>> EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

RESOLUTION ON THE SITUATION IN TIBET

At the instigation of the ARE and Green groups, the European Parliament has recently approved an emergency resolution on Tibet and the call by some of the TYC's militants in New Delhi for a hunger strike. In this document, the EP "regrets that the Council and the Commission have failed to take up the invitation to appoint an EU representative for Tibet" and "considers the steps taken by the Union for the release of the Panchem Lama to be woefully inadequate". In addition, the EP has called on the EU to mobilize to ensure that the United Nations proceed with "the appointment of a special EU representative for Tibet", with the inclusion of the Tibet question in next General Assembly's Agenda and for the Secretary General to receive the Dalai Lama, thus making the first step towards mediation between the Chinese government and the Tibetan government in exile, thereby responding to the appeal signed by the world's 1,300 Parliamentarians, in pursuance of an initiative launched by the Transnational Radical Party.

TIBET/STATEMENT ON A VOTE BY OLIVIER DUPUIS, TRP SECRETARY

"Madam (Chair), in view of the fact that our colleague, Coljanni (PSE Group), has brought up the question of a visit by an EP delegation to China, I would like to ask my colleagues how many weeks there are in a year. Well, there are 53. And when is our delegation to visit China ? The week of the anniversary of the events in Tienanmen Square. We owe this to our Secretary, to our delegation on relations with China. This is just like our Parliament and its way of dealing with our request, our denunciation of human rights violations, our denunciation today of a terrible acts- which cannot be called otherwise - which concern Tibet : and this is our response to Tibet, to Turkistan and Inner Mongolia, to one billion three hundred thousand Chinese who - until proof to the contrary - do not live in a democracy.

It is time for us to stop saying that we are waiting for something to be done. Tibetans have been waiting for forty years and have had no response; the Chinese have been waiting for fifty years, since the Long March and have seen no progress in human rights issues. We could also continue to complain about India, its nuclear tests. Nobody is in favour of nuclear tests but like France or England, who were confronted with a Nazi regime during the 30's, India - an imperfect democracy, nobody would deny this - finds itself confronted with the largest totalitarian empire in the world, and some want it to forego the possibility of defending itself ! I would like us to reflect a little on this as well".

TIBET/COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE TRANSNATIONAL RADICAL PARTY

With regard to the EP resolution on Tibet, the TRP has sent out the following communiqué to press agencies : "At a time when more and more Western governments fail to act with determination to defend and promote democracy and a state of law in China, limiting themselves at the very most - this does not apply to the EU - to haggling over the expulsion of a few political prisoners, at a time when Europe has once again reverted to the ghastly policy which it adopted vis-à-vis the Soviet Union, it is especially important that an institution such as the European Parliament reiterates its profound attachment to questions of democracy in China and freedom in Tibet and exposes the Council and the Commission".

RESOLUTION ON THE TRADE IN HUMAN ORGANS OF CHINA'S EXECUTED PRISONERS

The European Parliament passed a resolution on May 15 which outlaws the sale by the PRC's Army of organs from prisoners condemned to death.

Voted for : PPE, ARE, the Green, the Liberals and UPE.

Voted against : PSE and GUE.

CHINA/STATEMENT BY THE RADICAL MEPS OLIVIER DUPUIS, TRP SECRETARY, AND GIANFRANCO DELL'ALBA

In this respect, the MEPs Oliver Dupuis, TRP Secretary, and Gianfranco Dell'Alba (ARE Group) declared the following : "It was finally with a very large majority that the EP asked the Council and the Commission to take all manner of initiatives to ensure that the United Nations sets up an international commission of enquiry without delay. Along with the very many positions adopted these past few years on the human rights situation in China, Tibet, Eastern Turkistan, Inner Mongolia and Hong Kong, the Parliament's position reflects the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT's POLITICAL POSITION and will, in this respect, HAVE to be presented, explained and defended with vigour by the EP/China Delegation which will be going to Beijing next week".

RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

For reasons of space, the text of the resolution on the trade in human organs from condemned prisoners will be published in the next edition of the "Tibet-China Fax".

>> UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

RADICAL INITIATIVES

by Olga CECHUROVA (RP representative in Geneva)

The Radical Party, acting in its capacity as an NGO, has once again been involved in the work carried out by the Human Rights Commission and the Sub-Commission on Minorities. A written intervention on the question of religious freedom in Tibet was submitted. This reports on a great many concrete cases of violations of personal and collective freedoms, such as those which concern the campaign against the Dalai Lama and the detention of the young Panchem Lama by Beijing. With regard to these topics and on the gradual and continuous deterioration of the situation, the Radical Party has called on the Commission's Member States to pass a resolution of censure against China.

The TRP intervened within the context of item 10 by severely and firmly condemning the discriminatory economic and political treatment of the annexed territories of Tibet, Eastern Turkistan and Inner Mongolia : arbitrary arrest, executions, transfers of populations, police checks and interventions repressing religious freedom and the right of opinion.

Finally, the situation of one of Mongolia's resistance leaders, Hada, was submitted to the Commission. He is currently in prison because of his political activities. Hada's case has been adopted as a symbol of the fate of a great many political opponents in China who are subject to very harsh and degrading prison conditions in Chinese labour camps or "laogai" and who are serving extremely long prison sentences. The TRP has asked the Commission to condemn the People's Republic of China most severely.

(Published by FREEDOM FOR TIBET/DEMOCRACY IN CHINA ! - Number 71 - 18 May, 1998)