The Czech Embassy in Washington DC hosted a special lunch meeting at the residence of the Czech Ambassador on the occasion of the official US visit of Veronica Mitkova, the Director of the Human Rights and Transition Policy Department of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, 6 February 2024. Representative Namgyal Choedup and staffer Tsultrim Gyatso from the Office of Tibet joined the lunch with human rights advocates from Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, and Iran.
Ambassador Miloslav Stašek welcomed the guests for joining the lunch with Veronica Mitkova. The Ambassador emphasised that the Czech government prioritises human rights and democracy as key components of its foreign policy. Director Mitkova recalled her memory of working with President Václav Havel and her involvement in the field of Human Rights issue both in the government and civil society capacity. In addition to highlighting the Czech government’s important role in working with like-minded countries of the free world in calling out the authoritarian regimes around the world for their egregious human rights abuses, she shared the Czech government’s concrete support to the human rights defenders including the media and civil societies. She urged the guests to share their experiences and asked for feedback on how the Czech government can further strengthen their support for human rights and democracy around the world.
Representative Namgyal Choedup expressed deep appreciation to the Czech government and people for their unwavering support to the Tibetan cause and their global and moral leadership in pushing back against the authoritarian regimes around the world and taking a principled foreign policy on human rights and democracy. He further shared how despite over seventy years of occupation of Tibet by the Chinese Communist regime, Beijing has not been able to win the loyalty of the Tibetan people. And how significant it is for the international community to take a principled stand on human rights and democracy for the oppressed people around the world including the Tibetan people.
–Filed by Office of Tibet, Washington-DC
With Czech Ambassador Miloslav Stašek.
Guests during the luncheon.
