By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, July 20: A panel discussion on the subject “China – World power without Human Rights” will be held on coming Monday at the main hall of the University of Hamburg.
The panel discussion will emphasise on working out an effective strategy to enable Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians and Chinese citizens to enjoy their inalienable human rights.
Upon invitation by the Tibetan Centre, Hamburg and the Tibet Support Group, Hamburg section, Harry Wu and Rebiya from Washington, Tsering Jampa from Amsterdam and Marino Busdachin from Brussels will travel to the German city to participate in the discussion.
The dicussion will be moderated by Helmet Steckel, speaker of the section Hamburg of the Tibet Support Group Germany.
As part of the panel discussion, the four participants will report individually on the main focus of their activity and will develop a forward looking perspective to confront the totalitarian regime and religious intolerance in the People’s Republic of China.
The discussion is aimed at raising the question of how to safeguard human rights; religious, cultural and economic basic rights in general.
The Panel discussion on July 23, 2007 will be held at the Main Hall of the University of Hamburg, lecture room B, Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Hamburg at 20.00 hrs. 10 Euro entry fee will be charged for the panel discussion in English with German translation.
Participants of the Panel Discussion
(Profile filed by Tibet Initiative Deutschland and Regional Tibet Support Group Hamburg)
▪ Harry Wu is founder and executive director of the Laogai Research Foundation in Washington and author of several books on the forced labour system (laogai) in China. For 19 long years he himself was detained in the Laogai labour camp. As no other Chinese dissident he is in a position to analyse the situation of human rights in China and to point out ways towards overcoming the dictatorial regime.
▪ Rebiya Kadeer, president of the World Uyghur Congress, who is featured in the book “Himmels-stürmerin und Staatsfeindin Nr. 1 (high-flyer and public enemy No. 1), is also called “mother of the Uyghurs”. In March 2005 she was released after five years imprisonment ahead of schedule. Three of her children have been sentenced to several years prison term in China. Rebiya Kadeer says she is fighting for human rights. She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
▪ Tsering Jampa is the director of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) Europe. Tibet’s freedom and self-determination are to be gained in a peaceful way. Publicity work is one of the main pillars of the ICT, which has many members in Europe and the USA. It gives a loud voice to the peaceful resistance of the Tibetan people.
▪ Marino Busdachin, general secretary of UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation), represents an international organisation with consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. It stands for those independent states, nationalities and peoples which do not have membership in the United Nations, such as the Tibetans, Uyghurs, the Aborigines of Australia and the Tatars of the Crimea. The acceptance of equality of all nations and peoples, the safeguarding of human rights and a commitment to democracy and pluralism are some of the guiding principles of this organisation.
