By Tendar Tsering
DHARAMSHALA, February 10: In growing international attention on the prevailing climate of violence and repression in Tibet, members of the United States Congress have issued statements urging President Obama to raise Tibet, days ahead of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s official visit.
Coinciding with the global solidarity vigil for Tibet called by the exile Tibetan leadership on February 8, US Congressman Frank R. Wolf in a statement said he stood in “solidarity” with Tibetans and supporters who are holding vigils around the globe, testifying to the “deepening crisis in Tibet and find common cause with the suffering people of Tibet”.
“You are rightly holding vigil outside of the Chinese embassy for it is the Chinese government’s brutal and repressive policies which are the source of this human rights crisis,” Congressman Wolf stated.
Saying that the free world has been horrified by the string of self-immolations in Tibet, Congressman Wolf urged the US Ambassador to Beijing, Gary Locke to “publicly use his platform to make it clear to the Tibetan people that they have a friend in the United States of America.”
Drawing from his own past experiences of travelling to Tibet and meeting political prisoners in the notorious Drapchi prison in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, the Congressman said that the “peace-loving Tibetans have set themselves aflame in desperation at the abuses suffered by their people at the hands of the Chinese government.”
“I call on President Obama, during his visit next week with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to publicly voice his strong concern about the current atmosphere in Tibet and the repressive policies of the Chinese government,” Congressman Wolf added.
In another statement, Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and former Speaker, Nancy Pelosi condemned the Chinese repressive policies in Tibet, saying that the chain of Tibetan self-immolations reflect the desperate human rights situation in Tibet.
In a statement issued on February 8, the former speaker noted that the “disturbing trend of self-immolations by Tibetans reflect the desperation of the human rights situation and the need for the Chinese government to change its repressive policies against the Tibetan people.”
While strongly urging the Chinese government to resume the deferred dialogue process with Tibetan representatives, Pelosi said: “It is long past time for the Chinese government to enter into a meaningful dialogue with representatives of the Tibetan Government-In-Exile to produce a way forward that promotes peace and stability in China and Tibet.”
Xi Jinping, China’s heir apparent will be in the US next week on an official trip seen by many as the 58-year old leader’s introduction to the US and the world before he takes on the mantle of leadership in Bejing.
Tibetans and supporters have announced a series of planned protests that will follow Xi, from his meeting with President Obama in Washington, to his later visits to Iowa and California.
