DHARAMSHALA, February 25: The Tibetan minister for Information and International Relations addressed the Human Rights and Democracy Summmit in Geneva on Monday.
Dicki Chhoyang, Kalon (minister) for Information and International Relations, reiterated her government’s commitment to the Middle Way Approach in resolving the issue of Tibet, and sought support from the world community.
“As a representative of the Central Tibetan Administration, I serve as the voice of the Tibetan people in the free world and I travel to several countries every year to raise awareness about the human rights situation in Tibet. But more importantly, to seek support for what China doesn’t want the world to know and what China wants to keep as a secret. And that is, the Tibetan proposal to resolve the current situation inside Tibet, which is called the Middle Way Approach,” Chhoyang said.
Despite the last half a century of Chinese occupation, Tibet stands today as a symbol of a people’s non-violent struggle for freedom, justice and dignity, she said.
Chhoyang also said the Tibetan issue is a fight between truth, peace, and honesty on one side and brutal force on the other. “We are dealing with a ruthless regime, which has a formidable propaganda machine. And its way of handling Tibet is silence. Silence, as in, no information going inside Tibet and no information coming out of Tibet,” said Chhoyang.
Chhoyang, one of the two woman ministers in the current Tibetan cabinet headed by Tibetan PM Lobsang Sangay, also briefed the conference about the current human rights situation inside Tibet and the spate of self immolations since 2009. She urged the world to stand witness to the ongoing repression inside Tibet.
The minister also met with the Tibetans living in the area and spoke to them about her government’s policies and decisions.
