World Tibet Network News Thursday, February 26, 1998

SYDNEY, Feb 26 AAP - The federal government should call on Chinese

authorities to meet the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader's

Australian representative said today.

Speaking to reporters in Sydney, Chhime Rigzing Chhoekyapa said the

Tibetan people faced genocide under Chinese occupation.

He said the federal government appeared to have good relations with China and should use them to good effect.

"They should ask the Chinese to meet either the Dalai Lama or his representatives to facilite a negotiation to resolve the issue of Tibet," Mr Chhoekyapa said.

"That will be to the benefit of both China and the Tibetan people."

He was joined by Justice John Dowd, president of the Australian section of the International Commission of Jurists.

Justice Dowd will later today launch a commission report on Tibet which he said showed an escalation of repression by Chinese authorities over the past two years.

According to the report, the Panchen Lama, the second most important

figure in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy, remains in detention and the

Chinese government continues to sponsor mass migration of ethnic Chinese into Tibet.

The main recommendation of the report is for a United Nations supervised referendum to be held in Tibet to determine the political and social future of the region.

Prime Minister John Howard met privately with the Dalai Lama during his visit to Australia in 1996.