Published by: World Tibet Network News, Monday, July 15, 1996

Dated July 14, 1996:

By Chris Moncrieff, PA News

A new Labour Government will call for EU-wide sanctions against countries where human rights are denied, a shadow minister said today.

George Foulkes, Opposition spokesman on overseas development, said this would be one of the top priorities of an incoming Blair administration.

Mr Foulkes told PA News: "The lesson of South Africa, and particularly Nelson Mandela's triumphant visit, shows that our policies in tackling apartheid were not just morally right but were a long-term investment and were in Britain's economic interests.

"Aid and trade, particularly the arms trade, and diplomatic relations with a number of countries will be carefully scrutinised by a new Labour Government.

"Then it will be seen whether some kind of boycott involving EU member states could be imposed on countries where human rights are either at a premium or non-existent."

Mr Foulkes said Burma and Indonesia would probably be on the agenda. "The forthcoming visit of the Dalai Lama will also serve to highlight the human rights situation in Tibet."

He said he would be visiting Beijing in September and would be discussing concern at what is happening in Tibet. "We need to put some countries carefully under the microscope," Mr Foulkes added.