Himachal: Students for Free Tibet hold protest in Mcleodganj against China

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) [India], September 9 (ANI): Students for Free Tibet (SFT) on Saturday held a protest in Mcleodganj against China urging international leaders to take firm joint action against the Chinese government’s relentless attack on the child education system in Tibet. 
The activists held photo action protests and mentioned that China is attempting to eradicate Tibetans’ distinct identity in the child education system of Tibet.
Speaking to ANI, the National Director of Students for Free Tibet, Tenzin Passang said, "Right now in Tibet, the Chinese obliterated this one-point policy to erase Tibetan identity from existence and this colonial boarding school is one of them. Children as young as four years of age to 18 years are being separated from their families and forced to send into the boarding schools."

"When separated from their families, they are also separated from their language and culture. So this demand needs international attention. Chinese are replacing the names of Tibetan places and regions with Chinese names. About three months ago, the Chinese prohibited the name Tibet and replaced it with the Chinese name Xizang and this is an aim to eradicate the memory of Tibet and its usage of Tibet at the global level. We strongly condemn that and we urge the G20 leaders to break the discussions about colonial boarding schools with the Chinese leaders and condemn this colonial boarding school," she added. 
The People’s Republic of China asserts that Tibet has been a part of China since the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
In 1951 Tibetan leaders were forced to sign a treaty dictated by China. The treaty, known as the “Seventeen Point Agreement”, professes to guarantee Tibetan autonomy and to respect the Buddhist religion but also allows the establishment of Chinese civil and military headquarters at Lhasa (Tibet’s capital).
However, the Tibetan people – including Dalai Lama – consider it invalid and signed under duress.
This has often been described by the Tibetan people as a cultural genocide. In 1959, following the Tibetan uprising, the Dalai Lama (spiritual leader of the Tibetan people) and many of his followers fled to India. (ANI)