Bay Area March 10, 2004 Report
By Giovanni Vassallo
Tibetans and Tibet support groups observed the forty-fifth Tibetan National Uprising Day on March 10th 2004, at Berkeley City Hall, San Francisco City Hall, the Chinese Consulate of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco, and at Union Square, in San Francisco's financial district. Bay Area Friends of Tibet (BAFoT), the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC), the San Francisco Tibetan Youth Congress (SFRTYC), Tibet Justice Center (TJC), the Committee of 100 for Tibet, (C100), and the Tibetan Nuns Project (TNP) sponsored the commemorations. Chimmy Gonpo, President of TANC, took the charge of the Berkeley program, and Giovanni Vassallo, President of BAFoT, took charge of the San Francisco events.
Berkeley
The day's schedule started in Berkeley where Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Berkeley Councilmember
Kriss Worthington participated in a Tibetan Flag raising ceremony attended by about 150 people,
mostly Tibetans. Mayor Bates spoke after the Tibetan flag was hoisted to Tibetan tunes. We sang
the Tibetan National Anthem, and the Dhen-Tsik Monlam prayer chant, and Chimmy Gonpo thanked the
participants.
San Francisco City Hall
Nearly 500 Tibetans and Tibet supporters then gathered in record-breaking heat at the San
Francisco's City Hall main steps starting at 11am. His Holiness the Dalai Lama's March 10th
Statement was read just prior to noon, which was the official starting time of the San Francisco
program. Tsewang Chozom, a BAFoT board member, read the statement in Chinese in an effort to
reach out to members of the Chinese-speaking public present. Chinese, Taiwanese, Tibetans,
Burmese, Vietnamese, and other Americans filled the crowd. Monks of the Gyuto Tibetan Vajrayana
Center of San Jose began by leading prayers, which were then followed by the Mimang Langlu song.
We listened to a statement by San Francisco Board of Supervisors, President, Matt Gonzalez, read
by Giovanni Vassallo. In the statement, Gonzalez wrote that he hopes "that our local Chinese
community will take time to meet Bay Area Tibetans and supporters to exchange frank and friendly
views for the benefit of understanding one another and moving the Tibet-China dialogue forward."
The signed statement also called upon the China not to use the war on terror as an excuse to
repress its own cultural, religious, or ethnic minorities. Additionally, he urged China to
revisit the case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche in "an open and just trial." Chris Daly, also a member
of San Francisco Board of Supervisors, also spoke and encouraged similar themes.
We then listened to US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's statement read by Dan Bernal, her Deputy
District Director. Mr. Bernal repeated Pelosi's statement, which included, "Tibetans are
routinely imprisoned and tortured for non-violently expressing their views. Beatings,
prolonged exposure to extreme heat and cold, electroshock, sleep and food deprivation, and
forced labor are among the techniques used to torture Tibetan prisoners"
Pelosi wrote, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the key to peace and stability in Tibet. Envoys
of the Dalai Lama have traveled to China and Tibet twice in the past year to continue
discussions with Chinese authorities for a permanent negotiated settlement. It is time for
the Chinese government to re-assess its hard-line stance toward Tibet and take a step forward
into a modern, open and free society."
She also wrote, "The survival of the Tibetan identity is an issue of urgent U.S. and
international concern. If we are not committed to meeting the challenge of Tibet, we cannot be
consistent when we talk about human rights in any other place in the world.
The crowd applauded after Mr. Bernal read her concluding remarks, "As we honor the brave and
heroic Tibetan people, we must heed the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is a
constant reminder that the crisis in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world.
Please be assured I will continue to support the aspirations of the Tibetan people to
preserve their heritage and regain their freedom."
Former BAFoT President Diane Hume then read a statement by S.T. Day, Chairman of the
Tibet-Taiwan Exchange Foundation associated with the Taiwanese government. Chairman Day
wrote that the "Taiwanese people understand most their determination for defending their
country, and will continue to support Tibetans' struggle for human rights and freedoms."
Author Peter Gold spoke about the need to cherish and protect the Tibetan identity. Then
Xiao Qiang, former Executive Director of Human Rights in China spoke. "I can tell you are
really reaching out to your Chinese brothers and sisters," he remarked, noting that many
of the protest signs in the crowd were also written the Chinese language. Former Chairman
of the Kashag, the Cabinet of His Holiness Dalai Lama's Tibetan government-in-exile, Tenzin
Tethong spoke in both Tibetan and English. Chimmy Gonpo spoke about the sadness he felt
about the extreme poverty in Tibet he had witnessed in his recent trip to Tibet. The last
speaker, Topden Tsering of RTYC then spoke. By that time, large parts of the crowd formation
had managed to conform to the shaded areas on each side of the steps. Chants such as "Free
Tibet," "Free Tenzin Delek Rinpoche," "Free the Panchen Lama," "Hear Tibet,"
"Self-Determination for Tibet," Human Rights in China and Tibet" roared through the crowd
as this segment concluded.
