World Tibet Network News Thursday, May 21, 1998

CAPE TOWN May 20 Sapa, The South African government on Wednesday appeared to reject self-determination for the Tibetan people, especially calls for an independent Tibet free of Chinese rule. Asked in Parliament what South Africa's policy was on Tibet, which was occupied by China in 1950, Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo said: "The position of the South African government on Tibet is that it is an integral part of China. "Foreign Affairs spokesman Marco Boni said this was in line with the generally accepted international position. On whether South Africa supported the right of Tibetan people to determine their own political future, he said: "We are sensitive to protecting the unique culture and religion of Tibet." He declined to comment further.

In 1961 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution recognising the right of the Tibetan people to self-determination. Four years later it was reaffirmed.South Africa at the beginning of the year established diplomatic links with the People's Republic of China and recently set up a binational commission with Beijing. During a recent visit there Mbeki was criticised by human rights activists for failing to raise China's poor human rights record, including the issue of Tibet, with Chinese leaders. Tibet's spiritual leader and the head of its government-in-exile, the Dalai Lama, visited South Africa last year and met President Nelson Mandela. He and thousands of Tibetans fled to exile in India in 1959 after a popular uprising in Tibet which was brutally suppressed by the Chinese. The Dalai Lama has since used India as a base to pursue a non-violent path towards a solution for Tibet.