US voices concern over religious ‘restriction’ in Tibet
September 14th, 2011 - 7:53 pm ICT by IANSDharamsala, Sep 14 (IANS) The Chinese government’s repression of religious freedom remains severe in Tibet, particularly during “sensitive periods”, says a US report.
“In China, Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, ‘house church’ Christians all suffer from government attempts to restrict their religious practice,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during the release of the report Tuesday.
“The [Chinese] constitution protects religious freedom for all citizens but, in practice, the government generally enforced other laws and policies that restrict religious freedom,” said the US State Department in its international religious freedom report.
It pointed out that the repression against the locals became severe during “sensitive days”.
“Repression was severe, particularly during ’sensitive periods’ such as the Shanghai World Expo or the Asian Games in Guangzhou,” it noted.
The residents continued to face societal discrimination, including, for example, being denied rooms at hotels in large cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo (April 30 to October 31, 2010), it said.
Clinton said: “The protection of religious freedom is a fundamental concern of the US going back to the earliest days of our republic, and it remains so today.”
The Dalai Lama along with many of his supporters fled Tibet and took refuge in India when Chinese troops moved in and took control of Lhasa in 1959.
His government-in-exile based here is expressing concern over the standoff between the local Tibetans and the Chinese armed forces.
India is home to around 100,000 Tibetans.
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Tags: asian games, chengdu, chinese constitution, chinese troops, dalai lama, dharamsala, fundamental concern, government attempts, hillary clinton, international religious freedom, lhasa, religious freedom report, religious practice, religious restriction, sensitive periods, shanghai world expo, tibetan buddhists, tibetans, uighur, us state department