Chiang Mai holds pro-Tibet rally

The recent protests by Tibetans in their capital Lhasa and exiled Tibetans in Nepal and India have made worldwide headlines this week, and Chiang Mai held its own support rally last week to show solidarity.

The protests by Tibetans in Lhasa who want restored independence for their country from China have been met by cruelty and brutality by occupying Chinese authorities, which has outraged many around the world, and 100 people in Chiang Mai marched on the Chinese consulate on Chang Loh Road to show their disgust at the violence against the protesters in Tibet and also in Nepal.

Arranged by ‘Action Group for Peace,’ the demonstrators in Northern Thailand felt particularly strong about the situation after a brutal crackdown on monk’s protests last year in neighbouring Burma. There were about 20 foreigners in the protests, with the rest being Thai.

A spokesman says, “We strongly condemn the killings and arrests of Tibetan demonstrators by the Chinese Authorities in Lhasa and other parts of Tibet since March 10, 2008. The widespread demonstrations are the result of decades of systematic oppression by the Chinese government of the Tibetan people. The Tibetans’ grievances and demands for self-determination must be addressed through political dialogue, not by force and further oppression.