Tibetan Canadian activist urges Canada to raise Lobga Rangzen’s self-immolation at UN
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 29 Sept: A Tibetan Canadian activist has petitioned Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, urging the Canadian government to raise the self-immolation of Tibetan independence activist Lobga Rangzen at the United Nations and strengthen its support for human rights in Tibet.
The petition, dated 28 September and submitted by Youngdoung Tenzin Gandruktsang, follows a 25-minute meeting he held in Ottawa with Isabelle Buchanan, an adviser to the Canadian foreign ministry. During the meeting, he briefed her on Rangzen’s self-immolation and the situation in occupied Tibet.
Lobga Rangzen self-immolated outside the UN headquarters in New York on 2 July. Gandruktsang has called on Canada to raise Rangzen’s sacrifice at the UN General Assembly, join a multilateral statement on human rights in occupied Tibet, include his self-immolation and the situation in Tibet in its annual human rights report, and raise his message with Chinese officials during diplomatic engagements.
The petition also urges Canada to recognise China’s “Ethnic Unity and Progress” law as an illegal policy and an act of genocide. It includes an English transcript of Rangzen’s final video message, in which he urged Tibetans in exile to work together for the Tibetan cause and continue the struggle for Tibetan independence.
“We are all Tibetans first,” Rangzen said in the message, according to the transcript.
The petition also highlights Canada’s longstanding support for Tibet, citing its historical diplomatic position, votes at the United Nations and parliamentary actions. It refers to a 21 November 1950 diplomatic memorandum by the then- Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs, Lester B. Pearson, who wrote that Tibet had controlled its own internal and external affairs and was, from the perspective of international law, “qualified for recognition as an independent state.”
It also cites Canada’s recent parliamentary actions supporting the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination and dialogue between Beijing and Tibetan representatives.
