Tibetan Uprising Day – Rally for Religious Freedom in Tibet

Tibetan Uprising Day
Rally for Religious Freedom in Tibet

Tuesday, 10 March 2026

11:30am
Parliament House Lawns, Canberra

AND

1:30pm
Embassy of the People's Republic of China

PICTURES

A large maypole structure on the lawn of Parliament House with 90 strings of colourful prayer flags to mark His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th year

Tibetan monks & nuns in robes, a crowd of Australian Tibetans singing and chanting

Federal Parliamentarians, including Senator Lidia Thorpe, Sophie Scamps MP, Senator Barbara Pocock, Kate Chaney MP and David Smith MP, will address the rally.

MEDIA RELEASE

On 10 March 2026, Australia Tibet Council and the Tibetan Communities of Australia will commemorate Tibetan Uprising Day, marking 76 years since the Chinese Communist Party invaded Tibet, with a rally on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra, followed by a gathering at the Chinese Embassy.

This year 90 strings of prayer flags will be unfurled to mark His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th year, forming a striking art installation symbolising peace, compassion and solidarity.

The rally calls on the Australian Government to support religious freedom in Tibet by affirming that it will recognise only a future reincarnation of the Dalai Lama determined in accordance with Tibetan Buddhist traditions, free from interference by the Chinese Government.

This initiative is supported by Tibet supporters across Australia, standing with Tibetan communities gathered in Australia’s capital. Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns will lead prayers written by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, reflecting his lifelong commitments to universal peace, nonviolence and interfaith harmony.

Tibetan communities in exile around the world mark Tibetan Uprising Day annually on 10 March.

Canberra Tibetan Community member Tsewang Thupten said, “Beijing understands that controlling the Dalai Lama institution would complete the cultural phase of its invasion of Tibet. Unable to create legitimacy of its own, the Chinese government has instead sought to destroy Tibetan spiritual and moral authorities like the Dalai Lama”.

Tsewang further added, “the Dalai Lama is the heart and soul of the Tibetan people’s identity and struggle for freedom. He represents the hopes of Tibetans and a path toward a peaceful resolution to this conflict. Yet he is also a person whose most basic religious freedoms are being denied, which is deeply heartbreaking for Tibetans”.

President of Tibetan Communities of Australia, Lobsang Lungtok, a former political prisoner imprisoned for speaking out against the Chinese Government’s treatment of Tibetans, said: “I was imprisoned for writing a poem calling on Tibetans to stand up for their rights. Today I can speak freely in Australia, but Tibetans inside Tibet still live in fear - which is why those of us in exile have a responsibility to speak for them, especially on Tibetan Uprising Day”.

Tibet remains an unresolved conflict - the Chinese Government has refused to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama since 2010.

BACKGROUND

The Chinese Communist Party invaded Tibet in 1950. Prior to China’s invasion Tibet was an independent country with its own government, military, national flag and currency.

On March 10th 1959, after nearly a decade of repression by the occupying Chinese army, thousands of Tibetans gathered in the streets of the capital Lhasa and surrounded the Potala Palace to protect the Dalai Lama, who they feared was in danger of assassination. The uprising was violently suppressed; thousands of Tibetans were killed and temples and monasteries destroyed. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was forced to flee into exile in India, where he has lived ever since.

Tibet has a total land size of 2.5 million square kilometres. It is one-quarter of modern China (slightly smaller than Western Australia)