Can you explain how that happened?
It has stepped up crackdown on all peaceful dissent. Again, it is not just Tibet and Tibetan protestors. Even in Beijing and other places, activists and journalists have been arrested. In the name of maintaining stability and order they are pretty much cleaning up the city now.
What should China now do to gain a better human rights image?
We are not asking for everything that is on the table. We have only four areas identified. One is the re-education through labour programme, under which a quarter million people have been imprisoned, without any charge or trial. This system, where a local policeman can arrest anybody and detain them for four years, is arbitrary. We want that to go.
Second, 80 per cent of world's executions are taking place in China. As many as 64 offences, some of which are non-violent offences, are categorised as fit to draw the death penalty. We are asking China to reduce the number of offences to 32 and remove the non-violent offences.
Three, we want more freedom for the media; freedom for international and local journalists to operate. We also want certain clamps on the Internet also removed.
Four, human rights defenders like lawyers and activist, who fight for the rights of others, have been imprisoned. We want them to be released.
About the Tibet issue in particular, we want everyone who has been arrested for peaceful protest to be released. China says some Tibetans also used some violence. For this to be validated, it should provide United Nations officials and international journalists access to Tibet.
Access to the United Nations is important because China is a permanent member of the Security Council and also a member of the Human Rights Council. As one of the five most powerful members of the UN, I don't think China should hesitate to allow UN officials to assess the situation and inform the world.
Also, part of my job is to focus on President Bush. We want him to visit Tibet when he goes to Beijing and see the reality on the ground.
Image: Tibetan monks in exile during a protest march in New Delhi. Photograph: Manpreet Romana/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: Tibet revolts
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