Open Letter to G20 Leaders on Liu Xiaobo

Jul 4, 2017 | House Arrest of Liu Xia, Liu Xiaobo's Case, Mongolia, News, Publications, Statements, Tibet, Uyghur

Open Letter to G20 Leaders on Liu Xiaobo

4 July 2017
To: Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina; Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia; Michel Temer, President of Brazil; Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India; Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia; Paolo Gentiloni, Prime Minister of Italy; Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan; Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico; Vladimir Putin, President of Russia; Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia; Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa; Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey; Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Donald Trump, President of the United States of America; Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission
cc Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of The Netherlands; Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain.
We are shocked and outraged at the news that Liu Xiaobo, an innocent human rights defender, has been diagnosed as gravely ill while unjustly detained by China, and we hope you are equally affronted. In the past week Liu Xiaobo and his wife, Liu Xia, have made their desire to leave China, to seek treatment abroad, very clear.
As you depart for the G20 summit in Hamburg, we appeal to you to urgently demand of China’s President the unconditional release of Liu Xiaobo and freedom to travel with his family wherever he wishes. We further call on you to express to Xi Jinping, in the strongest possible terms, your profound concern about how Liu Xiaobo reached this critical state.
The circumstances of Liu’s illness are a tragic reminder of the case of highly respected Tibetan lama and political prisoner, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who died in custody in July 2015. Tenzin Delek Rinpoche served over 13 years imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. He was known to be in extremely poor health with a serious heart condition and high blood pressure. His family had made made an official application for his release on medical parole  in 2014, for which he was eligible. The specific cause of his death remains unknown.
Despite Liu Xiaobo and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche having – along with Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti –  international prominence as human rights defenders imprisoned by China, one is dead and another is now dying. You, jointly and individually, must exert pressure on Xi Jinping during the G20 summit concerning Liu Xiaobo’s full freedom. If you do not China’s leadership will be strengthened and believe they can continue to act with impunity – and the entire international community will lose.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s niece, Nyima Lhamo, sends this direct appeal: 
“Liu Xiaobo’s case shows that China has learned nothing from my uncle’s unnecessary and tragic death. I appeal to you to step forward and ensure this is the last time this can happen. As fellow human beings, we are all morally obliged to ensure that China’s treatment of Liu Xiaobo doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Liu Xiaobo’s 2010 Nobel Peace Prize illuminated the human and political rights of the people under China’s rule, and created a real sense of hope. We urge you not to let that sense of hope fade, and call on you to press President Xi to release Liu Xiaobo and all the heroic human rights defenders that remain in China’s prisons, including Ilham Tohti, and press that China take tangible steps to implement the political and human rights reforms that these brave advocates are risking their lives to promote.
Signed
  • International Tibet Network Secretariat, on behalf of the 175 Tibet Groups listed below
  • Initiatives for China
  • Ilham Tohti Initiative 
  • World Uyghur Congress 
  • Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO)
  • Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center

 

International Tibet Network Groups signing this letter
Western Europe

Aide aux Refugies Tibetains

Association Dorje

Association Drôme Ardèche-Tibet

Associazione Italia -Tibet

Autodetermination – Tibet 09/31

Briancon05 Urgence Tibet

Caisse d’Aide aux Prisonniers Tibetains

Casa del Tibet – Spain

Comite de Apoyo al Tibet (CAT)

Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain (Les Lilas)

Corse – Tibet

Eco-Tibet France

EcoTibet Ireland

France Tibet

Free Tibet

Groupe Non-Violent Louis Lecoin, France

Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete, Portugal

International Society of Human Rights, Munich Chapter

Jamtse Thundel Association

La Porte du Tibet, Geneva

Les Amis du Tibet – Belgium

Les Amis du Tibet Luxembourg

Lions Des Neiges Mont Blanc, France

Lungta Association Belgium

Maison des Himalayas

Maison du Tibet – Tibet Info

Nos Amis de l’Himalaya

Objectif Tibet

Passeport Tibetain

Phagma Drolma-Arya Tara

Reseau International des Femmes pour le Tibet

Save Tibet, Austria

Society for Threatened Peoples International

Students for a Free Tibet France

Students for a Free Tibet UK

Tashi Delek Bordeaux

Tibet 59 / 62

Tibet Initiative Deutschland

Tibets Kinder im Exile V.

Tibet Liberte Solidarite

Tibet Libertes, France

Tibet Society, U.K.

