-By The Print
Lhasa [Tibet], June 21 (ANI): Tibetans on the occasion of World Refugee Day urged the international community to support them and collectively stand together against China, and not to forget Tibet.
Benedict Rogers a human rights activist and writer highlighted the Chinese repressions of Tibet and said that for many years Tibet was a cause celebre, brought to the world’s attention both by the courageous efforts of Dalai Lama and with the support of celebrities like Richard Gere, Brad Pitt and the Beastie Boys, reported Tibet Rights Collective (TRC).
The film Seven Years in Tibet did a lot to keep Tibet’s plight in the public consciousness. The Dalai Lama’s world tours, public lectures and meetings with Presidents, Prime Ministers and Popes helped keep the situation on the global agenda, added Rogers.
However, several factors have combined to overshadow Tibet as a cause. The Ukraine conflict has now taken the centre stage with 13 million people who have fled their homes and approximately five million leaving the country and another eight million internally displaced within Ukraine.
He also took examples of people displaced in Syria and Myanmar, those fleeing the Chinese Communist Party’s repression – Uyghurs, Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, Chinese dissidents and Hong Kongers.
Rogers underscored that amidst the world’s many challenges, there is one place which is in danger of being forgotten – and which we must not forget: Tibet.
He also emphasized the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party regime, and its aggressive use of it. In Hollywood and Wall Street, throughout the great universities of the world, in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations and in some corridors of power and some newsrooms and even in the Vatican, Beijing’s tentacles have stretched out to silence its critics, reported TRC.
Using a combination of financial coercion and threat, the Chinese regime has ensured that Tibet’s champions are sidelined. Pope Francis is the first pontiff in recent times not to meet the Dalai Lama.
Moreover, Dalai Lama is no longer able to travel abroad. Due to his age and health, the 86-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader has not travelled outside India since 2018. Click here to read more.