Press statement from Dr Antje Volimer - vice-president of the German Federal Assembly

(A member of the German Parliament) on her recent visit to Tibet

3 September 1997

Rough summary: Dr Vollmer is saying that she does not accept Xinhua's statement about her visit to the prison.

Translation:

I refuse to accept the way in which my wish to visit a prison in Lhasa during my visit was misrepresented as a justification of the Chinese prison system.

During my visit, I had the distinct impression that my prison visit was manipulated [direct trans: there were made up scenes for me], contrary to the report from the press agency Xinhua. Of course, I refuse to accept the positive represention of my visit given by my hosts.

The Committee of Rights for People (Mcnschenrechte) has recently begun a visit to Tibet. I would not wish to pre-empt their assessment and report

Bonn, 3 September 1997

A German Parliament press statement