OTTAWA—Forty nine years ago, a failed attempt by the Tibetan people to throw off their Chinese oppressors left the country in shock and caused the Dalai Lama to flee to India where he set up his government-in-exile.
To commemorate the 1959 uprising, a group of abut 150 people gathered for a rally at Parliament Hill Tuesday, organized by the Canada Tibet Committee and Students for a Free Tibet.
The rally began with speeches by representatives from four political parties: Conservative MP Jason Kenney, Liberal MP Larry Bagnell, Bloc Québécois MP Diane Bourgeois and NDP MP Sherry Nash.
After the speeches, the group marched to the Chinese Embassy where they called out slogans such as "Free Tibet, China Out, and "Made in China, We Won't Buy It."
Wanddu Duncik, a Carleton University student whose parents escaped from Tibet, said Tibet's age-old culture and religion are being eroded because of China's policies.
"After 50 years of brutal occupation in Tibet the situation is actually worse than it was before; they don't have freedom of speech, they don't have freedom to practice their own religion, and the Chinese have put so many restrictions on them that they are becoming a minority in their own country, which is a great travesty."
While stopping short of calling for a boycott of the Olympics, the protesters expressed outrage that China was ever given the right to host the Olympics.
"The Olympic flame has no place in Tiananmen Square, and shame on you Jacques Rogge and shame on the IOC (International Olympic Committee), if they allow the Olympic flame to be run through Tiananmen Square in the lead up to the Beijing games," said Dermod Travis, executive director of the Canada Tibet Committee.
Similar rallies took place around the globe, with a group of 100 core expatriates departing from Dharmasala, India, to march to Tibet to protest the occupation of their country and Beijing's hosting of the Olympics. They plan to arrive before the Games begin in August.
"It's a very perilous walk for them. They recognize that they may be making the ultimate sacrifice in doing it and that it's a very real risk," said Travis.
Kelhang, who only gave his first name in order to protect his relatives living in Tibet from reprisals, said his mother was born in Tibet and escaped to France in 1969. He says the oppression in Tibet has been ongoing.
"The situation in Tibet has degraded over the last 50 years. We're talking about genocide—a slow killing of the culture. If we were to do the protest that we are doing today in China we would be put in jail and tortured, and our families would suffer the same consequences."
Kelhang stressed that the group's beef wasn't with the Chinese people but with their totalitarian regime.
"As Tibetans we are non-violent and we have no hatred towards the Chinese people. But we do oppose the occupation of Tibet, their attempts to destroy and annihilate the Tibetan culture, and all the human rights violations and killings that have taken place over the last 50 years. So this is an action towards the Chinese government and not the Chinese people."
Jillian Petrosky, also a student at Carleton, said the Games provide an opportunity for China—with a push from Canada—to bring about change.
"I think, now, more than ever, it's important for China to make a point that this is China's opportunity to take a stand for human rights and to make a difference in their own country. We would like the Canadian government to put human rights before trade and we would like them to make that a priority."
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