Between 3000 and 4000 people (mostly exiled Tibetans) participated in a march in Vienna on 10 March 2001, to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising. Newly elected UNPO General Secretary Erkin Alptekin addressed demonstrators at the Schwarzbach Platz in Vienna on human rights abuses in China, calling upon the latter to enter into constructive dialogue with the Tibetan people instead of following a policy of ruthless repression. About 1000 people attended a Tibetan cultural evening as part of the day’s programme. The event received wide media coverage, including coverage on prime time radio and television news, the latter viewed in Austria as well as in neighbouring countries Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The printed media made reference to UNHCR discussions on the situation in Tibet.