Demonstrations for Free Tibet in Edinburgh and Arran Nuns, Former Political Prisoners to March in Freedom Torch Relay from Scottish Parliament

On Sunday 30 March a Tibetan refugee was joined by seventy islanders on Arran in a peaceful vigil, in support of human rights and freedom for Tibet.

Thursday 3rd April will see further demonstrations of support for Tibet in Scotland, as a peaceful candlelit vigil will be held from 6.30 pm in St John’s Church on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Its aim will be to commemorate all the Tibetans who have died during Chinese occupation and to express solidarity for those involved in the current struggle in Tibet.

And on Friday 4th April at 2.30 pm the Freedom Torch Relay, an alternative to the Olympic Torch, in support of freedom for Tibet, will set out at 2.30 pm from Scottish Parliament accompanied by four Buddhist nuns who were held as political prisoners for many years in Tibet.

For the first Scottish public outcry since the recent violent events in Tibet, the sun shone brightly on Arran on Sunday 30th March as around seventy local islanders gathered on the seafront in Brodick for a peaceful vigil. Drawing parallels between the situation in Tibet and other troubled parts of the world, the vigil placed peaceful opposition to the oppression of human rights all over the world at its heart. A one-minute silence was observed to commemorate all those who have suffered as a result of human rights abuses. Amidst Tibetan prayer flags flapping in the wind, the ringing of prayer bowls resonated under the blue sky, as petitions were signed and messages of support were exchanged.

Tibetan refugee Pasang and her husband Philippe Gautier, who have lived on the island for four years and organized the vigil at the seafront, called on the support of all in the fifty-year long struggle of the Tibetan people in the face of Chinese government occupation. Pasang said ‘As Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Olympic Games the Chinese Government must keep its promise to observe human rights in Tibet as well as other Chinese provinces. It must also agree to talk to the Dalai Lama’s representatives, as many prominent political figures have called for in the past few weeks’.
For more information please visit

www.freetibet.orgg/events/torchrelay.htm