More than 2,000 Tibetans demonstrate in Bern

To mark the 50th anniversary of the failed uprising in Tibet, more than 2,000 Tibetans from all across Switzerland gathered in the Swiss capital on Tuesday.

After carrying flags and 50 coffins to the Chinese embassy, where they sang the Tibetan national anthem and then held a minute's silence, they headed towards Parliament Square where they renewed calls for a free Tibet.

Tibet was a deeply isolated theocracy until 1951, when Chinese troops invaded Lhasa, the regional capital. Tuesday's anniversary marked riots on March 10, 1959, inside Tibet against Chinese rule which lead to a crackdown and, later that month, the Dalai Lama's dramatic flight across the Himalayas and into exile.

Switzerland is home to an estimated 3,500 Tibetans. They are said to form the biggest Tibetan community in Europe, and the third largest in the world.

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Free Tibet, my holy foot

Please do not liberate my country. I understand your energy, good nature and idealism. I was the same when I was at your age. I hope you're there to protest for China when your ancestors pushed opium to China.

First, thanks you all. Now, I'm a naturalized US citizen collecting generous welfare benefits. You do not understand how my life has been improved staying here. Just imagine living in the highest mountain in your country year round.

The Chinese will not give up Tibet. It is the major water source for most of Asia. How many territories within a country are now independent? We get more from the Chinese than giving back. Our standard of living improves substantially and so is our literacy rate.

The new train and the proposed 750 small dams to generate electricity are recent gifts. I bet the extraction of natural Chinese will improve our living standard further. It is the same as opening a casino in an Indian reservation. The benefits outnumber the drawbacks.