Hon Speaker, the IFP condemns in the harshest sense the cruel and inhumane treatment of Tibetan monks by the People's Republic of China in the Chinese province and autonomous region of Tibet. The Tibetan monks are a peace-seeking religious order, whose leader, the Dalai Lama, has been in exile in India for the last 50 years because of the Chinese's occupation of Tibet.
The peaceful Tibetan monks have been beaten and, in many instances, shot and killed by the armed forces of the People's Republic of China whilst participating in peaceful protests against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. These human rights travesties by the People's Republic of China are largely left uncondemned by the West, because it is against the political and economic interests of many governments to voice outright dissent with regard to these barbaric acts.
The IFP sincerely hopes that the governments of the world, and the South African government in particular, will develop a conscience and begin to voice its very necessary and long-overdue condemnation of the human rights travesties currently occurring in Tibet. I thank you. [Applause.]