ICT Europe: Publications
Tibet Update: E-newsletter for Parliamentarians in Europe, Edition 2
Edition 2, December 2003
Welcome to the second edition of Tibet Update: E-newsletter for Parliamentarians in Europe. This E-newsletter is designed for, and distributed to, European policy makers every two months. If you missed the first edition, you can view it here.
If you have any suggestions, contributions or wish to subscribe other parliamentary colleagues to this E-newsletter, please contact us at: euroeditor@savetibet.org.
- Tsering Jampa, Executive Director, Amsterdam
Contents
European Initiatives
European Parliament Calls for China to Drop Preconditions to Dialogue with the Dalai Lama
During the "European Parliament Forum on Tibet: EU Response to Sino-Tibetan Dialogue" held at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels on 12 November, Parliamentarians from across Europe called on China to drop all preconditions on negotiations with the Dalai Lama and reiterated their call for the immediate appointment of an EU Special Representative for Tibet to facilitate meaningful dialogue between Beijing and Dharamsala.
The parliamentarians also requested that the Dalai Lama again be invited to address the European Parliament about the status of discussions with China. They recommended that, if no progress is made with constructive negotiations in the immediate future, EU Member States should reconsider the EP's 6 July 2000 resolution which proposed to recognise the Tibetan Government in Exile as the legitimate representative of the Tibetan people.
"China is in a win-win situation: The Dalai Lama is not calling for independence and China's reputation would be enhanced dramatically if it were to illustrate its clear commitment to undertaking negotiations with the internationally respected Tibetans," said Mr. Thomas Mann, President of the EP Intergroup for Tibet and the convener of the forum.
Italian Undersecretary of State Meets with US Special Coordinator for Tibet
Ms. Margherita Boniver, Italian Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, met with Ms. Paula Dobriansky, US Special Coordinator during Ms Boniver's November visit to Washington, D.C. The two discussed the Tibet issue and the possibility of the EU appointing its own Special Representative for Tibet.
Ms. Dobriansky is the third, and most senior, US Tibet Coordinator to be appointed since the U.S. government created the position in 1997. She serves concurrently as the US Undersecretary for Global Affairs.
Dalai Lama Meets with the Pope During his Visit to Italy in November
The Dalai Lama went to Rome on 25 November at the invitation of the Gorbachev Foundation and the Italian Parliamentary Group for Tibet. While in Italy, he met with the members of the Italian Parliamentary Group for Tibet, which was established in 2002 with a membership of 90 Parliamentarians representing all the major parties in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, and gave a public talk on the Path to Freedom. On 27 November, the Dalai Lama met with Pope John Paul II. This was their seventh meeting. On 28 November, he participated in the fourth World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which was organized by the Gorbachev Foundation with the patronage of the City of Rome. He addressed the Summit on the topic of Ethics and Politics.
In October, the Dalai Lama also visited the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Spain.
47 MPs Urge UK to Raise Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Case During China Dialogue
During the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, which took place on 9 and 10 November, forty-seven Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom urged their government to pressure China to remove the death sentence on Tibetan Buddhist leader Tenzin Delek Rinpoche . The appeal was contained in an Early Day Motion (EDM) introduced by Annabelle Ewing, MP, on October 20, 2003. While very limited information has been released about the content of the dialogue, it is believed that a list of 51 political prisoners, including some Tibetan prisoners, was brought to China's attention. It has not been confirmed whether Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was on that list.
Pat Cox, President of the EP, Meets with Tibetan Exile MPs
Members of the Tibetan People's Assembly (TPA, Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile) attending the EP's Forum on Tibet met with Mr. Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament, and a number of other MEPs and Belgian MPs during their visit to Brussels in November.
Mr. Pema Jungney, TPA Chairman, Mr. Kelsang Gyaltsen, Envoy of H.H. the Dalai Lama to the European Union, and Mr. Penpa Tsering, MP and Executive Director of the Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre, held meetings with Mr. Hans-Ger Poettering, Chairman EPP-ED, as well as members of the Green Party and Socialist Party and encouraged the EU to take a tougher stance on China regarding Tibet. During their stay the three Tibetan Government-in-Exile representatives also met with Mr. Elmar Brok, Chairman of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and a member of the Christian Democrat Party of the Belgian Parliament.
Take Action!
Call for the EU to Appoint a Special Representative for Tibet
The EU's China policy paper of October 2003 highlighted encouraging dialogue between Beijing and Dharamsala as an EU political priority for its dealings with China. Despite this, the EU failed to address Tibet during the important EU/China Summit in Beijing on 30 October.
Appointing an EU Special Representative for Tibet is one concrete step the EU can take to actively further Sino-Tibetan dialogue and fulfill its moral policy commitment. It is a call that has been made repeatedly by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, the European Parliament and the international coalition of Tibet Support Groups over the past five years.
Take Action:
- Issue a resolution in your National Parliament urging your government to support the appointment of a EU Special Representative for Tibet.
- Support Tibet-Ireland's "A Christmas Card for Bertie" campaign! Send Ireland's Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, a Christmas card with the following three messages:
- A Happy Christmas and New Year to you and your family.
- Best wishes for your forthcoming Presidency of the European Union.
- I am hoping that Ireland will make 2004 a really special year for the family of 6 million Tibetan people by appointing an EU Special Representative for Tibet.
