US Lawmakers Move Bill To Evaluate Chinese Atrocities In Tibet
WASHINGTON, DC– US Senators Rick Scott, a Republican senator from Florida, and Jeff Merkley, a Democratic senator from Oregon, have introduced the Tibet Atrocities Determination Act, which requires the US Secretary of State to formally determine whether China’s actions in Tibet constitute genocide or crimes against humanity.
According to an official statement, the legislation was introduced on April 29, coinciding with Martyrs’ Day observed by the Tibetan Youth Congress to honor those who sacrificed their lives for Tibet’s freedom.
“Communist China is committing genocide in Tibet. There is no way around it. The regime in Beijing has engaged in systematic killings, torture, forced sterilization, forced displacement, government-sanctioned kidnapping, and a myriad of other crimes against humanity in its oppression of the Tibetan people. This is par for the course for an evil regime that is simultaneously waging a genocide against the Uyghurs, suppressing Christianity, and locking up political prisoners like my friend Jimmy Lai,” said Senator Rick Scott, a Republican lawmaker from Florida.
“The bloodshed needs to end, and China needs to be held accountable for all of it. I am glad to be partnering with Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democratic lawmaker from Oregon, on this effort to hold the Chinese government accountable,” he added.
Highlighting the atrocities against Tibetans, Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democratic senator from Oregon, said, “In the face of China’s continued assault on Tibetans, escalating cultural erasure, child separation, surveillance, imprisonment, and torture, America can’t stand silent. As the Chinese government continues to ignore the rights of the Tibetan people under international law, we must be clear that these crimes will not be ignored.”
The statement also cited reports from the US State Department and human rights organizations alleging ongoing enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture, and targeted repression of Tibetans, including the still-unresolved 1995 disappearance of the boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama.
It added that several reports have highlighted a widespread boarding school system that separates Tibetan children from their families, restricts Tibetan language and cultural education, and subjects students to political indoctrination and surveillance. (IANS)
