DHARAMSHALA: Tibetans and supporters have lobbied around 150 British Parliamentarians to help find a lasting solution to the issue of Tibet. The lobby effort was organised by a coalition of UK-based Tibet groups, including Tibet Society, Free Tibet, Students for Free Tibet UK, Tibetan Community in Britain and Tibetan Youth UK.
About 300 supporters sought the MPs support through face-to-face meetings and writing letters during the fifth annual Tibet Lobby at the Houses of Parliament and in local constituencies around the UK on 13 March.
“The focus of this year’s lobby was to call on MPs to ask David Cameron to make a public statement of concern on Tibet and to urge the UK government to work with other governments to find a solution to the Tibet crisis,” the organisers said.
Lobbyists met with their MPs in Central Lobby at Westminster, raised their concerns and called on them to take action for Tibet.
The MPs agreed it was time for another debate on Tibet in the House of Commons, given that the last debate was in December 2011.
MPs who are members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet (APPGT), including Fabian Hamilton MP (Lab, Leeds North East and chair of the APPGT), Cathy Jamieson MP (Lab/Co-op, Kilmarnock and Loudoun) and Nic Dakin MP (Lab, Scunthorpe), met and interacted with the lobbyists during a special meeting.
Cathy Jamieson said that she found face-to-face meetings of most value, as individuals could not only provide information on their concerned issue but also express the strength of their feelings.
The response was positive, with most MPs committing to take the recommended actions, the organisers said.
Tibetan National Uprising Day Marked in London and Edinburgh
On 10 March, around 600 Tibetans and Tibet supporters took to the streets in central London to commemorate the 54th Tibetan National Uprising Day. They call on China to end its occupation of Tibet and respect the rights of the Tibetan people. They urged the UK government to stand up and take action.
A letter signed by representatives from the organising coalition, including Tibet Society, was delivered to 10 Downing Street. The letter called on Prime Minister David Cameron to publicly speak out on the Tibet issue and to work with other governments to urge China to end the repression in Tibet. (View letter)
Addressing the gathering, Mr Tim Loughton, Member of Parliament and long-time Tibet supporter, spoke out against the UK government’s decision to refuse ministers from meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his summer visit.
Mr Loughton called on the free world to “draw attention to the liberties that are denied to [Tibetans] by China in their own country”.
He urged the new Chinese President Xi Jinping “to start a real dialogue” on Tibet. “We offer an olive branch to China if they really mean what it says in their constitution about respecting the autonomy of regions within the borders of China,” said Mr Loughton. He added, “Start a new dialogue and if you do, if you really are serious about respecting the rights, identity, and culture of the Tibetan people inside and outside your boundaries, then the world will be behind you. We will be behind you.” (View full speech)
Mr Thubten Samdup, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Representative for Northern Europe and the UK, read out the 10 March statement of Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay. The Sikyong said, “The only way to end this brutal and grave situation [in Tibet] is for China to change its current hard line Tibet policy by respecting the aspirations of the Tibetan people.”
The representatives of the APPGT laid a wreath at Westminster Abbey on 13 March to mark the Tibetan National Uprising anniversary and remember all the victims of China’s 63-year occupation.
