"China stole my land, my voice, my freedom" ... On Saturday 6 March, streets in central London were closed for the annual Tibet Freedom March from the Chinese Embassy to the Foreign office to commemorate the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising in Lhasa.
 Before setting out, prayers were said outside the Chinese Embassy, followed by a strong rendition of the Tibetan National Anthem. Marchers then set off in bright sunshine waving Tibetan flags, carrying banners and placards calling on Britain to stand up for Tibetans in Tibet and on China to stop silencing Tibetans. The main banner had the message "China stole my land, my voice, my freedom".
The march provoked much interest from shoppers and passers-by and hundreds of flyers promoting awareness of the current situation in Tibet were distributed along the route.
Letters from the coalition of UK Tibet support groups were delivered to the Chinese Embassy requesting a meeting with the new Ambassador to Great Britain and Northern Ireland and to 10 Downing Street asking the Prime Minister to prioritise human rights in the government's strategy towards China and Tibet.
The march ended in a short rally outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Here representatives of the UK Tibet support groups in the coalition remembered those Tibetans who had sacrificed their lives in the 60 year struggle against China’s occupation and encouraged participants to renew their efforts to help ensure a successful and peaceful outcome in the quest for Tibetan freedom.
Letters ...
To the Chinese Ambassador
To the Prime Minister
The annual Tibet Freedom March is organised by a coalition of UK Tibet support groups including Tibet Society
Open Letter to His Excellency Liu Xiaoming, Ambassador for the People's Republic of China in UK, from Coalition of UK Tibet groups
(Delivered to the Chinese embassy on 6 March)
Your Excellency
As a coalition of UK-based Tibet support groups, we would like to congratulate you on your recent appointment and welcome you to the post of Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We hope that your appointment brings an opportunity for Tibet support groups in the UK to positively engage with the Embassy.
The coalition is made of five Tibet support groups which work towards promoting and realising human rights for the Tibetan people in Tibet. The Tibetan Community in Britain and Tibetan Youth UK represent over 500 Tibetans living in the UK and the campaigning organisations, Free Tibet, Tibet Society and Students for a Free Tibet UK, represent more than 100,000 people in the UK who have registered their support for the rights of the Tibetan people.
The work of the coalition groups includes scrutinising the effectiveness of the British government’s commitment to the promotion of human rights and meaningful autonomy for Tibet and supporting the government’s repeated calls on China to engage with representatives of the Dalai Lama on points of substance in order to negotiate a solution that brings long-term stability to Tibet and the Tibetan people.
Today, Tibetans in Tibet are living in a climate of fear and intimidation unmatched in many decades. Since the demonstrations of spring 2008 that spontaneously took place throughout the Tibetan populated regions, there has been: a continued military presence on the streets; an increase in restrictive surveillance; widespread and routine use of torture - as recognised by the UN; and prosecution and sentencing of Tibetans without even basic legal safeguards being respected.
We would very much welcome the opportunity to have a meeting with you so we can introduce ourselves and discuss the current situation in Tibet.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
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Open Letter to the Prime Minister from Coalition of UK Tibet groups
(Delivered to 10 Downing Street on 6 March)
Dear Prime Minister
We are writing to you as a coalition of UK-based Tibet support groups to draw your attention to recommendations we are urging Parliamentarians to support at our mass lobby of Parliament on 10 March, the 51st anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising against Chinese rule. These recommendations aim to press your government to stand by its commitment to protect and promote the human rights of the Tibetan people and seek a meaningful solution for Tibet.
Not only do the peoples of China and Tibet have a fundamental entitlement to their basic human rights, but it is in Britain’s national interest that their fundamental rights are progressively realised.
On 1 February, in a written reply to a question tabled by Lindsay Roy, Foreign Office Minister, Ivan Lewis, again reiterated,
“Our interest is in sustainable development and long-term stability for Tibet, which can be achieved only through respect for the rights of Tibetan people and genuine autonomy for Tibet. Substantive dialogue between Chinese authorities and representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the best way to achieve this.”
However, this sentiment has not been matched by any prioritisation of human rights in the Government’s strategy with China. The current approach of engagement has produced no benefits for the human rights of Tibetans and the situation in Tibet has only worsened.
Today, Tibetan people in Tibet are living in a climate of fear and intimidation unmatched in many decades. Since the demonstrations in the spring of 2008 that spontaneously took place throughout Tibet, there has been a continued overt military presence on the streets, an increase in restrictive surveillance, widespread and routine use of torture, prosecution and sentencing of Tibetans without even basic legal safeguards being respected, two judicial executions (Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak, two young men in their twenties) and more than 1,000 Tibetans have disappeared and remain unaccounted for.
In order to show tangible support for its own avowed commitment to human rights in Tibet and towards a just and sustainable solution to the crisis in Tibet we are calling upon the British Government to establish a British Consulate in Lhasa.
Although China has the largest population in the world, the British Government has more consulates in countries of less strategic importance to the UK and in other less populated countries. There are three British consulates in China whilst, for example, there are eight in Canada and three in Mexico.
In its recent Human Rights report, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee stated, “… there remains little evidence that the British Government's policy of constructive dialogue with China has led to any significant improvements in the human rights situation.” (Foreign Affairs Select Committee, 2008 Human Rights Report, Paragraph 183)
In view of this statement, we are also calling upon MPs to sign Early Day Motion (EDM) 345 Human Rights in Tibet and China, which critiques the Government’s current strategy, notes the lack of parliamentary oversight of the Government’s change of position on Tibet and lack of gains in return and calls on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee to conduct a formal inquiry into the effectiveness of the British Government’s strategy on human rights in China and Tibet. Over 100 MPs have already supported the EDM, demonstrating cross-party support.
Yours sincerely
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