Dharamshala: Hundreds of exiled Tibetans including nuns and monks and supporters on Friday held a mass candlelight vigil in Dharamshala, India to condemn "Strike Hard" campaign in Tibet's capital of Lhasa which launched by communist regime of China recently. The event was organized by four large Tibetan NGOs, Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women's Association, National Democratic Party of Tibet and Students for Free Tibet.
"The Chinese government's continued suppression has intensified in recent days. With the approach of the historic March 10 uprising commemoration and the fear surfacing the re-occurrence of nation white uprising in 2008, the Chinese government has reportedly launched a "Strike Hard" campaign in Lhasa, Tibet's capital and in the surrounding areas to intimidate and suppress Tibetans in the lead up to this sensitive anniversary," a joint circular from the above organizers said.
"The campaign is aimed to quell political dissent through mass detention and arrests. More than 70 Tibetans were reportedly detained in Lhasa and capital retains a huge presence of Chinese solders. Recently, Karze People's Intermediate court has sentenced Pema Yeshi to two year suspended death sentence on the charges of "inciting separatism" and "disturbing social order".
"The Chinese government doesn't hesitate killing Tibetan political prisoners with impunity and many are sentenced to life imprisonment and varying prisoner terms. We strongly condemn the Chinese government's brutal policies," the statement read. "We salute and bravery of the Tibetan martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the just cause and we stand in solidarity with our fellow Tibetans inside Tibet who continues to suffer the brutal regime."
According to a Chinese newspaper report in Lhasa, the city government ordered a 'strike hard' campaign, which covers all prefectures that fall under the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), a large part of what was previously Tibet on March 3.
There are orders to "strike hard against all kinds of criminal activities and to vigorously uphold the social order stability," according to the report.
