Canada Tibet Committee, April 23, 2019 – The representatives of over 10,000 Tibetans in Canada are deeply disappointed by the announcement of the establishment of the so-called “Canadian Federation of Tibetan Association”, which claims to represent Tibetans in Canada. In fact, the strategy of this group, strongly supported by the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government, seems to be to divide the Tibetan community in Canada. As well, it is misleading senior Canadian officials into thinking that this new group actually represents Tibetans in Canada. A similar strategy by the Chinese government and the Communist Party have also been used in the United States.
Even more troubling are the claims made by the president of the new group stating that Tibet now enjoys freedom of religion, economic development, ecological and environmental preservation, and improvement of Tibetans’ livelihood. Moreover, a Toronto area politician even commends the Chinese government for its claims of preservation and promotion of Tibetan language and cultural heritage. In fact, the reality is quite different: Freedom House (the US-based human rights advocacy group) has consistently ranked Tibet as the second least free region in the world. The largest Tibetan Buddhist academy in the world Lharung Ghar, is being systematically destroyed. 164 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest against Chinese policies in Tibet.
The Tibetan communities in Canada are appalled that a fake letter of support from the Prime Minister of Canada is being used to mislead Canadians, and have urged all Canadians, especially leaders at federal, provincial, and local levels, to be aware of this organization’s true purpose.