Published by: World Tibet Network News, Sunday, October 6, 1996

"That the Senate:

a) recalls the Notice of Motion on Tibet passed by the Senate, in toto, on 6 December 1990;

and further notes:

a) the ongoing human rights abuses of the Tibetan people by the People's Republic of China on religious, political, educational, language and cultural grounds and calls for the cessation of any practices which would deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental human rights and freedoms;

b) the Dalai Lama's affirmation of a commitment to non violence and negotiation to solve conflict, as exemplified in His Holiness' receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989;

c) the People's Republic of China's appointment of a rival Panchen Lama (the second most holy position in the Tibetan religious order), in the place of the Tibetan proclaimed reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, is contrary to freedom of religious practice, as enshrined within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights instruments;

d) the concerns of Amnesty International for the safety, welfare and location of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family;

e) the Dalai Lama's proposal at Strasbourg in 1989 to undertake dialogue with China, and the People's Republic of China's refusal to meet with the Dalai Lama;

f) reports by Amnesty International that there are 650 Tibetan prisoners of conscience, some of whom are as young as twelve, and that the torture of detainees and severe beatings are common.