OLYMPICS-SWITZERLAND/PROTEST Tibetan activists in Lausanne protest Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics bid

Record ID: 150811

  • Title: OLYMPICS-SWITZERLAND/PROTEST Tibetan activists in Lausanne protest Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics bid
  • Date: 11th June 2015
  • Summary: CONFERENCE ROOM WHERE BEIJING WAS PRESENTING ITS 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC BID VARIOUS OF TIBETAN ACTIVIST BEING EXPELLED BY HOTEL SECURITY STAFF FROM PRESENTATION
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Switzerland
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8IUMRL082QABJGJO2USPE709X
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A handful of young Tibetan activists on Wednesday (June 10) disrupted the presentation in Lausanne of the Winter Olympic bid Beijing was holding in a five-star hotel in the centre of the Swiss city, home of the International Olympic Committee.
    The activists from the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe deployed in front of the hotel a banner reading "No more bloody Games", chanted and sang, and mimed a play featuring a young woman wearing a Chinese military uniform trying to silence a young Tibetan woman.
    Accompanied by a Tibetan monk, Golog Jigme, who fled China in 2008 after being jailed and tortured for the making of a documentary on the 2008 Summer Olympic in Beijing, the activists were prevented from entering the hotel by the security staff, quickly joined by the Swiss police.
    A Tibetan Youth Association in Europe representative introduced Jigme to onlookers.
    "This man here that you see in front of you, he was tortured, and he was arrested, like thousands many other Tibetans during the Olympic Games in 2008", Migmar Dhakel shouted.
    "The IOC, the president of the IOC, has to take responsibility for the Tibetan people's plights. We are also citizens of this world, and we also deserve equal rights, there are no human rights in Tibet, there are no human rights in China, and the IOC cannot, cannot reward the Olympic Games to China again. China is a dictatorial government, China is violating our rights", she said.
    Activists say China has violently tried to stamp out religious freedom and culture in Tibet, which remains under heavy security. China rejects the criticism, saying its rule has ended serfdom and brought development to a backward region.
    One activist managed to get into the room where Beijing was presenting its bid to the media but was immediately ejected. Another activist who had entered the lobby of the hotel at the same time was taken away by the Swiss police.
    Chinese troops marched into Tibet in 1950. 2015 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region.
    Beijing is competing with the Kazakh town of Almaty for the organization of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The IOC is to reveal the name of the winning city in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31.
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