Protest in Vilnius, Capital of Lithuania, against Occupation of Tibet and Human Rights Violations in Chinese-Occupied Region.
Vilnius: On Friday, 8 March, the Lithuanian Tibet Support Group organised a protest in front of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Vilnius to commemorate the Tibetan national uprising against Chinese occupation 65 years ago.
The picket aimed to draw public and political attention to the human rights situation in Tibet.
“Today, we’re all Tibetans. Tibet, under occupation, shares the plight of occupied Ukrainians and reflects our own struggles before Lithuania regained independence in 1990. The world needs to hear their voice,” said Robertas Mažeika, a member of the Tibet Support Group, to Elta.
The protesters, carrying Tibetan, Lithuanian and Latvian flags and posters, demanded an immediate end to the forced assimilation of Tibetans through colonial boarding schools. Here, three out of four children are taken from their families at the age of four and educated in Chinese. The destruction of the Tibetan language, culture and religion, which began 65 years ago, must be stopped.
They also demanded the immediate release of detainees in eastern Tibet, arrested for peacefully protesting in Derge (Dege) against the construction of a dam on the Drichu River in eastern Tibet. This project threatens to destroy 13th-century monasteries and displace local communities.
Pickets and actions in support of Tibet have been held regularly in Vilnius for three decades, since the Tibet Support Group was founded in 1990, after Lithuania regained its independence.
The protest was widely covered by the national media, with the national broadcaster LRT reporting on the event.
Read the statement of MP Andrius Navickas, Chairman of the Group of Parliamentary Relations with Tibet of the Seimas (Parliament) here.
–Filed by the Office of Tibet, London
Protest in Vilnius, Capital of Lithuania, against Occupation of Tibet and Human Rights Violations in Chinese-Occupied Region.
Protest in Vilnius, Capital of Lithuania, against Occupation of Tibet and Human Rights Violations in Chinese-Occupied Region.
Protest in Vilnius, Capital of Lithuania, against Occupation of Tibet and Human Rights Violations in Chinese-Occupied Region.
