The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today called on the Chinese Government to permit the Tibetan people to demonstrate peacefully and called for an international investigation into serious allegations that the Chinese security forces have carried out human rights violations during the recent protests in Lhasa and other locations.

“The Tibetan people have a right to express in public and private their views about the situation in Tibet. … The sustained clamp down over many years on political dissent in Tibet has only fuelled the tension and helped lead to the recent explosion of anger and frustration. If the Chinese Government allowed the Tibetans an opportunity to express their views, including through public demonstrations, this could help to diffuse a tense political situation,” said the ICJ.

The ICJ also expressed its concern about the fate of those that have been or may be arrested and urged the Government to treat all detainees according to internationally established standards, including by ensuring that they are not subject to torture or ill-treatment and that they have access to their families and others from the outside world. Anyone arrested on suspicion of committing violence, such as violence against Chinese civilians, should be charged with a recognisable criminal offence and tried fairly, or released.

“The [Chinese] Government is seeking to seal Tibet off from the world, and there is considerable confusion about the truth surrounding recent events. It is essential that human rights experts be allowed to investigate the situation … It is in everyone’s interest to swiftly clarify exactly what is happening in Tibet now” said the ICJ.