The Central and Regional Tibetan Women’s Association organize the “Tibetans Stand Together in Joy and Sorrow” Movement

The oppressive policies of the Chinese government in Tibet continuously push Tibetans from all walks of life to self-immolate.

Since Tapey self-immolated on 8 February, 2009, one hundred and seven Tibetans inside Tibet have set themselves on fire in protest. Out of this number, eighty-eight have died, and the status of the rest is still unknown. The unified demands of all the self-immolators call for the freedom of Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

Today, the Central and Regional Tibetan Women’s Association have organized this peaceful movement “Tibetans Stand together in Joy and Sorrow” ༼བོད་མིའི་སྐྱིད་སྡུག་མཉམ་མྱོང༽in Delhi, the capital city of India. We would like to state that Tibetans are unsatisfied with the status of occupation, and with the harsh policies implemented in Tibet. This oppressive rule has, against its intention, incited greater resistance, and acted as an unwavering catalyst to the increasing number of self-immolation as well as peaceful demonstrations. We call for China to recognize more than 60 years of failed policies in Tibet. At the same time we firmly deny China’s invalid accusation that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration are encouraging self-immolation among Tibetan people.

Disregarding international pressure, criticisms, urges and pleas, China has continuously suppressed Tibetans. As a result, resistance in the form of peaceful protests has indeed emerged in Tibet. Non-violent protesters have been challenged and attacked by ruthless troops of the Chinese army, as well as by police forces equipped with advanced weapons. Open fire by Chinese authorities during these demonstrations has killed many innocent Tibetans. Moreover, in the case of self-immolation, many relatives and neighbours of the self-immolators are arrested without reason.

The central and regional Tibetan Women’s Association is comprised of more than 16,000 members across the globe. Together we firmly state that oppression by the Chinese government is the sole reason for all self-immolation and protests carried out by Tibetans in Tibet. The fact that resistance has reached this level of intensity in the form of one hundred and seven self-immolation clearly indicates that the self-immolators believe their method to be the ultimate, and perhaps only, way out from the continuous suffering under China’s inhuman policies. It also clearly testifies to the failure of Chinese rule over Tibet. It is high time for China to both rethink their policies and rethink their approaches. Therefore, we urge the Chinese government to open their doors to dialogue with representatives of Central Tibetan Administration in exile. Through dialogue there will be a possibility to resolve this intense situation, which has caused nonstop anxiety for both China and Tibet.

In this campaign, we, the Central and Regional Tibetan Women’s Association, have developed the following five significant requests.

1. UNO must send their peacekeeping operation into Tibet.

2. The International Committee must recognize all the non-violent protest adopted by Tibetans, including self-immolation.

3. We urge the Chinese government to conduct a review of their policies that force Tibetans to carry out non-violent protest like self-immolation and mass marches. We also urge them to show respect toward the Tibetan community and its religious head. If China desires to be a fair ruler, it must not only stop its many forms of suppression, but also attempt to guarantee a safe and fair standard of living for the Tibetan populace.

4. The international committee must call for China to open Tibet to international free media, pressure China to review its policies on Tibet, and also carry out a thorough research on Human Rights status of Tibetans inside Tibet.

5. All the International Tibet Support groups and organizations who champion Human Rights must ask their governments and parliaments to speak for the freedom of Tibetans. Tibet is in dire need of your support and intervention.

From 12 to 14 March, 2013, the Central and all the Regional Chapters of Tibetan Women’s Association across India and Nepal will converge in New Delhi for the 3-day mass campaign. The program includes public meeting, women’s peace rally, prayer meeting, silent protest and all-women lobby campaign.

Press Contact:
President- +91 9459553953
Pema Choedon (Tibetan)- +91 8679718481
Tenzin Dekyi (English)- +91 9882255732