From a coalition of UK Tibet support groups [London UK, Tuesday 9 March]
TIBET 1950-2010: 60 years of occupation
Tibet Mass Lobby calls for an increase in UK’s diplomatic presence in China and Tibet and questions the effectiveness of British foreign policy of engagement with China.
Building on the success of last year's inaugural Tibet Mass Lobby, where 300 lobbyists, including well over 100 from the Tibetan community, descended on Westminster, a coalition of Tibet support groups are calling on their members and supporters to take part in a second Mass Lobby on 10 March.
This year, 10 March sees the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising in Lhasa. It is a day when Tibetans worldwide, both inside Tibet and in exile, mourn those who have lost their lives in the 51 year struggle for justice. Karma Chura-tsang from Tibetan Youth UK summed up the depth of feeling and commitment felt by Tibetans, saying, “Today is a day to celebrate the strength of the Tibetan people and their perseverance and to renew our resolve to fight for our country until Tibet is once again free.”
The situation inside Tibet remains tense. Since the outbreak of widespread protests and demonstrations in March 2008, there have been continued acts of Tibetan resistance and non-compliance throughout Tibet and Tibetan areas. A recent example being when Tibetans in the Amdo region of Tibet (birthplace of the Dalai Lama), defiantly flouted the Chinese authorities with public prayer ceremonies and firework displays to celebrate the meeting between President Obama and the Dalai Lama. Recent reports indicate that a new "strike hard" campaign was launched by the Chinese government in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) on 2 March leading to further restrictions and clamp downs.
"There is a powerful new movement growing in Tibet. It is being lead by the younger generation and they are using creative, non-violent tactics to challenge China's occupation of their homeland", said Padma Dolma, Campaigns Co-ordinator of Students for a Free Tibet UK. "On March 10th, we will stand with our brothers and sisters in Tibet and send a message to the Chinese government that Tibetans are united in our struggle to regain our country and win our freedom."
Pempa Lobsang, Chairman of the Tibetan Community in Britain, which represents over 500 Tibetans living in the UK, added, "Even after 51 years of brutal oppression by the Chinese government, the spirit of the Tibetan people is stronger than ever and our support ever strengthening. There will come a time when China must truly face up to its responsibilities and work towards resolving the Tibetan issue. To my fellow Tibetans and to our supporters, I urge you to continue the fight, to never give up for our time will come and when it does, we must be prepared!"
Commenting on the Tibet Mass Lobby and the British government’s position on Tibet, Philippa Carrick, CEO of Tibet Society, said, “the government keeps affirming its support for the Dalai Lama and his ‘Middle Way’ approach, but despite urging China to engage with representatives of the Dalai Lama on points of substance, never follows up these good intentions with any substantive actions of its own that will bring tangible progress to the Tibetan people. This is why a coalition of UK Tibet groups are asking their members and supporters to join the Mass Lobby and call on the government to show their commitment by taking meaningful actions, such as establishing a British consulate in Lhasa. For the government to continue congratulating Beijing on simply holding yet another round of non-substantive talks is verging on window dressing and does nothing to move the issue of Tibet forward.”
This year also marks another anniversary - one that is to be condemned rather than celebrated - 60 years of China’s occupation of Tibet. In drawing attention to this, Stephanie Brigden, Director of Free Tibet, said, “World opinion strongly opposes China’s 60 year occupation of Tibet. A recent CNN poll showed that a majority of Americans believed Tibet should be free. Here in Britain we are lobbying to express our opposition to China’s ongoing brutal occupation. And inside Tibet Tibetans continue to use every opportunity to courageously show their resistance to China’s illegal occupation of their homeland. China must stop showing contempt for world opinion and end its brutal occupation of Tibet now!”
On Saturday 6 March, during the Tibet Freedom march in London, members of the coalition of Tibet support groups delivered an open letter to the new Chinese Ambassador, His Excellency Liu Xiaoming, requesting a meeting to discuss the current situation in Tibet.
A letter was also handed in to 10 Downing Street for the Prime Minister, which outlined the two Lobby Asks: calling for a British consulate to be established in Tibet and questioning the effectiveness of British foreign policy of engagement with China, saying, “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.”
► Lobby Asks
► Letter to the Prime Minister
► Letter to the Chinese Ambassador
► 2008 British Government's Ministerial Statement on Tibet
Coalition of UK Tibet groups: Tibet Society , Free Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet UK, Tibetan Youth UK, Tibetan Community in Britain
Background notes
LOBBY ASKS
The two lobby asks both highlight points that can be followed up and raised with re-elected or new MPs after the General Election; they both give a good basis to ask what the new government’s strategy and policy will be on Tibet and China.
