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Tibet for Tibetans: Removing a Star from The PRC Flag
Speech by Thubten Jigme Norbu
June 14, 1997
The United Nations, New York City

Friends, once again, we have finished a long, difficult walk, and I can tell all of you that your efforts have been of great importance in bringing the cause of Tibet's Independence to the attention of increasing numbers of people. We have received praise and honor from many along the path of our march. In particular, we must express our gratitude to the delegation from the Tuscarora, Onadaga, and Seneca Native American Nations which expressed their solidarity with our cause. We pray for your peace and the justice that your Nations deserve. I also want to thank the officials and people of Monroe County, New York, who proclaimed "Tibetan Independence Week" in honor of our delegation as it passed through Rochester. There is now a Tibet Flag flying permanently in Rochester.

Additionally, I want to thank the many people who honked their horn while we walked and displayed the peace sign. This was very encouraging. I must acknowledge the wide variety of religious groups that provided us with housing and food as well. I cannot say enough about how inspired I felt by your support.

Most importantly, I am deeply grateful for the people who walked with me from Toronto, those of you who walked for a day or week, the organizers of this march, and the over 70 international organizations that have co-sponsored this march. Please raise your hands and can everyone else show your appreciation for these dedicated independence fighters? Thank you especially Julie, Kato, Tempa, Pema, Kamchok, Namcho, Chong-Hi, Kaye, Dadon, and Tenzin Tashi. We did it!

Our walkers not only endured the conditions of the path, they also weathered sharp attacks from an organized group of PRC students and faculty at the State University of New York at Binghamton. With great forbearance, our walkers stood firm in the justice of their position and successfully demonstrated to everyone present, the fundamental strategy and motivation behind their desire for Tibet's independence. I am extremely proud of our walkers, in that, they did not show the Chinese hatred or racism. Instead, they displayed compassion, wisdom, a desire for justice, and concern for Tibetans who are languishing in PRC prisons and undergoing extreme tortures. I specifically want to acknowledge my appreciation for Dadon who led the excellent dialogue with the PRC representatives and even showed them that she could meet on their terms by speaking Chinese.

Now that we are at the end of our third march, I want to remind you, as I did last year, about the reasons for our presence here today. Over 30 years ago, the Tibet Question was put on the United Nation's agenda as one of the most pressing cases of injustice in the world. The International Commission of Justices, which acts in an advisory capacity to the UN, went so far as to call what had been happening in Tibet, genocide. In recent years, the importance of the Tibet question to world peace and human dignity has become a central element in the changing vision of our world. This was made quite clear when the Nobel Peace Prize Committee decided to award the 1989 prize to His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama, in recognition of His efforts for peace, and His non-violent struggle to win the liberation of Tibet. By being here today, you are helping to remind the world about the dramatic and tragic events of China's invasion of Tibet, as well as Tibet's valiant attempts in the 1950s and 1960s and up to the present to curtail China's tyranny.

Sadly, China continues to demonstrate even the most minimal respect for human rights in Tibet. Reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the U.S. State Department make this abundantly clear. During the last two years, China has illegally detained the 8 year old Panchen Lama, Gendhun Choekyi Nyima; a child whose only crime is to be venerated by all Tibetan Buddhists! I cannot begin to share with you the concern I feel for the young Panchen Lama. His situation strengthens my conviction to fight for Tibet's independence before nothing is left of our culture, religion, and country. Please continue to speak loudly for Gendhun Choekyi Nyima's release.

In the last few weeks, China has intensified its illegal repression of Tibetan religion by arresting the monk whose training and preparation led him to the discovery of the Panchen Lama. Chadrel Rinpoche, from the Panchen Lama's monastery of Tashilhunpo, is now the latest Tibetan victim to China's tyranny in Tibet.

It is our obligation as Tibetans, as Tibet supporters, and as simple human beings, to call upon the United Nations to ACT NOW to resolve the crisis in Tibet. We must insist that the UN make a concerted effort to rectify what is perhaps the gravest and longest running tragedy of the post-war world. Therefore, we demand that the United Nations take the following action immediately:

1. Send UN investigators to Tibet to examine in detail the human rights situation.
2. Publicly and strongly condemn all violations of relevant articles of the International Declaration of Human Rights that are found in Tibet.
3. Grant observer status to the Tibetan Government-In-Exile headed by His Holiness The Dalai Lama and allow His Holiness to address the UN General Assembly.
4. Require that China release the world's youngest political prisoner, Gendhun Choekyi Nyima and His family, along with Chadrel Rinpoche and others involved in the discovery of The Panchen Lama. Additionally, guarantee the safety of these individuals.
5. Stop the transfer of Chinese citizens to Tibet.
6. Implement all UN adopted resolutions on Tibet.

The suffering in Tibet must be brought to an end now. Finally, we demand that the United Nations begin serious investigations into the conditions in other countries illegally occuppied by The PRC Empire, specifically the countries of Southern Mongolia and Eastern Turkistan. In addition, let us not forget the people of Taiwan, who have been struggling for five decades for the right to determine their own future. Although the government of Taiwan has made strides toward democracy over the last several years, this government must allow the people of Taiwan to freely decide on their political future. And, it is my hope that Taiwan as well as Southern Mongolia and Eastern Turkistan are someday independent.

Let me once more thank all of you who have joined us here today for lending your voices to this effort. As I have said before, I will walk until Tibet is independent; you can be certain of this. In fact, next year I am thinking about walking in Europe or the Westcoast of the United States. Those are my plans. What are your plans? I want to encourage all of you to plan similar walks. Imagine if we all walked in different parts of the United States and Europe, Taiwan, Japan, and India at the same time! I strongly request that you seriously consider planning your own walks for next year. A great deal can definitely be accomplished through walking. We must all work much harder, especially we Tibetans. We Tibetans must accept our responsibility to fight for our country. There is no excuse.

Now, I will perform a task that I have anticipated for months. I perform this task with no anger, hatred, or revenge. I simply want to tell the truth and symbolically demonstrate my commitment to justice, compassion, and non-violence. Many of you have heard me say, "Tibet belongs to Tibetans," and "Tibet has never been part of China." As I cut a star out of The PRC flag, I do so with these beliefs in mind. Moreover, as I remove a star from this flag, I ask all of you to be very mindful of our brothers and sisters in Tibet who currently live under the oppression of this flag and who have a similar desire to remove this star. Lastly, I want you to think about the 1.2 million Tibetans who have died fighting to remove this star. Their red blood and that of our Mongolian, Turkistani, and Manchurian brothers and sisters can be easily seen in the background of this flag. Please join me in your mind and heart as I cut this star.

BOD RGYAL-LO!

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