Peace March is one of the campaign strategy that Tibetan Youth Congress organizes. This is a non-violent form of protest. The first peace march organized by the Tibetan Youth Congress happened on 23rd March 1988 where several people marched from Nainital to New Delhi for the release of Tibet. The objectives of organizing Peace/Freedom March is;

 

1. To highlight the devious Chinese policies in Tibet which deliberately aim at subverting the Tibetans as a race and systematically destroy their very identity.

2. To highlight the deteriorating situation of the fundamental human rights and freedoms in Tibet today.

3. To highlight the nuclear militarization of the Tibetan plateau by China which directly threatens the security of India and peace in Asia as well as the world as a whole.

4. To highlight the most inhumane plight of the Tibetan Political Prisoners in Tibet in general by particularly referring to three prominent cases namely;

 

a) The 11th Panchen Lama, the world’s youngest political prisoner whose whereabouts are still not known since his arrest in 1995 and about whose safety there are grave doubts in the light of the suspicious circumstances of the deaths of the 10th Panchen Lama in 1989 and Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok more recently.

b) Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche who was sentenced to death on 2nd December 2002 with a suspension of two years could be executed as early as 7th April 2004.

c) Geshe Sonam Phuntosk who was unfairly tried and and sentenced without proper investigation and who continues to languish in Chinese prison under very poor health.

 

Tibetan Youth Congress seeks the support of the international community in general and the United Nations in particular in the achievement of the above objectives.

 

* 11th February to 10th March 2004: Freedom March from Dharamsala to New Delhi

Tibetan Youth Congress undertook a ‘Freedom March’ commencing from February 11 to highlight the ever growing violation of the fundamental human rights and freedoms in Tibet under the repressive regime of Communist China and seek support from the international community in general and the United Nations in particular. There 80 Tibetan activists including monks, nuns and lay Tibetan people ranging from an age group of 19 years old to 81 years old took part in the Freedom March.

 

The demands made during this Freedom March are as follows;

 

1. The United Nations must pressurize China to stop the ongoing unfair trials of Tibetan Political Prisoners and to guarantee the necessary and equal rights to all the political prisoners of conscience to defend their cases.

2. The Chinese authorities must immediately release all the political prisoners who are still under their custody.

3. The Chinese authorities must stop the massive influx of Chinese population into Tibet which is a direct threat to the very survival of Tibetan identity.

4. The United Nations must send its representatives to Tibet to monitor and undertake independent investigation of the overall situation there.

5. China must withdraw all its troops and nuclear arsenals from Tibet.

The Freedom March ended on 10th March 2004 in New Delhi during the uprising day where several hundred Tibetans and non-Tibetan supporters gathered at Jantar Mantar to protest against the illegal occupation of Tibet by China and urge United Nations to pressurize China to stop human rights violations in Tibet.

* 10th December 2007 to 1st January 2008: March for Independence from Bangalore to Chennai

To observe the 59th World Human Rights day, Tibetan Youth Congress kick started the Tibetan Independence March at 11:00 AM from Bangalore City. 146 participants from nine different regions, namely Bylakuppee, Hunsur, Mundgod, Bhandra, Mainpat, Dharamsala, Delhi, Darjeeling and Bangalore took part in the march. The main purpose of initiating this March was to raise awareness about the illegal occupation of Tibet by the Communist China and that Tibet is not a part of China. The demands of the Tibet Independence March are as follows;

 

1. Independence for Tibet

2. Withdrawal of Order no.5, China’s new regulatory measures for reincarnations of living Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism.

3. Immediately STOP all forms of Human Rights violations inside Tibet.

4. No Olympics in China until Tibet is free.

5. Release of all Tibetan Political Prisoners including Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and Ronggye A’drak.

 

The participants reached Chennai on 1st January 2008 and ended the march by observing silence in the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet.

* 5th February to 10th March 2014: Tibetan Uprising March from Dharamsala to Delhi

Fifty-Five members of Tibetan Youth Congress organized a long peace walk ‘Tibetan Uprising March’ from Mcloed Ganj to the Indian capital Delhi to raise awareness of the critical situation in Tibet and to support the aspirations of the self-immolators and to show solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet. The group of 55 marchers symbolizes 55 years of Chinese rule in Tibet, each marchers representing a dark and painful year under Chinese rule and walked the distance of about 600 kilometers. The march ended on 10th March where TYC presented a memorandum with a set of five demands to the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi and embassies of other countries to support our demands.

 

The five demands mentioned in the memorandum are as follows;

 

1. The Chinese Government must positively respond to the demands of the self-immolators, who have called for, among many other things, the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

2. Free all political prisoners, including the 11th Panchen Lama Gendun Choekyi Nyima, Tulku Tenzin Delek and Rongye Adak who are in Chinese jails.

3. China must allow the world media and an independent international youth group into Tibet to find out the grand reality.

4. Immediately cease population transfer into Tibet and stop insidious ‘Patriotic re-education campaign’ that is being forced upon the Tibetan people.

5. Stop nuclear testing, excessive mining and damming of rivers on the Tibetan Plateau which impact millions of people in Asia.

 

* 28th September 2015: Peace March by Tibetan supporters at United Nations in Delhi

A group of TYC supporters with the three hunger strikers, Mr. Tamdin Hrichoe, Ms. Tsewang Dolma and Mr. Tenzin Wangchuk went for a peace march from Jantar Mantar to the Office of the United Nations in New Delhi to urge an immediate intervention in Tibet.