Press Advisory - 9 March 2005

Contact: Matt Whitticase - 07904 063 746 or 020 7324 4605, Alison Reynolds - 07711 843 884

[LONDON] On Tibet Day, Saturday 12 March 2005, Michael Trend MP and Tenzin Samphel (a former Vice-President of the Tibetan Youth Congress) will be joined by hundreds of Tibet supporters marching from the Chinese Embassy to Whitehall to demand that Tony Blair pushes for a just and peaceful end to the illegal Chinese occupation of Tibet. Mr. Trend said, "The plight of the people of Tibet is one of the great scandals of the modern world. The suffering people of Tibet have no voice of their own; it is our duty to give them a voice on 12 March."

Michael Trend, Tenzin Samphel and Free Tibet campaigners will deliver a letter to Downing Street urging the Prime Minister to press China's Premier Wen Jiabao¹, to enter into unconditional negotiations with the democratically elected Tibetan Government in exile². The letter also calls on the British Government to rethink its decision to support the lifting of EU's embargo on the sale of arms to China³. Tibet Day 2005 marks the 46th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising in which tens of thousands of Tibetans were killed by illegal Chinese occupying forces.

Matt Whitticase of Free Tibet Campaign said, "If the Prime Minister is serious in his desire for British foreign policy to promote global peace and stability, he must acknowledge the Tibetans' persistent pursuit of a peaceful and negotiated settlement to the occupation of their country. We call on Mr Blair to press for progress in the talks between China and Tibet when he meets Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao later this year, and, in recognition of China's poor human rights record, we further call on the UK to maintain the EU China Arms Embargo."

The Tibetan Freedom March starts from the Chinese Embassy, 49-51 Portland Place, London W1. Assemble from 11.00am, march begins at 11.30am with a rally in King Charles Street, London, SW1 at 1.00pm. A cultural event will take place at Westminster Cathedral Hall (Ambrosden Avenue), London SW1 from 2.30pm.

Tibet Day is organised jointly by the Office of Tibet London, the Tibetan Community in the UK, Students for a Free Tibet, the Tibet Society and Free Tibet Campaign.

Footnotes:

1. During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Britain in May 2004 the British Government announced it would hold an annual summit with the Chinese Government.
2. In September 2002 China invited two envoys of the Dalai Lama to Beijing for 'talks about talks'. A second visit took place in June 2003 and, following an extended delay, a third in September 2004. Free Tibet Campaign is calling for a stepping up of international pressure to ensure that these discussions lead to genuine negotiations.
3. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stated in January that the UK intends to join France and Germany in lobbying for the lifting of the EU Arms Embargo on China during the present Luxembourg Presidency of the EU. The embargo was imposed in 1989 following the massacre in Tiananmen Square. NGOs including Free Tibet Campaign argue that China's human rights record does not yet justify ending the embargo.