[ Published by FREEDOM FOR TIBET/DEMOCRACY IN CHINA ! - Number 57 May 1st, 1997 ]

What follows is the text of the Order of the Day of the Italian Senate on the situation in Tibet, as well as the press release that was issued by the Transnational Radical Party after the vote.

PRESS RELEASE

THE ITALIAN SENATE'S ORDER OF THE DAY ON THE SITUATION IN TIBET: A MASTERPIECE OF REVISIONIST HISTORY.

Rome, April 29, 1997. The Text of the Order of the Day on Tibet, approved today by the Italian Senate, is to be placed in contrast to the numerous and timely resolutions approved by the European Parliament, as well as similar resolutions passed by the German Bundestag, the Belgian Senate, and the Parliament of Luxembourg.

This morning, in the Senate Room, a number of arguments based upon analyses of Italy's conduct in relation to Tibet that did not correspond with the truth were even heard. In the coming days it will be our job to collect and translate the documents concerning this matter, including those relating to the meeting of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, so that they may be consulted by all political parties and by the Italian media, as well as by the Tibetan authorities. These are the same Tibetan authorities who, you may recall, were received by the President of the Republic, the Senate, and the Council.

SOME NOTES ON THE SUBJECT:

Tibet was invaded by Beijing's troops in 19491950, and in 1959 the population of Lhasa rebelled against the Chinese, and were violently repressed;

Tibet is an invaded nation according to International Law (see the U.N. resolution on this matter);

The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile request autonomy, not independence. To speak of separatist threats is therefore ABSOLUTELY FALSE. Nor is it correct to omit that the repeated requests for dialogue and negotiations with Peking by the Tibetans have been constantly ignored and derided;

the terms "homogenization" and the sending of "government representatives" have nothing to do with the Chinese policies of forced abortions and mass sterilization, or the transfer of millions of Chinese colonists to Tibet, which have reduced the Tibetan population through a process of ethnic cleansing and dilution so that the Tibetans become a minority in their own land;

the commitment taken to "represent the hopes" is significant;

Tibet is used as a dump site for nuclear waste;

it is a positive commitment that has been made to operate in the international groups, and, more precisely, in UN Human Rights Commission, so that they be recognized as a strong criticism of the conduct undertaken by the Italian government in Geneva as recently as 11 days ago.

ORDER OF THE DAY APPROVED BY THE ITALIAN SENATE

The Senate,

considering that:

the population of Tibet has conserved its proper cultural and ethnic identity, as well as a dominant religious vision (alongside an expression of the religious Bon minority) which has made Lamaist Buddhism into a distinct experience in relation to general Buddhism which, together with Taoism and Confucianism, have impregnated Chinese society and culture;

rightly in relation to these original characteristics, Tibet has always enjoyed an ample political and administrative autonomy, both during the Chinese empires, under the Quing Dynasty which, as the land of five major ethnic groups (then symbolized by the five colors of the national flag), is the political foundation of the First Chinese Republic;

the imperatives of the modernization process underway throughout China may bring Tibet undeniable economic and social benefits, as well as negative repercussions on the natural environment and the lifestyles that represent the heart of Tibetan cultural and religious identity;

the historical laceration that is represented by the Tibetan revolt of 1959 was not overcome, as the numerous recurrent regional turbulences and separatist activities both within and abroad attest, and the necessity of resuming constructive dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government is ever more urgent;

generally speaking, the authorities of Peking have conducted a strong politics of homogenization throughout the territory, even through the use of sending massive amounts of government representatives;

commits the Government:

to make itself interpreter to the Chinese government, even within the bilateral dialogue on human rights, of the concerns of the Italian people concerning the risking of a progressive loss of identity which concretely confronts Tibet in absence of measures that effectively guarantee the autonomy it should already practice;

to solicit the Chinese government to guarantee, in the interests of stability and civil progress of Tibet, the respect of human rights and the local collectivity, expressing the availability of the Italian government to collaborate with the Chinese authorities for the development of a judicial system and, more generally, the roots for the basic rights of the Chinese Popular Republic;

to solicit the Chinese Government, on every useful occasion, to resume a dialogue with the Dalai Lama that supports the commitment to a constructive process that will bring the profound divergences that exist to a peaceful resolution that restores both the cultural and religious freedom of the Tibetan people, as well as its autonomy and respect for its representatives;

to present to the Chinese Government, in the correct places and on the occasions that present themselves, the sincere hope of the Italian Government for the full respect of fundamental human rights in Tibet, with particular reference to the child Gedun Choekyi Nyima, his family, and all those who are deprived of their political and religious rights;

to operate so that these issues are addressed in all of the competent international organizations, beginning with the next United Nations Commission on Human Rights.