Over 1200 German towns raise Tibet flag, France working on Tibet resolution

Tibetans and supporters mark the 54th Tibetan National Uprising Day near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on March 10, 2013. DHARAMSHALA, March 11: The Tibetan national flag was raised in more than 1200 German cities and towns on Sunday to mark the 54th Tibetan National Uprising Day. Tibet advocacy group, Tibet Initiative Deutschland, in a release today said that Tibet demonstrations were also carried out in more than 20 cities all over Germany. 1236 German cities, municipalities and counties, including the regional capitals Bremen, Hannover, Magdeburg, Potsdam Saarbrücken, Stuttgart, and Wiesbaden raised the Tibetan Flag at town halls, public buildings and on their websites, the group said. In the national capital Berlin, a demonstration and a ‘Tibetan Flag-Performance’ was held in front of the Chinese embassy. “All over the world the Tibetan flag stands as a symbol for the Tibetan right of self-determination,” said TID-Executive Director Nadine Baumann. “In Tibet even owning the flag is prohibited and will be punished.” In Paris, the capital city of France, hundreds of Tibetans and supporters, including French, Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese, together marked the 54th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day. The event began at the Place de Trocadero, where homage was paid to all those Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives for Tibet, including the 107 self-immolators who set themselves on fire protesting China’s rule. In his address, Jean Patrcik Gilles, a member of the French National Assembly and a co-president of the Tibet Group in the assembly, reiterated his support for the cause of Tibet and underlined the importance of dialogue for a durable solution of the Tibetan issue. Tibetans and supporters raise the Tibetan flag outside the Chinese embassy in Berlin, Germany on March 10, 2013. He told the gathering that the Tibet Group would be meeting French President Francois Hollande before the President’s scheduled visit to China to urge him to press the Chinese leadership to enter into constructive dialogue with the Tibetan leadership. Gilles also said the Group is working on a parliamentary resolution on Tibet and a possibility to send a parliamentary delegation to Dharamshala, the exile Tibetan headquarters in India. Later, a protest march was held in front of the Chinese embassy during which demonstrators called for resumption of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue process and demanded unfettered access to international media and diplomats to assess the ground situation inside Tibet.