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February 28

Occupation and repression leading to self-immolations: Sikyong Sangay testifies

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, was testifying before the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Canadian Parliament on February 26 in Ottawa.

Tibetans are saying occupation is unacceptable and repression is unbearable,” Sikyong Sangay said describing the unprecedented numbers of self-immolations.

“There is political repression, economic marginalisation, environmental destruction, cultural assimilation, and denial of religious freedom (in Tibet) ... There is no space for any kind of protest and there is no freedom of speech for Tibetans. Hence tragically and sadly, they are resorting to self-immolation.”

“As Buddhist or person of faith, we pray for all those who have died, including the self-immolators. And as a Tibetan, we support the aspiration of the Tibetan people inside Tibet including the self-immolators.”

“There is not even a shred of evidence as far as these allegations are concerned and we have welcomed the Chinese government to come to Dharamshala to see our files and look for evidence if there is any,” he said. “In reality, the blame and solution lies with Beijing.”

“We will continue to subscribe and believe in these principles. So we seek the support from friends like you who believe in freedom, who believe in democracy, that the Chinese government ought to enter into dialogue to solve the issue of Tibet peacefully.”