Dharamshala, May 24th: Speaking at a public event commemorating the re-creation of His holiness the 13th Dalai Lama's Tibetan proclamation of Independence in 1913,Tenzin Dorjee, Executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, emphasized Tibetan people's practical actions against Chinese rule by methods of civil disobedience and noncooperation and suggested that although China may control Tibet's borders it no longer can control the people's actions. In his speech he also reiterated the main theme of the evening's event "We hope this scroll will give Tibetans everywhere a reason to celebrate our history as an independent nation,"
The event was staged at the Tibetan Children's Village on Wednesday night, the 23rd May, and entitled: The Unveiling of the Scroll, and was organized by Students for a Free Tibet. The scroll is to be used primarily for awareness-raising on the upcoming hundredth anniversary of Tibet's declaration as an independent sovereign country. The event will be the first of many leading up to the unveiling of a re-creation of the historic proclamation in 2013, which was originally issued by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1913.
In another speech on the night Tenzin Tsundue, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, called for world leaders, and future world leaders, to invest in trust and freedom and Tibetan independence, and not in today's Chinese dictatorship for their own narrow, short-term economic gains. He also emphatically stated that sovereign states should not accept China's 'One China' policy as this was tantamount to playing politics while people suffered inside Tibet.
In his speech Tsundue said that countries knew very well that Tibet had historically been an independent country and moreover that China had made a conscious effort to 'own' the histories of the regions bordering it; countries that included Mongolia, and of course Tibet. He reiterated; 'If states accept the One China policy it is only for their own economic benefit' and as 'Guardians of the future' for Tibet's future freedom he and others will have to be dealt with when independence finally is achieved for Tibet.
Tsundue was one of a line of speakers who spoke of the historic significance of the proclamation for Tibet and of its resonance for today's Tibetans, both inside and outside of Tibet in diverse Diaspora communities. Other speakers represented Tibet's Parliament in Exile, the Tibet Action Institute, and other members of the SFT (Students for Free Tibet).
