China should end its domestic censorship of news about Tibet and allow foreign journalists unhindered access to the region, six U.N. human rights experts said Thursday.
"The (Chinese) government is called upon to lift restrictions imposed on the media, including Internet Web sites, that limit access throughout China to information concerning the Tibetan Autonomous Region," said a joint statement by six U.N.-appointed investigators.
China tightly controls public opinion by censoring news related to the 1989 crackdown on democracy activists in Tiananmen Square, Taiwan or Tibet.
According to anecdotal reports, Internet controls in China have increased recently, with Tibet reports on foreign news sites blocked and Tibet-related discussions on domestic chat sites censored, the U.N. experts said.
They also said China should allow full access to independent observers and journalists wanting to travel to Tibet.
Government-organized trips to Tibet "are no substitute for granting access to those United Nations experts who have requested a visit to China," the experts said.
It emerged Thursday that China has turned down an offer from the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, to visit the country in April.
"She was told that the timing was inconvenient," her spokesman Rupert Colville said.
Arbour leaves her post at the end of June and China has not yet offered her an alternative date to visit before then, he said.
The Chinese government has been reluctant to allow outsiders to visit Tibet independently since images of pro-independence protesters clashing with security forces provoked sharp criticism from human rights groups, with some calling for a boycott of the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer.
Thursday's statement was signed by Philip Alston, Ambeyi Ligabo, Asma Jahangir, Hina Jilani, Gay McDougall and Manfred Nowak, who all act as independent experts for the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council.
The six experts also urged China to guarantee its citizens the right to peaceful protest and ensure that anyone arrested receives a fair trial.
According to their information, the experts said, more than 570 Tibetan monks were detained on March 28 and 29, suspected of participating in protests and communicating with Tibetan exiles.
"The mandate holders urge the government of China to fully conform to its commitment to freedom of expression and assembly, and to distinguish between peaceful protesters and those committing acts of violence," the statement said.
It expressed concern about reports that children were among those arrested last month and that security forces fired on protesters, causing several deaths.
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