Dharamshala: - With the wave of self-immolation protests spreading across Tibet, the entire region is now 'under undeclared martial law.' The Chinese regime has now been banned international tourists and journalists from entering the all parts of Tibet, exile Tibetan government said on Thursday, August 30, 2012.
"The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) is gravely concerned by the deteriorating situation in Tibet. Despite repeated appeals by the Central Tibetan Administration to refrain from drastic actions, over 51 Tibetans have now set themselves on fire in protest against the Chinese government's repressive policies," said CTA in a statement.
"Since March 2009, over 51 Tibetans between age of 16 - 64, comprising of monks, nuns, student, nomads, farmers, have now set themselves on fire asking for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans," the statement said.
The Tibetan government in exile said that the "whole of Tibet is effectively under undeclared martial law, and remains closed to foreign tourists and journalists. Such brutal response from the Chinese government has pushed an increasing number of Tibetans to continue taking drastic steps. The responsibility for the tragic self-immolations in Tibet lies entirely with the Chinese government, so does the solution."
"The international community, including governments and parliaments of countries such as Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Africa, and the US, have expressed serious concern over the critical situation in Tibet," CTA said.
"Resolutions have been passed and statements issued urging the Chinese authorities to take proactive steps to ease security clampdown in Tibet, address the underlying grievances of Tibetans through dialogue, and cease promoting policies that threaten the Tibetan language, culture, religion, heritage and environment. Central Tibetan Administration urges the Chinese government to heed the urgent appeal of the international community," the statement further added.
However, the authorities have simply ignored or disregarded those resolutions call upon Hu's regime to respect human rights and religious freedoms of Tibetan people.
CTA also said, "the Chinese people, who have the right to know the real situation in Tibet, include individuals who have expressed their concern over the grim situation in Tibet. This included renowned Beijing-based artist, Ai Weiwei, who recently expressed his personal embarrassment at how the Chinese government is dealing the tragic self-immolations of Tibetans in Tibet."
"We appeal to individual governments to use their good offices to engage the Chinese government to end the crisis in Tibet at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, to allow fact-finding delegation and international media to visit Tibet, and to pursue substantive dialogue with the Central Tibetan Administration to resolve the issue of Tibet," the statement concluded.
