Tibetans’ bike rally demanding boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics arrives in Dharamshala

Tibetan bikers protesting against the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics have arrived in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala on Saturday amid heavy rains and severe cold in the northern Himalayan state. According to ANI, back in early December, the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RYTC) kicked off its cross country bike rally from Bengaluru to Delhi. 14 Tibetan youth activists with seven bikes had organised the rally to boycott the Beijing 2022 Olympics due to China’s alleged human rights violations.

Now, while speaking to the media agency, Tenzin, organiser of the bike rally and general secretary of RTYC, said that the group has been going on a bike rally from December 10, 2021 – starting from Bengaluru and ending in Delhi. Tenzin informed that the activist group is covering ten different states and 40 different places with “one message that is loud and clear”. “We want the Indian government, not only the Indian government but the entire world, to boycott this Beijing Winter Olympics,” he added.

Tenzin went on to call the upcoming winter games in China “genocide games”. He said that what is happening in Tibet and to Uyghurs is “beyond imagination”. Therefore, Tenzin requested the Indian government and PM Narendra Modi to boycott the Beijing Olympics and “do what is right”.

Separately, Sonam Tsering, Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) secretary said, “Olympic games is a game of glory and opportunity for the sportsman to share the love spirit and peace but this time it is being hosted by Beijing by the China Communist Party’s (CCP) which is responsible for the death of millions of Tibetans and other countries.”

Tsering went on to say that Beijing is responsible for the “continued gross human rights violations” in Tibet. The TYC secretary added that to protest this human rights violation by China, the Tibetan bikers organised this bike rally. After thirty days, the group reached McLeod Ganj, Tsering informed.

“We have many Tibetans and representatives from NGOs receiving here and we welcome them over here and we wish that message will be heard by the world very loud and clear,” Sonam Tsering added.

Boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

Meanwhile, it is to mention that in recent months, activists are calling on governments, Olympic Committees, Olympic Sponsors and all people of conscience to take a stand against one of the worst human rights crises of their time by boycotting the Beijing Winter Games. In light of the alleged human rights violations, the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and Lithuania have announced the diplomatic boycott of games.

Furthermore, New Zealand has also stated that it had already informed Beijing that it would not be sending any officials owing to pandemic travel restrictions but had also expressed its concerns about human rights. China, for its part, has rejected the diplomatic boycott as a useless move that goes against the Olympic spirit but has also threatened retaliation. The Beijing Winter Olympics will take place from February 4 to February 20, 2022.

(Image: ANI/AP)