ICT slams foreign delegates attending Tibet development forum
By Lobsang Tenchoe
DHARAMSALA, July 12: US based rights group, International Campaign for Tibet has slammed foreign representatives for attending a Tibet development forum in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital as Tibetans are incessantly abused, repressed and tortured under the communist Chinese regime.
The two-day meeting highlighted the economic development and prosperity that Tibetans in the region enjoys. As per Chinese state media reports, 130 guests from over 30 countries and regions” agreed “Tibet will have a bright future!”
As the participants from the 30 countries turned a blind eye on the China’s repressive policy in Tibet that has resulted in more than 140 self immolations by Tibetans since 2009, ICT slammed the forum as a whitewash of political repression and environmental damage in the Himalayan region, AFP reports July 12.
On its website savetibet.org ICT states that instead of protecting the environment of Tibet, China rampantly exploits the natural resources, confiscate lands from Tibetans, builds multiple dams on all the major rivers running off the plateau for their economic gains leaving Tibetans in the lurch.
“It is astonishing that foreign individuals representing respectable institutions would endorse Beijing propaganda, while hundreds of Tibetan political prisoners are still in jail for expressing their views,” AFP quoted Matteo Mecacci, ICT President as saying in its report.
According to China Daily, the forum, organized by the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department, concluded on Friday with “participants reaching a consensus on the autonomous region’s development, cultural and environmental protection.”
Participants who attended the forum headed by Liu Qibao, Beijing’s propaganda Chief, were reportedly given guided tours to selected areas in Lhasa and Lhoka prefecture in the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region.
The forum, held every two years, started in 2007 in Vienna, followed by 2009 in Rome, 2011 in Athens, and 2014 in Lhasa, Tibet.