Tibetan monk writes to Ken demanding strong public statement on China's occupation of Tibet

Free Tibet Campaign and Tibet supporters will protest tomorrow outside a key note reception (1) given by London's Mayor, Ken Livingstone, for senior Chinese officials (2).

The protests follow a letter to the Mayor in which Tibetan monk and human rights defender, Dewatsang Sangye (3), demanded the Mayor end his public silence on Tibet by making a strong and public condemnation of China's brutal occupation of Tibet.
In the letter, Dewatsang Sangye said: "Continued public silence and self-censorship with regard to China's appalling human rights record only emboldens the Chinese Government to continue its human rights abuses in Tibet and elsewhere." To date, there has been no response from the Mayor.

Matt Whitticase of Free Tibet Campaign said, "Last year Ken cosied up to China's dictators by attempting to play down the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 (4). The Mayor must abandon his politically expedient policy of brushing human rights under the carpet and only talking trade with China's leaders. Instead, he should address China's appalling human rights record in Tibet and China. A good place to start would be by telling the Chinese Ambassador tomorrow that President Hu Jintao (5) must meet the Dalai Lama to negotiate an end to China's 57 year occupation of Tibet. (6)"

Please let us know if you would like photos of the demonstration. They will be in large files so we will not be circulating them.

Notes to Editor:

(1) The reception will be held at the Langham Hotel, 1c Portland Place, London W1. Protesters will be outside the Langham Hotel from 3.30pm - 7.00pm approx, 15 February.
(2) The reception will be attended by Mr Zha Peixin (Chinese Ambassador to London) and Mr Yu Yunbo (member of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government).
(3) Tibetan Monk, the Venerable Dewatsang Sangye, worked underground in Tibet at enormous risk, supporting former political prisoners who had been tortured and were unable to work after being released from prison. He was eventually forced to flee from Tibet in fear of his own safety.
(4) On a trip to Beijing in April 2006, Mayor Livingstone compared the 1990 Poll Tax riots in Trafalgar Square with the massacre of hundreds of peacefully protesting students in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The Mayor said that it should be remembered that London had had its own riots like Tiananmen Square. This ignored the fact that during the Poll Tax riots the Metropolitan Police did not fire at or kill anyone. Secondly, the Poll Tax Riots were prompted by the policies of a democratically elected government whereas hundreds of peacefully protesting Chinese citizens were murdered by a brutal dictatorship at Tiananmen Square.
(5) Hu Jintao is President of China.
(6) Since China's invasion of Tibet in 1950 hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have died as a result of the occupation. Many more (including the Dalai Lama) have fled over the Himalayas into exile in fear of their lives. In September 2006 Chinese border security shot at a group of defenceless Tibetan refugees at the Nangpa La Pass. One nun has been confirmed dead as a result of the shooting and many more were rounded up and detained. Many of those detained were under 15 and eyewitnesses have testified that some of the older detainees, including teenagers as young as 15, were tortured with electric rods.