4 July 2017
To: Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina; Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia; Michel Temer, President of Brazil; Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India; Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia; Paolo Gentiloni, Prime Minister of Italy; Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan; Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico; Vladimir Putin, President of Russia; Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia; Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa; Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey; Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Donald Trump, President of the United States of America; Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission
cc Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of The Netherlands; Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain.
We are shocked and outraged at the news that Liu Xiaobo, an innocent human rights defender, has been diagnosed as gravely ill while unjustly detained by China, and we hope you are equally affronted. In the past week Liu Xiaobo and his wife, Liu Xia, have made their desire to leave China, to seek treatment abroad, very clear.
As you depart for the G20 summit in Hamburg, we appeal to you to urgently demand of China’s President the unconditional release of Liu Xiaobo and freedom to travel with his family wherever he wishes. We further call on you to express to Xi Jinping, in the strongest possible terms, your profound concern about how Liu Xiaobo reached this critical state.
The circumstances of Liu’s illness are a tragic reminder of the case of highly respected Tibetan lama and political prisoner, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who died in custody in July 2015. Tenzin Delek Rinpoche served over 13 years imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. He was known to be in extremely poor health with a serious heart condition and high blood pressure. His family had made made an official application for his release on medical parole in 2014, for which he was eligible. The specific cause of his death remains unknown.
Despite Liu Xiaobo and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche having – along with Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti – international prominence as human rights defenders imprisoned by China, one is dead and another is now dying. You, jointly and individually, must exert pressure on Xi Jinping during the G20 summit concerning Liu Xiaobo’s full freedom. If you do not China’s leadership will be strengthened and believe they can continue to act with impunity – and the entire international community will lose.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s niece, Nyima Lhamo, sends this direct appeal: “Liu Xiaobo’s case shows that China has learned nothing from my uncle’s unnecessary and tragic death. I appeal to you to step forward and ensure this is the last time this can happen. As fellow human beings, we are all morally obliged to ensure that China’s treatment of Liu Xiaobo doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Liu Xiaobo’s 2010 Nobel Peace Prize illuminated the human and political rights of the people under China’s rule, and created a real sense of hope. We urge you not to let that sense of hope fade, and call on you to press President Xi to release Liu Xiaobo and all the heroic human rights defenders that remain in China’s prisons, including Ilham Tohti, and press that China take tangible steps to implement the political and human rights reforms that these brave advocates are risking their lives to promote.
Signed
International Tibet Network Secretariat, on behalf of the 175 Tibet Groups listed below
Initiatives for China
Ilham Tohti Initiative
World Uyghur Congress
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO)
Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center
International Tibet Network Groups signing this letter
| Western Europe
Aide aux Refugies Tibetains Association Dorje Association Drôme Ardèche-Tibet Associazione Italia -Tibet Autodetermination – Tibet 09/31 Briancon05 Urgence Tibet Caisse d’Aide aux Prisonniers Tibetains Casa del Tibet – Spain Comite de Apoyo al Tibet (CAT) Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain (Les Lilas) Corse – Tibet Eco-Tibet France EcoTibet Ireland France Tibet Free Tibet Groupe Non-Violent Louis Lecoin, France Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete, Portugal International Society of Human Rights, Munich Chapter Jamtse Thundel Association La Porte du Tibet, Geneva Les Amis du Tibet – Belgium Les Amis du Tibet Luxembourg Lions Des Neiges Mont Blanc, France Lungta Association Belgium Maison des Himalayas Maison du Tibet – Tibet Info Nos Amis de l’Himalaya Objectif Tibet Passeport Tibetain Phagma Drolma-Arya Tara Reseau International des Femmes pour le Tibet Save Tibet, Austria Society for Threatened Peoples International Students for a Free Tibet France Students for a Free Tibet UK Tashi Delek Bordeaux Tibet 59 / 62 Tibet Initiative Deutschland Tibets Kinder im Exile V. Tibet Liberte Solidarite Tibet Libertes, France Tibet Society, U.K. Tibet Support Group – Ireland Tibet Support Group – Netherlands Tibet Unterstutzung Liechtenstein Tibetan Association of Germany Tibetan Community Austria Tibetan Community in Belgium Tibetan Community in Britain Tibetan Community in France Tibetan Community in Italy Tibetan Community in Ireland Tibetan Community in Netherlands Tibetan Community in Spain Tibetan Community in Switzerland & Liechtenstein Tibetan Women’s Organisation in Switzerland Tibetan Youth Association in Europe Tsowa-Maintenir la Vie, France Tibetan Community of Italy
Northern Europe Friends of Tibet in Finland Swedish Tibet Committee Students for a Free Tibet Denmark The Norwegian Tibet Committee Tibet Support Committee Denmark Tibetan Community in Denmark Tibetan Community in Sweden Tibetan Community in Norway
Central & Eastern Europe Fair Society o.s. Friends of Tibet Bulgaria Friends of Tibet Society St. Petersburg, Russia International Youth Human Rights Group Save Tibet Foundation Society for Croatia-Tibet Friendship Students for a Free Tibet Poland The Foundation for Civil Society, Russia Tibet cesky (Tibet in Czech) Tibet House Moscow Tibet Support Association – Hungary Tibet Support Group – Krasnodar Region, Russia Tibet Support Group – Romania Tibet Support Group – Sochi Region, Russia Tibetan Community in Poland Tibetan Programme of The Other Space Foundation TSG – Slovenia Union Latvija Tibetai (Latvia for Tibet ) Zida Cels, Latvia
Africa and Middle East Action for Tibet – South Africa Israeli Friends of the Tibetan People Tibet Support Group Kenya Tibet Society of South Africa |
North America
Association Cognizance Tibet, North Carolina Bay Area Friends of Tibet Boston Tibet Network Capital Area Tibetan Association Committee of 100 for Tibet Dhokam Chushi Gangdruk International Tibet Independence Movement Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet Sierra Friends of Tibet Students for a Free Tibet Students for a Free Tibet Canada The Tibetan Alliance of Chicago Tibet Action Tibet Committee of Fairbanks Tibet Justice Center Tibetan Community of Boston Tibetan Association of Ithaca Tibetan Association of Northern California Tibetan Association of Philadelphia Tibetan Association of Santa Fe Tibetan Association of Southern California Tibetan Cultural Association – Quebec TIBETMichigan Tibet Oral History Project Toronto Tibet Youth Congress United Nations for a Free Tibet (UNFFT) U.S. Tibet Committee Western Colorado Friends of Tibet Wisconsin Tibetan Association
Central and South America Amigos del Tibet, Chile Amigos del Tibet, El Salvador Asociación Cultural Peruano Tibetana Asociación Cultural Tibetano – Costarricense Casa Tibet Mexico Centro De Cultura Tibetana – Brazil Centro Cultural Colombo Tibetano Grupo Pro-Cultura Tibetana, Chile Le Club Francais – Paraguay Rangzen: Movimento Free Tibete Natal Tibet Mx – Mexico Tibet Group-Panama Tíbet Patria Libre, Uruguay Fundación Pro Tibet – Argentina Friends of Tibet in Costa Rica World League for Freedom and Democracy
Asia Anterrashtriya Bharat – Tibbet Sahyog Samiti Bharrat Tibbat Sahyog Manch, India Circle of Friends, Philippines Core Group for Tibetan Cause, India Foundation for Universal Responsibility of HH the Dalai Lama Gannasamannay Himalayan Committee for Action on Tibet India Tibet Friendship Society Japan Association of Monks for Tibet (Super Sangha) Japan Committee of 100 for Tibet Lung-Ta Project Mahatma Gandhi Tibet Freedom Movement National Campaign for Tibetan Support, India National Democratic Party of Tibet Ns3 Rigpa Community Builder’s Foundation Roof of the World Foundation, Indonesia Students for a Free Tibet Japan Students for a Free Tibet India Taiwan Friends of Tibet Tibbat Desh Patrika Tibet Lives, India Tibet Philippines Support Network Tibet Solidarity Forum, Bangladesh Tibet Support Group Kiku, Japan Tibet Support Network Japan Tibetan Student Association, Madras Tibetan Rights and Freedom Committee Tibetan Women’s Association (Central) Tibetan Youth Congress World Tibet Day Foundation Youth Liberation Front of Tibet, Mongolia and Turkestan
Australasia Australia Tibet Council Friends of Tibet New Zealand Students for a Free Tibet New Zealand Tibet Action Group of Western Australia Tibet Support Group Adelaide Tibetan Community of Australia (Victoria) Tibetan Women’s Association and Friends Australia Sakya Trinley Ling Australian Tibet House |
