"Free Tibet" Traffic Circle Dedicated in France

The town of Oloron Sainte-Marie, near Pau in the Pyrenees in the South West of France dedicated a traffic circle in the town as the "Free Tibet" Circle on March 5. The inauguration of the dedication was held in the presence of Mr. Tashi Phuntsok, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Western Europe.

"The Free Tibet Circle" and "Inaugurated with the Representatives of Tibetan Government in Exile, on March 5, 2005" written in French on two slates of Indian granite were formally unveiled together by Mr. Harve Lucbereilh, Mayor of the town, and Mr. Tashi Phuntsok. The slates were nailed on a huge slab of the Pyrenees rock. They also planted a highland tree on the Circle.

Earlier, the representative of APACT, the main TSG in the region, and at whose initiative the town unanimously decided to dedicate the circle for Tibet, gave a detailed background on the situation of Tibet, in particular the destruction of Tibet and the repression of Tibetan people under China. The Mayor took up the same tone in his speech of the dedication. "Knowing the tragedy of Tibetan people and that the people of Oloron could not keep silent," he said, "the dedication of the circle was a symbol of support by people from one mountain to the people of another mountain though the Pyrenees are not as high as the Himalayas and its rivers not so mighty as the Himalayan."

The mayor impressed the gathering with further symbolism of fraternity between the two peoples. He mentioned the specific choice of the sapling of the high mountains and the choice of the granite from India -though not from Tibet but nearer to Tibet, he said, and indeed its category, the Himalayan Blues. The traffic circle was adorned with Flag of Tibet in the centre with prayer flags radiating from it.