Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities Denounces China’s Aggressive Sanctions Targeting Tibetan and Uyghur Human Rights Organisations and Advocates in Canada

London, 24th December 2024 / GATPM

The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) strongly condemns the recent sanctions imposed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on human rights organisations and activists, including the Canada Tibet Committee (CTC) and the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP). These unjust sanctions are yet another tactic by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to intimidate and silence defenders of truth, justice, and human rights.

Since its rise to power in 1949, the CCP under Mao Tsetung and his successors have relentlessly pursued policies of oppression, cultural erasure, and genocide. In Tibet, millions have suffered under decades of brutal occupation, with over a million lives lost to state violence, cultural destruction, and forced assimilation. The Tibetan language, spiritual traditions, and national identity have been systematically attacked, while historical narratives are being rewritten to eradicate Tibet’s independent history. Similarly, in East Turkestan (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), the Uyghur people face unspeakable atrocities, including mass detentions, forced labour, and what the world increasingly recognises as an ongoing genocide.

The PRC’s recent sanctions on CTC and URAP expose the regime’s intolerance of legitimate international advocacy. The Canada Tibet Committee, a voice for peaceful and democratic engagement in line with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach, and URAP, a leading force in safeguarding Uyghur refugees and combating forced labour, represent the moral conscience of humanity. Their work threatens no nation, but rather calls for accountability, dignity, and respect for human rights.

China’s sanctioning of these organisations is also a veiled threat to democratic societies. The PRC’s actions seek to sow fear among activists and organisations worldwide while simultaneously pressuring cultural and academic institutions to adopt narratives like “Xizang” in place of “Tibet,” aiming to erase Tibetan identity altogether. Such tactics are part of a long-term strategy to undermine global solidarity with Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other persecuted minorities under CCP rule.

We call on the Canadian government, and democratic nations worldwide, to stand resolutely against these acts of transnational repression. Governments must protect human rights defenders within their jurisdictions and ensure they can continue their vital work without fear of retaliation.

Moreover, GATPM urges the global community to remain vigilant and resist the PRC’s efforts to coerce Western institutions into complicity with its agenda of cultural annihilation. The names Tibet and East Turkestan are not mere geographical designations but symbols of resilience, history, and identity.

This latest attempt to stifle truth and rewrite history only strengthens our resolve. GATPM stands in unwavering solidarity with our partners and allies – the Canada Tibet Committee, the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, and countless others – committed to justice and freedom.

To the CCP: Your sanctions do not intimidate us. They galvanise us. The voices of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and all persecuted communities will not be silenced. Truth, justice, and humanity will prevail.