'People in Tibet not free to exercise rights'

The people in Tibet are not free to fully exercise their rights, religious and otherwise, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said here on Thursday.

"Despite the infrastructural investments and various socio-cultural projects, the fact remains that Tibetans are not free to fully exercise their rights, religious and otherwise," it said in a statement.

It said the movements by Tibetans, within the Tibetan plateau, were more than ever restricted with endless requirements for permits, monasteries were run by the Communist Party of China, nomads were forcefully removed from their traditional pasture, mining and dam building projects were carried out without local consultation and participation.

"Since 2009, at least 142 Tibetans are known to have self-immolated as an act of protest against Beijing's misrule in Tibetan areas."

The CTA's reaction came after China's white paper on Tibet Autonomous Region on September 6.

The white paper comes in the run up to the "celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Tibet Autonomous region" claiming Tibet has entered its "golden age" citing numerous questionable statistics.

"Contrary to Chinese claims, the ground reality offers a drastically different situation with a complete lockdown and extreme security measures taken to orchestrate the anniversary celebration in Lhasa," the CTA added.

The Tibetan government-in-exile is based in this north Indian hill town.