World Tibet Network News Thursday, June 25, 1998

WASHINGTON, June 25 (AFP) - The State Department's coordinator for Tibet, Greg Craig, has been excluded from the retinue of President Bill Clinton who embarked on his state visit to China Thursday.

Officials confirmed that Craig, who also heads the policy and planning office at the State Department, remained in Washington.

Craig was appointed in October to the post, sparking outrage from Beijing, which blasted the move as US meddling in internal affairs.

The coordinator joined Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on her visit to China in April during which discussions on Tibet touched off a nerve with China's President Jiang Zemin.

When Albright tried to raise the sensitive Tibet issue during her meeting with Jiang, he squashed dialogue with a 15-minute soliloquy on the history of religion in China.

Albright said Washington remained concerned about Tibet's ability to retain its distinctive culture and religion under Chinese rule.

Chinese troops took control of the Himalayan region in 1951, and Beijing bristles at any foreign country's attempt to discuss Tibet.

Asked about Craig's absence from the US delegation, State Department spokesman James Rubin said that question should be addressed to senior officials traveling with Clinton and Albright in China.

In Beijing, members of International Campaign for Tibet, a US-based human rights group, said they will press China to release Tibetan prisoners of conscience.

Their plans include distributing leaflets at a planned briefing by China's religious affairs minister Ye Xiaowen on Friday to protest Beijing's jailing of Tibetan religious leaders, said ICT President John Ackerly.

Ackerly was disappointed that Craig had been left behind on Clinton's trip, apparently out of fear of antagonizing the Chinese, who view Tibet as an inalienable part of China.

"We feel Clinton is falling short on human rights issues. We're hoping he doesn't backpedal," he said.