The Tibetan Freedom Torch will be lit on March 10th, the 49th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day, in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics. Mirroring the traditional lighting ceremony of the Olympic torch, five women representing Tibetan goddesses (‘Lhamos’) will perform a Tibetan ceremony to light the Tibetan Freedom Torch. The Lhamos will then pass the torch to Tsultim Gope, a shot-putter and a member of Team Tibet.
On March 10th, 1959, the people of Tibet rose up against China’s occupation of Tibet. More than 80,000 Tibetans were killed in China’s ensuing crackdown, and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee Tibet for a life in exile. The launch of the Tibetan Freedom Torch Relay on this day will preempt that of the official Beijing Olympic torch by two weeks, and draw attention to the sham of the Chinese torch’s so-called “Journey of Harmony.”