Vienna: Members of Tibetan community protest against human rights violations by China
Dec 10, 2021
Vienna [Austria], December 10 : On World Human Rights Day, members of the Tibetan community in Vienna on Friday organised a protest march against the Chinese Community Party (CCP) for violating human rights in the country.
The Tibetan community organised a walk from Stephanplatz to the Chinese Embassy in Vienna at Metternichgasse on Friday. The protesters also called on China to end its illegal occupation of Tibet.
The protesters were seen carrying Tibetan flags and placards with "Free Tibet from China" written on them. The protest came amid the ongoing human rights abuses by the CCP in China.
Recently, a new research paper has also thrown light on China's relocation policy in Tibet, which under the garb of social changes, threatens its unique and centuries-old culture.
This was revealed in a research paper released last month by "Tibetan Studies" - a bi-weekly magazine of the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences (TASS).
Speaking about the development activities at the Tibetan border, Penpa Tsering, President of the Tibetan government-in-exile, mentioned, "We do not have the exact report of all the developments taking place but some are visible now. News is coming on development that is happening on the border."
He further spoke about China's stance over Tibet and revealed that "Tibet is 2.35 million square kilometres which is almost 1/4th of China. Tibetans lived on that plateau for so many centuries, why do the Chinese government want to move the Tibetans to the border areas, why not settle them in the cities and towns where people are prospering. It is just marginalization of Tibetans on the borders to send this message that Tibetans are the guardians of the Tibetan border from the other side and if they are Tibetans in the Indian army, then the tussle could be between Tibetans and Tibetans."
"That is the propaganda that the Chinese government is trying to send but I remain skeptical because there has to be trust by the Chinese government on the Tibetan people who join the military. This is a strategic issue, not a social or economic issue. Will the Chinese government trust the Tibetans? I doubt so," Tsering added.
Penpa Tsering has raised concern regarding the building of a dam on the Brahmaputra River by China and believes that the mega project can have serious implications on lower riparian countries like India, and Bangladesh.
Talking to ANI, Tsering said, "China has been building multiple dams on all the rivers that originate from Tibet, some 32 dams on Mekong River alone before it enters the third country. It is building a dam that is considered three times the size of Three Gorges Dam, which is biggest in the world today."
As China continues with hydropower projects on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, concerns are rising in the lower riparian nations regarding the impact of these projects on the river, which is one of the crucial sources of freshwater for India and Bangladesh.
"If something has to happen to that size of a river, to the dam, then what could be the consequences on India, on Assam, and in Bangladesh? These are very serious issues that need to be considered by all the riparian countries," said Tibetan President.
Experts believe that they are now under serious threat due to the many small and big hydropower projects rampantly being executed by China.
on World Human Rights Day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948.
The UDHR is a milestone document, which proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world.
