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OTTAWA - HUNDREDS of exiled Tibetans on Tuesday marched in Canadian cities to mark the 50th anniversary of Tibet's failed uprising, and to protest current conditions in the region.
In Ottawa, dozens of protestors waved Tibetan flags outside parliament, while in Toronto - home to the third-largest group of Tibetan exiles in the world, behind Nepal and India - nearly 900 gathered at the Chinese consulate.
'It's been 50 years and we stil have no resolution,' Toronto rally organizer Bhutila Karpoche told AFP.
'The current situation inside Tibet is very, very bad,' she lamented.
'Every Tibetan is aware the Dalai Lama is getting older and we're no closer to a solution in negotiations with the Chinese, and the situation is getting worse.
'We don't want to wait another 50 years for something to come out of this.' The protestors included no less than seven Tibetan associations, including the Canada Tibet Committee and Students for a Free Tibet, as well as a handful of supportive MPs, and speakers.
They voiced outrage over China's clampdown in Tibet, and called for an end to China's 'occupation' of their homeland.
The Canadian-Tibetan Joint Action Committee meanwhile called on the Canadian government to pressure Beijing to 'meaningfully negotiate with the Dalai Lama to resolve the Tibet issue once and for all.' -- AFP
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