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The members of France's Tibetan community staged their 46th straight protest outside the Musee Guimet museum, condemning what they call an act of "cultural erasure" carried out under China's shadow.
The demonstration organised by Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) France and the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress denounced the museum's decision to remove the word "Tibet" from its artefact labels and rename its long-running "Nepal-Tibet" gallery as "Himalayan World," as reported by Phayul. According to Phayul, the controversy began in early 2024 when the Musee Guimet, France's premier museum of Asian arts, revamped its Tibetan section. The change, which replaced "Tibet" with "Himalayan World," immediately sparked outrage among Tibetans in France and across the diaspora, who see it as echoing China's effort to erase Tibet's distinct political and cultural identity. Responding to the move, SFT France and several allied organisations launched weekly demonstrations, which evolved into a sustained campaign. In March 2025, the group issued a legal notice to both the museum and France's Ministry of Culture, demanding the reinstatement of "Tibet" in exhibition texts. Later in July, four Tibetan groups jointly filed a lawsuit accusing the museum of aligning with China's narrative that seeks to subsume Tibet under vague regional terminology. Despite growing backlash, the museum's director, Yannick Lintz, has refused to reverse the decision, claiming the new title follows a "neutral curatorial approach." However, another Paris museum, the Musee du Quai Branly, faced similar criticism earlier and publicly apologised after restoring the word "Tibet" to its displays, as cited by Phayul. The dispute has since attracted international concern. The UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights stated that the erasure of "Tibet" from museum exhibits undermines Tibetans' right to identity and heritage. Prominent Tibetologists such as Nicolas Tournadre and Fernand Meyer have also criticised the Musee Guimet's justification, arguing that "Himalayan" inaccurately collapses distinct cultures into one Chinese-favoured label. Tibetan activists insist the fight will continue. "No matter the weather," SFT France stated, "we will not stop until Tibet is rightfully named again," as reported by Phayul. (ANI)
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