Under Secretary Phuntsok Topgyal from the Tibet Bureau in Geneva speaking during the protest.
As the 55th session of the Human Rights Council began yesterday in Geneva, around 45 members of the Tibetan community of Switzerland and Liechtenstein held a peaceful protest before the Palace of Nations to call for an immediate halt to the recent clampdown in Tibet’s Derge county.
The protest was joined by Jacques Arnal, a member of the Swiss-Tibetan Friendship Association’s board of directors, along with former Tibetan Parliamentarian Ngawang Gyaltsen Gangshongtsang, Under Secretary Phuntsok Topgyal and Tenzin Choesang from the Tibet Bureau in Geneva, and President and executive members of the Swiss and Liechtenstein Tibetan Community Association.
Karma Choekyi, President of the Swiss and Liechtenstein Tibetan Community Association, delivered an opening remark following a singing of the Tibetan National Anthem and mourning for the sacrifices made by Tibetan martyrs. She read the petition letter forwarded to the United Nations and held a press release during the protest.
Thereafter, Jacques Arnal gave a talk in English to the gathering on behalf of the Swiss-Tibet Friendship Association.
Representing the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibet Bureau, Phuntsok Topgyal highlighted the detention of more than 1000 Tibetans in Derge in his address. He said, “Monks and local Tibetan people were arrested after they appealed to the Chinese government to stop the dam construction project and forced relocation of Tibetans. We urge the Chinese government to stop the crackdown inside Tibet immediately.” He further implored the members of Tibetan Community of Switzerland and Liechtenstein to continue voluntarily campaigning against the Communist Party of China’s repression until the Tibet-China conflict was resolved.
The gathering shouted slogans and prayed before concluding the peaceful protest.
