This from Tibet Will Be Free: the U.S. House of Representatives has just overwhelmingly passed an important piece of legislation called House Resolution 1070. It resolves that the House of Representatives:
Calls on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to end its crackdown on nonviolent Tibetan protestors and its continuing cultural, religious, economic and linguistic repression inside Tibet;
Calls on the Chinese Government to begin a results-based dialogue, without preconditions, directly with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to address the legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people and provide for a long-term solution that respects the human rights and dignity of every Tibetan;
Calls on the Chinese Government to allow independent international monitors and journalists, free and unfettered access to the Tibet Autonomous Region and all other Tibet areas of China for the purpose of monitoring and documenting events surrounding the Tibetan protests and to verify that individuals injured receive adequate medical care.
Calls on the Chinese Government to immediately release all Tibetans who are imprisoned for nonviolently expressing opposition to Chinese Government policies in Tibet;
Calls on the United States Department of State to publicly issue a statement reconsidering its decision not to include the People’s Republic of China among the group of countries described as “the world’s most systematic human rights violators” in the introduction of the 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; and
Calls on the United States Department of State to fully implement the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note), including the stipulation that the Secretary of State ‘seek to establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet to monitor political, economic and cultural developments in Tibet’, and also to provide consular protection and citizen services in emergencies, and further urges that the agreement to permit China to open further diplomatic missions in the United States should be contingent upon the establishment of a United States Government office in Lhasa.Tibet Will Be Free also includes selected quotations and YouTube clips of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), and Chairman Howard Burman (D-CA) of the Foreign Affairs Committee speaking about the resolution. Of their statements, Tibet Will Be Free says:
These statements and this resolution come not from Tibetan exiles or activists marching on the streets of American cities, but some of the most respected leaders of the US government. This resolution is a recognition of the brutal oppression Tibetans live under, the courage it takes for them to rise up in protest, and the importance of speaking out on about the political weight of the Beijing Olympics.
Meanwhile, in another branch of U.S. government, the White House says that Mr. Bush “has not ruled out” missing the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing. He hasn’t said he’ll skip them yet, though. If he does attend, Amnesty International insists he must do more to encourage China to protect and promote human rights.
We are urging him to pressure China for human rights improvements before the Games. Despite promises to improve its human rights record, China has become increasingly repressive in the run up to the Olympics. Human rights activists are detained without trial, journalists are harassed and imprisoned, “re-education through labor” programs and executions continue unabated.
To join Amnesty in asking Mr. Bush to “use [his] position as leader of the United States to push the Chinese towards upholding their human rights commitments, thus ensuring a positive Olympic legacy,” follow this link.
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This from Tibet Will Be Free: the U.S. House of Representatives has just overwhelmingly passed an important piece of legislation called House Resolution 1070. It resolves that the House of Representatives:
