Highlights of the main statements on Tibet
The 135 members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, founded in Paris in 1889, host the week-long spring and autumn Conferences in turn. The 96th Conference was attended by over 1400 delegates, including 589 MPs from 118 member parliaments. In addition to a general debate in plenary on the 'political, economic and social situation in the world' the agenda items included 'promoting greater respect and protection of human rights in general and in particular for women and children' and 'policies and strategies to ensure the right to food in this time of globalization of the economy and trade liberalization'.
In Plenary (17 September, am), Norwegian MP Harald Ellefsen made a thoughtful and explicit statement on the human rights situation in the host country. Turning to Tibet, he called attention to the long relationship and ancient treaties between Tibet and China, the broken trust; Tibetans' sorrow and yearning for their exiled leader; their lack of cultural, political and religious rights; their right to self-determination and world concern at China's violent response to the non-violent protest movement. He concluded by calling upon the 'rulers of the People's Republic of China' to "Extend the hand of friendship to the Tibetans and their leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. You have nothing to lose but much to gain both politically and spiritually. ...
The leader of the Tibetans has indicated far-reaching willingness to accept a compromise, if the Chinese side is willing to give the Tibetans real autonomy, respecting their political and religious rights and freedoms. At stake is something much more important than solving a regional conflict. At stake is the respect for a counterpart, relying totally on non-violence and compassion as means in its struggle for justice and cultural survival. The Chinese treatment of the new Panchen Lama whom His Holiness the Dalai Lama has accepted according to ancient procedures, does not give much hope for a more open approach to this issue from Beijing.
However, the economic liberalization that has taken place in the PRC the last few years indicates a more open and attitude towards freedom. Hopefully, this process will also lead to a more liberal position on human rights issues in China and in occupied Tibet. Let us hope that the invitation to parliamentarians all over the world, including me, to come to Beijing to express our views on how to promote human rights is a positive sign for the future."
(Emphasis added)
Later in the morning, the leader of the Estonian delegation, Mrs. Krista Kilvet, expressed the hope that the Chinese government would "respond positively to the initiatives of the Dalai Lama" regarding Tibet and that the six-year old boy about whom there was argument would soon be released. At the end of the morning, NPC Standing Committee member Mr. Zhu Qizhen countered 'accusations' against his country with the familiar litany about serfs and slaves in feudal times versus statistics about social indicators and vast subsidies. He singled out Mr. Ellefsen's statement which he characterized as 'going against the spirit of the conference'. During the afternoon Plenary, Netherlands MP Mr. H. Vos voiced dissatisfaction with Chinese intolerance of the diversity of views represented by IPU delegates. He pointed out that there was "clearly a lack of freedom of speech" in Tibet. The deputy-leader of the Austrian delegation, Mr. Josef Hochtl, praised China's highly successful changes but regretted there was little
progress in the field of human rights. He would confine himself to three main points: "more people were executed in China than in the rest of the world put together". Dissidents were arrested and sentenced for "activities that were not criminal offenses elsewhere". Wei Jinsheng's second 14-year sentence was ostensibly a penalty for meeting foreigners: where would that leave the present conference ? Finally, the Tibetans were "deprived of religious, ethnic and political freedoms". The government had abducted the child approved by the Dalai Lama for the position of Panchen Lama and imposed another one in his place. The entire world was following this situation: would the Chinese delegation inform the Conference where the abducted child was being held ?
In conclusion he paraphrased President Mandela's refusal to choose between bread and the ballot-box to say that "China's people should not have to choose between economic and human rights". The Chinese delegation did not reply to any of these statements. During the debate on human rights on 18 September, an Australian MP called upon all parliamentarians gathered in Beijing to take notice of the gravity of the human rights situation in Tibet. Swiss MP Georg Stucky emphasized respect for the crucial role of the mother-tongue in a child's development. "Language, culture, religion and the feeling of belonging to a community are intimately interrelated and highly vulnerable to State interference." States and national majorities should refrain from misusing language training to manipulate children's spiritual and cultural values. "... knowing what is happening in Tibet, we should not remain silent. Chinese culture is being used to marginalize Tibetan culture, in order to prevent the region from preserving its c
ultural identity."
