Newsletter on the campaigns of the Radical Party for the freedom of Tibet.
"I truly believe that individuals can make a difference in society. Since periods of great change such as the present one come so rarely in human history, it is up to each of us to make the best use of our time to help create a happier world"
His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, 1992
#20, April 24, 1996
Editor: Massimo Lensi, Dorottya u. 3.III.em6. - H-1051 Budapest - tel 36-1-2663486 - 2660935 - fax 1187937 - e-mail M.Lensi@agora.stm.it - WWW-Url: htt//:www.agora.stm.it/pr - Telnet: Agora.stm.it
Distribution: Alberto Novi - rue Belliard 89 - Rem 508, B-1047 Brussels; tel. 32-2-2304121, fax 32-2-2303670.
Published in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Croatian and Rumanian.
GENEVA. ONE REMARK ONLY: SHAME !
EUROPEAN UNION'S RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA AND TIBET REJECTED IN FAVOR OF THE CHINESE RESOLUTION WHICH IMPEDES THE VOTE.
STRAIGHTAWAY THOUSANDS SIGNATURES UNDER THE APPEAL FOR BOUTROS GHALI TO RECEIVE THE DALAI LAMA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UN Commission on Human Rights has then decided to accept a "No Action" motion, so rejecting from the debate and the vote the resolution on human rights in China and Tibet. The shameful decision de facto invites China in continuing, with no opposition by the international community, to pursue violations of the most basic civic, political and religious freedoms.
The decision was passed by a majority of 27 votes against 20 (six abstained), so accepting the Chinese ambassador Wu Jianmin's statement: "That proposal of resolution is politically aimed, and even though it is graciously prepared, it confirms its anti-China nature. It is aimed against China as well as all the other developing countries. What we are seeing today against China, could happen tomorrow to any other developing country".
Besides presenting its resolution, the European Union didn't go to a lot of bother in trying to build consensus on the initiative. Rather, under pressure by France, even the possibility to drop the resolution was considered. At the eleventh hour only, objections and differences were overcame by countries that at the Bangkok conference made billion dollars worth commercial agreements with China: France with Airbus planes, Germany with trains, and Ukraine with ships.
As a response to such a shameful conclusion of the Geneva Commission works, we must immediately re-launch with greater strength the political campaigns for the freedom of Tibet and democracy in China. Suddenly we must especially intensify our efforts so that the UN stops to wash its hands of the Tibetan question. Though also other initiatives must be put under way, we can immediately restart by strengthening the collection of adhesions under the worldwide parliamentary appeal calling on the UN Secretary General to receive as soon as possible the Dalai Lama in order to start the first steps of a negotiation without pre-conditions between the Chinese government and the Tibetan government-in-exile. Obviously, to be really effective the appeal needs thousands of signatures by senators and representatives all over the world.
It's a difficult moment, and we must not let too much time to go by after the Geneva's shameful vote: to counterattack that victory of real-politic, our response must be steady and strong
Good luck !
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS. STATEMENT BY WEI SHANSHAN
With a statement delivered On April 16 to the 52nd session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, sister of Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng intervened on item 10 of the works' agenda as a member of the Radical Party delegation. With regard to the new 14-year sentence inflicted to her brother for "overthrow aimed plot", Wei Shanshan reminded: "I repeat, Mister President, that my brother Wei Jingsheng is guilty of no crime. He is only the voice of China's consciousness for democracy, human rights, dignity, tolerance, and reasonableness".
Jingsheng was convicted also because his assertion that "Historically, there is no doubt that Tibet was an independent country", which assertion is obviously indisputable, but was misinterpreted by the Chinese government as a crime against the motherland's unity. In conclusion Shanshan called on the UN Commission on Human Rights to pass a resolution condemning the violations and supporting Wei Jingsheng and thousands of other political prisoners in China as well.
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
On April 19, by initiative of Radicals, Greens, and Liberals, later supported by all the other parliamentary groups except for Union for Europe, the European Parliament passed a resolution inviting the Union and the Member States to actually support the resolution on human rights' violations in China and Tibet at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. The EP resolution "calls on the Member States to act all the diplomatic measures and the necessary efforts to obtain the support of the other members of the UN Commission on Human Rights so that a resolution on the situation of human rights in China and OCCUPIED Tibet be passed, and for that resolution to consider the documents previously passed by the European Parliament".
