Tell Gordon Brown he has failed the people of Tibet

Tell Gordon Brown he has failed the people of Tibet

4 February 2009


Please write to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and express your disappointment with his lack of action on Tibet during the Chinese Premier’s visit to the UK.

  • Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to the UK from 31 January to 2 February 2009 was the first visit of a Chinese leader since last year’s deadly protests in Tibet and presented the best opportunity for Gordon Brown to address human rights in Tibet.

  • · During a press conference with Wen Jiabao, Gordon Brown urged “further dialogue on the Chinese Government to resolve the underlying issues in Tibet”. This statement has failed to address the current crisis in Tibet. Gordon Brown should have sought assurances from the Premier that last year’s shootings of unarmed protestors are not repeated again next month, during the 50 year anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising.

The situation in Tibet is so desperate that The Tibetan Government in Exile released an urgent appeal to governments requesting “to actively intervene so that unfortunate incidences of March 2008 may not be repeated.”

  • Express your disappointment with the British Government’s new UK-China framework, announced last week, titled “The UK and China: A Framework for Engagement”.

While the strategy claims that the promotion of human rights is central to the UK’s engagement, the stated benchmarks for human rights outcomes suggest the British Government is not serious about the promotion of human rights. The strategy aims for a “reduction” in detention without trial in China and Tibet, but does not ask for its outright abolition. It states that it aims to secure China’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) even though China has signed the ICCPR more than ten years ago, and despite many promises has still failed to bring it into force.

  • Wen Jiabao in his speech on trade relations made reference to “a fresh new starting point” between China and Britain and that there is “no baggage of history between us”. It seems to be a reference to the UK’s recent change in policy in which the Foreign Secretary reversed more than ninety years of UK foreign policy when he recognised Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China. It was claimed that such a change would strengthen Britain’s position with China to promote human rights for Tibet. It is now clear that Britain has given up its long held position on the status of Tibet in order to strengthen trade relations with China and nothing else.

  • The British Government has betrayed the people of Tibet at a time when they need the world’s help the most, for promises of greater access to Chinese markets

 


Currently 10 Downing Street is updating its email system and can not accept email correspondence. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Therefore please send Gordon Brown a fax or write a letter.

Address: Prime Minister Gordon Brown
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

You can fax the Prime Minister on 020 7925 0918. (From outside the UK, the number is +442079250918)

 

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