World Tibet Network News Thursday, March 12, 1998

Washington, March 10 (ICT) -- About 75 people gathered at the Chinese Embassy with flags, signs etc. Some prayers and chants followed the reading of HHDL statement, as well as statements of Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) and Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA). Sens. Joe Biden (D-DE) and Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) sent greetings. Text of Wolf's and Wellstone's statements follow. Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) arrived at the rally and spoke briefly in support of Congressional action on behalf of Tibet. Senator Wellstone spoke on the Senate floor, on record, about the importance of March 10 and the current situation in Tibet and Senator Moynihan read His Holiness' statement on the official Congressional record.

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The Comments of Senator Paul Wellstone - March 10, 1998

Today, March 10th 1998 is the thirty ninth anniversary of the Tibetan freedom struggle. On march 10, 1959, thirty years before the massacre at Tiananmen Square, the people of Lhasa took to the streets to protect their beloved leader, the Dalai Lama, and to defend their culture and way of life. The Chinese brutally squashed this uprising, murdering over 80,000 Tibetans.

Since then, the international community has watched in near silence as the situation in Tibet has worsened with each passing year. The Chinese government's systematic repression of the Tibetan people and their way of life is tantamount to cultural genocide. Credible reports from groups such as the International Commission of Jurists and Physicians for Human Rights indicate that in recent years, the crackdown on dissent and the flagrant abuses of human rights have intensified.

I recently had the honor of meeting with Kalsang Lhamo, a Tibetan exile living in my home state of Minnesota. Kalsang told me how her parents were both detained and tortured by the Chinese PLA when she was a child. What was their crime, the crime for which her family was torn apart? -- the possession of photographs of the Dalai Lama, their religious leader.

After watching her parents starve to death in detention and her neighbors executed, Kalsang made her way to Lhasa in search of food to sustain her younger bothers and sisters who were wasting away. There in Lhasa, Kalsang was beaten nearly to the point of death by Chinese soldiers during a demonstration. Sadly, Kalsang's story is not unusual or unique among Tibetan exiles.

On the thirty-ninth anniversary of the Tibetan freedom struggle, I would like to commend the Tibetan people, who under the leadership of the Dalai Lama, have remained steadfast in their commitment to non-violence. While in other parts of the world, individuals seeking freedom have employed any means available, including violence and terrorism, the Tibetans have not altered from the path of non violence, even while their homeland, their families, their religion, and their culture are decimated. To turn away from the Tibetan people in their hour of need, would send a message to the international community does not care about what is just.

However, at the upcoming annual meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, we have an opportunity to show our solidarity with the people of Tibet and China who are struggling for freedom. I have introduced a resolution in the Senate calling upon the Administration to raise human rights concerns about China and Tibet at the United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva this month. I am hoping to see this resolution passed before the end of this week and I am also hoping to see a serious and substantive discussion of the continued human rights violations in China and Tibet at the Commission's meeting.

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The Comments of Representative Frank Wolf - March 10, 1998

Greetings to all those gathered today to commemorate Tibetan Uprising Day -- a day to remember the 1959 Lhasa uprising and the beginning of a life in exile for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After visiting Tibet last year and seeing first-hand the brutal repression taking place against the Tibetan people, I congratulate you on your efforts today. By speaking out, you are making a difference.

Tibet is far away, difficult to access and easy to forget. Because of this, China's People's Liberation Army has been able to brutalize the Tibetan people largely in the shadows for over half a century. Their culture and their religion are being systematically destroyed. The Tibetan people are living in fear and without hope for a better life. Only be bringing attention to their plight can we make a difference and shed light on what is taking place. You are the voice of millions of Tibetans who cannot speak for themselves. I applaud you for having the courage to speak out and the vision to know that doing so will help improve the lives of the Tibetan people.

Someday, Tibet will be free. Until then, the important work of all those groups and individuals gathered here today must continue. I will help whatever way I can. You are making a difference because you are refusing to forget. Keep up the good work.

Congratulations, best wishes, and God bless you.