Tibet 'consensus' slammed by rights group

Source: Yahoo / AFP

A rights group on Tuesday slammed foreign representatives for attending a Chinese government-organised forum in Tibet that claimed international support for a "Lhasa Consensus" on economic development in the mainly Buddhist region.

Chinese state media said that "130 guests from over 30 countries and regions" agreed "Tibet will have a bright future!" at a two-day meeting in the regional capital. The official Xinhua news agency said the document stressed the ruling Communist Party's traditional view that economic development was Tibet's most important task, adding that growth should be environmentally friendly.

"Cultural preservation with development is the best way to carry Tibet's outstanding traditional culture forward," the Consensus reportedly said. It made no reference to the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader and a Nobel laureate.

Beijing says its troops "peacefully liberated" Tibet in 1951 and insists it has since brought development to a previously backward region where serfs were exploited.

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