Two influential American lawmakers have urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to help facilitate the US visit of a Tibetan women soccer team to participate in an international tournament in Dallas.
The members of the Tibetan Women's Soccer team - a registered charity in New Jersey and India - were recently denies visa by the United States.
"Tibet Women's Soccer does such good work with refugee girls who have experienced real persecution and dislocation," said Congressman Chris Smith, who authored the letter to Tillerson along with Congressman Tom McArthur.
"The team is truly inspiring. These girls shouldn't be denied a chance to participate in programmes and play in exhibition games during the event in Dallas,"said Smith, who is the co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, Global Health and International Organisations of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The lawmakers said the team was invited to participate in the events surrounding the prestigious Dallas Cup international soccer tournament in April. The team would play in exhibition matches with Dallas area soccer teams and all of the team's expenses would be covered by the Dallas Cup.
However, when the team applied for US entry tourist visas in February, each applicant was only asked one or two basic questions-and none of their supporting documentation was reviewed-before being denied, the Congressmen alleged.
"International sports tournaments, such as the Dallas Cup, have a way of healing wounds and developing peaceful ties between nations. The US needs to do more to foster the organizations that make these peaceful gatherings possible. We must ensure that these girls' applications are clearly reviewed and given fair consideration," Smith said.
The letter also asks Tillerson to "give their visas applications careful consideration", saying "we believe that the visit of the Tibet Women's Soccer team advances the goals of both US foreign policy and international sports diplomacy".
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