Appeal to Indian Parliamentarians
Lobbying with Indian Parliamentarians
Respected Sir,
We are writing to seek your support for a campaign to raise international support for the tragic situation in Tibet where, since February 2009, thirty Tibetans have now set themselves on fire to protest against China’s repressive policies. More than 15 of them have died of which five are women, eleven in their early 20s and the rest monks and nuns.
These Tibetans have resorted to such acts of desperation – often calling for the ‘Dalai Lama’s return’ and for ‘freedom’ and ‘independence for Tibet’ as they do so – as a cry for help about the current crackdown and continued oppression in Tibet. China’s response to these acts of protest – cracking down even harder, disappearing monks, shooting and beating Tibetans to death – is exacerbating tensions and deepening the anguish Tibetans feel. We are very grateful that this view is not only shared by the US, German Governments and a number of United Nations Special Rapporteurs and honorable Standing Committee members of External Affairs of India such as Shri Inder Singh Namdhari Ji and many alike who have all very kindly raised the crisis in Tibet at the ongoing parliament session.
China’s years of Tibet’s occupation and oppression have led to arrests, beating, disappearance and death of many Tibetans. Cultural genocide is constantly taking place with schools being taught in Chinese and nomads being forced relocated.
We believe that only coordinated and swift diplomatic action can stop this crisis, and we are requesting your support to help us make this call to our government. We appeal you to kindly do the following:
- Publicly condemn China’s use of force against unarmed Tibetan protesters.
- Convey to China in the strongest terms that it must halt its violent crackdown immediately, and withdraw military and security forces from all areas. All Tibetans that have been detained should be released, and those injured be able to obtain medical help without fear of arrest. Call on China to cease all actions and policies that are contributing to the tensions, unrest and self-immolations in Tibet; to allow peaceful protest and to respond positively to the calls of Tibetans for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama.
- Urgently seek to send diplomats to affected Tibetan areas, and demand from China assurances that foreign journalists will be allowed unfettered access to the Tibet Autonomous Region (including during the closure of the TAR from late February to mid-March) and Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan.
- Vigorously pursue actions in appropriate international forums that will focus the attention of the government of the People’s Republic of China on the severity of the situation in Tibet.
We thereby request you to kindly highlight and table the current crises in Tibet during the Parliament session this March and support those who do the same. By doing so, we look forward in gathering support from the members of parliament and thereby urge the Indian Government to pressurize China to bring an immediate end to the crackdown in Tibet during the upcoming BRICS summit.
We express our gratitude for your sympathetic response to these requests.
Yours Sincerely,
National Democratic Party of Tibet
Tibetan Youth Congress
Tibetan Women’s Association
Gu-Chu-Sum, Tibetan Ex-Political Prisoners’ Movement
Students for a Free Tibet-India
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