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS. DIALOGUE DEMONSTRATION IN EUROPE
On Monday, April 22, voting-day eve for the final resolution of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, dialogue demonstrations were organized by the Radical Party, the Tibet Support Groups, and some organizations of the Chinese dissidence, in front of the Ministries for Foreign Affairs in Paris, Brussels, Rome, and Moscow, asking them to condemn human rights' violations in China and Tibet. Particularly the demonstrations held in the capitals of European Union Member States, asked the respective governments to use those last hours before the vote to persuade as many as possible other countries in voting the resolution supported by the European Union, so that for the first time the serious violations of human rights in China would be sanctioned by the international community.
In Paris, around 300 people from France-Tibet, Humains Associs, and May All Beings Be Happy organizations took part to the demonstration, and a 6-member delegation met with Director of Asia-Oceania Department at the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In Rome, some dozens of Radical Party activists gathered before the Farnesina Building flying Tibetan flags. In Brussels, around 30 people demonstrated, and a delegation met with directors of departments for Asia, Human Rights, and the United Nations.
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS. MEMBER STATES' VOTE
Result: 27 YES to the "No Action" motion
20 NO
6 abstained
* IN FAVOUR: Algeria; Angola; Bangladesh; Belarus; Benin; Bhutan; Cameroon; China; Cote d'Ivoire; Cuba; Egypt; Ethiopia; Gabon; Guinea; India; Indonesia; Madagascar; Malaysia; Mali; Mauritania; Nepal; Pakistan; Peru; Sri Lanka; Uganda; Ukraine; Zimbabwe.
* AGAINST: Australia; Austria; Brazil; Bulgaria; Canada; Chili; Denmark; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; France; Germany; Hungary; Italy; Japan; Malawi; Netherlands; Nicaragua; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; United States of America.
* ABSTAINED: Columbia; Mexico; Philippines; South Korea; Russian Federation; Venezuela.
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS. STATEMENT BY THE RADICAL PARTY
With reference to Commission's vote, on April 24 Secretary General of the Radical Party, MEP Olivier Dupuis, stated that "China's position represents a very dangerous challenge to the Commission's jurisdiction. UN has failed again, while EU kept only in words its policy on human rights. For Heaven's sake!, the huge Chinese market won!, together with billion-dollars worth credit lines and supplies to developing countries by rich European countries that went shopping: you see, it doesn't matter if China's development transits through millions of workers forcefully compelled to the "Laogai" lager context, through hundreds of thousands political prisoners, by the use of torture and capital punishment even for minor offences, and by the attempt to delete Tibet and Tibetans on the geographical map, by the persecution of religion and the kidnapping af the 6-year-old Panchen Lama. It doesn't matter..."
PARLIAMENTARY APPEAL FOR BOUTROS GHALI TO RECEIVE THE DALAI LAMA
During the past 20 days the increase in number of adhesion was that of 54 new signatures by parliamentarians from 9 countries. We are then at "minus 1,553" to achieve the 2,000 signatures goal. Among the new countries where previously no signatures were collected, now we have got adhesions fro the Georgian, Macedonian, and Basque parliaments.
- Number of signatures as of April 3: 393
- Number of signatures as of April 23: 447
at 3/21 at 4/3 at 4/23
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European Parliament 114 115 119
Albanian Parliament 30 41 41
Austrian Parliament 12 12 12
Basque Parliament 0 0 11
Belgian Parliament 15 16 16
Bulgarian Parliament 14 14 14
Croatian Parliament 5 5 12
Czech Parliament 8 8 8
Estonian Parliament 0 15 15
French Parliament 12 16 18
Georgian Parliament 0 0 7
Hungarian Parliament 7 7 7
Italian Parliament 35 36 36
Lithuanian Parliament 0 21 21
Parliament of Luxembourg 9 9 9
Macedonian Parliament 0 0 3
Moldavian Parliament 0 1 1
Parliament of Montenegro 2 2 2
Polish Parliament 42 42 42
Rumanian Parliament 17 17 17
Russian Parliament 9 9 12
Other Parliaments in Russian Fed. 2 2 2
Slovenian Parliament 0 0 1
Swedish Parliament 3 3 19
Ukranian Parliament 2 2 2
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Total 313 393 447
We remind that the text of the appeal (on which the Tibet Support Groups, the Tibetan communities in Europe, and the Radical Party are currently committed in collecting parliamentary adhesions), as well as the form to collect the signatures, are available in numerous languages at the "Freedom for Tibet" editors' office.
