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A coalition of organizations supporting the human rights of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, Mongolians, Falun Gongs, and Chinese will mark the start of the Beijing Olympics with a ceremonial kick-off of the Games in front of the Chinese embassy in Ottawa.
This comes as the Beijing Games was officially launched today against a backdrop of Chinese government crimes against humanity targeting Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic communities. Several governments have announced they would withhold sending high-level diplomatic representation to the Games in response to Beijing's ongoing abuses. Democracies including Britain, Australia, and Canada are among those to join a US-led diplomatic boycott of the Games, citing the human rights record of China. The Canada Tibet Committee said in a statement said the Chinese authorities in Tibet are clamping down on the rights of Tibetans to the preservation and practices of their language, culture, and religion. The Capital Current reported that a coalition plans to gather outside the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa performing their version of an opening ceremony for the Games, Capital Current reported. The intent is to call attention to human rights violations against the country's minorities, including Uyghurs and Tibetans, the report added. Protesters will be outside of the St. Patrick Street embassy at noon on Friday. The mock ceremony will begin at the same time as the official opening of the Beijing Olympics and will include a procession of flags raised by individuals who come from the communities under attack in China. Earlier, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said these Games--by which Beijing hopes to "sportswash" its abysmal rights record--reflect Xi Jinping's assault on human rights since coming to power: devastating independent civil society, erasing press freedom, expanding high-tech surveillance. (ANI)
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