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More than 200 Tibetans and supporters gathered near the Swiss Parliament in Bern to protest what the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) described as China's intensifying assimilation policies in Tibet. The peaceful demonstration also marked the 44th day since the self-immolation of Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen, according to the CTA.
The protest was jointly organised on August 14 by the Tibetan Community in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association (GSTF), the Swiss Tibetan Women's Association, the European Tibetan Youth Association and the Swiss V-TAG. According to the Central Tibetan Administration, the gathering brought together Tibetan community leaders, former Tibetan parliamentarians, former representatives of the Tibet Bureau and officials from the Tibet Bureau in Geneva, including Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Thinlay Chukki and UN Advocacy Officer Phuntsok Topgyal. Participants raised slogans, held a scarf-presentation ceremony before a portrait of Lobga Rangzen, sang the Tibetan national anthem and observed a minute of silence for Tibetan martyrs. Prayers for peace were also offered. Addressing the gathering, Thinlay Chukki thanked Tibetans and supporters for remembering Rangzen and highlighting human rights concerns inside Tibet. She said his self-immolation should prompt greater international attention, noting that the CTA has recorded 157 known cases of self-immolation inside Tibet since 2009. Chukki strongly criticised China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Law, adopted on March 12 and effective from July 1, saying it further institutionalises policies threatening Tibet's cultural, linguistic and religious identity. She alleged that the legislation prioritises Mandarin, increases state control over Tibetan monasteries and could affect supporters of the Tibetan cause outside China. The CTA representative urged the United Nations to send a delegation to China and Tibet to document alleged human rights violations. She also called on Switzerland to increase diplomatic pressure on Beijing and urged Swiss parliamentarians to keep Tibet's human rights situation on the political agenda. "Today, we have gathered here because one Tibetan self-immolated in New York. How many more Tibetans need to make this ultimate sacrifice before the international community truly opens its eyes and looks into the matter?" Chukki asked. The Central Tibetan Administration said the demonstration reflected continued international solidarity with Tibetans seeking human rights, religious freedom and preservation of their culture, language and identity. Chukki concluded by expressing hope that the Dalai Lama would one day return to the Potala Palace in Lhasa and give teachings there again. (ANI)
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