Dharamshala, 22 August, 2012: Members of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile held a press conference in the Lhapa Tsering’s Memorial Hall, located at the Department of Information and International Relations (D.I.I.R), in order to discuss issues relating to the Flame of Truth Relay campaign.Over the last sixty years of Communist China’s occupation in Tibet, Chinese authorities not only have been trying to bleach Tibet of its culture, but also exploiting its rich natural resources, as well as imprisoning and killing many Tibetan people. Despite the oppression, Tibetans have persistently held onto their unique culture, spiritual tradition and identity, in order to struggle for the truth.
Since 2008, Chinese authorities have been cracking down hard on Tibetans and their protestors, leading to numerous deaths and countless tortures. In addition, many Tibetans have been committing acts of self-immolations in protest of Chinese’s oppression and demand for the return of His Holiness to Tibet. They want to inform the UN and international community about Tibetan people’s struggles, sorrows, and aspirations.
The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile launched the worldwide Flame of Truth Relay on 6 July, 2012, the same day and month on which the well-respected spiritual leader His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama was born. For over a month since the launch, the Torch has travelled to 48 regions in India, covering nearly a dozen states. The people of India and Tibet living in these areas actively participated in the relay and signed the appeal. The relay encourages active participation for anyone living in areas that the relay passes.
On Tibetan Democracy Day, which falls on 2nd September, 2012, the second leg of the Flame of Truth Relay will begin in North America, Europe, South-east Asia, Africa, and Australia. The relay will travel through more than 30 countries in these five continents.
The followings are the demand of the Flames of Truth Relay:
1. The United Nations must discuss the issue of Tibet based on the resolutions that it has passed in 1959, 1961 and 1965, and continuously make efforts to fulfil the substance of these resolutions
2. An independent international fact-finding delegations must immediately be sent to investigate the ongoing crisis in Tibet.
3. The United Nations must take special responsibility to ensure that the basic aspirations of the Tibetans inside Tibet are fulfilled In order to meet the terms of these demands hundreds of thousands of signatures will be
collected in different countries across the world, through which the Flame of Truth torch will travel. The historic relay will be concluded on 10 December with submission of appeal letters and signatures simultaneously to the UN Headquarters in New York City, UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and UN information office in New Delhi.
- Committee on the Flame of Truth Relay Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile
