Bristol: The usual festivities for Losar, the Tibetan New Year, have been cancelled by Tibetans around the world, and will instead be marked by acts of remembrance for those who have died and disappeared under the Chinese Occupation of their homeland.
March last year saw the largest protests in Tibet for 50 years. China’s response was swift and brutal. Today a climate of fear reigns. It is estimated that over 6000 Tibetans were detained in connection to the protests, and protesters are still being arrested today. The fate of over 1000 people remains unknown, rendering them extremely vulnerable to torture.
On Tuesday 24th February between 5 &7 pm at City Centre, one of the busiest routes in Bristol, exiled Tibetans and their supporters held a candlelight vigil.
Traditionally, Losar celebrations last up to 15 days, with major festivities occurring on the first three days. Traditional Losar celebrations include family get-together meal on New Year’s Eve, horse racing on New Year’s Day, visiting friends and relatives, as well as religious rituals to wish good luck to the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and to each other.
However the call has gone out from within Tibet itself to exiled Tibetans and supporters around the world to suspend celebrations and instead join together to remember the deaths, imprisonment and disappearances of fellow Tibetans in the uprising against China last year, and in the last 50 years of Chinese occupation.
Report by: Tej, Amnesty International, Bristol
