Tibetan protesters held rallies in Europe, the United States, India and Australia this week to protest negative media coverage of a video of the Dalai Lama asking an Indian boy to suck his tongue in what Tibetans say was a bad act. interpretation of an innocent and playful act.
A video of the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists embracing and kissing the boy on the lips at a student event in northern India on February 28 went viral on social media, sparking online criticism and accusations of pedophilia.
The 87-year-old Dalai Lama later apologized to the boy’s family, and Tibetans quickly came to his defense, explaining that sticking out the tongue is a greeting or a sign of respect in their culture.
More than 2,000 Tibetans and their supporters demonstrated in Switzerland, demanding that the local media apologize to the Dalai Lama for misinterpreting the video. The activists approached a news organization that agreed to look into the matter.
“I have never seen Tibetans gathered in such a large number in a long time, and it is very important that we organize these demonstrations against those who slandered His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” said Tenzin Wangdue, vice president of the Liechtenstein Tibetan Association. ,
More than 300 Tibetan and Indian supporters gathered in Bangalore, India, to demand an apology from news organizations. Some 15,000 people gathered on April 15 in Ladakh, a region administered by India as part of the larger Kashmir region and which has been the subject of disputes between India, Pakistan and China for decades.
“We the faithful followers of His Holiness The 145he The Dalai Lama is deeply saddened and shocked by the deliberate attempt by many news/media portals to broadcast a custom propaganda video clip to smear and malign His Holiness’s impeccable character and stature on the 14th.he Dalai Lama,” said a statement issued on April 14 by the youth wing of the Ladakh Buddhist Association in Kargil to show solidarity with the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader.
When the Dalai Lama meets people, he “talks to them freely, without reservation or caution, as if they were long-time friends, and he treats them with love,” said Ogyen Thinley Dorje, the Karmapa, or spiritual leader and head of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, one of the four main lineages of Tibet.
“Sometimes he playfully tugs at someone’s beard, tickles or gently pats their cheek or nose,” he said in a statement issued on April 12. “This is how he is normally, showing nothing but his genuine delight and love for others.
Tibetans living in the Tibet Autonomous Region in western China and Tibetan-populated areas in Chinese provinces, as well as those living abroad, believe that the Chinese have used the video to cast a dark shadow over the world. Dalai Lama.
“Tibetans inside Tibet have seen and heard about the videos on various social media,” said a Tibetan from inside the region, who declined to be named for security reasons.
“It is very nice to be able to see footage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but at the same time it is heartbreaking to see how the Chinese government is taking advantage of this and manipulating the hilarious video interaction between the Dalai Lama and young people. Indian boy,” the source said.
Many Tibetans inside Tibet have not commented publicly on the video, knowing it would be dangerous to do so due to China’s heavy surveillance and repression in the region, said another Tibetan who declined to be named for the same reason.
“The Chinese government would track down the individuals and punish them and they would be sentenced to three to four years (in prison),” the source said.
Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
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