TIBET TELEX
CZECH REPUBLIC. DEMONSTRATION IN PRAGUE
Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tchien Tchi-Tchen, was on a trip to Prague and on April 20 met with several Czech ministries. A statement undersigned by numerous organizations was delivered to the national press reminding to the Czech Republic institutions to express to the Chinese Minister their condemnation for human rights' violations in China and Tibet, particularly on the cases of Wei Jingsheng and the young Panchen Lama.
CZECH REPUBLIC. DEMONSTRATION IN PRAGUE
On Saturday, April 20, 1996, on the occasion of a 3-day official visit of Chinese Foreign Minister in the Czech Republic, a demonstration against human rights violations in China Tibet was held in front of the Czech Foreign Ministry in Prague. The demonstration was organized by the Center for the Support of Local Initiatives, the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, the Radical Party, the Czech Center of International Pen Club, the Children of the Earth, the Duha Movement, the Movement for Civic Solidarity and Tolerance (HOST), the Human Troubles Foundation, the Ladronka Foundation, the International Society for Human Rights, the Tolerance Foundation, S.O.S. Tibet, and the Society for Sustainable Life. Some of the participants to the Saturday's demonstration went later to Prague airport to "welcome" the Chinese Minister on his arrival. As the Minister stepped down from the plane, two activists masquerading as journalists suddenly unrolled a huge Tibetan flag. After several minutes of confusion, involving security g
uards, the Minister was driven away in his car directly to the Chinese embassy, thus missing the official reception at the airport. A similar situation occurred the day after in Prerov, where Czech Prime Minister Klaus met the Chinese Foreign Minister. Five activists entered the hotel in which the meeting was held and both at the arrival and the departure of the Minister the Chinese delegation had to walk between Tibetan flags and a banner saying "Freedom for political prisoners - freedom for Wei Jingsheng". At the departure, the demonstrators stood some 5 minutes side by side with the Czech Prime Minister and the Chinese delegation.
USA. TIBET DAY
Both the Borough and the Township of Princeton (New Jersey) solemnly proclaimed "Tibet Independence Day" April 11, 1996 when the march for Tibet started on March 10 in Washington, DC reached the American city. The march will end on April 25 in New York City with a rally in front of the United Nations. A report by our envoy will follow in the next issue.
ITALY. MUNICIPALITY OF SETTIMO TORINESE
On April 2, the "Communist Re-foundation" group at Settimo Torinese city council presented a question to the Mayor, who hoisted the Tibetan flag on March 10, asking whether he is "aware that supporting the Radical Party's initiative means supporting the Dalai Lama's secessionist policy against China's national unity, which unity was regained after an harsh fight for liberation from the invasion of the Japanese allied with Hitler and Mussolini"... Suddenly, Radical Party activist Gianfranco Gallo answered quoting the Dalai Lama: "I do believe in the idea to turn Tibet into a demilitarized area enjoining autonomy, for which foreign policy China would be entrusted". Settimo Torinese's neo-maoists should visit a Chinese laogai to better understand China's "national unity", but we don't wish that to them.
ITALY. DEMONSTRATION IN LUCCA
On Wednesday, April 17, a demonstration organized by the Club Pannella "Common goal" took place in Lucca (Italy) to protest a Chinese business delegation visiting Lucca's "Cassa di risparmio" and Tuscany's "Holding Casse Toscane" savings banks. In a statement widespread to the press, the organizers protested the violence perpetrated against the Tibetan people, and asked to check whether the business the Tuscanian banks are about to do in China implies forceful work by prisoners of the ill-famed Chinese lagers "Laogai".
PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE "FREEDOM FOR TIBET" DEMONSTRATION
Twenty photographs taken by Lorenzo Ceva during the "Freedom for Tibet" demonstration held in Brussels on March 10, are now available on the Radical Party's Web, at the Url: http://www/agora/stm/it/pr
