South Africans hold peaceful rally in support of Tibet
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Wearing orange T-shirts with the words 'Peace in Tibet', the participants carried Tibetan National Flags, banners and placards that read 'Long Live the Dalai Lama'; ' Stop torture & killing in Tibet'; 'Release Tibetan political prisoners' and 'Hu Jintao must show sincerity in talks with the Dalai Lama'.
Representatives from the local Amnesty International and Free Burma Campaign also took part in the rally.
The marchers also submitted a two-page memorandum to the Chinese embassy.
 Mr Andreas Labuschagne reads out the two page memorandum calling for substantive dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government |
While offering humblest prayers for the victims affected by the recent earthquake in China, the marchers urged 'the Chinese government to seriously consider to accord genuine autonomy for Tibet, and implement the freedom of speech and religion as enshrined in the constitution of the People's Republic of China.'
In the memorandum, the marchers said, "We deeply feel concerned with the number of peaceful Tibetan protesters killed, injured and detained since the unrest erupted in March 2008. We strongly believe that a conflict can be resolved by the interested parties through engaging sincerely in peace agreements and dialogues, instead of cracking down heavily on Tibetan people and subjecting them to harsh 'strike hard' and 'patriotic re-education campaigns'".
The memorandum further underlined, "that a constructive dialogue on substantive issues with positive outcome needs to be held between President Hu Jintao and His Holiness the Dalai Lama to ensure the welfare of the people of Tibet."
The marchers also submitted copy of the memorandum to South African President Thabo Mbeki, Foreign Minister Dr. Dlamini Zuma and the UN Secretary General.
--Based on report prepared by Office of Tibet, Pretoria, South Africa
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