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Pelosi speaks out on Tibet
21/03/2008 14:54 - (SA)
Dharamshala, India - US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed Chinese "oppression" in Tibet on Friday as thousands of Tibetan exiles cheered her arrival in this Indian hill town to meet the Dalai Lama.
In a trip that has angered Chinese officials, she flew into Dharamshala, seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, to pay the first high-level call on the spiritual icon after anti-Chinese riots erupted in Tibet nearly two weeks ago.
"Speaking for myself, I would say if freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in Tibet, we have lost our moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world," said Pelosi, draped in a golden scarf given to her by the Dalai Lama.
"The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world. What is happening, the world needs to know," she told the Dalai Lama, exiled Tibetan leaders and thousands of refugees who roared with approval.
"We are with you to meet that challenge. We are with you in this challenge," she said to deafening applause from the crowd waving Tibetan and US flags.
The northern mountain town was jammed with crowds of refugees, some with children hoisted on their shoulders, and maroon-robed monks. The streets were festooned with banners welcoming US support, proclaiming "American-Tibet Friendship" and "Free Tibet".
Criticism from China
Pelosi's comments drew a sharp response from China's ambassador to India Zhang Yan, who said "no country, organisation or person" should "take any irresponsible act or say irresponsible words".
"We have stated clearly Tibet is China's internal affair," he said.
The Chinese, keen to put their best face forward ahead of the August Olympics, have insisted they are seeking to avoid heavy-handed tactics to suppress the worst protests against their rule in Tibet in nearly 20 years
Pelosi, a strong critic of China's human rights record, also called for an international probe into the causes of the unrest but added she was not seeking a boycott of the Olympics.
"We call upon the international community to have an independent outside investigation on accusations made by the Chinese government that His Holiness (the Dalai Lama) was the instigator of violence in Tibet," said Pelosi, who was accompanied by nine US Congressmen.
"This investigation is to make sure there is no association between His Holiness and violence in Tibet," said Pelosi.
Pelosi also said she was "not calling for any boycott of the Olympic Games," echoing statements by the Dalai Lama, who has denied orchestrating the riots.
But the "world is watching" events in China, added Pelosi, who presented the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honour awarded by the US legislature, to the Dalai Lama in Washington in October, enraging Beijing.
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