OTTAWA—Concern is growing in Canada's Tibetan community after videos of rioting in the streets of Lhasa were shown around the world and over the fact that Beijing has sent huge convoys of soldiers into the country.
About 500 Tibetans and supporters from Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto converged on Parliament Hill on Thursday to show their concern for their fellow countrymen.
"We are trying to raise awareness of what has happened in the last few days. Thousands of Tibetans have been put in prison and if we let Canadians know what is happening, hopefully they will take some action," said Wandgu Duntak, president of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) at the University of Ottawa.
Duntak said SFT wants the government to send an envoy on a fact-finding mission to Tibet and to pressure China to release the demonstrators who have been detained. He said the protests escalated "because the Chinese used military force against the Tibetans."
"As you know, the media are not allowed into Tibet so it is really hard to know what is happening…. We have seen in the videos that they have used tanks against people who are throwing rocks, and they are abducting young Tibetans from their homes at night."
Conservative MP Pierre Polievre read a statement from Prime Minister Stephen Harper who had seen the large gathering from his office window. The statement focused on the defense of human rights and civil liberties.
"Canada shares your concerns about what is happening in Tibet as His Holiness the Dalai Lama told me when he met with me, and as he has been saying recently, his message is one of non-violence and reconciliation and I join with him in that call. Canada calls on China to fully respect human rights and peaceful protest. Canada also calls on China to show restraint in dealing with this situation."
In stating his support for the rally, Poilievre said, "I hope that the People's Republic of China is watching and learning about how a democracy functions right before our eyes."
His main message was that Canadians believe in the value of respecting human rights, and he called on China to do the same.
"The evils of communism do not serve the interests of free men and women, here or anywhere around the world. And that is why I want to call upon the PRC to respect human rights and to stop crushing the democratic liberties of the people of your community. I'm thankful that you have risen today, and am very proud to stand in solidarity with you."
Journalists and outside agencies are not allowed into Tibet or the neighbouring Chinese provinces of Gansu and Sichuan. In an interview with CBC radio, the Chinese ambassador to Canada denied that the soldiers had used force to stop the demonstrations, which have become increasingly violent.
Former MP David Kilgour also sent a message that was read to the crowd. While regretting that he was unable to attend, Kilgour said that Mao was responsible for slaughtering millions of Chinese citizens and for invading Tibet. He said that standing up for oppressed people represents the finest of Canadian values.
Lobsang, who was born in Tibet and escaped his home country by walking through the mountains for 23 days, was there to show solidarity with the people of Tibet who are "dying under Chinese rule."
"In Lhasa the Chinese military are going door-to-door to search for Tibetans who took part in the demonstrations and they're arresting innocent people."
Even someone who is visiting and not known to the locals is seen as an insurgent and is arrested. With phone lines down and the Internet blocked, Lobsang has been unable to receive any news about his family back home.
"We tried to call our families and our friends but we cannot get through," he said.
Lobsang was wearing a t-shirt showing four pictures of people who had been killed in the recent unrest, one of them a young woman. The number of people killed by Chinese troops is thought to be about 100, although free Tibet supporters believe it to be much higher.
Christian Huot, a non-Tibetan supporter, said he liked the proposed action of boycotting the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in August.
"It's not penalizing the athletes and it's sending a clear message about what we think about what's going on in China and would be very meaningful."
The group, some in traditional Tibetan clothing and with prayer beads strung from their waists, marched from Parliament Hill to the UN office where they handed over a letter asking the U.N. to send a fact finding mission to Tibet. The letter was accepted by an unnamed representative who said, "it would be sent to the UN High Commissioner."
From there the march continued on to the Chinese embassy where the group chanted slogans, held placards, and waved the Tibetan flag. Their message was that Tibetans are no longer going to just passively accept "everything that the Chinese government is handing out."
"We want Canada to pressure the Chinese government to have a dialogue with a representative of his Holiness, or directly with his Holiness, to resolve this problem immediately," said Lobsang.
However, Beijing has made it difficult for such a dialogue to occur. "Before they will speak with the Dalai Lama he has to say that he recognizes that Tibet is part of China, that Taiwan belongs to China. Tibet has never been a part of China so this precondition is unacceptable."
He went on to say that although Canada is on the record as having asked China to be lenient and non-violent with the demonstrators, Lobsang did not feel that China was likely to listen.
"Whenever there is any public outcry the Chinese send thousands of soldiers to keep people in line. If they were going to be lenient they wouldn't need tanks and soldiers to talk with unarmed demonstrators."
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