Our #dissentinghero of the week, Dorjee Tashi, popularly known as Dorjee Rangzen is a human rights activist. He has participated in a number of peaceful protests. In 2013, he was imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to publicly express his opinion.
“I was sent to Tihar jail in Delhi for staging a protest against the Chinese leader’s visit to India. When I got released from prison, I received the news that my father had passed away in Tibet. I will never forget that moment because I never had the opportunity to meet my parents.”
Dorjee Tashi is a member of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress in Delhi and is involved in many community service activities for many years.
“We protest because there is no respect for international standards for human rights [in Tibet] and no truth and justice for Tibetans under the oppression of the Communist Party of China. My brother had taken part in the 2008 uprising in Tibet. Like him, there are many Tibetan martyrs who self-immolated and had been subjected to severe torture by Chinese authorities. We protest to let the international community know that there is no justice for our people and that Tibet become independent and our people enjoy human rights.”
Dorjee Tashi joins the #whyprotest campaign to call on China to immediately
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End policies and practices that are incompatible with international human rights standards on the right to peaceful assembly;
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Repeal policy of resorting to lethal force to suppress and detain peaceful protesters;
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Punish government officers responsible for arbitrary detention and torture of peaceful protesters;
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Ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Convention on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance;
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Invite UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association to assess the current state of freedom of peaceful assembly in Tibet.
The #WhyProtest campaign, launched by TCHRD on 3 May to highlight freedom of expression, shines light on the brave and inspiring stories of peaceful protesters that will tear through the cloak of coronavirus pandemic used by China to hide escalating repression and persecution of peaceful dissent in Tibet.
During the months leading up to this year’s International Human Rights Day on 10 December, the campaign will feature messages of hope, inspiration, and defiance from 30 activists and human rights defenders.
Join the #WhyProtest Campaign by sharing our digital campaign messages on your timeline or your stories of defending the right to protest and why the freedom to dissent matters to you. If interested, write to Ms Tenzin Dawa for further information: [email protected].