December 10 is celebrated as International Human Rights Day across the world and to mark the day Tibetans campaigned to raise the issue of the ongoing human rights violation inside Tibet by the Chinese regime.
The Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) released a six-minute animated video entitled Tibet; the land where dreams are shattered, [the video can be viewed here]. According to CTA’s official website tibet.net, the story, based on the true events, is about a fictional character, a 27 year old woman who is described as “a feisty, fearless female and a mother of two”. “The story of Pema resonates broadly with Tibetans living in Tibet and make a glaring case of challenges they face in travelling outside Tibet, exacerbated with the Chinese government’s discriminatory policy in issuing passports to Tibetans,” Dukthen Kyi, a researcher at DIIR, is quoted as saying on the CTA website.
In a separate event, Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), a non government organisation based in Dharamshala organised a photo action cum poetry reading event at the entrance to Tsungla-khang, the main temple in Dharamshala, to mark the 69th International Human Rights Day. SFT’s press statement said the event was aimed at reminding the international community about the sufferings of Tibetans in Tibet who are without basic human rights under the Chinese regime. Tibetans and supporters took part in SFT’s photo action campaign and were photographed with pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan national flag. This is to send a message to Beijing where the Tibetan flag is considered to be a sign of separatism. SFT’s photo action highlighted the fact that the mere possession of HH the Dalai Lama’s photo or the Tibetan flag mean lengthy jail terms and numerous detentions in Tibet.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) released a statement for International Human Rights day saying, “The world can no longer turn a blind eye to the egregious repression taking place in Tibet. Last month, a 63-year-old monk named Tenga became the 151st known Tibetan to die of self-immolation protest in Tibet. Tibet is now ranked worst of the worst for freedom and human rights in independent global surveys. […] Tibet is turned into a giant open prison due to mass surveillance, Maoist style propaganda campaigns, and government reprisals against human rights defenders and other individuals exercising human rights.”
“TCHRD urges the international community to make the Chinese government accountable for human rights violations and abuses in Tibet and prioritise human rights principles in its bilateral relations with the Chinese government,” the statement continued.
Human Rights Day takes place every year on December 10 to honour the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948. It was the first global enunciation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the then new United Nations.
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