World Tibet Network News Friday, February 27, 1998

BEIJING, Feb 26 (AFP) - The Tibetan government in exile Thursday called on the European Union (EU) to review its decision not to pursue China in the United Nations over its human rights record.

In a statement from Dharamsala in India, the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile said the EU had "no moral justification" for its decision which represented "a major reversal of the Union's tradition of commitment to human rights and freedom."

It added the government-in-exile hoped the EU would reconsider and use its influence to 'promote justice and peace in Tibet and China."

"We regret to note that the European Union has not taken into consideration the reality of human rights violations in China and Tibet," it said.

On Monday European Union foreign ministers agreed in Brussels that the EU will not back an attempt by the US or any other country to have China's human rights record condemned at the annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva next month.

Amnesty International accused the EU on Tuesday of deliberately sparing Beijing, saying it had sent "a disappointing message" to victims of repression in China.

Chinese troops marched into Tibet in 1951 and its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Beijing.