Tibet administrative body thanks supporters across world

, Dec 5: The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on Wednesday thanked various governments and human rights bodies across the world for their support extended over the

issue in the year 2012, announced as "Tibet lobby year" by the government-in-exile here.

Tibetan PM-in-exile Lobsang Sangay termed successful the call made for 'solidarity with Tibet campaign 2012' on Mar 10 this year, saying the world had witnessed Tibet resolutions in Parliaments and Congress of EU, France, Italy and the United States. Supportive statements were also made by parliamentarians in Australia, Brazil, Canada, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, South Africa, the United States and others, he added.

"We express deep appreciation to the United Nations and various governments and parliaments for their attention to the deteriorating situation in Tibet, and welcome the recent statements of Ms Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, and Mr Gary Locke, the US Ambassador to China.

"We also thank organisations like Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, US Congressional Executive Commission on China, etc. for their reporting on Tibet," Sangay said. Appealing Tibetans and rights groups across the world to extend the successful lobbying efforts of 2012 for next year, Sangay said, "Let us build on the successful lobbying efforts of 2012 by launching a Solidarity with Tibet Campaign in 2013."

In keeping with this effort, a new video on self-immolation, a microsite and a Facebook page were launched by CTA on Wednesday to mobilise the international community which it said "must not remain an idle bystander". CTA also appealed to the public to share a synchronised message on Human Rights Day, which falls on Dec 10, to make as many people aware of the current situation in Tibet.

PTI