ICT Europe: Publications
Tibet Update: E-newsletter for Parliamentarians in Europe, Edition 7
Edition 7, January 2005
Welcome to Tibet Update: E-newsletter for Parliamentarians in Europe. This seventh edition highlights activities taken in support of Tibet by parliamentarians in several European countries, including Belgium and the United Kingdom. It also outlines recent Tibet initiatives made within the European Union institutions, as well as in North America and elsewhere abroad.
Please continue to send your feedback and contributions to us at euroeditor@savetibet.org. Your parliamentary colleagues can also subscribe to this E-newsletter by emailing this address. Don't forget that previous editions of the Tibet Update can be viewed here.
- International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) Europe, Amsterdam
Contents
European Initiatives
European Parliament Votes to Retain China Arms Embargo
On November 17 2004 the European Parliament voted to maintain an EU arms sales embargo against China until it improves its human rights record. A resolution called on the EU Council of Ministers and the 25 member-states "to maintain the European Union embargo on trade in arms with the People's Republic of China and not weaken national restrictions on such arms sales." It said the embargo should continue until the EU had adopted a code of conduct providing legal restraints on arms exports.
>> Read moreEU-China Summit
A Chinese delegation led by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with EU leaders at the 7th EU-China Summit in The Hague, The Netherlands on 8 December 2004. The Chinese delegation had made it clear prior to the Summit that the lifting of the EU's arms embargo was a primary goal of the Summit. While no agreement was reached on the future of the embargo during the summit, the post-Summit Joint Statement noted, "The EU side confirmed its political will to continue to work towards lifting the embargo…China reaffirmed that political discrimination on this issue was not acceptable and should be immediately removed"
In conclusions to the Council of Ministers summit on 17 December 2004, EU leaders tasked Luxembourg with finalizing an agreement to lift the embargo during its EU presidency from January to June 2005. China's official Xinhua news agency reported Nicolas Kerlerous, the council's spokesman on EU external relations, security and defence policy, as saying that the EU had an objective to lift the embargo during the first half of 2005 but that achieving this objective could never be guaranteed.
Re-Establishment of European Parliament's Intergroup for Tibet
On 14 December 2004, Mr. Thomas Mann, MEP, announced the re-establishment of the European Parliament's Intergroup for Tibet after gaining the support of 120 MEPs and three of the party groups in the new parliament. Mr. Mann, who has played a leading role in the formation of the new Tibet Intergroup, said "The re-establishment of the Tibet Intergroup has been confirmed. This is a great success for Tibetan people and the engagement for their cultural and religious rights in the European Parliament".
>> Read moreEuropean Parliament Passes Resolution on Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
A resolution calling for an immediate review of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's case and commuting of his death sentence was passed in the European Parliament on 18 November 2004. The resolution, tabled by five different political groups, called on the European Union and its Member States to urge the Government of People's Republic of China to respect the religious rights and freedom of the Tibetan people, and in particular to prevent the execution of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and to call for a new and fair trial. Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's 2-year stay-of-execution ends on 23 January 2005.
>> Read moreEarly Day Motion on Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Tabled in British Parliament
The British "All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet" chairman, John Wilkinson, tabled an Early Day Motion in the British House of Commons on 7 December 2004 expressing deep concern over the death sentence of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and calling for "the UK Government to put pressure on the Chinese authorities as an act of clemency to remove the death sentence and allow a fair and free retrial in the presence of international impartial observers".
Inter-parliamentary Group for Tibet established in the Federal Belgian Parliament
An Inter-parliamentary Group for Tibet in the Federal Belgian Parliament was officially established on Wednesday, 17 November 2004 comprising members from all the major national political parties. Mr. Walter Muls (Social Progressive Alternative Party), Chairman of the group, said "the Inter-parliamentary Group for Tibet intends to thoroughly address the Tibetan problem and place its suggestions on the agenda of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Through such efforts, the Belgian Government can together with the European countries and the EU take further steps in supporting Tibetan people's self-determination and the recognition to the Tibetan Government in-exile as the singular and legitimate representative of the Tibetan people".
>> Read moreTake Action!
Join EP Tibet Intergroup
The newly elected European Parliament has a historic opportunity to help resolve one of the most outstanding injustices of modern times. Europe's National Parliaments too have an important role to play in ensuring a peaceful resolution to long-standing issue of Tibet.
Take Action:
- MEPs: Join and actively participate in the new EP Intergroup for Tibet; be a visible and vocal member. Encourage colleagues who are not members to participate.
- National MPs: Encourage your colleagues to join your national parliamentary group for Tibet or form one if no such group exists. Follow-up on previously passed national and EP resolutions, including the recommendation to invite the Dalai Lama once again to address the EP in Strasbourg.
- Work with national parliamentarians and EU officials to develop a common, holistic and effective strategy to promote dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama or his representatives, including the high-level appointment of an EU Special Representative for Tibet with a mandate appropriate to helping move the Tibet issue to a swift resolution.
Ensure the EU's Arms Embargo Is Not Lifted
The EU has confirmed "its political will to continue to work towards lifting the embargo". Take action to ensure that the arms embargo is retained.
Take Action:
- Urge your government to maintain the arms embargo and make representations to EU partners to do the same.
Stay-of-Execution for Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Ends 23 January 2005
Help secure the immediate release of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and all other related detainees.
