Tokyo: Representative Tsewang Gyalpo Arya of Liaison Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama was invited to the Japan Bunkajin Cultural Broadcast channel’s panel discussion on the Tibet issue on Saturday, 20 March. The panel comprised of Mr. Kato Kiyotaka, a political analyst as the Emcee; Mr Nagao Takashi, Parliament Member; writer and lecturer Bando Tadanobu; and Yoshida Koichiro, Nakanoku legislative member.
The panel discussed the Tibet issue for an hour including Q/A on the Tibet issue. The Japanese panellists expressed their support for the Tibetan struggle for freedom and justice.
Representative Arya explained to the members about the current situation in Tibet which he added is similar to the 1960’s Cultural Revolution’s time. He spoke on the militarization of the Tibetan plateau and talked about the gross violation of human rights, religious and cultural freedom in the region.
When asked about the self-immolation situation in Tibet, he informed the panel that since 2009, more than 155 people committed self-immolation to protest the repressive policy of the Chinese government, and to appeal to the international community to support the just demand of Tibetan people in Tibet. The repression in Tibet has been so acute that the only means to protest left to the Tibetans is self-immolation. He cited the case of 26 years old Shurmo’s self-immolation case in 2015 which came out only last January, almost after 5 years.
“The Central Tibetan Administration discourages self-immolation, but the Chinese government’s repressive policies have pushed people in Tibet to take such a drastic step”, he added.
The panel discussed the issue of reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the forced disappearance of the Panchen Lama. Representative Arya briefed them on China’s interference in Tibetan religious matter asserting its authority to select the 15th Dalai Lama, and how the Chinese communist leadership kidnapped the young Panchen Lama at the age of 6 along with his parents and teacher. The panellists expressed solidarity with the Tibetan people and said that the issues of self-immolation, reincarnation and militarization of the Tibetan plateau should be brought to the notice of a higher level.
Representative concluded by thanking the All Party Japanese Parliamentary Group of Tibet, the Japanese public and the government for their continued support, and requested legislation similar to the US Tibetan Policy and Support Act and Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act.
- Filed by OOT, Japan