London: On the 61st Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Councillor Mick Hayes, Deputy Leader Cllr. David Gardner and the Representative of Office of Tibet, London Mr Sonam Tsering Frasi hoisted Tibetan National flag outside the Woolwich Town Hall located in South East London.

The flag-raising ceremony held outside the Woolwich town hall was attended by local Tibetans, board members of Greenwich Tibetan Association, representatives from the Tibetan community in Britain and staff of the Office of Tibet. After the ceremony, the Mayor invited the guests to the Mayor’s parlour where the Mayor once again welcomed all and reiterated his support for Tibet.

In his speech, he mentioned that the royal borough of Greenwich is very proud of the diverse culture which makes the Borough special and vibrant place to live in. He thanked the Tibetan community for enriching the cultural diversity of the Borough. 

The Deputy leader Cllr. David Gardner also expressed his great pleasure in organizing this flag-raising ceremony and be part of commemorating the 61st Anniversary of Tibetan National uprising day.

“Iin this country, we take our freedoms very seriously. Indeed we fought world wars to retain our freedom, principles of democracy and liberty. And obviously our heart and solidarity goes out to those countries where at the moment you don’t enjoy that freedom which are really important. And I know that Tibetans are very spirit and generally very peaceful people that is very much in Buddhist religion and teachings of the Dalai Lama and I know at the same time that your families in Tibet have suffered a lot because of the policies pursued by the people’s republic of China. In Greenwich, we are very proud to be home to over 150 Tibetans of all generations, place where Tibetan language lessons are taught and keep the unique Tibetan culture alive.’’

Representative Sonam Frasi thanked the Mayor and the Deputy Leader for supporting the Tibetan community by hosting the Tibetan Flag at the Woolwich Town Hall. He explained the significance of the Flag raising ceremony on Tibetan National uprising day, the day Tibetans lost their country through a brutal armed invasion by the People’s Liberation Army of Communist China.

He further mentioned that on this day, Tibetans across the world are commemorating the 61st anniversary to remember the brave men and women, monks and nuns who sacrifice their lives for the Tibetan nation. The history of this day is written by the blood of our befallen Tibetans brothers and sisters. He said that the history of Tibet flag goes back to the 7th century when the then emperors of Tibet ruled the whole of Central Asia. The Tibetan Flag is a consolidation of the then various regimental banners of the Tibetan Emperors redesigned during the great 13th Dalai Lama in early 20th century.  Mr. Frasi also expressed his hope that the Tibetan flag-raising event will become a permanent event in the calendar of Royal Borough of Greenwich.

In the end, Mr Phuntsok Dhondup, representing board member of Greenwich Tibetan Association thanked especially The Mayor and the Deputy leader for their support for Tibet and everyone present at the flag-raising ceremony.

-Filed by Office of Tibet, London