BOULDER — More than 40 Tibetans huddled under a white canopy outside the Boulder County Courthouse on Saturday night as a wet, heavy snow began to fall and a cold breeze blew in their faces.
“This is nothing, when people in Tibet are being killed, maimed and denied any kind of freedom,” said Tenzin Dhong yal, president of the Tibetan Association of Colorado. Dhong yal said the moisture might dampen the candlelight vigil but wouldn’t affect protesters’ spirits.
The event commemorates the recent violent protests for Tibet’s independence from China.
Tibetans in Colorado held a 12-hour hunger strike Saturday to raise awareness of conditions in their native home. Some wore black marks under their eyes and tape over their mouths to symbolize the oppression of free speech and the media blackout of Tibet.
“People here are worried about their friends and their families,” Dhongyal said. “They are worried about the future of their homeland.”
About 30 other Boulderites gathered around in the wet and cold to hold candles and join in the chant for peace.
“We can fight in Iraq, but we don’t say a word to China, because we do a lot of business with them?” said Elva Norbest from Gilpin County. “Shame on you, George Bush.”
Rim Brotaieb, a native of Tunisia who lives in Boulder, said she is moved by the Tibetan movement for religious and cultural freedoms.
“I’m very sad for them,” she said. “Their situation is so bad.”
The 11-year-old Tibetan Association of Colorado said the Centennial State is home to more than 200 exiles, with the first significant numbers arriving in 1993, as a result of the Immigration Act of 1990.
China has exacted violent reprisals against demonstrators in riots that began more than a week ago to protest China’s 57-year rule of Tibet. Demonstrations began in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on March 14 and have since spread to neighboring Chinese provinces.
“As the last superpower, the United States has moral authority,” Dhongyal said.
“China fears the United States because the United States can hurt its economy. And if China’s economy goes down, so will its nationalism.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
