February 21, 2018

The Select Board Town of Amherst Town Hall 4 Boltwood Avenue Amherst, MA 01002

Dear members of the Amherst Select Board,

The 59th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising is being observed throughout the world by Tibetan communities and international supporters of justice for Tibet on March 10, 2018. Here in Northampton, members of the Tibetan Community of Western Massachusetts, UMass Students for a Free Tibet and area Tibet supporters will hold a Day-long Fast and Prayer Vigil to pay tribute to the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives for freedom in Tibet and to express our solidarity with Tibetans inside occupied Tibet.

Fifty-nine years ago on this fateful day, when the Tibetan people learned of the Chinese army’s plan to abduct His Holiness the Dalai Lama, over 100,000 Tibetans surrounded the summer palace in Lhasa and rose up to stage a defiant uprising against the illegal occupation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China. As tension began to build up, on March 17, 1959 His Holiness the Dalai Lama fled Tibet and sought refuge in India. When the Chinese army learned of His escape, a full-scale attack on Lhasa city began with the shelling of the summer palace. As a result of the invasion, over 1.2 million Tibetans lost their lives and 98% Buddhist monasteries were destroyed.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the 2008 mass peaceful uprising throughout Tibet. This uprising was a critical moment in Tibet’s history of resistance, reawakening a new generation of activists both inside occupied Tibet and outside. Needless to mention, the 2008 uprising was also ruthlessly suppressed by Chinese forces.

For more than half a century, Tibetans have suffered unimaginable hardship under the Chinese rule. According to the 2017 Freedom House Country report, Tibet is the second least free country in world next only to Syria. Likewise the Department of State reports that “the Government of People’s Republic of China is engaged in the severe repression of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage, and is engaged in gross violations of human rights in Tibet, including extrajudicial detentions, disappearances, and torture.” Despite the repression and crackdown, Tibetans in occupied Tibet have been at the forefront of the Tibetan freedom struggle to protect their political, social, cultural and environmental rights. Since 2008, over 160 Tibetans have self-immolated to protest the brutal Chinese rule in Tibet and have called for “Freedom for Tibetans” and “Return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.” The resilience of Tibetan people and commitment to non-violence has gained the respect, and support from around the world.

On this occasion of the 59th anniversary of Tibetan National uprising day and in recognition of the local Tibetan community’s plea for justice and human rights in Tibet, we call upon the Select Board, Town of Amherst, Massachusetts:

1. To continue to recognize March 10 as the “Tibetan Rights Day.” 2. To fly the Tibetan national flag from March 10, 2018 for 59 consecutive days till May 7, 2018. 3. To affirms its recognition of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for his outstanding contributions to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and religious understanding; 4. To affirms its support for the Tibetan people’s fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right to self-determination and the protection of their distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and national identity; 5. To expresses its sense that the identification and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter that should be determined solely within the Tibetan Buddhist faith community, in accordance with the inalienable right to religious freedom; 6. To expresses its sense that any attempt by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to identify or install its own candidate as a Tibetan Buddhist religious leader, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is invalid interference in the right to religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists around the world, including in Tibet as well as the United States and elsewhere; 7. To calls on the Secretary of State to fully implement the provisions of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107–228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), in cooperation with likeminded states where appropriate, including that— (A) Representatives of the United States Government in exchanges with officials of the Government of the People’s Republic of China should call for and otherwise promote the cessation of all interference by the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party in the religious affairs of the Tibetan people; (B) The United States Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China should meet with the 11th Panchen Lama, who was arbitrarily detained on May 17, 1995, and otherwise ascertain information concerning his whereabouts and well-being; (C) The Secretary of State should make best efforts to establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor political, economic, and cultural developments in Tibet; and 8. To support the United States Congress’s bipartisan and bicameral bill, Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2017, to promote access for American citizens, diplomats and journalists in Tibet, similar to that enjoyed by Chinese citizens, diplomats and journalists in the United States.

We thank you in advance for consideration of our request. Sincerely,

Thondup Tsering 300 Thatcher Way Amherst, MA

Tenzin Tseyang President UMass Students for Free Tibet 161 Fearing Street Amherst, MA