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Students for Free Tibet-France on Sunday held a protest in Paris at Bastille Square to mark the 109th anniversary of Tibetan Independence Day.
Over 100 members of the Tibetan diaspora in France including Thupten Gyastso, Member of Parliament of the Tibetan Government in Exile, protested raising the Tibetan flag and demanding freedom of Tibet from Chinese occupation. The protesters also displayed the treaty which was signed during the Shimla convention in 1913- 1914 concerning the status of Tibet negotiated by then representatives of the Republic of China, Tibet, and the United Kingdom. Later, the protesters danced to traditional Tibetan songs, with many passers-by joining in. On February 13, 1913, the 13th Dalai Lama announced Tibetan independence in the declaration of the "Proclamation of Independence" and since then Tibetans mark February 13 as an important day to educate people on the significance of Tibet's history. Tibet is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party government based in Beijing with local decision-making power concentrated in the hands of Chinese party officials. Tibet was a sovereign state before China's invasion in 1950 when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) entered Northern Tibet. (ANI)
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