Mr. Speaker, today is the 35th anniversary of the uprising of the Tibetan people against the Chinese occupation of their small peaceful country.
Each year I have risen in the House on this date asking our government to protest with the Chinese government the massive violation of human rights in Tibet, the destruction of its environment, and the denial of its self-determination.
During the past year political arrests have risen by 30 per cent and have included children and Tibetan nuns.
Yesterday China was once again successful in having the United Nations put aside the resolution criticizing its human rights record. That is a tragedy.
The people of Tibet have always pursued a non-violent approach in dealing with this issue. In 1989 the Dalai lama won the Nobel peace prize.
I hope that this matter will be positively dealt with in the government's review of foreign policy. Human rights abuses in Tibet and elsewhere cannot be ignored.