DHARAMSHALA, September 4: The British Foreign Secretary William Hague yesterday appealed the Chinese government to commute Dolma Kyab’s death sentence and conduct “free and fair trials” in line with international standards.
“We urge the Chinese authorities to commute the sentence and give a reprieve,” said Hague to the House of Commons.
Earlier in August, China sentenced Dolma Kyab to death for allegedly killing his wife Kunchok Wangmo, who the exile Tibetans say had died after setting herself on fire in protest Chinese rule.
After Dolma Kyab from Tibet’s Zoege County refused to comply with the Chinese authorities orders to declare internal family feuds as the reason for his wife’s self-immolation, he was arrested.
Expressing his concern over the escalating rate of self-immolation protests in Tibet Hague called on all parties to use their influence to bring “an end” to it (self-immolation protests).
Since 2009, as many as 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
Answering a question of risking harm on religious and political freedom by making excessively large noises about human rights abuses with the Chinese government, Hague said, “I think that we should always be clear in the United Kingdom about our belief in universal human rights and never be afraid to give our advocacy for those rights. That includes relations with China.”
Last month, Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has condemned the use of the death penalty and said it violates the fundamental right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
“The persistent use of death penalty demonstrates China’s rejection of the United Nations Global Moratorium on the Death Penalty, adopted in 2007, which establishes a suspension on executions with the view to abolish the death penalty,” the Tibetan right group said.
