On behalf of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, both in Tibet and in exile, I would like to thank you for your participation in this rally to mark the 42nd Anniversary of the Tibetan People s Uprising Day.
Today marks one of the darkest periods in the history of the Tibetan people.
Over 1.2 million Tibetan have died, through killing, starvation, imprisonment and torture. This forms one-sixth of the 6 million population of Tibet, and Over 6000 monasteries, the main learning centers and the seat of Tibetan culture were destroyed. To this day, Tibetan refugees escape regularly from Tibet. Over 3,000 Tibetans flee to India every year. Of these two thirds of the refugees are under the age of 25.