At a press conference the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she would raise the issue of Tibet with the new Chinese leadership during her weeklong visit to China.
The announcement follows Australia Tibet Council’s (ATC) letter to the Prime Minister last week, urging her to encourage Chinese president Xi Jinping to address the current crisis inside Tibet.
“Failure to offer frank advice on the human rights situation in Tibet, and in China at large, will only ensure the continuity of the decades-long repressive policies, undermining basic human values such as freedom, dignity and justice,” said Paul Rourke, the executive officer of ATC in the letter.
Ms Gillard starts a her visit to China on Friday and will be one of the first world leaders to meet with President Xi since his elevation to the job.
There have been 114 self-immolations in Tibet since 2009.
“Unfortunately, instead of seeking to address Tibetan grievances, China’s leaders have continued the repressive ‘stability maintenance’ approach, ramped up anti-Dalai Lama propaganda, criminalised protests and introduced harsh new security measures for the Tibetans,” said ATC’s letter.
On 18 March, a group of 12 young Tibetans took part in our second Tibet Advocacy Day. The Tibetans met with almost forty Members of Parliament and urged the Australian government to adopt a new approach on the Tibet issue by coordinating its efforts with like-minded governments in helping resolve the situation in Tibet. Two days later, a motion on Tibet was passed in the Senate.
