TIBETANS UNFURL 50 YEARS OF "BLOOD AND TEARS" BANNER (TGIE)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Kesang Y. Takla
Thubten Samphel
Tel: (1892) 22510/22457

50th anniversary greeted with protest

DHARAMSALA, 27 July - On 19 July, the day of the 50th anniversary of the so-called peaceful liberation of Tibet which China proposed to commemorate on this particular day rather on 23 May, the residents of Lhasa were greeted with a loud and clear reminder of 50 years of "blood and tears," according to reports coming from Tibet.

The huge banner draped on the building of the tele-communications centre, near the Potala palace, said that Tibetans had no cause to celebrate the 50 years of Chinese rule in Tibet. The banner said these were years of "blood and tears." The banner said that not only will the Tibetan people protest the anniversary but also they will destroy the representatives of the Chinese government who arrived in Lhasa.

The writing on the banner was in Chinese but before people could read further the members of the Lhasa police had bundled up the banner.

The same report said a similar banner was unfurled on the high court building in Shigatse.

The report said that the Chinese authorities have already instituted an inquiry committee to look into the incident. The authorities suspect that the "culprits" for this crime came not from the ranks of the masses but from those working in the Chinese establishment.

The same report said despite being ordered to hoist the Chinese national flag, many residents of Lhasa refused to fly the flag on their rooftops inspite of the severe consequences.

Distrusting the loyalty of the Lhasa residents, the authorities trucked in about 7,000 people from outside Lhasa to participate in the grand parade and the festivities.

The report said that one major disappointment for the Tibetans was that more than 1,000 Tibetans who possessed no valid residential permits were expelled from Lhasa. Countless Chinese who too had no residential permits were left un-touched and were permitted to work and live in Lhasa City. Some Tibetans in Lhasa wondered aloud that this kind of blatantly discriminatory action came days after China was awarded the right to hold the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

Chinese Propaganda on Tibet>>>