DHARAMSHALA, November 27: The US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Sarah Sewall, who recently visited Tibetan refugee camps in Nepal and India has said that Tibetans within China do not enjoy freedom within the Communist nation.
Sewall, who is also Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights talked of her assessment of human rights conditions in Tibet during an interaction with reporters in Washington DC on Monday.
Sewall also met the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan PM Lobsang Sangay in Dharamshala where she also visited the Tibetan Reception Centre, a temporary home for newly arrived Tibetans. “We spoke about non-violent approaches to conflict resolution, to include the questions of preserving Tibetan culture, religion, and education in every place that Tibetans currently reside,” she said.
“That’s a very wide-ranging discussion that, of course, also includes concerns about the refugee community with whom he works closely,” she added.
“I spent much of my time talking to refugees and talking to the organisations that welcome and work with refugees about the situation in China, because they tend to have more recent stories,” Sewall said.
“I met with several people who had left China recently, and I spoke to many people who have family in China,” she added.
“Their assessment of the situation tracks very much with the State Department’s assessment of the situation, as recorded in our human rights reporting ? that there is not a degree of freedom for Tibetans within China that we think is consistent with international human rights standards,” Sewall said.
She also announced a $3.2 million USAID grant to help modernise the health system for Tibetan refugees during her visit.
China expressed its opposition to the US government’s appointment of Sewall to the post of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues in February this year.
