First, as a constituent your Congressman/Senator/MP has a responsibility to listen to you and you can requests him/her to act on your behalf. Ministers/Secretary are not accountable to members of the public in the same way.

Second, in all likelihood your Congressman/Senator/MP will contact the relevant Minister/Secretary who will reply to them. In this way a public statement is made by the Minister/Secretary. Letters to the Foreign Secretary/Secretary of State will result in a reply from their civil servants which can not be credited to the Minister in the same way.

Third, by writing to your Congressman/Senator/MP, who then contacts the relevant Minister/Secretary, your concern about Tibet is getting across to two sets of people.

Who is Your Congressman/Senator/MP and their address?

You can get this from your local public library, local town hall, local press or the local political party offices.

Writing the First Letter

It it is important for you to write your letter in your own words and not just send off a pre-written letter. It will come across to your Congressman/Senator/MP as more genuine and heartfelt if you do it yourself. Also, the Foreign Office/State Departments keep a log of all letters, so they will easily pick up on standard letters.

It will help your local group to build its reputation if you mention you are a member of group.

Please do not be afraid of writing to your Congressman/Senator/MP. They are used to getting letters; indeed, they use them to gauge what their constituents are concerned about.

It really helps to be polite and constructive. Congressmen/Senators/MPs, like anyone else, do not like being abused or harangued. Assume they are going to help. At the same time, be firm and put forward a well thought through argument. It is also vital to be accurate and not to exaggerate. What is happening in Tibet and the justice of the Tibetan peoples' cause is a strong enough case on its own without adding unnecessary embroidery.

It is important to ask your Congressman/Senator/MP to do something: answer a question, contact the Foreign Secretary/Secretary of State, find something out for you or support something.

When You Receive the First Reply-Maintain the Correspondence

The first letter is the hardest! You probably will not 'like' the reply you receive, especially that from Foreign Office Ministers/State Department. The process of change is complex and takes time-constant pressure from the public and a drip feeding of the true situation in Tibet will make its mark. So do not be put off by apparent intransigence.

When you receive a reply, see if the questions you have asked have been answered. If you feel you have not had an adequate answer write back politely requesting one. Do not worry if you feel you do not know all the details-you know when a question has not been answered and that is the important thing.

After this, try to develop a regular correspondence with your Congressman/Senator/MP -it also helps to encourage friends and colleagues of yours who live in the same constituency to write as well. If your MP shows sympathy to Tibet then always refer to this and encourage him/her to speak out for Tibet in the face of the Government's inaction.

One way to keep the correspondence going with your Congressman/Senator/MP is to contact your local Tibet group or the Office of Tibet for specific campaign during that period. This will keep the subject of Tibet in their mind as well as requesting your Congressman/Senator/MP to act on specific aspects of the situation in Tibet. Another way is to follow up on news items on Tibet in the press-send a copy of the article and draw the Congressmen/Senators/MPs attention to a specific point. Remember the same rule applies to all correspondence-ask your Congressman/Senator/MP to do something. Information for information's sake is not enough.

Send the Office of Tibet Copies of the Replies You Receive from Your Congressman/Senator/MP

Going to See Your Congressman/Senator/MP:
How to Fix Up a Meeting

Most Congressmen/Senators/MP s have local advice sessions/surgeries. Check with the places listed above or phone your Congressman/Senator/MP at the local library. Some require appointments; others have open access.

If you know other Tibet Supporters in the same constituency then get a small group together to go and see your Congressman/Senator/MP.

What to do when you see your Congressman/Senator/MP:

Take a set of latest Information on Tibet

Ask them if s/he is interested in Tibet.

The MOST important thing to do is to ask them to do something specific.

Things you can ask your Congressman/Senator/MP to do:

Bring up the issue with the Government Minister/Secretary responsible.

Ask a parliamentary/Congressional question.

Bring it up with fellow members of his/her party.

Contact the Parliamentary/Congressional Human Rights Group.

Contact and support the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tibet if the parliament has one

After the Visit

Follow it up, ie: if you do not hear from them, write and ask them if they have done what they said they would do.


(the above is based on Free Tibet Campaign - UK's literature)



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This site is maintained and updated by The Office of Tibet, the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London. This Web page may be linked to any other Web sites. Contents may not be altered.
Last updated: 30-Sept-96