by Erkin Alptekin

Berlin

12 March, 2005

Ladies and gentlemen and my dear Tibetan Brothers and Sisters,

My humble self and my countrymen are here today to commemorate with you the 46th Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising.

We are here to demonstrate our solidarity with the Tibetan people, because our solidarity abroad will strengthen the unity of our peoples at home.

We are here to demonstrate to the world in general that when human beings are slaughtering each other because of their ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds, the Uyghurs and the Tibetans, who have different ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds, can establish brotherly and sisterly relations, help, assist and support each others cause.

We are here to pray with you for the souls of tens of thousands of Tibetan men, women and children slaughtered during that National Uprising. This uprising was the best proof that the Tibetan people never accepted the occupation, colonization and domination of China right from the beginning.

We are here to remind ourselves that the souls of our martyrs will never rest in peace unless we accomplish what they have started.

We are here to demand from the Chinese leadership to stop using the war on international terrorism as an excuse to persecute, arrest, torture and execute Uyghurs, Tibetans and Chinese dissidents.

We are here to appeal to the Chinese leadership to release all political prisoners including Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a well known and much respected Tibetan Buddhist Lama and Rabiye Kadir, a prominent Uyghur businesswoman.

We are here to call upon the Chinese leadership that they must understand the fact that peoples’ will to live in dignity, cannot be silenced through ruthless measures.

We are here to remind the Chinese leadership that respect for human rights is an essential element in conflict prevention and dialogue is the foundation for better understanding, cooperation and coexistence.

We are also here to appeal to the EU and its member states not to lift the weapons sales embargo on China, because an end to the arms embargo cannot be justified without significant improvement of human rights in Eastern Turkestan, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and in China in general.

As President Bush recently stated, EU will certainly give the wrong message to the Chinese leadership if they would lift the arms sales embargo to China.

Finally ladies and gentlemen and my dear Tibetan brothers and sisters, we are here to assure you that we are not separatists or “terrorists” as the Chinese authorities claim. We, the Tibetans, the Uyghurs and the Inner Mongolians are the indigenous people in the heart of Asia, with a unique culture and history that lasted for almost two thousand years.

We are a peaceful and tolerant people who cherish democracy, human rights and self-determination. We are decent human beings who deserve the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We believe with the support of freedom loving peoples around the world, the Tibetans, the Uyghurs and the Inner Mongolians will eventually live in a democratic country where their human rights and religious freedom will be guaranteed.