Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], September 24 (ANI): Tibetan activists have urged US President Donald Trump and other world leaders to raise the Tibet issue and human rights concerns during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ongoing visit to the United States.
Representatives of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) and Students for a Free Tibet India said Xi’s visit provides an opportunity for the international community to draw attention to the situation in Tibet and the concerns of the Tibetan people.
Tenzin Dhesal, Information Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, said Tibetans did not welcome Xi Jinping and urged global leaders to speak about the situation in Tibet.
“We want Donald Trump to talk about Tibet. We also want leaders across the world to speak about the Tibet issue and what is happening in Tibet,” Dhesal said.
She said the TYC wanted President Trump and other world leaders to discuss Tibet and expressed the organisation’s view that “China’s diplomatic assurances cannot be trusted.”
Tenzin Dekong, Joint Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, said the Tibetan community would continue to raise its voice peacefully and called on global leaders to address the Tibet issue.
“We believe in non-violence, and our protest in Washington, DC, will be a peaceful protest,” Dekong said, adding that the objective was to highlight the situation in Tibet and ensure that the issue was not forgotten by the international community.
Dekong said Tibet should remain on the international agenda and urged world leaders to speak about the concerns of the Tibetan people.
Tenzin Passang, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet, said the protests against Xi’s visit involved not only Tibetans but also activists from other communities that have raised concerns about Chinese policies.
“Standing against colonisation means standing against Xi Jinping and his Chinese regime,” Passang said, alleging that Chinese policies had sought to undermine Tibetan identity and the identities of other communities.
Passang urged Trump to include human rights concerns in his discussions with Xi Jinping.
“President Trump is the leader of a democratic country, and it is his responsibility to speak about human rights,” she said, urging him to raise concerns about Tibetan children, Tibet, Uyghurs, Hong Kong and Southern Mongolia.
As part of their planned actions in the United States, Tibetan activists and their supporters are scheduled to hold peaceful marches, rallies, banner actions and other demonstrations in Washington, DC, during Xi’s visit. The actions are intended to convey the message that the protesters do not welcome Xi Jinping and to call for freedom for Tibet.
Passang said activists from Tibetan, Uyghur, Hong Kong and other communities would participate in actions against what they described as Chinese repression. She also alleged that some Tibetan protesters had faced harassment and attempts to interfere with their right to demonstrate.
The activists said their protests would remain peaceful and were aimed at reminding the international community that the Tibet issue remains unresolved. (ANI)
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