Rep. forms Tibetan Caucus, reiterates Olympic boycott

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher has formed a caucus in the House of Representatives to support Tibetans in the face of China’s crackdowns on unrest in the region.

Rohrabacher and Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) have founded the Tibetan Caucus, which seeks to oppose reported human rights violations by the Chinese government.

“We urge you to join the Tibetan Caucus to uphold the rights of the Tibetan people and give a voice to those that the Chinese regime has silenced,” he and Abercrombie wrote in a letter to Congress.

Rohrabacher used the occasion to repeat his call for a boycott of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, calling the country a repeat human rights violator that lacks the moral stature to host the games.

“Just as Hitler used the 1936 Olympics as a platform to showcase his fascist propaganda, it’s wrong for the United States to support such a prestigious event in a venue hosted by a similarly fascist regime,” he wrote.

— Michael Alexander