Inquiry into the UK government's weakening Tibet policy |
Inquiry into the UK government’s Tibet policy Follow up on mass lobby action on 10 March 2009 Feedback from supporters brought to our attention that, despite the fact that the Foreign Secretary’s Written Statement was addressed to all MPs, many were not aware of the UK government’s recent change of position on the status of Tibet or of its weakening Tibet policy. Now that we have the MPs’ attention it is important we co-ordinate to ensure public scrutiny of the UK’s policy on Tibet. JOIN US IN ACTION! You can help maintain the pressure by writing to your MP requesting their support for an inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee into the UK’s weakening position on Tibet. The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is the body that examines the policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). To the right is a sample letter to your MP which includes a letter we hope your MP will send to Mike Gapes MP, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. To find your MP’s contact details Please send copies of any responses to Free Tibet; this is very important for us to monitor the campaign. Free Tibet
Photo: Free Tibet Reigate group with MP Peter Ainsworth for East Surrey | Sample letter to your MP: Please send copies of any responses to Free Tibet; this is very important for us to monitor the campaign. Dear [Your MP’s name]To address the UK government’s weakening policy on Tibet despite a worsening human rights situation I would like to ask you to support a call for an inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee into the government’s policy on China and Tibet and sign the letter below. [Your name] ------------------------------ Foreign Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into the effectiveness of the UK’s China policy in addressing human rights in China and Tibet I am writing in support of Free Tibet’s request to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee for an inquiry into the UK’s foreign policy strategy towards China and its impact on human rights in China and Tibet. Such an inquiry would be timely in view of: • The written Ministerial Statement (29 October 2008) issued by the Foreign Secretary in which Britain’s position on Tibet changed unequivocally, ending the stance held for almost 100 years that China only had a “special position” in Tibet (based on principles of suzerainty) and recognising Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China. This change of position was made without parliamentary scrutiny; • The collapse of the Sino-Tibetan talks between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and China in November 2008, after eight rounds. The Foreign Secretary has stated that these talks were “the only forum in which there is any realistic possibility of progress to resolve the differences between the parties involved”; now that these talks have collapsed, it is unclear how a political solution will be agreed; • More than ten years of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue which have produced few positive results in securing the fundamental human rights of Tibetans and which did not include any benchmarks to monitor the process. It is unclear what have been the gains of these dialogues. • ‘The UK and China: A Framework for Engagement’, an FCO publication outlining the UK’s strategy to strengthen its relationship with China. This document states that the promotion of human rights is central to UK government’s engagement with China but its indicators are weak. [Your MP’s name]
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