(TibetanReview.net, May10’19) – Former exile Tibetan special representative for Europe Mr Kelsang Gyaltsen has on May 8 accused China of being out to destroy the core of Tibetan identity and replace Tibetan culture and religion with a state-approved and controlled version. He was addressing a hearing on “Religious Freedom: The human rights situation of religious minorities in China” held by the German parliament Bundestag’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid.
He has also called on German politicians to make it clear that they would not recognize any future Dalai Lama reincarnation appointed by the Chinese government.
He has referred to the prevailing “comprehensive monitoring of monasteries by party cadres, police and technology” in Tibet and the “religious and security laws that make virtually every religious activity dependent on the permission of the authorities.”
He has also spoken on “prohibitions on visiting temples, closing (down of) monastery schools, denigrating the Dalai Lama and long-term sentences for Tibetans who publicly worship him.” These repressive measures are accompanied by comprehensive and rigorous ideological campaigns in Tibet, he has added.
He has called on German policymakers to “understand the issue of human rights and the rights of religious and ethnic groups such as the Tibetans and Uyghurs as a central component of their relations with the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese government, both bilaterally and multilaterally, publicly and non-publicly.”
He has said the situation of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongols, etc., was indicative of the Chinese government’s disrespect for international legal norms and unwillingness to follow principles of peaceful conflict resolution.
He has suggested that Germany call on the Chinese government to resume dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama.
Others who addressed the hearing were started to include Ulrich Delius from the Society for Threatened People; Wenzel Michalski, director of Human Rights Watch in Germany; Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress; and Prof Frank N Pieke of the Mercator Institute for China Studies.
