G20 Summit: More than 100 Tibetan refugees demonstrated in New Delhi on Friday, asking that the two-day G20 conference there this weekend address China’s “occupation” of their nation.
Global leaders, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and American President Joe Biden, have begun to arrive in India’s capital city for the G20 Summit in Delhi.
Instead of attending the G20 summit in Delhi, Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang to represent his country.
“China has captured our country, that is why we want to give a message that China is not a trustworthy country,” Gonpo Dhundup, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress, which organised the demonstration, told the media.
“We place a demand before our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other global leaders to discuss Tibet during the G20 summit,” he added.
In 1950, China invaded Tibet with troops under the pretext of “peaceful liberation,” and has ruled the isolated, mountainous nation ever since.
Beijing denies any violation of the human rights of Tibetans, despite claims made by rights organisations and Tibetans of “cultural genocide” and tight restrictions on religion, language, education, and labour in China.
The protest on Thursday finished peacefully and was held just 15 kilometres (9 miles) from Pragati Maidan, where the summit was held.
Young children, students, and elderly demonstrators could all be seen waving Tibetan flags and screaming “we want freedom” and “Tibet belongs to Tibetans”.
