sticks and marched in protest, yet again, at the Chinese occupation of Tibet. They marched through Mc Cloud Ganj to the Dalai Lama's temple, where he came out to greet them. Then they continued on down the steep mountain path, flags fluttering, drums beating, the occasional trumpet blasting, all the way to Dharamsala. Sympathetic westerners accompanied them. They came back in dribs and brabs, in jeeps, busses, taxis and rickshaws, too tired to walk back the four kilometres up the steep mountain track.

Later that afternoon Tibetans gathered round a table in the main square in Mc Cloud, together with a self immolation survivor, dressed in a long grey robe, sleeves covering his hands, a black scarf covering his eyes. This monk tried to burn himself to death in Delhi over a year ago, in protest against Chinese oppression of Tibetan monks in Tibet. He was rescued and taken to hospital, where he spent almost year recovering from severe burns. He walks with difficulty with the aid of a stick. He kept calling out in Tibetan and English "Every signature makes a difference. Sign our petition." Tibetans crowded round the table, signing sheet after sheet of the petition. Westerners signed on separate sheets.
Up to today 26 Tibetans have self immolated in Tibet. 18 of these burnt to death. No one knows whether the remaining 8 survived or not. When the whole of China was celebrating Chinese new year on 23rd January 2012 police indiscrimiately fired on peaceful Tibetan demonstrators in Drakgo, Serta and Zamthang, killing several people, injuring scores and arresting hundreds. Thousands of other Tibetans in Golog, Ngaba and Gyalyong have peacefully demonstrated in the last few days. Communications to all these areas have been cut off. Security in the whole of Tibet has been stepped up and massive military reinforcements have been reported, resulting in heightened tension.

The Chinese government's assimilation policy coupled with mass migration of Han Chinese into Tibet in the last 53 years has turned the Tibetans into a minority community in their own country.

The Chinese government's single window policy of development as the one and only means to resolve conflicts with no respect for local sentiments has not only contributed to flooding Tibet with Han Chinese, but has led to unscrupulous extraction of Tibet's mineral resources thereby affecting Tibet's fragile ecology.The benefits of the so called economic development have not percolated down to the Tibetans resulting in economic marginalization of the Tibetans. Control of Buddhist learning in the monasteries by strict and irrelevant laws prohibits religious freedom. Imposition of Mandarin language in schools and now even in monasteries strikes at the root of Tibetan identity.

Independent media, diplomats and even tourists have been barred from visiting all these areas.
These policies are aimed at destroying the identity of the Tibetan people and exploiting Tibet's rich natural resources.

Later in the evening there was yet another candel lit procession, chanting prayers for the victims of self immolation.

Since everywhere else was shut, I went to one of the Indian restaurants where a group of Tibetan monks were ordering chicken and huge piles of fluffy white nan. They tuned the TV to a movie channel and sat there watching 'The Transporter'.