Dharamsala, Nov 22 (IANS): The Swiss government has expressed its concern over the self-immolations in Tibet, saying the desperation these incidents express is "very worrying", the Tibetan government-in-exile said here Tuesday.

Tibetan prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay met Swiss foreign ministry officials during a visit to that country Monday, said a post on the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).

The ministry said in a statement that the human rights situation in China, especially of the Tibetans, is regularly a subject of discussion between Switzerland and the Chinese authorities.

Briefing the ministry officials in Bern over the 12 self-immolations in Tibet since March 16, Sangay said: "Human beings, if given a choice, would choose to live. But the very desperate situation in Tibet under the Chinese rule has led to the tragic situation in Tibet today."

Lobsang also met Maya Graf, the vice president of the Tibet Group in Swiss Parliament, who said China must respect basic human rights of the Tibetan people.

Switzerland is the first country outside Asia to officially accept Tibetan refugees. Today, it has the largest Tibetan community in Europe.

Sangay, the youngest to head the Tibetan government-in-exile that is not recognised by any country, told IANS after assuming charge in August this year that restoring freedom of people in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to his native land figure on the top of his to-do list.

Some 140,000 Tibetans now live in exile, over 100,000 of them in different parts of India. Over six million Tibetans live in Tibet.