Canberra: On Thursday, 23 March members of Australia’s Tibetan communities of Canberra, Sydney and Nowra gathered on the lawns of the Australian Parliament House to protest the visit by Premier Li Keqiang who is on a five-day visit to Australia.
Tibetans, all dressed in black, carried Tibetan National Flags and placards and shouted slogans calling for freedom in Tibet, “Human Rights in Tibet”, “Stop the Repression in Tibet” and more. It was a very emotionally charged protest as many of the protesters were former political prisoners in Tibet who had suffered imprisonment and torture in Tibet.
There were about 1500 Tibetans living in Australia with the largest community in Sydney.
The Co-Chair of the All Party Australian Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, Hon Michael Danby MP addressed the protesters to show his solidarity with Tibetans. Senator Lisa Singh who recently visited Dharamshala and Senator Scott Ludlum both spoke of their support for the peaceful protests.
The President of the Canberra Tibetan Community, Ms Choedon spoke to the media and said that the Australian Government must raise the issue of human rights in Tibet with Premier Li Keqiang.
The previous evening, members of the local Tibetan community waited for hours outside the hotel for Li Keqiang’s arrival and shouted slogans when he entered the hotel from the back entrance. The Tibetans were very loud in their protest and made sure that their voices on behalf of the Tibetans inside Tibet were heard.
Mr Kelsang Gyaltsen, who is also a former political prisoner and currently CLO of Tibet Information Office, gave a brief speech in the Chinese language. Interestingly, in the beginning, the Chinese students listened carefully but soon Chinese students created enough noise to block the other Chinese listeners.
-Report filed by Office of Tibet, Canberra-
Members of Australia’s Tibetan communities of Canberra, Sydney and Nowra protesting during the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
During the protest.