1. Call on the UK government to establish a British Consulate in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, thereby increasing capacity in Tibet to monitor human rights.
The current diplomatic representation in Tibet and China is not at the level required to effectively monitor human rights or enable follow up and assessment of practical initiatives in the field. Although China is the largest country in the world, the UK government has more consulates in other, less-populous regions (Consulates in USA = 10; Canada 8; Mexico 3; China 3). A positive step towards this would be to establish a consulate in Lhasa.
2. Sign EDM 345: “Human Rights in Tibet and China”, which calls on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee to conduct a formal inquiry into the effectiveness of strategies being employed by the government within its overall policy towards China.
This EDM repeats EDM 2133 tabled by Kate Hoey late in the 2008/09 parliamentary session. In total, the EDMs have now been signed by over 100 individual MPs (with some signing both). This illustrates both the support and need for an urgent review of the government’s policy of engagement with China. For MPs who have already signed the EDM, lobbyists will take the opportunity to thank him or her and ask that he or she follows up by writing to the Foreign Office to ask what tangible progress the government can point to as a result of the change the government’s position on Tibet as per the Ministerial Statement on Tibet issued in October 2008 (for transcript see below).
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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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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Wednesday 29 October 2008: Written Ministerial Statements
Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Tibet
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (David Miliband): A new round of talks on Tibet between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama is likely to take place shortly. These talks are hugely important for the future of Tibet. They provide the only forum in which there is any realistic possibility of progress to resolve the differences between the parties involved.
The Chinese Government have said that they are serious about dialogue and that they hope for a positive outcome. They have set conditions for dialogue that we believe the Dalai Lama has met. The Dalai Lama has made clear that he is not seeking separation or independence. He has said repeatedly that he is seeking a resolution to the situation of Tibet within the framework of the Chinese constitution, a point he made explicitly in an interview with the Financial Times on 24 May during his visit to the United Kingdom. He said: he was “not seeking separation, not seeking independence, but within the framework of the Chinese constitution, meaningful realistic autonomy [for Tibetans]”. He has maintained a clear opposition to violence.
The British Government have a strong interest in the dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama’s representatives, although we are not party to it. No Government that are committed to promoting international respect for human rights can remain silent on the issue of Tibet, or disinterested in a solution to its problems.
Britain has been clear under this Government about their commitment to the people of Tibet. We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation there. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out our concerns to Premier Wen during discussions in the spring and again when they met in Beijing during the Olympic games. I have made the same point to Foreign Minister Yang on a number of occasions since the unrest in March this year in Tibet. We have consistently made clear that we want to see the human rights of the Tibetan people respected, including through respect for their distinct culture, language, traditions and religions. Our interest is not in restoring an order that existed 60 years ago and that the Dalai Lama himself has said he does not seek to restore.
We are also concerned about more immediate issues arising directly from the unrest of this spring, including the situation of those who remain in detention following the unrest, the increased constraints on religious activity, and the limitations on free access to the Tibetan autonomous region by diplomats and journalists. These issues reinforce long-held unease on the part of the Government about the underlying human rights situation in Tibet.
Other countries have made similar points. But our position is unusual for one reason of history that has been imported into the present: the anachronism of our formal position on whether Tibet is part of China, and whether in fact we harbour continued designs to see the break-up of China. We do not.
Our ability to get our points across has sometimes been clouded by the position the UK took at the start of the 20th century on the status of Tibet, a position based on the geopolitics of the time. Our recognition of China’s “special position” in Tibet developed from the outdated concept of suzerainty. Some have used this to cast doubt on the aims we are pursuing and to claim that we are denying Chinese sovereignty over a large part of its own territory. We have made clear to the Chinese Government, and publicly, that we do not support Tibetan independence. Like every other EU member state, and the United States, we regard Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China. Our interest is in long-term stability, which can only be achieved through respect for human rights and greater autonomy for the Tibetans.
We have noted recent comments by the Dalai Lama regretting the lack of progress in the dialogue so far. We are also aware of indications of growing frustration among some Tibetans about the dialogue process. We consider the position the Dalai Lama has stated publicly, including when he visited Britain this year, that he opposes violence and is seeking meaningful autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution, provides a basis for a negotiated settlement. Our strong view is that genuine progress at the next round of talks is essential to promote progress on such a settlement. Participation in these talks carries a weight of responsibility for both parties.
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