Anxiously Watching the March as Monks Protest Inside Tibet

Yesterday, the Marchers defied the Indian police’s restraining order and continued on their way. Throughout the day, intelligence agents and plainclothes police were following the March, but let them continue on their way. This morning, the Marchers set off again after refusing to submit their Registration Certificates – their sole identification as refugees – to the Indian police. While the Marchers are not expected to reach the boundary of Kangra District until tomorrow, the situation remains tense with the possibility of the March being stopped at any time.

As we anxiously await news from the Marchers, RFA continues to release reports of monks protesting inside Tibet. The protests started on March 10th with as many as 300 monks marching 10km from Drepung monastery towards Lhasa, calling for the release of the protesters who were detained in October when His Holiness the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal. The Guardian is calling it “the biggest protest against Chinese rule in twenty years.” Fifty to 60 monks were detained. On March 11th, 500 to 600 monks from Sera monastery protested for the release of 9 monks who had been arrested in the previous days. As they walked towards Lhasa, they shouted: “We want freedom!” “Free our people!” “We want an independent Tibet!” and “Free our people or we won’t go back!” Witnesses say thousands of armed police surrounded them and fired tear gas into the crowd. There were also reports of smaller protests at two monasteries in Qinghai province.

Today also marks the Tibetan Women’s Uprising Day. On March 12th, 1959, as so many men had been arrested in the previous 2 days of protests and others had joined the resistance fighters, the women in Lhasa took to the streets. To commemorate that day, 36 women stormed the Chinese embassy in New Delhi today. With fresh scenes in my head of Tibetan women yelling at Nepali police on March 10th, it is even more apparent to me how strong Tibetan women are. These women know how to protest!

As all these news stories keep flowing in and friends and colleagues call from the road, I keep having moments where I am overcome with emotion. Tibetans inside and outside Tibet are feeding off of each others’ protests! It truly feels like we are in the midst of one of the great moments in Tibetan history, and especially that of the movement. I may be sleep deprived and hungry, but there is nowhere I would rather be and nothing I would rather be doing.

March 10th Update: Marchers Detained on First Night

As the marchers settled in to their campsite tonight, Indian police entered the camp and issued restraining orders against the 101 core marchers. They were told that their actions may “culminate into endangering public tranquility and breach of public peace” and that they were “not to leave the territorial jurisdiction of Kangra District till further order.”

I’m finally heading off to bed after more than 17 hours in the office, but there has been no word about what will happen tomorrow... whether the marchers will continue (it will still take them a day or more to exit the district), and whether the police and the Indian government will even let them proceed. I hope that India will have the strength to stand up to China, who is inevitably pressuring them behind the scenes to crackdown on this March.

March 10th: Launch of the Return March to Tibet

Today marked the 49th anniversary of the 1959 national uprising in Tibet and the beginning of the 5-month march of Tibetans returning home. Over 100 marchers set off from the Tsuglakhang, here in Dharamsala, followed by thousands of supporters. As they marched, Tibetans in Greece lit the Tibetan Freedom Torch at the archaeological site of ancient Olympia. And as the marchers settled in to their evening campsite, protests were starting up in North America.

Check out this video of photos from Dharamsala, set to the song “Guns of Lithang” by Tenzin Dorjee, SFT’s Deputy Director.

For more coverage of the march: www.tibetanuprising.org

For live coverage of March 10th protests all over the world: march10.org

Two candlelight vigils in Dhasa

For two nights in a row, hundreds of people here in Dharamsala have gathered around dusk to show their support for the most recent protests in the Amdo region of Tibet. With monks leading the way chanting a prayer for compassion, the swelling crowd circled the central part of McLeod three times, before making its way to the tsuglakhang (main Temple).

On February 21, Chinese authorities clashed with hundreds of Tibetans gathered for Monlam, an annual prayer festival in Rebkong county [in Chinese, Tongren in Qinghai province]. The Chinese police ordered the festival stopped and sent in three truckloads of armed police. Tear gas was fired and about 200 Tibetans were detained (most of whom were monks). The detentions sparked a series of other protests in which Tibetans called for independence and prayed for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama – both of which are serious offenses in Chinese occupied Tibet.

Interestingly, in 2006, Rebkong county was the site of giant bonfires of animal skins, after the Dalai Lama urged Tibetans to stop wearing traditional furs and protect endangered animals.


Standing in the crowd, I hummed along with the prayers I have heard so many times, lost in my own thoughts. A friend’s recent comment echoed through my ears: what happens inside Tibet encourages people in exile and what happens in exile also encourages those inside. The situation in Tibet restricts open communication about political issues, but I realized that the hundreds of people in which I found myself were in fact engaged in an intense form of communication with their brothers and sisters thousands of miles away. Standing here in solidarity, they were telling Tibetans inside to continue to resist Chinese occupation. It made me wonder what the next months would bring, how Tibetans inside would respond to March 10th and the beginning of our Return March to Tibet.

I yelled along with the passionate cries of “Free Tibet” until I was moved to tears. We have the freedom to stand here with our Tibetan flags and call for independence. But Tibetans inside Tibet had once again stood up against China, and put their own lives in danger. I prayed that they know how brave we think they are and that they will continue to resist.

We’re off to a good start!

Yesterday the British Olympic Association withdrew their previous plan requiring all athletes to sign a contract stating that they would not make any political statements during the Games. The Association decided to revise the language of the contract after the uproar their announcement raised!

Today, the German Olympic Association joined the American and Belgian associations, saying that it would not restrict its athletes’ freedom of expression:

Our athletes are citizens who are aware of their responsibilities, but they can and will be able to express their opinions.

Steven Spielberg also decided to follow his conscience, announcing that he was stepping down from his position as artistic advisor to the Olympics’ opening ceremonies!

What great victories!!