Switzerland to ‘very carefully’ observe Tibet situation

[Ensapa]

Observe very carefully, eh? lets just hope that they will not be bribed by the CTA again. Lets just hope that they also observe the actions of CTA regarding the ban and they will highlight that and make people realize what is really going on.

Switzerland to ‘very carefully’ observe Tibet situation
Phayul[Friday, September 21, 2012 16:41]
DHARAMSHALA, September 21: The Swiss foreign ministry has said that it will “very carefully” observe the situation in Tibet while expressing concern over the growing instances of self-immolations in the region.

Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burhhalter, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, told the parliament that the Swiss Federal Council is “concerned about the situation in Tibetan regions in China, notably about the increasing numbers of persons who are self-immolating.”

The foreign minister was responding on September 17 to issues raised by two Swiss parliamentarians on the “alarming situation” in Tibet during the question hour in the parliament.

Burhhalter said Switzerland has been continuously discussing “a set of problems” with the Chinese authorities, through bilateral consultations on human rights of which, the minister said, the rights of minorities and the freedom of religion are “thematic priorities.”

“The issue of human rights is being discussed during bilateral meetings on a ministerial level as well, as done during the political consultations led by the State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs few weeks ago in July 2012,” the minister said.

Burhhalter added that in the last 12 months, representatives of the Swiss Embassy in China visited regions in Tibet to have a “better comprehension of the circumstances.”

“The Federal Council is paying great attention to the ongoing developments.”

Responding to the queries raised by MP Maya Graf, Green Party, First Vice President of the Parliament and MP Martin Naef from the Social-Democratic Party, both members of the Swiss Parliamentary Group on Tibet, the foreign minister assured that the Swiss government will be vigilant of the developments in the region.

“Furthermore the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs will observe the situation very carefully through the Swiss Embassy in Beijing,” Burhhalter said.

Following the minister’s response, the Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association, in a release, urged the Swiss government to “go a step further and effectively express its concern towards the Chinese government.”

Switzerland recently raised concerns over the critical situation inside Tibet at the ongoing 21st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council from September 10-28 in Geneva.

[thor]

Burhhalter said Switzerland has been continuously discussing “a set of problems” with the Chinese authorities, through bilateral consultations on human rights of which, the minister said, the rights of minorities and the freedom of religion are “thematic priorities.”

They sure have gotten that right, with dorje shugden being the main issue. Kudos to the Swiss government for realising the severity of the problem. All I can say is, Switzerland has a strong history of supporting human rights and make a strong stand against any violation of such with impartiality. I hope Mr Burhhalter upholds this trend and does his country proud.

[dondrup]

Burhhalter said Switzerland has been continuously discussing “a set of problems” with the Chinese authorities, through bilateral consultations on human rights of which, the minister said, the rights of minorities and the freedom of religion are “thematic priorities.”

They sure have gotten that right, with dorje shugden being the main issue. Kudos to the Swiss government for realising the severity of the problem. All I can say is, Switzerland has a strong history of supporting human rights and make a strong stand against any violation of such with impartiality. I hope Mr Burhhalter upholds this trend and does his country proud.

Switzerland seems really concerned about the situations in Tibet or the plight of the Tibetans especially the human rights issues of the minorities and freedom of religious practice of Dorje Shugden.  We hope Switzerland will bring up these important issues in the 21st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council from September 10-28 in Geneva. 

On another note, i am wondering when the United Nations Human Rights Council would step in to help lift the ban on Dorje Shugden?

[Ensapa]

Burhhalter said Switzerland has been continuously discussing “a set of problems” with the Chinese authorities, through bilateral consultations on human rights of which, the minister said, the rights of minorities and the freedom of religion are “thematic priorities.”

They sure have gotten that right, with dorje shugden being the main issue. Kudos to the Swiss government for realising the severity of the problem. All I can say is, Switzerland has a strong history of supporting human rights and make a strong stand against any violation of such with impartiality. I hope Mr Burhhalter upholds this trend and does his country proud.

