WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): The US has designated Indian-origin diplomat Uzra Zeya as its Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues and she has been tasked with promoting “substantive dialogue” between China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives in support of a negotiated agreement on Tibet. Zeya, who was once posted in New Delhi during her diplomatic career, had quit the foreign service in 2018 in protest against the policies of then president Donald Trump.

She is also the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

As the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Zeya will coordinate the US government policies, programs and projects concerning Tibetan issues, consistent with the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002, as amended by the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020.

“I have designated Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya to serve concurrently as the United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, an important role she will take on effective immediately,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

She will also continue to serve as Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, a position for which she was sworn in on July 14, 2021, he said in a statement.

“Specifically, she will promote substantive dialogue, without preconditions, between the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Dalai Lama, his representatives, or democratically elected Tibetan leaders in support of a negotiated agreement on Tibet,” according to the US Department of State.

China is accused of suppressing cultural and religious freedom in Tibet. However, China has rejected the accusations.

Negotiations between China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama on the Tibet issue have not taken place in recent years.

Since becoming China’s President in 2013, Xi Jinping has pursued a firm policy of stepping up security control of Tibet. Beijing has been cracking down on Buddhist monks and followers of the Dalai Lama, who despite his exile remains a widely admired spiritual leader in the remote Himalayan region. Beijing views the 86-year-old Dalai Lama as a separatist.