(October 2015) - We, the undersigned 27 long-time Tibet Supporters, are writing to you to
express our concern about several recent events relating to the current
Tibetan Election processes.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has worked tirelessly to implement
democracy in the Tibetan polity and has expressed many times the
personal and national satisfaction felt in his voluntarily turning over
political control to elected officials, stating in his retirement
message: "Contrary to the system of the Chinese Communists'
authoritarian rule in Tibet, our small community in exile has been able
to establish a complete modern democratic system. In the long run this
decision will make our exile administration stronger and efficient.
[...] This is our glorious achievement. Tibetans inside Tibet should be
proud of this achievement."
We are very appreciative of his work in this regard and the import of
his retirement message, which states that every Tibetan in exile has
the right to participate in free and fair elections of
officials entrusted not only with the duty of governance in exile but
also charged with the higher responsibility of working for a better
future for the long-suffering nation of Tibet. In particular we believe
that every Tibetan has the right to hold and express their view as to
the future of Tibet.
We are therefore concerned that:
- The Tibetan Election Commission has recently issued rules that
constrain the right to free speech and association of organizations and
individuals during the upcoming exile Tibetan elections. These include
a rule that, with one exception, no independent organization or
individual is allowed to carry out any announcement or spend funds on
campaign activities. These restrictions are inconsistent with
recognized international human rights, which are incorporated into the
Tibetan Charter (the Tibetan government-in-exile's constitution).
- An arbitrary list of organizations that are exempted from the rules
was created by the Kashag; this list includes at least one organization
openly supporting the current incumbents, which gives a significant
electoral advantage to such incumbents.
- Neither the Election Commission nor the Kashag has provided any
criteria or procedures for approving additional organizations to be
exempted from these rules and this is in spite of multiple requests by
at least one organization supporting a non-incumbent candidate wishing
to be thus recognized or exempted.
- Moreover, in setting up a system with a double standard, in which
certain organizations enjoy full free speech rights and the rest do not,
the Election Commission has politicized the process, since Kashag
approval is required for exemption from these restrictions, yet the head
of the Kashag is seeking re-election. Clearly, no legitimate democratic
system can allow one candidate in an election to decide which groups get
to speak or spend freely in that election.
- The Election Commission has abrogated its obligation to decide - before the Preliminary vote - how many of the top vote-earning
candidates in the Preliminary vote for the position of Sikyong will be
allowed to stand in the Final vote, thus opening the structuring of the
Final vote roster to the possibility of behind-the-scenes manipulation
for political purposes.
- The Election Commission's rules contain vague prohibitions that
provide opportunity for arbitrary interpretation and retroactive
enforcement. For example, these rules prohibit any person from making
any "character assassination" or creating "conditions that would lead to
conflicts within the society through sowing dissension", without
defining such terms or establishing any due process adjudication.
Violations could result in all votes for a particular candidate
benefitting from such activities (whether or not the candidate even
instigated these actions) being declared null and void, at the sole
discretion of the Election Commission. Moreover, the exceedingly vague
and subjective wording of this rule risks creating a chilling effect on
democratic discourse and dissent.
- So far, the Election Commission has received at least one complaint
from a non-incumbent Sikyong candidate alleging that an incumbent
candidate is violating the Election Commission's prohibitions on using
official platforms for campaign purposes. The Election Commission's
reply - that it does not have the resources to police all noncompliance
- raises the troubling possibility of selective enforcement.
- Finally and most critically, officials of the Election Commission,
Parliament, and Kashag, who are responsible for the above policies and
procedures, are either officials whose seats of power are at stake in
the upcoming election, or are appointed by those officials. There has
been no public consultation or open rule-making process prior to the
promulgation of these rules, nor is there an independent judicial check
to ensure the rules' compliance with international human rights norms or
to ensure fair implementation.
The problems that may arise from such undemocratic practices are many
and serious. By providing means for incumbents to silence opponents
before the polls open and to arbitrarily and retroactively make
decisions on key rules, the Central Tibetan Administration risks
becoming regarded by its people, the host nation of India, its
international support base, and the international community, as an
undemocratic body unworthy of trust. Even more seriously, such practices
leave open the possibility of CTA posts being taken by people who become
unaccountable to a free and fair popular vote and therefore able to act
without the approval - or even against the will - of the Tibetan
people.
The continuing support for the Tibetan cause by ourselves and many
others worldwide is, partly but significantly, based on the Central
Tibetan Administration honoring both the spirit and practice of His
Holiness's efforts to implement true democracy in the Tibetan polity,
signified by an irreproachable public trust in free, fair, non-partisan
election processes. We urge you to make early (i.e. before the
Preliminary election) positive responses to all our concerns outlined
above.
His Holiness and the CTA have, on many occasions, requested all the
world to help Tibet, and expressed their appreciation for the assistance
given by Tibet Supporters and Tibet Support Groups around the world - we
who answered the call. That continuing support should not be wholly
taken for granted.
SIGNED:
John Ackerly, Former President, International Campaign for Tibet, USA
Anders Højmark Andersen, Member of Tibet Support Committee, Denmark
Agurtzane Berasarte, Co-Founder and General Secretary, Phagma Drolma
Association for Solidarity for the Tibetan People, Basque Country
Christophe Besuchet, Co-Founder, Comité de Soutien au Peuple Tibétain, Switzerland
Alan Cantos, CAT - Comite de Apoyo al Tibet, Spain
Philippa Carrick, Chief Executive Officer, Tibet Society, UK
Jack Churchward, Former CACCP Coordinator, USA
Florence Cotte, Militante Pour Un Tibet Libre, France
Monika Deimann-Clemens, 24 years TSG Germany; Tibet Flag Campaign, Germany
Angela Dempster-Passang, Member of SFT New Zealand, University of Otago Chapter, New Zealand
Dan Haig, Founder of Tibet Online, Past-President of Committee of 100 for Tibet, USA
Eva Herzer, Former President, Tibet Justice Center, USA
John Hocevar, Founder of Students for a Free Tibet and Former Co-Chairman of International Tibet Support Network (ITSN), USA
Jeff Inglis, Member of Tibet Justice Center, USA
Neville Jacobs, Member of Tibet Committee of Fairbanks, USA
Blake Kerr MD, Independent Human Rights Investigator, USA
Linda Mancini, Member of Boston Tibet Network, USA
José Elias Esteve Moltó, Main Research Lawyer and Author of Tibet
Lawsuits, Professor of International Law, University of Valencia, Spain
Olivier Mores, Co-Founder and Honorary President, Les Amis du Tibet, Luxembourg
Rebecca Novick, Former President, Board Member and Consultant, Los
Angeles Friends of Tibet; Founding Producer, The Tibet Connection;
Country of Origin Information Expert on Tibet for Fahamu Refugee
Programme, USA
Anthony O'Brien, Co-Founder of TSG-Ireland, Co-Founder of ECO-Tibet, Ireland
Jean-Paul Ribes, President, Comité de Soutien au Peuple Tibétain, France
Conrad Richter, Former Editor of World Tibet News (WTN), Canada
Sandra Ross, Director, Member of US Tibet Committee, USA
Elliot Sperling, Professor of Tibetan Studies, Indiana University, USA
Neil Steedman, Founder Chairman of TSG-Ireland, Co-Founder of ITSN, Member of Committee of 100 for Tibet, Ireland
Giovanni Vassallo, President of Bay Area Friends of Tibet, Past-President of Committee of 100 for Tibet, USA