Published by: World Tibet Network News, Tuesday, October 29, 1996

Conor O'Clery

Beijing, October 29, 1996 (Irish Times) -- A socialist delegation of three members of the European Parliament, including the Irish MEP Ms. Bernie Malone, yesterday conveyed a request from the Dalai Lama for talks with the Chinese government.

A Chinese Communist Party official, Mr. Li Beihai, told the delegation the door was open all the time to dialogue with the Dalai Lama, if he genuinely gave up his "splittist" policies, said Ms. Malone, who is accompanied by the Italian MEP, Mr. Luigi Colajanni, and the Spanish MEP, Mr. Joan Colom I Naval.

Ms. Malone chaired a European Parliament Committee in Strasbourg last week which was addressed by the Dalai Lama, who fled from Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule. She said "the Dalai Lama told us he would be interested in starting an unconditional dialogue with the Chinese Government. He asked us to mediate." The delegation will visit Tibet later this week.

The EU ambassador to China, Mr. Endymion Wilkinson, was called in by the Foreign Ministry last Friday and told of China's anger at the meeting between EU officials and the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama told a news conference in Strasbourg he was not seeking independence from China but constructive engagement. Yesterday in Budapest he said persuasion rather than pressure was the way to achieve Tibet's quest for autonomy from China.

China should deal with foreign affairs and defence, leaving Tibetans to manage all other fields.