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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2009
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Contact: Zach Goldberg
202-225-5801 (office) |
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HOUSE PASSES HOLT RESOLUTION CALLING ON CHINA TO END REPRESSION OF TIBET
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Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a Congressional Resolution (H.Res 226), introduced by Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12), that recognizes the plight of the Tibetan people on the 50th anniversary of the uprising against Chinese oppression and the exile of the Dalai Lama. The resolution calls for a sustained multilateral effort to bring about a durable and peaceful solution to the Tibet issue. Additionally, the resolution calls upon the Obama Administration to press China to respect the human rights of the Tibetan people. Last year, Holt joined a Congressional delegation led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a visit to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India.
Cosponsors include Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18), James McGovern (MA-3), Frank Wolf (VA-10), Joseph Cao (LA-2), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Edward Markey (MA-7), Dennis Kucinich (OH-10), Eleanor Holmes-North (DC), Nita Lowey (NY-18), Howard Berman (CA-28), Tammy Baldwin (WI-2), and Jan Schakowsky (IL-9)
“Tibet has been under the heavy hand of China for almost five decades, and the situation has deteriorated with China brutally suppressing Tibetans and systematically and relentlessly eradicating Tibetan culture,” Holt said. “I have been moved to see and hear, first-hand, the pleadings of Tibetans of all ages who have braved Himalayan crossings to escape oppression. The Dalai Lama gives them hope and calls on the world not to forget those who have fled and those who are left in Tibet. We, too, should give them hope.”
Said Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “The situation in Tibet challenges the conscience of the world. If freedom-loving people do not speak out for human rights in China and Tibet, then we lose the moral authority to talk about it in any other place in the world. With this legislation, we honor and remember the people of Tibet in their ongoing struggle.”
The resolution does the following:
--Recognizes the Tibetan people for their perseverance in the face of hardship and adversity and for creating a vibrant democratic community in exile.
--Thanks the government and people of India for their generosity toward the Tibetan refugee population.
--Calls upon the Government of the People’s Republic of China to “respond to the Dalai Lama’s initiatives to find a lasting solution to the Tibetan issue, cease its repression of the Tibetan people, and to lift immediately the harsh policies imposed on Tibetans.”
--Calls upon the Administration to recommit to a sustained effort that uses diplomatic, programmatic, and multilateral resources to press the People’s Republic of China to respect the Tibetans’ identity and the human rights of the Tibetan people.
The text of the resolution can be found at http://holt.house.gov/pdf/res226.pdf.
Video of Rep. Holt speaking on the House floor can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je_jurKAWPk. |
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