Cycle Rally from Chandigarh to Amritsar, 1 To 6 November , 1999

Urgent Action Against World Bank Assistance to China's Colonial Policy of Population Transfer to Tibet.

We the members of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) strongly condemn the World Bank's plan to fund a project to move over 58,000 Chinese settlers and their families to Tulan Dzong of the Amdo Province of Tibet. This project will assist China's colonial population transfer to the proper Tibetan area. According to the World Bank, the whole of this project is to alleviate poverty of the Chinese settlers and there is not a single Tibetan in the World Bank project direct beneficiaries. This is unacceptable to the Tibetans and the local Tibetans themselves wrote to World Bank protesting the project.

The reasons are many:

1.The project facilities China's continuing population transfer efforts. The area covered by this project is part of the Tibetan traditional nomadic pastures and the traditional inhabitants are threatened.

2.This project will render Tibetans a minority in their own land.

3.This Project will disturb the fragile eco-system of the land and invite environmental problems.

4.These areas consist of the largest Laogai (forced labor concentration camp) center and may invite forced and involuntary labor especially in land reclamation project.

5.Implementation of this project undermines the guidelines of the World Bank itself concerning policies on ethnic minorities, environmental concern and involuntary resettlement.

You can help by the following actions :

By writing to your friends and other people about it. By calling The World Bank President James Wolfensohn By writing letters to The World Bank President By writing letters to the board members of the World Bank, governing body. By active campaigning with other Non-governmental organizations. By writing to the editors of different Newspapers and magazines or by writing articles.

Contact the World Bank Executive Director (India) Mr. Surender Singh Tel: 001 202 458 104 Fax: 001 202 522 1553

Contact James Wolfensohn

President, World Bank

1818 H Street, NW

Washington DC 20433 U.S.A.

Tibetan Youth Congress had organized a Hunger Strike unto death movement in Delhi in March 1998 with true specific demands. On the sixty seventh day of the fast, TYC declared temporary halt to the movement to facilitate the supporters including UN, EP, NGOs, Parliamentarian etc. to work out for putting presssure on the UN to implement the demands of the TYC hunger strikers. Later in December 1998 RTYC Chandigarh took on a Peace March from Chandigarh to New Delhi with the same specific demands. We press again during this cycle rally the demands of the hunger strikers for immediate implementations.

1.To the United Nations General Assembly:

Resumption of debate on the question of Tibet based on its resolution passed in 1959, 1961 and 1965 respectively.

2.To the UN Human Rights Commissioner:

Appointment of special rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation in Chinese occupied Tibet.

3.To the UN Secretary General:

Appointment of special envoy to promote peaceful settlement of the question of Tibet and to initiate UN supervised plebiscite in Tibet to ascertain the wishes of the Tibetan people.

4.To the Government of China:

Unconditional release of all the political prisoners being held in different prisons in Tibet, including the Panchen Lama: World's youngest political prisoner.

Organised by Regional Tibetan Youth Congress; Chandigarh India