Human rights and Tibet advocacy groups will hold a Rally for Tibet on Tuesday, July 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington D.C

The Rally asks the Obama Administration to prioritize Tibet on the agenda of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue to be held on July 10-11. These high-level talks will cover a wide range of bilateral issues, and will be led by Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew, and State Counselor Yang Jiechi and Vice Premier Wang Yang.

The Dialogue takes place at a critical point for Tibet. As more than 119 Tibetans have self-immolated calling for freedom and for the return of the Dalai Lama, the new leadership in Beijing has the opportunity to reconsider its policies on Tibet. The United States government has called on the Chinese government to address the legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people. This week’s meeting presents a key opportunity for the U.S. side to reiterate that request.

“Continued discussion of the Tibet issue by U.S officials in all fora of dialogues/meetings with their Chinese counterparts would indicate that a resolution of the Tibet issue would also help stronger ties between China and the U.S.” said Bhuchung Tsering Interim President of the ICT.

“The U.S government should not simply focus on the economy and push human rights aside. Amnesty International has always said that if the dialogues are to be strategic then human rights need to be included. Over a 100 self immolations have taken place in Tibet. This needs to be discussed at the S& ED,” said T. Kumar, Director of International Advocacy for AI.

The rally is being organized by Amnesty International and the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), along with the International Tibet Network (ITN), Students for Free Tibet (SFT), Regional Tibet Youth Congress and the Charlottesville Tibetan Association.

There will be several speakers at the event and also a performance conveying solidarity with Tibetan who self immolated will take place at 5:30 p.m.

Press contact:
Ronnate Asirwatham
International Campaign for Tibet
202-580-6775
[email protected]

Tenzin Jigme
International Tibetan Network
703-424-0015
[email protected]