 John Kerry |
Please take action in support of the Tibetan people by sending Secretary of State John Kerry a message urging him to make religious freedom a priority in the U.S.- Chinese relationship.
The State Department’s Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, released on May 20, 2013 said that the Chinese government’s respect for and protection of religious freedom in Tibetan areas “deteriorated markedly” in 2012, with a substantial increase in official interference in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. “Official interference in the practice of Tibetan Buddhist religious traditions continued to generate profound grievances,” the report said
Over the last decade, the Chinese government has developed new tools and authorities to clamp down on religion. The Chinese have imposed heightened restrictions on movement making it nearly impossible for Tibetans, especially Tibetan nuns and monks from outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) to the enter the TAR.These restriction together with the expelling of monks from monasteries adversely effect the quality of education of the Tibetan monk.
Government Authorities continue to interfere in the reincarnate process that is very much a part of Tibetan Buddhism by refusing to divulge the whereabouts of Gedun Choekyi Nyima the Panchen Lama recognized by the Dalai Lama and a vast number of Tibetans.
The relationship between the United States and China is of global importance. As Secretary Kerry and the Obama administration continue to define that relationship, we have the opportunity to bring our values to China and help the Tibetan people.
Please let Secretary Kerry know how critically important it is that he stand up to China in support of religious freedom for the Tibetan people.