Sangay asks UN to appoint special rapporteur in Tibet

With the situation in Tibet deteriorating and Chinese suppression increasing everyday, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile, Lobsang Sangay today urged United Nations (UN) to appoint a rapporteur to visit Tibet.

With the situation in Tibet deteriorating and Chinese suppression increasing everyday, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile, Lobsang Sangay on Saturday urged United Nations (UN) to appoint a rapporteur to visit Tibet.

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"A key reason for creating the United Nations was the pursuit of human rights. I urge the UN to live up to its objective and address the crisis in Tibet by appointing a special rapporteur and visiting Tibet," said Sangay while addressing the gathering in a program organized to mark the 53rd anniversary of the Tibetan "uprising day" and fourth anniversary of the 2008 mass protests at Tsuglakhang Temple in Dharamsala.

"On the occasion I offer tribute to the brave people who have sacrificed so much for Tibet. Despite fifty-three years of occupation by the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Tibetan spirit and identity inside Tibet remains unbroken," Sangay added.

Urging the international community and media to send a fact-finding delegation into Tibet to remove the veil of censorship and disinformation campaign, Sangay also appealed to the officials and member states of ASEAN and SAARC to include the Tibet issue in their agenda given Tibet's geopolitical and environmental significance affecting billions of Asians.

"Hong Kong and Macao have been granted high degree of autonomy. Despite resistance from Taiwan, China has offered Taiwan more autonomy. Why are Tibetans still not granted genuine autonomy as stipulated in the Chinese constitution?" asked Sangay.

Hoping that China's upcoming leaders will initiate genuine change, Sangay said Tibetans have chosen to move down a mutually beneficial path even though Tibet historically enjoyed independent status and Tibetans have the right to self-determination according to international law.

He said concerned Chinese citizens and intellectuals should make an effort to seek the truth and understand why Tibetans were protesting and self-immolating.

Calling upon his fellow Tibetans to show solidarity and support with Tibetans inside Tibet, Sangay assured that the fourteenth Kashag will make maximum efforts to realize our larger goal, as well as take steps to prepare the Tibetan people and institutions for the 21st century under the guiding principles of unity, innovation and self-reliance.