By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, May 9: Around 600 Tibetans in Sydney, Australia on Monday conducted a peace rally in front of the Chinese Embassy, to protest against China’s campaign to malign the reputation of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
Weeks after an edited video of an interaction between the Dalai Lama and a young Indian boy went viral attracting global backlash, Tibetans say that the innocent incident has been misinterpreted and used by the Chinese government for a smear campaign against the Tibetan leader. Tibetans across the world accused the Chinese government of orchestrating the campaign and media houses of blatantly sensationalising the incident.
Tibetans in Sydney had their heads shaved in front of the Chinese Embassy on Monday to express grief and anguish that they felt seeing their spiritual leader’s character and intentions questioned. Around 8 Tibetans, wearing their national attire, holding their national flag, sat in the middle of the embassy’s main ceremonial thoroughfare. “Today I am shaving my hair as a peaceful protest to demand truth,” one of the demonstrators chanted before other volunteers stepped forward to shave their hair off. “Cutting our hair is a peaceful expression of our grief, and sorrow and to pursue truth-telling and we remain distraught that Australian journalists have not asked for our perspectives,” their statement read.
“We apply the same ritual when our loved ones- parents, spouses and children are threatened. The Dalai Lama is not only our spiritual leader but also our teacher and parent who has shown immense love to Tibetans and people from all backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, sex and age,” their statement further stated.
Earlier, Tibetan protesters called out an Australian comedian Lewis Spears in Melbourne on April 18 after he made crude remarks against the Dalai Lama during his stand-up bit. “Your stupid joke hurts the sentiments of seven million Tibetan” a placard carried by a protestor read.
