By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, July 15: As the leaders of BRICS meet today at Fortaleza in Brazil for the sixth BRICS Summit, Tibet activists in Brazil, South Africa, Russia and India called upon BRICS leaders to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on human rights situation in Tibet.
“As Xi Jinping prepares to stand alongside leaders representing the largest and most influential democracies in the world, Tibetans are literally dying for freedom,” said Sandra Erickson, Rangzen: Movimento Free Tibete Natal. “As the host of this BRICS summit and with a history as an advocate of human rights and freedom I urge President Rousseff to emphasize the importance of respecting the Tibetan people’s rights to freedom.”
The Tibetan Women’s Association, Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet-India and Bharat Tibbat Sayog Manch, in a joint statement, said, “At this critical time, a diplomatic solution must be sought by the international community to ensure the serious political situation in Tibet is addressed, and solutions are found to address legitimate Tibetan grievances.”
“Since Xi Jinping became President of China just over a year ago, he has shown no sign of changing course in Tibet. Instead he has continued down the same path as previous generations, implementing a harsh military crackdown, which far from achieving the stability he seeks- serves to exacerbate Tibetans grievances and heighten tensions, creating widespread resistance right across Tibet,” reads the joint statement.
As a part of the campaign, activists of Students for a Free Tibet also carried out a photo action wearing masks of Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa; Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil; Vladimir Putin, President of Russia; Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and Xi Jinping, President of China.
“BRICS leaders must stop hiding from the truth about China’s brutal repression of the Tibetan people, and recognize that by acting collectively, courageously and with principle, they can help Tibet, and resolve one of the world’s longest-standing injustices,” said Jyotsna Sarah George, Students for a Free Tibet, India. “This is Prime Minister Modi’s first multilateral summit and he must not shy away from the difficult subject of Tibet but must urge other leaders to join him to press President Xi to find a just and lasting solution to the occupation of Tibet.”
International Tibet Network has also submitted appeal letters to al the five leaders of BRIC including Chinese President.