Tibet News in Brief
Fourth International Conference of Tibet Support Groups
The Fourth International Conference of Tibet Support Groups (TSGs) held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 18-21 October 2003 brought together some 260 Tibet supporters from 47 countries. Convened by the Department of Information and International Relations Central Tibetan Administration, Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (Germany) and Forum 2000 Foundation, the Conference reviewed China's ongoing occupation of Tibet and allowed TSGs to establish strategic priorities for the coming years.
The Conference was held under the auspices of the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, H.E. Dr. Petr Pithart, and the Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Mr. Jan Ruml. Former President Mr. V. Havel also addressed the conference.
UN Special Rapporteur on Religion Cites Tibet in Report to the UN General Assembly (TCHRD)
In an interim report (A/58/296) to the 58th session of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia), the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on freedom of Religion of Belief, cited his intervention with the Chinese authorities about the situation of several Tibetan political prisoners in eastern Tibet. Under the country wise China item, the report highlights the detention of Tibetan Buddhist leader Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, arrests of three monks and a layman of the Serthar Buddhist Institute, arrests of five Tibetans in October 2002, and prohibition on Tibetan officials from visiting Mount Kailash during its holy year.
Tibetan Resistance to Repressive Measures Continues in Kandze, Eastern Tibet
Tibetans in Kandze (Ch: Garzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP) continue to resist openly measures against freedom of expression and religious freedom imposed by Chinese authorities there. According to reports from Kandze residents, incidents of protest, including the pasting of wall posters, distribution of pro-independence leaflets on main streets and hanging of the Tibetan national flag, occur almost weekly.
The most prominent incident of open resistance in recent months occurred on August 19, 2003, when a five foot square Tibetan national flag framed in silk brocade was hung off a radio transmission tower in the town of Kandze. The radio tower, which is also believed to be used for jamming radio signals from Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Voice of Tibet, is opposite the prominent Kandze TAP Government Headquarters, which houses the local Party Secretary and Communist Party of China (CPC) office headquarters.
Nepal Frees Jailed Tibetan Refugees
Nepalese authorities released nine Tibetans who crossed the border from China without travel documents two years ago after an individual who wishes to remain anonymous paid the refugees' fines following the failure of repeated humanitarian, legal and royal pardon appeals to the Nepal Government for amnesty over the last two years. The nine men were among a group of 17 Tibetans who arrived across the order and were arrested by Nepalese authorities in August 2001 for failing to carry with them the required travel documents. They were subsequently sentenced to lengthy jail terms. A group of five or six Tibetans, mostly children and a pregnant woman, was released last year.
Non-European Action
British Royalty Helps to Empower Tibetan Youth
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of York have initiated programs to empower young Tibetans in exile as well as in Tibet. While five Tibetans in India have been selected for entrepreneurial assistance by an organization initiated by Prince Charles, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has been providing education and health facilities to Tibetans in Eastern Tibet through her organization, Children in Crisis.
Japan Grants Dalai Lama Visa Despite China's Disapproval
Japan issued visa for the Dalai Lama to visit in November, despite requests from China to prevent his entry. The 12-day visit was a great success in that the Dalai Lama was able to interact with eminent scientists and scholars and that large crowds turned out for his teachings and public talks.
Kalmykia's President Seeks Beijing's Approval for Dalai Lama Visit to Russia (TIN)
The head of the predominantly Buddhist republic of Kalmykia in southern Russia has traveled to China to seek Beijing's approval for a visit by the Dalai Lama to Russia, according to a report by CNS News. The move follows Moscow's refusal to allow the Dalai Lama to visit for fear of annoying the Chinese government. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of Kalmykia - where half of the 300,000 population is Tibetan Buddhist - pledged that the envisaged visit to Kalmykia by the Dalai Lama would have no "political coloration". Ilyumzhinov is visiting Lhasa, the administrative centre of the Tibet Autonomous Region, to tell Chinese officials there that the visit would be "purely religious". The Dalai Lama would only inaugurate new Buddhist temples in Kalmykia, according to Ilyumzhinov's spokesman.
Hu Jintao Addresses Australian Parliament (ATC)
Hu Jintao became only the fourth foreign leader to address the Australian Parliament during his visit to Australia and New Zealand in October. The Chinese leadership successfully intimidated the Australian government into disallowing two Senators' Tibetan guests from the public gallery during President Hu's address to Parliament, prompting an inquiry by the powerful Senate Privileges Committee into a range of matters arising from the occasion of President Hu's Parliamentary address.
Hu's visit to both Australia and New Zealand was met by a number of non-violent protests by local exile Tibetans and Tibet supporters. The Australia Tibet Council placed a one-page ad in Australia's national newspaper calling for China to negotiate with the Dalai Lama, causing much controversy in the Australian papers.
Ngawang Sangdrol Briefs Congress on Tibetan Political Prisoners' Situation
On October 31, 2003, former Tibetan political prisoner Ngawang Sangdrol briefed the United States Congress on the gap between Chinese constitutional protections for prisoners and their implementation in Tibet.
Important Dates
| 10-12 December | Regional Expert Seminar for Western States. "Implementation of the Durban Programme of Action: An Exchange of Ideas of how to move Forward", Brussels |
| 16/17 December | EU-China Seminar on Human Rights, Rome |
| 16-18 December | "Children of Tibet" exhibition at the European Parliament, Strasbourg |
| 1 January 2004 | Ireland takes up EU Presidency |
| 21 January 2004 | US Undersecretary of State, Ms. Paula Dobriansky, to visit Brussels and meet heads of the EU and members of the European Parliament to discuss Tibet. |
