BRUSSELS: The last item on the agenda of the European Parliament’s plenary session inStrasbourgon Tuesday was a debate on the situation of Tibet. Prior to the debate, Lady Ashton, Vice-President of the European Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy made a statement where she expressed EU’s growing concern on the deterioration of the situation in Tibet illustrated by the wave of self-immolations and by the clashes between police and local people since the beginning of the year. “The EU is particularly concerned by news of mass arrests and detentions taking place in TAR following self-immolations inLhasaas well as reports of the area which has been closed to foreigners”, said Lady Ashton.
She further said, over the last three years an increasing number of Tibetan intellectuals and cultural figures have faced criminal charges or have been imprisoned. We are worried by restrictions on expression of Tibetan identity and freedom of expression inTibet.
“We are most concerned about the impact of the resettlement policy of Tibetan nomads. Tibetan culture and traditional life styles are based on a nomadic way of life. We do question whether the objective of environmental protection can only be reached by eliminating the traditional way of life of Tibetans who have lived for centuries in harmony with nature. We are concerned by the compulsory resettlement of all nomads which has the potential to destroy the distinctive Tibetan culture and identity”
“We are also worried by the impact of the policy to make Mandarin Chinese as the primary language of instruction in Tibetan schools as in schools in other minority populated areas”, said Lady Ashton.
The High Representative also urged the Chinese authorities to ensure that the human rights of the Tibetans are respected including their right to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and to enjoy their own culture to practice their own religion and to use their own language.
The High Representative expressed EU’s strong support to the restart of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue.
Following to the High Representative’s statement, MEP Thomas Mann, President of the Tibet Intergroup in the European Parliament urged the EU on behalf of his political group the European Peoples Party to follow the example of the US and to appoint an individual who can be responsible for Tibetan affairs and be visible in public. He further said that Tibet after suffering decades of tremendous suffering under the Chinese needs a sign of hope of the European solidarity.
MEP Kristiina Ojuland on behalf of the Alliance of Liberals & Democrats called on the soon to be appointed EU Special Representative for human rights to ensure that the EU’s spotlight remains onTibetby reporting regularly on this issue. While she appreciated EU’s raising of the Tibet issue during the recent human rights dialogue with China but felt that further steps were needed to move on formal rhetoric to genuine dialogue and commitment. She also said that increasing repressive policies of the Peoples Republic of China provoked the reported self-immolation of 38 Tibetans since 2009 and that the gravity of the situation called for greater involvement of the EU. In order to reflect the gravity of the Tibetan issue and the worsening repression, the High Representative must also appoint a Special Coordinator that is in charge of advancing human rights situation of Tibetan people and encouraging constructive dialogue between the PRC and the representatives of the Central Tibetan Administration.
MEP Ana Gomes on behalf of the Socialists & Democrats said China being a permanent member of the UN Security council has the responsibility to respect and make respect human rights. No excuses were sufficient to justifyChina’s violation of human rights of the Tibetans in Tibet and elsewhere. She said that the Tibetans had the right to enjoy their identity, culture, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. She could not accept that China close Tibet to foreign diplomats and journalists and not be accountable for the self-immolations, mass arrests and the whereabouts of the Panchen Lama.
MEP Eva Lichtenberger on behalf of the Greens highlighted that the human rights situation inTibetis worsening all the time and every time the EU representatives raise these issues the Chinese counterparts respond very aggressively. She further said the forced resettlement of the nomads is not only a blow to the Tibetan culture but also has ecological impact on the Tibetan plateau.
In conclusion the High Representative thanked the members of the European Parliament for their support to the work the EU is undertaking around Tibet and assured that the EU will continue to raise the Tibetan issue in all important high level political meetings
