Rights & Democracy calls for restraint and dialogue in Tibet

Credit: International Campaign for Tibet

Montreal, March 19, 2008 – Rights & Democracy today called on the People’s Republic of China to exercise restraint in its response to ongoing protests in Tibet and neighbouring provinces.

Employing violence to control the situation will only enflame the legitimate grievances that led Tibetans to the streets and result in further unrest down the road. China’s only hope for true and lasting peace in the region is to engage the Tibetan leadership in an open dialogue based on respect for free expression, freedom of association, freedom of religion and self-determination.

“China’s government has made numerous promises on human rights in these months leading up to the Beijing Olympics and they are being put to the test on the streets of Lhasa,” said Jean-Paul Hubert, Interim President of Rights & Democracy. “This is an important opportunity for China to show that it has turned a corner in terms of respecting international human rights commitments.”

China’s claim that the Dalai Lama is behind the riots denies the very real and justified grievances that led to these recent protests. Since China’s armed annexation of Tibet in 1950, Chinese policies in the disputed territory have underpinned a campaign of cultural, religious and political repression that the Dalai Lama has since deemed a case of “cultural genocide.”

Rights & Democracy also calls on the Government of China to ensure that its efforts to stem the unrest in Tibet respect the rule of law and due process.

“Continuing to rule Tibet at the expense of human rights is destined to fail,” said Mr. Hubert. “Lasting peace and prosperity in Tibet will only be secured through an honest and open dialogue that puts human rights first.”

Rights & Democracy has published the following reports on human rights in Tibet, all of which are available online at www.dd-rd.ca:

- Human Rights Impact Assessment case study in Tibet (2007)
- Tibet-China Negotiations: A Case for Canadian Leadership (2004)
- Economic Dimensions of Autonomy: The Right to Development in Tibet (2004)
- Tibet-China Negotiations: Building Peace Through Dialogue (2004)

Rights & Democracy is a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution created by an Act of Parliament in 1988 to promote democratic development and to advocate for and defend human rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights. In cooperation with civil society and governments in Canada and abroad, Rights & Democracy initiates and supports programmes to strengthen laws and democratic institutions, principally in developing countries.