Washington, D.C. December 10, 1996 (ICT) -- A five-member Congressional Staff Delegation is departing today for India and Nepal to study the situation of Tibetan refugees, gather information on current conditions in Tibet and to suggest appropriate Congressional initiatives.

The delegation, hosted by the International Campaign for Tibet and led by its Director for Government Relations Mary Beth Markey, will meet Tibetan refugees, including recent arrivals from Tibet, as also the Dalai Lama. In Dharamsala, India, the delegation will meet with officials of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. The delegation will also discuss the status of Tibetan refugees with Indian and Nepalese Government officials as well as officials of the US embassies in India and Nepal.

This is the third such Congressional Staff Delegations visiting Tibetan refugees. The previous trips, in November 1988 and January 1992, resulted in several programs to assist Tibetan refugees as well as the evolution of the Tibetan issue into a serious concern in US-China relations.

"We will monitor existing US programs and also see how the United States can help the people of Tibet at this critical period of their history," said Mary Beth Markey, who herself had participated in the first delegation in 1988 as a staffperson for Senator Claiborne Pell. "The trip takes place at a time when there is a new campaign in Tibet to deny the Tibetan people their basic human rights, including freedom of expression, association, and of religious belief," she added.

The delegation includes staffers from the Senate and House foreign affairs committees.

Contact: John Ackerly, Bhuchung K. Tsering - 202.785.1515

International Campaign for Tibet