Reportage – 2006

Higher level dialogue may resolve Tibet-China standoff: European Parliamentarians

DHARAMSHALA, India, 3 March 2006

Representing different political parties from different European countries, a 25-member delegation of the European Parliament Tibet Inter-group (EPTI) expressed solidarity and support for the Tibetan cause during a meeting with the press.

"The Inter-group believes that the demands of the Tibetans for genuine autonomy within the constitution of the People's Republic of China are legitimate and reasonable," said Thomas Mann, the President of the group.

"We met with the Dalai Lama on Friday, during which he briefed us on the progress achieved in the fifth round of talks between the Chinese and the Tibetans. We were informed that the talks were fruitful."

Two envoys of the Dalai Lama visited China from 15 to 23 February for the fifth round of talks with Chinese leaders for an autonomy status for Tibet. The talks between the two sides resumed in 2002 after a decade-long breakdown.

Thomas Mann reaffirmed that the EPTI is fully committed to support for real negotiations at the highest political level. "It is the only realistic way to resolve the Tibetan issue to the mutual benefit of both Tibet and China."

"The only pragmatic way to resolve the Tibetan issue is a meeting of the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile and the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China," said Piia-Noora Kauppi, a Finnish delegation in the group. "We will call upon China for such a meeting and will also strive for it in different international forums," she added.

The group will propose to invite the Dalai Lama to address the European Parliament in June when he visits Brussels.

The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India after the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959 and has since established the Tibetan government-in-exile in the north Indian hill town of Dharamshala, campaigning for a negotiated settlement for the Tibetan issue.