Tibetan PM apprises Australian MPs about rights violations

Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay has apprised Australian parliamentarians about the "ongoing religious repression and violation of basic human rights in Tibet", his office said on Thursday.

Sangay briefed the human rights subcommittee of the Australian parliament on Wednesday in Canberra about the ground situation inside Tibet, particularly with regard to environment, self-immolation protests and violation of basic human rights, a post on the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) official website said.

It said destruction of Larung Gar Tibetan Buddhist Academy in eastern Tibet by Chinese authorities was also taken up during the talks.

"We are not against Chinese developmental projects... Any project that China undertakes must be environmentally sustainable, culturally sensitive and economically beneficial to local Tibetans," a statement quoting Sangay said.

He also spoke about the 'middle-way' approach, the official policy of the CTA to resolve the Tibet issue.

He urged the subcommittee, chaired by Kevin Andrews, to support the resumption of dialogue between envoys of the Dalai Lama and Chinese representatives and said a lasting solution to the China-Tibet issue could only come through dialogue.

--IANS

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