Sangay urges Xi to resolve Tibet issue through dialogue
DHARAMSHALA : Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) president Lobsang Sangay on Saturday urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve the issue of Tibet through dialogue.
“As President Xi Jinping sets out to begin his second term, I urge him to peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet through dialogue between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and the representatives of the Chinese government,” Sangay said in a message on the 59th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, observed on March 10 every year, to commemorate the armed rebellion of 1959 against the China by Tibetan people.
A function was organised by the-exile-government to commemorate the Tibetan National Uprising Day. Actor and member of Parliament George Baker was the chief guest on the occasion.
Sangay said, “Since the occupation of Tibet, the Chinese government has continually subjected Tibetans to extensive repressive policies.”
Quoting watchdog Freedom House reports of 2017 and 2016, he said the reports listed Tibet as the second least free country after Syria and worser than North Korea, South Sudan and Eritrea.
Despite the continued repression, people in Tibet have resisted China’s discriminatory behaviour with unwavering conviction and peaceful protests in last five decades, Sangay added.
“Due to the hardline policies of the Chinese government, as many as 152 Tibetans, including monks, nuns, nomads and farmers, from all the three provinces of Tibet have self-immolated since 2009, latest being three days ago,” said Sangay.
Blaming the Chinese government for discriminatory policies with Tibetans, he said, “Also de-linking the Dalai Lama from Buddhism in Tibet is another root cause of resistance among Tibetans.”
“To artificially say that you can practice Buddhism but not follow the Dalai Lama is akin to saying you can be a Catholic but not follow the Pope. This is a fundamental misreading of the very foundation of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibet as a nation,” he added.
TYC APPEALS TO BOYCOTT CHINESE ITEMS
SHIMLA: The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) on Saturday staged a rally in Shimla urging people to boycott China made products. Tibetans have also urged the locals to exhort public representatives to raise issues pertaining to them.
Part of a campaign- Bharat Jagaran Yatra- aimed to raise awareness on Tibet’s issue and garner support of the Indian people and government to recognise that Tibet was historically an independent country and is currently an occupied nation by the communist government of China