Tibet Support Group – Ireland

Tibet Support Group – Netherlands

Tibet Unterstutzung Liechtenstein

Tibetan Association of Germany

Tibetan Community Austria

Tibetan Community in Belgium

Tibetan Community in Britain

Tibetan Community in France

Tibetan Community in Italy

Tibetan Community in Ireland

Tibetan Community in Netherlands

Tibetan Community in Spain

Tibetan Community in Switzerland & Liechtenstein

Tibetan Women’s Organisation in Switzerland

Tibetan Youth Association in Europe

Tsowa-Maintenir la Vie, France

Tibetan Community of Italy

Northern Europe

Friends of Tibet in Finland

Swedish Tibet Committee

Students for a Free Tibet Denmark

The Norwegian Tibet Committee

Tibet Support Committee Denmark

Tibetan Community in Denmark

Tibetan Community in Sweden

Tibetan Community in Norway

Central & Eastern Europe

Fair Society o.s.

Friends of Tibet Bulgaria

Friends of Tibet Society St. Petersburg, Russia

International Youth Human Rights Group

Save Tibet Foundation

Society for Croatia-Tibet Friendship

Students for a Free Tibet Poland

The Foundation for Civil Society, Russia

Tibet cesky (Tibet in Czech)

Tibet House Moscow

Tibet Support Association – Hungary

Tibet Support Group – Krasnodar Region, Russia

Tibet Support Group – Romania

Tibet Support Group – Sochi Region, Russia

Tibetan Community in Poland

Tibetan Programme of The Other Space Foundation

TSG – Slovenia

Union Latvija Tibetai (Latvia for Tibet )

Zida Cels, Latvia

Africa and Middle East

Action for Tibet – South Africa

Israeli Friends of the Tibetan People

Tibet Support Group Kenya

Tibet Society of South Africa

 North America

Association Cognizance Tibet, North Carolina
Bay Area Friends of Tibet
Boston Tibet Network
Capital Area Tibetan Association
Committee of 100 for Tibet
Dhokam Chushi Gangdruk
International Tibet Independence Movement
Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association
Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet
Sierra Friends of Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet Canada
The Tibetan Alliance of Chicago
Tibet Action
Tibet Committee of Fairbanks
Tibet Justice Center
Tibetan Community of Boston
Tibetan Association of Ithaca
Tibetan Association of Northern California
Tibetan Association of Philadelphia
Tibetan Association of Santa Fe
Tibetan Association of Southern California
Tibetan Cultural Association – Quebec
TIBETMichigan
Tibet Oral History Project
Toronto Tibet Youth Congress
United Nations for a Free Tibet (UNFFT)
U.S. Tibet Committee
Western Colorado Friends of Tibet

Wisconsin Tibetan Association

Central and South America
Amigos del Tibet, Chile
Amigos del Tibet, El Salvador
Asociación Cultural Peruano Tibetana
Asociación Cultural Tibetano – Costarricense
Casa Tibet Mexico
Centro De Cultura Tibetana – Brazil
Centro Cultural Colombo Tibetano
Grupo Pro-Cultura Tibetana, Chile
Le Club Francais – Paraguay
Rangzen: Movimento Free Tibete Natal
Tibet Mx – Mexico
Tibet Group-Panama
Tíbet Patria Libre, Uruguay
Fundación Pro Tibet – Argentina
Friends of Tibet in Costa Rica

World League for Freedom and Democracy

 
Asia
Anterrashtriya Bharat – Tibbet Sahyog Samiti
Bharrat Tibbat Sahyog Manch, India
Circle of Friends, Philippines
Core Group for Tibetan Cause, India
Foundation for Universal Responsibility of HH the Dalai Lama
Gannasamannay
Himalayan Committee for Action on Tibet
India Tibet Friendship Society
Japan Association of Monks for Tibet (Super Sangha)
Japan Committee of 100 for Tibet
Lung-Ta Project
Mahatma Gandhi Tibet Freedom Movement
National Campaign for Tibetan Support, India
National Democratic Party of Tibet
Ns3 Rigpa Community Builder’s Foundation
Roof of the World Foundation, Indonesia
Students for a Free Tibet Japan
Students for a Free Tibet India
Taiwan Friends of Tibet
Tibbat Desh Patrika
Tibet Lives, India
Tibet Philippines Support Network
Tibet Solidarity Forum, Bangladesh
Tibet Support Group Kiku, Japan
Tibet Support Network Japan
Tibetan Student Association, Madras
Tibetan Rights and Freedom Committee
Tibetan Women’s Association (Central)
Tibetan Youth Congress
World Tibet Day Foundation
Youth Liberation Front of Tibet, Mongolia and Turkestan
Australasia
Australia Tibet Council
Friends of Tibet New Zealand
Students for a Free Tibet New Zealand
Tibet Action Group of Western Australia
Tibet Support Group Adelaide
Tibetan Community of Australia (Victoria)
Tibetan Women’s Association and Friends Australia
Sakya Trinley Ling

Australian Tibet House