Washington, November 30. The United Nations opened an "invesmart" business forum in the provincial capital of Kunming on November 14, sparking strong criticism by rights groups who say the UN should have nothing to do with China's industrial strategy in Tibet, which brings thousands of Chinese settlers to the disputed region. The forum was designed to promote foreign investment in industries selected by the Chinese government which include leather goods, hotels, plastic products and paper for books and periodicals. The UN agency sponsoring the forum is the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), a little-known arm of the UN based in Austria. This will mark the first time that the UN has cooperated with China on industrial development in Tibet, a controversial area which is linked to increased Chinese resettlement in Tibet and further economic marginalization of Tibetans. "UNIDO appears to be involved in a very discriminatory program in Tibet that benefits industries managed and staffed by

Chinese", said Lodi Gyari, President of the International Campaign for Tibet, a human rights monitoring and advocacy organization. "Tibet is being overrun with Chinese workers and companies, and the UN has just put its stamp of approval on it". The issue of whether these enterprises were owned or run by Tibetans or Chinese was not a major factor in choosing them. UNIDO officials who attended the Kunming meeting and are familiar with the Tibet projects did not know whether or how many were owned by Tibetans or what percentage of the project employees were Tibetan. While UNIDO activity in Tibet is relatively small-scale, it represents a victory for the Chinese government which is trying to gain cooperation from the international community on economic matters in Tibet, thereby diverting attention from political and human rights concerns. Such economic cooperation gives the impression of legitimacy to China's policies in Tibet, and claim over Tibet. (EuroTibet News N·6)