Dharamsala: The Tibetan government-in-exile, which came into existence formally in this town 53 years ago, yesterday asserted again its demand of equal rights for the people of Tibet in China, as enjoyed by other ethnic minorities there.
“We have repeatedly explained to the Chinese government the essence of the mutually beneficial ‘middle-way policy’, which is based upon the coexistence of the two communities and the entitlement of equal rights and prerogatives to the Tibetan people, as is enjoyed by the other national minorities,” the parliament-in-exile said on Tibetan Democracy Day, which marks the anniversary of the Tibetan democratic system in exile.
Decrying China National Political Consultative Committee chairman Yu Zhengsheng’s statement, who had earlier said that the Dalai Lama’s demand for ‘high degree of autonomy’ contravenes China’s constitution, the parliament-in-exile said: “His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration have striven for genuine autonomy for all Tibetans as per the provisions contained in the PRC (People’s Republic of China) constitution and autonomy law, which clearly spell out the right to regional ethnic autonomy. To say that this breaches the constitution clearly exposes the insincerity, hypocrisy and true face of Chinese communist autocrats who are illegally destroying Tibetan race, religion and culture.”
IANS