That is why this 'investigation' is a two way thing for the CTA: They better clean up their act with the Dorje Shugden ban before the Swiss discovers it, exposes it to the world and makes them lose face in front of the world, then abandon them because nobody likes hypocrites and liars. It wont be long before the Swiss people start digging and they hit the ban issue and they will be outraged to see how nasty CTA is towards Dorje Shugden practitioners and they would just drop and abandon the free Tibet thing altogether, or even go against CTA on this matter. The ban better be lifted before the investigations start and they better wisen up to the ways of the world. Not everyone can be bribed or can be misled as easily as sheep. only some can and some cannot be and the swiss people are known for their integrity. Lets see how the CTA can cover their tracks of this and not spark the ire and disgust of the international community who realize that they just helped a dictator like and autocratic government.

[DharmaDefender]

A lot of hot air over nothing. Seriously, what would the Swiss do? Attack the Chinese with Swiss army knives? Drown them in chocolate? Nothing. The Swiss cant do nowt to the Chinese. Why? Because the Chinese always respond aggressively... or they ignore the other party, because they know the other party cant touch them. So if the Swiss press the issue, whats going to happen? The Chinese start WW3, or totally ignore the Swiss because lets face it, the country stayed neutral in WW2... is it really going to pick sides this time?

[Ensapa]

A lot of hot air over nothing. Seriously, what would the Swiss do? Attack the Chinese with Swiss army knives? Drown them in chocolate? Nothing. The Swiss cant do nowt to the Chinese. Why? Because the Chinese always respond aggressively... or they ignore the other party, because they know the other party cant touch them. So if the Swiss press the issue, whats going to happen? The Chinese start WW3, or totally ignore the Swiss because lets face it, the country stayed neutral in WW2... is it really going to pick sides this time?

haha love your sarcastic remarks. But as you already know, our friends at CTA are super desperate for support and attention and they will take it from anyone that they can get it from. I love the way on how you reiterate that this evaluation does not mean a single thing simply because Switzerland is a neutral country, and they have always been and always will be one. The fact is, Switzerland can only publish reports on a certain country on what they can do or what they are doing wrong but they cannot take any actions against it. the UN might take interest in that report, but what else can they do against China? Start world war 3 for the sake of Tibetan freedom? How selfish! Get real CTA! A blatant display of selfishness for a Buddhist country that supposedly is led by Chenrezig....prove it by being altruistic and not bitter about Tibet's loss!

What would be interesting is, what will the Swiss comment on the Dorje Shugden issue and how will they handle it?

[DharmaSpace]

The Swiss Government is aware there is a ban on the Dorje Shugden happening amongst the Tibetan communities and this is serious human rights issues why wont they do something about it?

[kris]

As much as I would like to think that the Swiss government knows about the issues about Dorje Shugden, I don't really see that in the article. I think the self-immolations issue is more related to the Tibet independence from China more than anything else.

Therefore, the Swiss government should be made known about this Dorje Shugden issue as well. May be we can write to the human rights group in Swiss and inform them about the discrimination towards Dorje Shugden practitioners?

I know the Swiss government is not going to use their swiss army knife to protest, but if we can have their support on our view (lifting the ban and discrimination), the then ban can be lifted earlier!!

[Ensapa]

As much as I would like to think that the Swiss government knows about the issues about Dorje Shugden, I don't really see that in the article. I think the self-immolations issue is more related to the Tibet independence from China more than anything else.

Therefore, the Swiss government should be made known about this Dorje Shugden issue as well. May be we can write to the human rights group in Swiss and inform them about the discrimination towards Dorje Shugden practitioners?

I know the Swiss government is not going to use their swiss army knife to protest, but if we can have their support on our view (lifting the ban and discrimination), the then ban can be lifted earlier!!

Independence or not, I do not think that the swiss government or any government at all will like to be duped into fighting a cause for a party or country that practices oppression themselves. Yes, it is interesting to see all the attention that the self immolations have gotten resulted in attention from the swiss government, but what else can there be from the self immolations? Also, attention can be a double edged sword: if the swiss government discovers that the CTA has been masterminding and inciting them, CTA is finished and good as gone. Add the ban and how they are suppressing Dorje Shugden practitioners to the list and they will lose the support of the swiss govt and probably even the world when this news is leaked out. CTA will just be a has-been issue that nobody will care about when that happens. If I were the CTA i'd clean up my act now before I am discovered.