VENERABLE PALDEN GYATSO AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN TIBET

That this House welcomes the arrival to Britain, at the invitation of the Tibet Society, of the former political prisoner, the Venerable Palden Gyatso, to speak of his experiences; notes with deep regret the suffering and torture he endured during 33 years of imprisonment following detainment in 1959 for peaceful protest; commends his commitment to peacefully calling for the rights and freedom of his people; further notes with sadness that 50 years on the human rights situation in Palden's homeland of Tibet remains critical, with continuing oppressive measures being imposed upon the Tibetan people by Chinese government policies, such as patriotic re-education, arbitrary arrests and torture in detention and the use of brutal force against Tibetans who publicly demonstrate; and offers its support for a just and fair solution for the Tibetan people.