Mayor apologies for not being able to raise the Tibetan flag in Milton Keynes during coronavirus lockdown

Tibet has been occupied by China since 1950 and from 2013 the city’s mayor has supported the ceremonial raising of the country’s colourful flag at the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple, at Willen Lake.

Cllr Crooks, whose term of office ends in May, said: “I wanted to say just how sorry I am this year that we won’t be able to raise the Tibetan flag as we have in Milton Keynes for a number of years.”

In the YouTube video, Cllr Crooks, a Liberal Democrat, said there are three reasons why the flag raising and the festival that goes with it is so important.

“We are showing solidarity with the people of Tibet, and that’s important to us in Milton Keynes,” he says on the council’s YouTube channel.

“The second reason is that we are aware of maintaining the importance of the history and identity within nations. We can’t allow land just to be taken by invasion, and facts on the ground used to justify what has happened.

“And we believe in the principle of self-determination. That’s why I think we should be raising the flag, and that’s what I hope we will be able to do once again in future years.”

This year, instead of a ceremony involving scores of supporters, Sister Maruta raised the flag on her own at the temple.

And in a post on the Milton Keynes Nipponzan Myohoji Peace Pagoda and Japanese Buddhist Temple, Indigo Sync said they look forward to next year “when we can again all raise the flag together, as a community.”

Instead of a ceremony, on Monday (April 20) supporters took pictures of themselves displaying the Tibetan flag.

A post on the Facebook page Raising the Tibetan Flag said: “A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to Display your Tibetan Flag yesterday – it was a brilliant response.”