New Delhi — On the occasion of the Chinese National Day, Tibetan Youth Congress activists protested in front of the Chinese Embassy in Delhi to protest against the Chinese crackdown on Tibetans under the zero-covid policy. More than 70 activists were arrested at the Delhi police station after the protest.
Tibetan Youth Congress organised a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Delhi to protest against the Chinese crackdown on Tibetans under the zero-covid policy and illegal occupation as well as oppression of Tibet over the past six decades. Over 70 activists and members of several regional TYC from Delhi and Himachal Pradesh and others joined the protest. They called on the Chinese government to stop its hardline policies in Tibet, stop its systematic mass collection of DNA from Tibetans, and immediately address the grievances of the Tibetans.
“On the 73rd Founding Anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China, Tibetan Youth Congress and its regional Chapters all around the Globe are marking the date by resisting China for its illegal occupation of Tibet and oppressing it for the last six decades. Tibetans continue to face intense surveillance in their daily lives, with security cameras, police checkpoints, and party officials monitoring their movements and activities. Arbitrary arrest and detentions are noticeably the common practice carried out by the Chinese authorities in recent months and years. Particularly targeting teachers, writers, and intellectuals who emphasize preserving Tibetan culture and identity, which continues to be assimilated by the Chinese government,” said a statement released by TYC on the 73rd Founding Anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China.
While explaining the current situation in Tibet and TYC said, “Nearly one million Tibetan children have been forcibly taken away from their parents, forcing them to live in colonial boarding schools, and cutting them off from their families, language, and religion. Chinese government lodged them in specially established schools of the Chinese Communist party, where they have no access to the Tibetan culture-related curriculums and are primarily aimed at eliminating and wiping out the Tibetan culture and its identity.”
“Chinese authorities continue to tighten their control over Tibetans through various monitoring mediums. Reports were coming out from Tibet that the Chinese authorities are conducting a mass DNA collection drive without the consent of Tibetans. The development clearly indicates the tightening of the technological surveillance upon the Tibetans. The CP has implemented Bio-security as an agency to control the population, specifically those in the occupied regions of Tibet, East Turkistan, and Southern Mongolia being targeted,” they added.
Talking about the covid crisis in Tibet, TYC said, “Since the COVID outbreak in Tibet, the COVID cases continuing to rise, and many Tibetans are coming out on social media and airing their frustrations against the Chinese government for failing to provide health care facilities and adequate meals for people detained under the guise of Covid prevention. Both infected and uninfected people are quarantined in the same place, with no regular testing, and all are quarantined until the healthy ones become infected.”
“As the authoritarian Lockdown in Lhasa closing its second month, Tibetans are facing growing hardships by the scarce supply of essential commodities and ill-treatment of the authorities. Many Tibetans have reportedly been detained for merely sharing Covid-related photos and Videos online amid the harsh implementation of the Chinese government's Zero-Covid Policy'. Reports were coming out from Tibet that China's Zero-Covid policy pushed five Tibetans to commit suicide in three days,” TYC explained.
Explaining the reasons for their protest and their demands to the Chinese government, TYC said, “Therefore, on this founding anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China, we demand the Chinese government stop its hardline policies in Tibet and put an end to its arbitrary arrest, and detention of Tibetans with baseless accusations. We also demand the Chinese Communist government stop its systematic mass collection of DNA from Tibetans, to strengthen their surveillance capabilities and subject Tibetans to pervasive repressions. We call on the Chinese government to immediately address the grievances of the Tibetans, who continue to suffer under the Chinese repression and oppression amidst the Covid outbreak in Tibet.”
After the protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, 73 Tibetan activists and members of the TYC were detained by the police and will be released in the evening.
