Brussels: - Rinpo, a Tibetan from Minnesota, US has started a solitary cycling rally in Brussels, the capital of the Europe to spread awareness of action for the worsening human rights crisis in Tibet, particularly about the current wave of self-immolations in the Himalayan region.
Rinpo's solitary cycle rally started from Brussels on 17 March, 2013 and will cover more than 150 towns and cities in 13 European countries across Europe, to appeal to the European Union leaders, its member states and the people of Europe to lend a proactive support to the young and ordinary Tibetans inside Tibet, who are sacrificing their lives for the freedom of Tibetan people and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
"Since 2009, 109 Tibetans have committed self immolations inside Tibet. The messages these protesters have left behind are testaments to their motivations and aspirations of freedom for the Tibetan people and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet," Rinpo said in a statement.
"Despite appeals by the governments and international agencies such as the United Nations and the European Union to the Chinese government to show restraints in dealing with peaceful protests, the repressions do not seem to show any sign of improvement," he said.
"On the contrary, the Chinese government is increasingly repressive and blunt in their reaction to these acts of protests. Of late, the Chinese authorities have started implicating the family members and whole villages of the immolators for allegedly involved in inciting immolations. The Tibetans are living under constant fear of arrests, persecutions, tortures and even deaths.,' Rinpo added.
He said that the 'unsubstantiated propagandas are being widely publicized using various media to blame His Holiness the Dalai Lama for inciting these immolations. The overall situation inside Tibet is becoming increasingly tense and urgent. The Chinese government is hell bent upon suppressing the unrests while totally overlooking the causes of these drastic acts of protests.'
Since the Chinese government is pushing Tibetans to the limits, it is the moral responsibility of the international community to intervene in whatever way it can to stop these repressions and press the Chinese government to resolve the issue of Tibet once and for all. With this appeal from an ordinary Tibetan and on behalf of the voiceless Tibetan brothers and sisters in Tibet, He said he is fervently urging the leaders, intellectuals, students, and ordinary citizens of Europe to:
1. Urge China to review its failed hardline policies in Tibet and address the genuine grievances of the Tibetan people by resolving the issue of Tibet through dialogue.
2. Urge China to allow unfettered access to Tibet for the media, the United Nations and International fact-finding delegations to investigate and report on the real causes behind the self-immolations;
3. Finally, appeal all of you to support my initiative by signing a petition which I will submit to the leaders of European Union and its member states at the end of my campaign.
