Oifig an Aire
Office of the Minister
November, 1995
Mr. Olivier Dupuis,
Secretary of the Transnational
transparty Radical Party,
Centre de Coordination de Bruxelles
97 Rue Belliard,
1047 Bruxelles,
Belgium
Dear Mr. Dupuis,
I refer to your letter of October 18th, 1995 in connection with the situation in Tibet.
During a visit by the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dick Spring, T.D., to China last September he met with Vice President and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and raised with him the question of human rights and the treatment of prisoners in Tibet.
The Irish delegation to the Un Commission on Human Rights (CHR), which took place in Geneva from January 30 until March 10, 1995, played an active role in drafting a proposed Resolution on Human Rights in China and ensured that appropriate reference to the situation in Tibet was included in the text. The draft Resolution, which Ireland cosponsored, highlighted how inadequate is the situation for Tibetans, for their ethnic identity, for their religious freedom and for their own language and culture.
It is significant that this year the CHR came much closer to adopting the draft Resolution that at previous sessions. As in previous years China moved a no-action motion but this was the first year in Which it was unsuccessful. Members of the EU voted against China's noaction motion. As a result the draft Resolution was taken and it was defeated by only a single vote. China always campaigns strongly against the tabling of this draft Resolution. We know that this outcome constitutes an important message from the International community to the Chinese Government Concerning its treatment of the people in Tibet.
Representatives of EU Embassies in Bejing visited Tibet last November and made clear EU concerns about the human rights situation there. They once again raised with the authorities the list of prisoners which had been presented by the EU Ambassadors when they visited Tibet in May 1993 and they also handed a list of 14 nuns who had been arrested. I understand that a small number of Tibetan political prisoners have been released but the situation of political prisoners in Tibet remains an issue of great concern.
I trust that this is of interest to you.
Yours sincerely
Liz McManus, T.D.
Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal
