China-Tibet: A Challenge to the Conscience of The World

London, UK - 21st March 2008, 21:52 GMT

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The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has called on the international community to denounce China's rule in Tibet describing China's crackdown as "a challenge to the conscience of the world." Pelosi spoke out while holding talks in northern India with the Dalai Lama. "If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak out on human rights," Pelosi said in Dharamsala, the seat of the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile in India. "There is a great relationship that the US shares with the Dalai Lama. When he was a small boy, the then US President gave him a gold watch. That was over 60 years ago," Pelosi recalled. She called for an international investigation into the violence in Tibet and dismissed China's claim that the Dalai Lama was behind the fighting as making "no sense." Pelosi was the one who lobbied for conferment of the US Congressional Medal on the Dalai Lama last year, a move that China had said would "gravely undermine" relations between the two countries and have a "terrible impact" on bilateral relations.

Clearly upset with Pelosi's remarks in regard to Tibet, the Chinese Ambassador to India, Zhang Yan said, "We oppose any country, any organisation, or any person to interfere in China's internal affairs. Tibet is China's internal affair." He sternly warned that "Any attempt to cause trouble for China is doomed to fail." Dismissing the Dalai Lama's claim that he had nothing to do with the violence in Lhasa, the Chinese envoy said, "We judge a person by his deeds, not words. Recent incidents in Lhasa and other parts of the world have shown the nature of his intention. He is a political activist. We must not be misled by him. He is the head of all exiled Tibetans. Why can't he stop them?"

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has held telephone talks with her Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in which she urged Beijing to show restraint. But Yang told her the protesters were trying to sabotage both the Olympics and social stability -- and reiterated China's position that it blamed the Dalai Lama for the violence. China's response to the riots has drawn worldwide attention to its human rights record, threatening to overshadow Beijing's attempts to project an image of unity and prosperity in the lead-up to the August Olympics.

Thousands of Chinese troops continue to push into Tibetan areas of western China to contain unrest. Anti-China protests began on 10th March in Lhasa and gradually escalated, spreading to Tibetan communities in neighbouring Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces. The Chinese authorities are continuing to tighten security following days of protests by Tibetans in the main city, Lhasa, and in surrounding provinces. China is not allowing foreign journalists into Tibet. Troops have also sealed off towns in the surrounding areas where unrest has taken place. His Holiness The Dalai Lama -- who in 1989 won the Nobel Peace Price for his commitment to non-violence in the quest for Tibetan self-rule -- has called for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.