Sangay urges UN human rights chief to visit Tibet too

Democratically elected Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) President Lobsang Sangay on Tuesday urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who is visiting China's restive Xinjiang region, to visit Tibet too to monitor human rights conditions there.

"We welcome the recent announcement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet's decision to visit Xinjiang this year," Sangay said here in a statement on the 61st anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day.

"However, we strongly urge her to visit Tibet and press China for unfettered access in order to monitor the deteriorating human rights conditions in Tibet," he said.

Sangay said under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the CTA, Tibetans in South Asia are recognized as one of the world's most successful and effective refugee communities.

"If the Chinese government harbours any hope that the Tibet issue will gradually lose its momentum, we would like to send a clear message that we will persist. The indomitable courage of Tibetans inside Tibet will continue to inspire those of us in exile to strengthen our commitment," he said.

Reiterating the commitment to the "middle way approach" of not seeking separation from China but genuine autonomy for the people in Tibet, he said: "Peace in Tibet can be only restored through the middle-way approach. Therefore, the Chinese government must resume dialogue with the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.a

On the current coronavirus epidemic, Sangay said inside Tibet it is suspected that there are more than 100 coronavirus cases.

"However, due to the lack of freedom of speech and transparency in China, we are unable to get actual confirmation. We express our deepest sympathy to Tibetans inflicted by this outbreak and pray that the coronavirus is contained."

Expressing gratitude to the people of India, he said the governments, the Parliaments, the Tibet Support Groups across the world, individuals and organisations who support the just cause of Tibet and stand in solidarity with the Tibetan people in this critical time.

The Tibetan administration observes March 10 as the day Chinese troops suppressed the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa in 1959, forcing the Dalai Lama and over 80,000 Tibetans into exile in India and other countries.

Around 140,000 Tibetans now live in exile, over 100,000 of them in different parts of India. Over six million Tibetans live in Tibet.

The Tibetan administration-in-exile is based in Dharamsala town. IANS