Tibetans to Target Starwood Annual Meeting Over New St. Regis in Lhasa
ATLANTA, GA - May 4, 2011 - Tibetans, including several Buddhist monks, and their supporters will gather at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's Annual Meeting tomorrow, Thursday, May 5th to raise concerns about the opening of the St. Regis Lhasa Resort, a luxury hotel in the capital of Chinese-occupied Tibet. An open letter will be delivered to investors and corporate executives as they enter and leave the meeting. A member of the Atlanta Tibetan community will also attend the meeting (see more information below).
Tibetan advocacy groups, including Students for a Free Tibet, have written to Starwood President and CEO, Fris van Paasschem, requesting more information about his Tibet operation to determine if the hotel will genuinely benefit Tibetans or exacerbate deep-seated inequalities faced under Chinese rule. The company has yet to respond.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is managing the St. Regis Lhasa, in partnership with Shanghai Yungao Real Estate Development Co. In 1997, the Holiday Inn pulled out of Tibet following an intense campaign by human rights organizations. Tibetans desire economic development, but only if it respects their political, religious and cultural rights and follows the development guidelines established by the India-based Tibetan Government-in-Exile, the body Tibetans view as their legitimate representative.
WHAT: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Annual Meeting
WHERE: St. Regis Atlanta, 88 West Paces Ferry Rd., Atlanta, Georgia
WHEN: Thursday, May 5th. Meeting begins at 10:00am. Tibetans and supporters will gather at 9:00am.
WHO: Atlanta-area Tibetans and Tibet supporters.
Tsondue Samphel, a Tibetan born and raised in exile in India, will attend the meeting as a proxy to a shareholder. He is currently working for the Robert A. Paul Emory-Tibet Science Initiative at Emory University. He has been part of the Emory University and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives joint initiative to provide science education to the Tibetan monastics since its inception in 2006. Tsondue is available for interviews.
WHY: To establish a Tibetan presence at Starwood's AGM and raise questions regarding the company's practices in Tibet.
Contact:
Kate Woznow
Students for a Free Tibet
+1 (917) 601-0069
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