Our dissenting hero of this week, Tenzin Migmar, believes it is his responsibility as a Tibetan being born in a free country to exercise his right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression because Tibetans inside Tibet do not enjoy these rights.
As a long time member of the Dharamshala Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC), Migmar has participated in numerous protests around Dharamshala elevating the voices of Tibetans inside Tibet.
“Whenever I take part in a protest, I always feel that today is the time to do it for my country. For us, whenever we protest, we can easily return to our homes in the evening but the Tibetans who stage protests inside Tibet carry the risk of not being able to return to their home like us. With this thought in mind, I protest!”
Tenzin Migmar joins the #WhyProtest campaign to call on China to immediately
· End policies and practices that are incompatible with international human rights standards on the right to peaceful assembly;
· Repeal policy of resorting to lethal force to suppress and detain peaceful protesters;
· Punish government officers responsible for arbitrary detention and torture of peaceful protesters;
· Ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Convention on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance;
· 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 Tibetan 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]