''Send independent organisations to know condition of Tibetans''
PTI | 04:03 PM,Mar 10,2011E T B Sivapriyan Dharamshala, Mar 10 (PTI) Accusing the Chinese government of punishing Tibetan intellectuals and public figures for articulating the aspirations of their people, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today advocated sending of representatives of independent global organisations to the region to know the living conditions of the people there. He said if representatives of the global bodies found that people in the Tibet Autonomous Region in China are happy, the Tibetan Government-in-Exile would readily accept it. "We would encourage sending of representatives of independent international bodies, including parliamentarians. If they were to find that Tibetans in Tibet are happy, we would readily accept it," he told Tibetans here in his address on the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day. The spiritual leader also called on China to ensure "greater transparency" and said the 1.3 billion citizens of the People's Republic of China have the right to know the truth about the state of affairs in their country and the world at large. "If citizens are fully informed, they have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Censorship and the restriction of information violates basic human decency...China must earn the international community�s respect and trust. In order to earn such respect China�s leaders must develop greater transparency, their actions corresponding to their words," he said. To ensure this, he said, freedom of expression and freedom of the press are essential and added that transparency in governance can help check corruption. He also noted that in the recent years, China has seen an increasing number of intellectuals calling for political reform and greater openness. "(Chinese) Premier Wen Jiabao has also expressed support for these concerns. These are significant indications and I welcome them," the Dalai Lama said. .
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