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In his first official statement on the recent killings of Tibetans in Tibet, Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay urged Tibetans and Tibet supporters all over the world to take part in a global vigil on Wednesday, February 8.

“To demonstrate our solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet, I urge Tibetans and our friends around the world, to participate in a worldwide vigil on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. Let’s send a loud and clear message to the Chinese government that violence and killing of innocent Tibetans is unacceptable!”

Chithue Tashi Namgyal
A statement from the North America Chithue Tashi Namgyal on the Occasion of worldwide vigil for Tibet on February 8, 2012

 The world wide gathering on February 8, 2012 is to express our
prayers, sympathy, support and solidarity with our brave brothers and
sisters in Tibet. This gathering also is a strong message to the
Communist regime of Peoples Republic of China to respect the rights of
the Tibetan people.

 Since the occupation of Tibet in 1959, the Peoples Republic of China
has always imposed a strict and harsh system on the Tibetans and never
considered the wishes of the Tibetan people. The draconian measures have
led to the violation of Tibetan human rights and treating them as second
class citizens in their own land.

 The Tibetan people have suffered oppression long enough and the
Chinese government continued to pursue their double standard policy. The
recent happenings in Tibet have shown that enough is enough.

The spate of self immolation by those brave Tibetans is clear
indication to the Chinese leadership that the will of the Tibetan people
is strong as ever. Therefore, it is time for the Chinese government to
find a lasting solution to the Tibetan issue and take a lesson from the
happenings around the world. If they fail to see the writings on the
wall, the blame will be on the regime and the Chinese Communist Party.
It is my hope that better sense will prevail and that the Chinese
Government will genuinely strive for ‘harmonious society” for the
betterment of both Chinese and Tibetan in the long run as envisaged by
His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We strongly urge the Chinese Government to
respect the true feeling of the Tibetan people and lift the
martial-law-like security measure in all Tibetan areas.

 Tibet is burning and needs the help of the international community
more than ever before. The Tibetan Parliament has sent an open letter to
Chinese President Hun Jintao and urged him among other things to
“withdraw the large military presence from Tibetan areas and allow
independent, non-partisan fact finding delegations to ascertain the
ground realities”. It further urged President Hu Jintao “to resume
dialogue with the Tibetans with the commitment and conviction to seek a
lasting solution to bring about peace and stability in the whole
geo-strategic region”.

Lastly, please join me to offer our heartfelt prayers for those who
have sacrificed their life for the cause of Tibet and Tibetan people.
Also join me to say loud and clear that the sacrifice of these brave
people will not go in waste and Chinese Communist regime will have to
change.