London: For the first time ever, a talk on Tibet was held at the conference venue of a UK political party in government, organised by the Office of Tibet and the Tibet House Trust, the two sister-partner organisations based in Tibet House, London.
‘Why Tibet Matters – An Unresolved Conflict’ was discussed during a ninety-minute fringe event of the Conservative Party Conference on Monday, 3 October 2022 in Birmingham. Three eminent speakers, each focusing on a specific topic of Tibet’s relevance to the government and people of the UK, engaged with an audience of MPs, legislators, researchers and activists. Secretary Lochoe Samten of the Office of Tibet, London moderated the session.
Representative Sonam Frasi, while highlighting the current repressive situation inside Tibet, explained the Middle Way Approach (MWA) of the Tibetans as the ideal means to peacefully resolve the Sino-Tibet conflict. He appealed to the UK Government to withdraw its 2008 statement acknowledging ‘Tibet as part of China.
Second to speak was the former Liberal Party MP Norman Baker, who served as the transport minister during the coalition government. He is a long-time staunch supporter of Tibet and a former president of Tibet Society – the first-ever Tibet Support Group set up in the West by former UK Government officials who lived in independent Tibet. Baker has met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama many times too. Being well-versed in the UK, China and Tibet issues, Baker started by pointing out the UK Government’s relation and bilateral treaties with Tibet in the early 20th century, without China anywhere in sight. He spoke about his personal experiences of dealing with the PRC Government in his ministerial role during the coalition government – interestingly being the first to lead a UK delegation to China after Beijing put the UK in the ‘cold storage’ for meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama – and how indignant he feels that the UK Government caved in to appease the PRC Government without getting anything in return, as is the case with 2008 change in position cited above. He paid tribute to Conservative Party MP Tim Loughton, Co-Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, for holding the Tibet issue alive in the Parliament and also Conservative MPs like the Right Honourable Iain Duncan Smith and others for calling out China. He ended on a more positive note that the tides are turning recently with the UK Government pushing back on PRC with sanctions, Hinkley nuclear power station and Huawei etc.
Should China fall into the chaos of a major shift in government, MP Baker expressed confidence in the competence of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to ensure stability in such a situation via its strong network and organisational capacity he witnessed during his visit to CTA in India.
Researcher Tenzin Choekyi from Paris spoke eloquently on the relevance of Tibet’s environment to the whole world and the potential dangers posed to the global community from the receding glaciers and melting of permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau.
The event ended with a heart-felt ‘thank you speech from Tenzin Zeydhan, Secretary of Tibet House Trust, UK.
Earlier in the day, the delegation had taken the opportunity to lobby for Tibet by distributing leaflets, visiting information stalls and attending other events at the conference venues. They met and thanked MBE MP Tom Tugendhat, Secretary of State for Security for his support.
-Report filed by OoT London