DHARAMSALA, APRIL 9 – Coinciding with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India, the Canadian Parliamentary ‘Friends of Tibet’ today asked China to start negotiations with representatives of the Dalai Lama on the issue of self-determination of the Tibetan people.
While welcoming its “new openness, China’s human rights record is a serious concern to Canadian Parliamentarians who view the Chinese policy in Tibet to be deterimental to the stability of the region,” Friends of Tibet Vice-President Deepak Obharai said.
The member of Parliament from Calgary East, who is in India as part of a business delegation, said the self- determination aspirations of the Tibetan people could not be throttled and “attempts to force Tibet, which has a distinct identity, to assimilate with China would not be acceptable to the freedom-loving people of the world”.
The Canadian delegation also met members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile here.
