Dalai Lama tour a success
By Cameron S. Boyd
BRISBANE — More than 5000 people crammed Brisbane's Albert Park to hear the Dalai Lama speak on May 13, and a further 2000 attended a public meeting at the Cultural Centre the night before.
The Dalai Lama's national tour, organised by the Australian Tibet Council and the Tour of the 14th Dalai Lama, was a complete success, according to tour organiser Sally Dudgeon.
"First, it was a peace tour, after the Dalai Lama won the Noble Peace Prize in 1989. Second, it gave people an opportunity to hear about Buddhist philosophy from a man who is revered as a great Buddhist leader. Third, the tour served to highlight the plight of the Tibetan people", explained Dudgeon.
Incidents, some as brutal as the Tienanmen Square massacre, have frequently occurred since China invaded Tibet in 1949-50, and every basic human right has been denied — the freedom of speech, life, movement and religious worship. Children as young as 14 are imprisoned in the harshest jail in the capital, Lhasa, for offences such as putting up pro-independence posters in schools. More than 6000 monasteries and temples have been destroyed. Women are frequently forced to have abortions.
The environment is treated as harshly as the people. More than 70% of Tibet's lush forest has been destroyed, and recent flooding in India, China and Bangladesh is directly related to the destruction of the forests. Nuclear testing and dumping are common occurrences.
The Dalai Lama spoke to packed meetings all over the country. The biggest was at the Melbourne Tennis Centre, where 21,000 people turned out and police had to turn interested people away due to overcrowding.