Reportage – 2005

Canadian MP, Deepak Obhrai, in Dharamsala

DHARAMSHALA, India, 9 April 2005

Expressly taking time out to show his sympathy for the Tibetan cause, Canadian member of parliament, Deepak Obhrai, came to Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, after his official business in India was finished.

"I am in Dharamsala to lend support to the growing international movement to see Tibet become an autonomous region as advocated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama," Mr Obhrai said.

He came to India as a part of a trade mission a week back for promoting economic ties between the two countries. A part of his purpose in visiting India was to open a new Chennai branch of the Canadian consulate.

Mr Obhrai said, "China cannot stop the self-determination aspirations of the Tibetan people. The Tibetan people have a distinct identity and China's attempt to force Tibet into assimilation will not be accepted by the freedom-loving people of the world."

As the Vice Chair of Parliamentary Friends of Tibet in Canada, he called on the Chinese government to immediately start negotiation with the Representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama leading to self-determination by the Tibetan people.

He further added that China's human rights record is a serious concern to Canadian parliamentarians and view Chinese policy in Tibet to be detrimental to the stability of the region.

Mr Obhrai has been in the Canadian parliament for eight years representing the Conservative Party.

From among 301 MPs in the Canadian parliament, about 40 are in the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet. A delegation of the group is likely to visit Dharamsala later this year.