ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

(photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang)

By: Yeshe Choesang, WN Correspondent | A candlelight vigil was held in Dharamshala 10 March in the evening to commemorate Tibetan Uprising Day, during which several prominent Chinese and South Tyrol, Italian delegates condemned the Chinese government's behavior in Tibet and openly gave Tibet and Tibetans their sincere support.

Support such as this, coming from both the Chinese and Italian delegates, comes at a time when the Tibetan community needs it the most. After 50 years in exile, global involvement is crucial to furthering the Tibet cause and bringing the Chinese government's blatant violations of human rights to the attention of the world.

After the crowd had filtered into the Central Tibetan Temple - following a march from the bus stop in McLeod Ganj down Temple Road - the speeches commenced by prominent global figures such as Mr. Gunther Cologna, president of the Italy-Tibet Association. "I see our main role in being a Tibetan lobbyist with our governments, with our media in out country, and with out public opinion. We try to keep the attention on the Tibet issue and we try to keep the interest going on the Tibet issue. Otherwise there is a danger that people will just forget about it." Cologne said in interview after the crowd dispersed.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Cologna attended a conference with His Holiness and Tibetan Parliament Members, along with nine members of parliament from autonomous region, South Tyrol, and Italy. They discussed the future of Tibet and the logistics of gaining autonomy in the future, using South Tyrol as an example of success as an autonomous region. "The idea, of course, for us is to stop the Chinese from saying Tibetans are just using autonomy as a cover-up ... There are many autonomous regions in the world, and they function perfectly as nation states - we could show that this could also be possible in China."

In response to the Chinese Foreign Minister, Yan Jie Chi's allegation that any county that hosts His Holiness is engaging in separatist activities, Cologna fervently denounces the remark. "I think [Yan Jie Chi] has also been saying recently, since His Holiness was in Italy four weeks ago, that this is an offense to the Chinese people. We are saying this is an offense to our intelligence when they keep telling us that the Dalai Lama's a separatist and the Dalai Lama tells lies."

This is not Mr. Cologna's first visit to Dharamsala, nor is his espousal limited to speeches at public gatherings - Cologna has made immense contributions to the "lively NGO culture" in Dharamsala and continues to support the growth of organizations, new and old, in the future.

"...We always emphasize that Tibetan society is a democratic society ... it shows with the organizations. That's important also - to counter the Chinese propaganda that Tibetan society is a feudal society, a society of serfs and slaves and all that ... to show that you are a democratic society, that the aim is not to restore a theocratic kingdom in Tibet, but that you're a democratic society."

Cologna specifically cited The Tibet Post and Phayul as two of his primary sources for news in his homeland, and stressed the importance of such news agencies in Dharamsala. "We get the things from you - that's how it works. We get them from you, we pass them on to the media there, and that way we can influence public opinion and then we can put pressure on our politicians to do something to protest China .. We can put pressure on our representatives in parliament in the government and so on. So, it is very important for things to work, because if we don't know what's happening then we cannot ... use it as a lever for our work."

While Mr. Cologna stressed the responsibility of the global community to take action for Tibet, he also encouraged members of the community to continue being active and voicing their opinions in exile at a press conference this morning: "Young Tibetans are more feisty in claiming their rights, and fighting for their rights, and giving a forceful energy to the demonstrations ... [it shows us] how much the Tibetan struggle is alive and how determined you are to fight for your rights."

Referring to the vigil that took place last night, he was confident in the fact that, "the same thing [was happening] in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, England, and many other countries." It is evident that Cologna and his fellow delegates - from Italy and China alike - voice the opinion of Tibet supporters all over the world.