Take Action:
- Urge your government to make strong appeals to China for Tenzin Delek's unconditional release. >> Read more
Non-European Initiatives
US Senate unanimously passes resolution on Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
The US Senate passed a resolution by unanimous consent on December 7 2004 calling for the release of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and other Tibetan political prisoners. Senate Resolution 483 stated that: "The government of the People's Republic of China is in violation of international human rights standards by detaining and mistreating Tibetans who engage in peaceful activities to protest China's repression of Tibetans or promote the preservation of a distinct Tibetan identity…The Government of the People's Republic of China should, as a gesture of goodwill and in order to promote human rights, immediately release all political prisoners, including Tenzin Delek."
>> Read moreMotion on Tibet in Canadian Senate
Senator Consiglio DiNino, co-chair of Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, moved for a motion on Tibet in the Canadian Senate on 2 December 2004, requesting that "the Senate call upon the Government of Canada to use its friendly relations with China to urge it to enter into meaningful negotiations, without preconditions, with representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet."
>> Read moreCanada's Foreign Minister calls on China to spare Tenzin Delek's life
Speaking in the Canadian House of Commons, Canada's Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said that Canada and other governments were trying to get the release of the Tibetan monk. Canadian officials have raised lama Tenzin's case both in Beijing and Ottawa, Mr Pettigrew said.
Tibet News in Brief
Russia Grants Dalai Lama Visa
Early December saw the Dalai Lama make a three-day visit to the Kalmykia Republic in Siberia, Russia. After Moscow announced that it would issue the Dalai Lama a visa, Beijing stressed that it was "against any country having official relations with him [the Dalai Lama]". Some 15,000 pilgrims, according to estimates, walked through snow storms to hear the Dalai Lama speak. It was the Dalai Lama's second visit to this strongly Buddhist area of the Russian Federation.
Two of Fourteen Drapchi Singing Nuns Escape Tibet
Gyaltsen Dolkar and Namdrol Lhamo, two of the "singing nuns" released from Drapchi prison in 2002 and 2003, have escaped from Tibet. Both were tortured and had their sentences extended to 12 years for their part in recording songs about their love for their homeland with 12 other nuns while being held in Drapchi Prison. After their release from prison, they were kept under close surveillance and denied care for medical problems directly related to their time in captivity.
Tibetan Monk Arrested for Possession of Dalai Lama Photograph
An organization located in Dharamsala, India monitoring the status of political prisoners in Tibet has reported that Phuntsok Tsering, a monk from Magar Dhargyeling Monastery in Tibet, was arrested in December 2004 on the charge of possessing a portrait of the Dalai Lama after a search of his living quarters. His condition in prison and the formal charges against him are unknown.
Controversial Railway Nears Completion
Construction work on the Gormo-Lhasa Railway has reached its last stop before it reaches Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. It is expected that the Chinese government will use the controversial railroad to ship thousands of Chinese settlers into Tibet in a further attempt to eliminate the region's distinct Tibetan culture. The budgeted cost of the railroad is more than three times the amount the Chinese government has spent on health care and education in Tibet during the past 50 years.
>> Download a full report hereChina Relaunches "Strike hard" Campaign to Curb Tibetan Dissidence and Religion
China has relaunched the "Strike Hard" campaign to systematically curtail Tibetan political dissent and control religious institutions. "TAR" Public Security Bureau head, Yang Song, said "Social stability is not only an essential need of the society, but is also a very important political matter…to strike hard and suppress the separatists."
>> Read moreTibet Autonomous Region Gets New Party Chief
Beijing announced on 16 December 2004 that Yang Chuantang has been moved back to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to replace Guo Jinlong. His new appointment, following ten years of experience in Tibetan areas, reflects Hu Jintao's personal interest in Tibet and his direct involvement in controlling Tibetan areas of the PRC. The position of Party Secretary of the TAR, the most senior role in the region, has never been held by a Tibetan.
>> Read moreNo Progress on India-China Border
The four rounds of Special Representatives-level talks on the boundary dispute between India and China, including the South-East border of Tibet, have ended without significant progress.
>> Read moreTibetans File Complaint against Chinese Embassy in Switzerland
Individual Tibetans have filed a complaint with the district attorney of Zurich against the Chinese Embassy, the owner of the website www.china-embassy.ch, and the Chinese Tourist Office for misrepresentation of the Tibetan situation. The Tibetans argue that the website content violates the regulations of Swiss criminal law against racism that also includes penalties for denial of mass human tragedy (StGB Art. 261bis, Rassendiskriminierung). According to the Tibetans, the repeated assertion on the website that Tibet has been "liberated peacefully" denies and negates the thousands of victims in Tibet since the illegal occupation by China in 1949/50.
>> Read moreAmnesty International Reports on Human Rights Defenders in China and Tibet
On December 6 2004 Amnesty International released a report on the situation of Human Rights Defenders working in China and Tibet, and found that "those who become openly involved in human rights advocacy in China may face a risk of serious human rights violations, including in some cases torture, arbitrary detention and imprisonment. The arbitrary application of vaguely defined laws combined with frequent political interference in the rule of law means that no one knows with certainty whether or when action may be taken against them."
Asian Civil Society Voices Concern Over Tibet
The Final Document of the 2nd Asian Civil Society Forum (ACSF) stated that participants "remain deeply concerned about the situation of human rights" in Tibet. The more than 300 participants representing over 100 local, national, regional and international NGOs and civil society organizations from more than 30 countries of the Asian region gathered in Bangkok, Thailand in late November 2004.
