By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, May 1: Tim Loughton, a Member of Parliament representing Britain’s ruling Conservative Party, faced deportation from Djibouti shortly after landing in the East African nation. Loughton, who had previously faced sanctions from China due to his outspoken criticisms of Beijing’s human rights record and his advocacy for Tibet, experienced this expulsion as a direct repercussion of Djibouti’s bolstering ties with Beijing.
Loughton said he endured over seven hours of detention and was denied entry into Djibouti. Despite his intended 24-hour visit, which included a scheduled meeting with the British ambassador, Loughton found himself facing a frosty reception upon his passport scan at arrival. Upon identifying himself as a Member of Parliament, the situation escalated, resulting in his prompt expulsion from the country on the next available flight.
Tim Loughton has demonstrated unwavering support for Tibet over numerous years, exemplified by his meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during the latter’s visit to Dharamshala in 2018, alongside a delegation of other UK MPs. In 2020, Loughton issued a poignant video statement, urging world leaders and international organisations to champion the rights of the 11th Panchen Lama. He vehemently rejected the Chinese government’s feeble assurances regarding the Panchen Lama’s whereabouts and well-being, emphasising that mere reassurances were insufficient. Instead, he demanded the release and disclosure of the Panchen Lama’s status to the global community, advocating for his right to live freely, alongside the Tibetan population residing in Tibet.
Loughton holds the co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tibet (APPGT), an entity dedicated to spotlighting the Tibet issue and shedding light on China’s human rights violations in the region. His activism extends to his introduction of the Reciprocal Access Bill in the House of Commons in 2019, which mandates the UK Government to counter Chinese officials’ obstruction of access to Tibet. Additionally, he plays a pivotal role as a prominent member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a global bipartisan coalition aimed at reshaping democratic nations’ approaches to China.
In 2021, China retaliated against perceived criticisms by imposing sanctions on five MPs, including Loughton, citing their alleged dissemination of “lies and disinformation” regarding human rights abuses in East Turkestan (Xinjiang). This action followed measures undertaken by the UK Government in response to reported human rights violations against the Uyghur Muslim minority group.
“Djibouti is effectively a vassal state of China – what China wants, Djibouti kowtows to and having a troublesome MP who has been sanctioned by China turning up on their doorstep was clearly something they didn’t want to entertain.”
“This was another example of how the tentacles of the Chinese Communist Government extend far and wide, and their malign influence in sensitive parts of Africa is particularly worrying,” he was quoted saying in an interview with the BBC. “Yet the intimidation of countless others who have dared to speak out against China’s industrial scale human rights abuses and who do not have the platform of an MP raises serious concerns.”
