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Around 500 Tibetans marched outside the International Olympic Committee headquarters on Thursday, led by an activist on skis dragging the Chinese flag behind him, to protest against Beijing hosting the Games.
Tibetan demonstrators from across Europe marched the three kilometres (two miles) from the IOC building in Lausanne to the Swiss city’s Olympic Museum, a day before the 2022 Winter Games’ opening ceremony in the Chinese capital.
There were also demonstrations in other world cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Protesters in Lausanne, many carrying Tibetan flags, marched behind banners reading “Boycott Beijing Winter Olympics”, “Stop human rights violations in Tibet” and “Games of shame”.
Tibetan artist Loten Namling, who has lived in Switzerland for 32 years, led the procession on skis painted with the word “freedom”.
“The reason why I’m dragging the Chinese flag is China destroyed my country. China destroyed my culture. Let them realise how painful it is for us,” he said.
“Never, ever should they give the Olympics to mass murderers and dictators. It’s time to say stop.”
Demonstrators chanted “No rights, no Games” and “Beijing Olympics: genocide Games” as they marched past the Olympic rings.
Meanwhile, student activists got on the roof of the IOC entrance to hold up a banner reading “No Beijing 2022”.
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One placard displayed a skier in front of a tank with the Olympic rings for wheels, replicating the famous photograph of the lone protester blocking a column of tanks during Beijing’s deadly 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Another said: “Don’t let Beijing 2022 become Berlin 1936”.
The lead-up to the Winter Games has been overshadowed by human rights concerns, the Covid-19 pandemic and even fears about the Chinese government snooping on athletes.
Karma Choekyi, president of the Tibetan…
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Source : france24
