Rangzen conference urges CTA to revert its Middle Way Policy to complete independence for Tibet
By Tsering Choephel
DHARAMSALA, 16 July: A four-point statement and a nine-point resolution were released Monday at the conclusion of the 7th International Rangzen Conference, held in Toronto, Canada, from July 13th to 15th.
Brad Redkopp, a sitting member of the Canadian Parliament, attended the conference as the chief guest, with seven members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile attending the opening ceremony as special guests. Approximately 250 people gathered on the day, and nearly 200 individuals from the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and India participated in the three-day conference.
An International Tibet Independence Campaign Network Congress has been established as a follow-up to the resolution proposed last year during the 6th International Rangzen Conference in New Delhi. A nine-member committee has been elected. The newly founded organisation aims “not to compete but rather to collaborate with other existing independence organisations to enhance the effectiveness of Tibet Independence campaigns and movements,” according to the statement.
Condemning China’s brutal invasion of Tibet and its persistent repression of Tibetans, the statement stressed that the “Chinese government is never to be trusted.”
The statements protested the Chinese authorities’ recent forced closure of the renowned Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School in Golok, Tibet, and expressed solidarity with its teachers and students.
Moreover, the conference welcomed the recent charge against Chinese President Xi Jinping by The Court of the Citizens of The World for crimes against humanity and genocide regarding China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims and Tibetans.
“Selective and biased reporting by the mainstream Tibetan media has negatively impacted the long term Tibet’s struggle for freedom,” says the statement and urges the heads of the media outlets to abide by the rule of objective approach in truth reporting.
One of the resolutions urged the “Tibetan government in Exile to rethink its Middle Way Policy in light of China’s ongoing disparagement of this approach and the changing global geopolitics.” It appeals to the “Tibetan government in Exile to change its policy back to Independence.” An International Tibet Independence Advocacy Day is to be established to raise awareness and garner support from the international community.
The resolution called on the Tibetan Youth Congress to retract its 2013 resolution, wherein the organisation pledged its disconnection from the Tibet Independence Committee. TYC’s disengagement “has been detrimental to the unity and potential collaboration in advocacy work among organisations and to the overall Tibetan Independence movement,” the statement reads.
Initiated by a few Rangzen advocates, the first Rangzen conference was held in Dharamsala on June 27, 2012, while the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth editions were held in New Delhi (2015), New York (2016), Paris (2017), Dharamsala (2018), and New Delhi (2023), respectively.
At the Conference, it was decided to hold the 8th International Rangzen Conference in Australia next year, 2025.