Chinese Consulate
The group procession headed toward the Chinese Consulate at Laguna and Geary Streets at about
1:15 p.m. We arrived at the Chinese Consulate at about 2:00 pm singing, praying, and
demonstrating. Many Tibetans and supporters shouted, "Free Tibet," "Shame on China," and
different slogans.
Again, Tsewang Chozom read His Holiness's March 10 Statement in Chinese. Rocky Liu, community
organizer for Taiwanese-Americans then spoke. He called upon the Chinese government to respect
fundamental Tibetan and Taiwanese human rights.
We listened to special guest speakers, Heidi Basch and Margery Farrar, Special Human Rights
Representatives of US Congressman Tom Lantos's office. In her speech, Ms. Farrar noted that
there were areas that both Tibetans and Chinese could cooperate. She repeatedly praised
Tashi Tsering, a Tibetan who works as an environmental specialist at the Berkeley-based
Tibet Justice Center. She highly commended his efforts in working to resolve environmental
issues of mutual concern to both Tibetans and the Chinese people. She encouraged the
gathering to read Tsering's report and, "to take it home, and to make school books with it."
She noted that very likely there were Chinese consular officials inside the consulate who
cared very deeply about Tibet's environment. She also called upon the Tibetan and Tibet
support group communities to protest more often at the Chinese consulate. "There were
eight hundred people gathered at the Losar," she noted. There should have been at least
that many of us here today. She encouraged us that we could act to change the situations
in Tibet and China.
Minnie Cancellero, Executive Director of Tibet Justice Center, then spoke, followed by a
speech by Mr. Vassallo. The crowd then dispersed with many still planning to attend further
commemoration events which was planned to include another demonstration at Union Square, a
candlelight vigil and march from there, and to end with a final demonstration at Portsmouth
Square, in the heart of Chinatown.
Union Square
Later that evening, around three hundred fifty people including Tibetans, Burmese, and
Westerners gathered at Union Square, located in San Francisco's financial district.
The Gyuto monks again began the demonstration with prayers. Tibetan opera singer Nyima
Gyalpo led the Mimang Langlu song. Mr. Vassallo repeated Supervisor Gonzalez's and Chairman
Day's statements. Then, Victor Win, Vice-President of the Burmese American Democratic
Alliance (BADA) spoke about working together to advance Tibetan and Burmese democracy
and human rights. Pema Chhinjor, who lost his brother and other family members during
the 1959 uprising, and is the former Security Minister of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's
government-in-exile, also spoke. Mr. Gonpo then addressed the crowd in Tibetan and again
the last speaker was the RTYC leader, Topden Tsering.
Mr. Vassallo then informed the gathering that the planned march through Chinatown and the
demonstration at Portsmouth square had been canceled due to last minute objections raised
by some senior members of the Bay Area Tibetan community led by the TANC president. They
ranged from concerns about unduly annoying San Francisco's Chinatown residents to concerns
about any possible confrontation between Chinese and Tibetan youth. Despite repeated
assurances to the contrary by Mr. Vassallo, the chief organizer, and an additional assurance
from a San Francisco police sergeant in charge of the pending march's security, that any
confrontation was of the slimmest possibility, the journey to Chinatown had evidently
proved too much to ask on this emotional anniversary commemoration of Tibet's worst tragedy.
A candlelight vigil followed for Tibet's fallen heroes. The square was light up by numerous
candles as the Gyuto monks again prayed and performed multi-phonic Buddhist chants. The sound
of the monks chanting "OM MANI PADME HUM" the mantra of Tibet's patron bodhisattva, Chenresig,
repeatedly filled the square as we wept and prayed for Tibetans and world peace. Nyima Gyalpo
led us in the Dhen-Tsik Monlam prayer and the Tibetan National Anthem. Slogans calling for
Tibet's freedom were again chanted. After thanking the many volunteers of the day's events
and announcing the conclusion, Mr. Vassallo reminded the gathering that, "the dream and a hope
of Free Tibet remains with you." The crowd gradually dispersed.
That night, there was an extensive segment about Tibet and Uprising Day on KTSF, the local
Chinese news station, viewed regularly by millions in the San Francisco Bay Area. It gave
extensive coverage of the demonstration, showed clips of the movie "Tibet: Cry of the Snow
Lion," and gave much footage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It also included interviews with
our San Francisco speakers, Topden Tsering, Xiao Qiang, and Rocky Liu, thus directly addressed
China's three "terrible T's:" Tibet, Tiananmen, and Taiwan.