Paris [France]: Six Tibetan community associations including Students for Free Tibet (SFT); Tibetan Youth Congress, France; U-Tsang Association, France; Chushi Gangdruk; Domey Association, France; and Tibetan Community Association, jointly organized a protest demonstration in Paris on November 20 to campaign against the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The main speaker at the demonstration was Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan filmmaker and a former political prisoner, who is on a 22 country tour to request politicians, journalists and the citizens to boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympic games. During the speech, he narrated his own experience as a political prisoner in China and the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet. During his tour, Wangchen will be recording video messages from people around the world and submitting the same to International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the end of his tour. Wangchen arrived in Paris on Wednesday where he was received by the President of Tibetan Community, SFT and the other Tibetan Associations at Gare du Nord railways station, reported the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). During his Paris visit, Wangchen is scheduled to have separate meetings with Francois Vauglin, Mayor of Paris 11, Jean-Luc Romero-Michel, Deputy Mayor of Paris, Raphael Glucksmann, European Member of Parliament, and senators and deputies of the Tibet support. SFT France will be coordinating Wangchen’s Paris tour between November 18 and 23, 2021. As per the scheduled programme, he will meet journalists, politicians, and individuals to narrate his personal experience of the suffering of Chinese prisoners and the suffering of Tibetan people inside Tibet in the aftermath of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, hoping that his narrative and emotional experience will bring Tibet to the forefronts at the 2022 Beijing Olympic games, reported CTA. Although, the Chinese government has won the right to host the 2008 Olympics with pledges to improve its human rights performance in line with Olympic ideals. However, the promises were never met, rather the human rights situation continued to deteriorate in Tibet. He will also be telecasting his film “Leaving Fear Behind” to the Tibetan people and narrating the experience and suffering he underwent making this film. He will be recording video statements from individuals, journalists, politicians and others during his tour. The videos will be later compiled and handed over to the International Olympic Committee at the end of this tour, reported CTA.
