Stay away from Tibet, China tells international community

BEIJING: Riled by calls from UN Human Rights body and some Western countries to address the recurring self immolations in Tibet protesting Chinese rule, Beijing today slammed them saying foreign nations should stop interfering in its "domestic affairs".

"Tibetan affairs are totally China's domestic affairs," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a media briefing here.

Recently, politicians in the US, the European Union and Canada had disregarded facts, confused right and wrong and groundlessly accused China on Tibet-related issues, Hua said.

In a statement recently, the US had accused China of responding to Tibetan immolations with tightened controls over their freedom of religion, expression and assembly.

UN Human Rights Commission chief Navi Pillay too had expressed concern over the continued self immolations, which crossed 90 and urged Chinese government address the issue.

The comments calling on Beijing to address tensions in Tibet were rude interferences in China's internal affairs and the country was strongly dissatisfied with them and resolutely opposed those acts, she said.

Last month alone about 23 self immolations have taken place coinciding with the leadership change of the ruling Communist Party of China.

Hua said that Tibet has made great progress in politics, economy, culture and other fields since the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, which is widely recognised by the international community.

She urged foreign officials to immediately correct "erroneous words and deeds", earnestly respect China's sovereignty and no longer do anything to interfere in the country's internal affairs.

According to activists, over 90 people, most of them in their late teens and 20s, have set themselves afire in Tibet since February 2009.