The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), a leading pro-Tibetan organisation, has urged Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to discuss Tibet during his upcoming visit to China.
De Croo is scheduled to travel to Beijing from 11 to 12 January. In December, he confirmed that he would discuss China’s political interference with Belgian officials following the revelation that honorary Flemish MP Frank Creyelman (Vlaams Belang) was working as a Chinese spy.
"Chinese interference in national politics runs parallel with the repression of Tibetan and Uyghur diasporas," explained Vincent Metten, EU Policy Director of the ICT, in a statement. He added that in Belgium, as in other European nations, members of these communities report receiving threatening phone calls directed at themselves or family back home in a bid to dissuade them from campaigning. "The Belgian State has an obligation to protect its citizens," Metten insists.
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The ICT further pressed the Prime Minister to address the topic of Tibet. "Recent reports clearly demonstrate China’s determination to erase Tibetan identity. ICT is deeply concerned about the ongoing cultural genocide against the Tibetan people," the organisation stated.
The NGO concluded, "Belgium, currently holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, has the responsibility to hold China accountable for these violations of international law. Prime Minister De Croo should urge Chinese authorities to resume negotiations with the Dalai Lama to resolve the conflict in Tibet."