UK MP Michael Connarty, and members from Ireland and Denmark were among other delegations that raised the question of rights violations in Tibet, particularly the Panchen Lama's disappearance. On 19 September during the debate on the right to food, Canadian MP Mr. Di Nino expressed the hope that the debate in Beijing would send a message of hope to the hundreds of millions of the world's hungry, "in particular those .. deprived by governments and leaders whose greed and quest for power have resulted in abusing .. their stewardship at the expense of the weak and defenceless." It was not enough to respond sending money somewhere with great media coverage, merely to placate our conscience. State denial of the fundamental right to food was not to be condoned. "We must raise our voices in strong protest... and remind all Governments who deny .. full rights that the world is watching and .. will take action to support those whom they oppress".
Beijing was also an opportunity to discuss with Chinese colleagues the areas where NGOs (Amnesty & Asia Watch) had reported violations. "One such area is Tibet, where the Chinese occupation has resulted in the disruption of the ecological balance of the that region, destroying scarce farm lands, and where China's policy of population transfer to Tibet is not only destroying and ancient and rich cultural and religious way of life, it is also making feeding of Tibetans much more difficult because in order to feed the Chinese population, scarce lands are being used to grow foods not indigenous to the area nor part of the local diet."
Words were not enough. The problems are well-known and "we must have the courage to put into action the spirit of our words, even if this results in less trade and less profits for our countries." (Emphasis added) Senator Di Nino's statement was warmly applauded. The Chinese delegate, a former minister for agriculture, countered that "since the peaceful liberation in 1949, China has sent more than 2 billion yuan to cover Tibet's essential needs. When I went to Tibet with the German president he was satisfied with the situation". Furthermore, "people from the interior are being sent to Tibet to develop the region". He concluded that "people should not talk without knowing the situation. They should go and see for themselves." A the end of the session, Senator Di Nino reassured the former minister that he had first-hand knowledge, having spent 3 and 1/2 weeks in Tibet. The English-language China Daily reported Mr. Ellefsen's 'unacceptable statements' on the 18th and again on the last day, 21 Septemb
er, but failed to mention the other critical statements. On 18 September, the Renmin Ribao carried exactly the same article on the IPU as the China Daily, minus the references to Tibet and Mr. Ellefsen. The 12 + Group Consisting of parliamentarians from most European countries as well as from the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the 12 + Group is one of the regional groups within the IPU. The leader of the Danish delegation, Mr. Henning Gjellerod heads the 12+ Group's Ad Hoc Group on the Tibetan Issue, established during the last IPU meeting in Istanbul in April. In Beijing, Estonian MP Mr. Mart Laar presented a paper on "Tibet - A Captured Country" succinctly highlighting its political history, the Chinese invasion, the harsh occupation and contemporary demonstrations and repression: "The policy of repression which China has continued to pursue in Tibet has resulted in serious violations of human rights, environmental degradation and massive economic, social, legal and political discrimination ag
ainst the Tibetan population and, ultimately, the sinicisation of Tibet. This includes in particular depriving the Tibetan population of equal opportunities in the educational field." Citing the abduction of the Panchen Lama as an example of the violations, he called for peaceful negotiations as the only means to "stop the destruction of Tibet and preserve peace in the region".
The Group adopted the following memorandum:
"The 12+ Group at the 96th IPU Conference in Beijing on 16-21 September 1996. Deeply concerned about the violations of human rights of the Tibetan people and recognizing their right to preserve their cultural and religious identity: thus urging the Conference to include a paragraph in this respect in its resolution on the item 4 of the agenda; Calls on all Parliamentarians of the Union, to support the efforts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people to solve the Tibetan problem non-violently, including urging the Chinese Authorities to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama without preconditions and at a neutral site, to join the 12+ Friendship Group on Tibet, which meets during conferences and to establish similar friendship groups at a national level."
96th IPU - Beijing
=================================================
THE OFFICE OF TIBET, TIBET HOUSE, 1 CULWORTH STREET
LONDON NW8 7AF, UNITED KINGDOM
The Office of Tibet is the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Tel: 0044-171-722 5378 Fax: 0044-171-722 0362
E-mail: tibetlondon@gn.apc.org
Internet: http://www.gn.apc.org/tibetlondon/
==================================================
