TIBET/RESIGNATION OF MR PER GAHRTON, PRESIDENT OF THE EP DELEGATION FOR RELATIONS WITH THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA: LETTER OF OLIVIER DUPUIS TO MRS NICOLE FONTAINE, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

For the attention of Ms. Nicole Fontaine

President of the European Parliament

And for the information of the Mr. Per Gahrton

President of the EP Delegation

for Relations with the People's Republic of China

Brussels, 30 November 2000

Rt. Hon. President,

First of all I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reply of 21 November to my letter of 30 October concerning the statements made by the President of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China, Mr. Per Gahrton, on the subject of Tibet.

The position of the European Parliament with regard to Tibet has evolved and become extremely clear over the last few years. In particular, the Parliament considers that:

- Tibet is a territory occupied by the People's Republic of China since 1949 (EP Resolution of 18 May 1995: "recognizing that Tibetans are a people under international law and that in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the UN Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights they have a right to self-determination"; EP Resolution of 13 July 1995: "considering that, throughout its history, Tibet succeeded in maintaining a national, cultural and religious identity distinct from China until this began to be eroded following the Chinese invasion"; and: "reaffirming the illegal nature of the invasion and occupation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China; whereas, before the invasion by China in 1950, Tibet was recognized de facto by many countries and whereas it is an occupied territory according to the principles laid down by international law and the resolutions of the United Nations"; EP Resolution 6 July 2000: "recalling that Tibet was invaded and occupied in

1949 and 1950 by the Chinese armed forces");

- The occupation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China constitutes a violation of international law (Resolution 1723 of the General Assembly of the United Nations - 1961: "Solemnly renews its call for the cessation of practices which deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental rights and freedoms, including their right to self-determination"; EP Resolution 13 March 1997: » calls on the governments of the Member States to have the question of Tibet's occupation and decolonization placed on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly ; EP Resolution 14 May 1998: » Calls on the Member States to take steps to ensure that the Tibet question is included without delay on the agenda for the next session of the UN General Assembly );

- the territory of Tibet is that invaded by the People's Republic of China in 1949 and not the territory of the so-called Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) which includes neither the province of Kham nor that of Amdo which make up almost two-thirds of the historic territory of Tibet (EP Resolution of 13 April 2000: » calls on the Chinese Government to open a dialogue, without preconditions, on the future of Tibet, with the Dalai Lama and on the basis of his five-point peace plan : (1) Transformation of the WHOLE of Tibet into a zone of peace ( ) ;

- the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile are the legitimate representatives of the Tibetan people (EP Resolution 6 July 2000: » invites the governments of the Member States to consider seriously the possibility of recognising the Tibetan government in exile as the legitimate representative of the Tibetan people ( ) );

- the Beijing authorities and the Tibetan government in exile must negotiate a new statute of autonomy (EP Resolution of 14 October 1987: "considers that the Dalai Lama's five-point programme could well form the basis of a settlement"; EP Resolution of 15 March 1989: » urges the Government of the People's Republic of China to now hold the postponed discussions on the future of Tibet with the Dalai Lama ; EP Resolution of 17 May 1995: » Urges the PRC to enter into the postponed discussions on the future of Tibet with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile ; and: » strongly urges the Foreign Ministers of the Member States and the Commission to ensure a substantial dialogue without preconditions takes place between the Tibetan government-in-Exile and the Chinese Government in order to find a constructive solution to the situation in Tibet ; EP Resolution of 13 July 1995: "Calls on the institutions of the European Union on the one hand to support any move to settle the Sino-Tibetan problem by mea

ns of a political dialogue and, on the other, on the Chinese Government and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile to begin negotiations along those lines"; EP Resolution of 13 March 1997: "Asks the Council, the Member States and the Commission to do everything possible in the framework of the relations between the Union and the Republic of China and the United Nations in order to bring the two sides together with a view to reaching an agreement which satisfies the legitimate requests of the Tibetan people"; EP Resolution of 13 May 1998: "Calls on the Chinese Government to open political negotiations with the Dalai Lama about the future of Tibet"; EP Resolution of 6 July 2000: " asks the Council, the Commission and the Member States to do everything possible so that the government of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama negotiate a new statute for Tibet ( )) ;

- these negotiations must take place under the aegis of the Secretary General of the United Nations (EP Resolution of 14 May 1998: » Endorses the request made to the United Nations Secretary-General by 1,300 members of Parliament around the world that he meet the Dalai Lama as a first step in a UN-sponsored process of mediation between the Chinese Government and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile ; EP Resolution 6 July 2000: "( ) by means of negotiations organised under the aegis of the Secretary General of the United Nations");

- these negotiations must take place rapidly and the Member States of the European Union must » seriously consider the possibility of recognising the Tibetan government in exile ( ) if, within three years, the Beijing authorities and the Tibetan government in exile have not reached an agreement on a new statute for Tibet ( ) (EP Resolution of 6 July 2000);

- this new statute must ensure » the full autonomy of the Tibetans in all the sectors of political, economic, social and cultural life, with the sole exceptions of defence policy and foreign policy (EP Resolution of 6 July 2000).

As you can see, Mr. Gahrton's statements are, in many respects, in flagrant contradiction with the position of the European Parliament.

In particular, Mr. Gahrton's proposal to » make the Dalai Lama provincial governor of Tibet is not only ridiculous, but also politically dangerous and unacceptable in that:

- the European Parliament has never made the slightest proposal of this kind;

- it is contrary to the position of the Dalai Lama himself, who has stated repeatedly that if an acceptable agreement on the question of Tibet and » not about his personal status (press release of the Tibetan Government in exile, 2 November 2000) were to be reached with the Chinese authorities, he would return to Tibet, but would do so as a » monk and not as the holder of political office (» he will not hold any political position in Tibet , press release of the Tibetan Government in exile, 2 November 2000); he has also stated repeatedly that the new statute of Tibet must provide for full separation of political and religious powers;

- it considers the territory of Tibet to correspond to the territory of the puppet Autonomous Region created by the Chinese Communist authorities, a territory that corresponds more or less to one third of the historical territory of Tibet invaded in 1949 and occupied ever since.

Moreover, it is not a case, as Mr. Gahrton suggests, of » limited self-government but, as mentioned above, of » the full autonomy of the Tibetans in all the sectors of political, economic, social and cultural life, with the sole exceptions of defence policy and foreign policy EP Resolution of 6 July 2000).

Finally, unless we consider the dignity of our Parliament to be of no importance, I do not believe that the objective of a President of a European Parliament delegation, who as such represents the whole Parliament, is to arouse » great interest among » low level representatives of Beijing .

I hope that the above information will be of use, and will convince you of the validity of my appeal for the resignation of the President of the EP Delegation for Relations with the People's Republic of China.

Yours sincerely,

Olivier Dupuis

Enclosures :

1. press release by Per Gahrton of 24 October 2000;

2. press release by Olivier Dupuis of 30 October 2000;

3. press release by Olivier Dupuis of 31 October 2000;

4. Agence Europe dispatch of 31 October 2000;

5. press release of the Tibetan government in exile of 1 November 2000.

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