51995IP0963

B4-0963, 0979, 0983, 1003, 1007 and 1011/95

Resolution on the situation in Tibet and the disappearance of the six-year old Panchen Lama

The European Parliament,

- recalling its earlier resolutions on the occupation of Tibet and the repression of its people by the Chinese authorities,

A. gravely concerned at reports of the abduction of a six-year old Tibetan boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, and his parents, by the Chinese authorities shortly after he had been recognized by the Dalai Lama as the latest reincarnation of Tibet's second most important spiritual leader, the Panchen Lama, who died in 1989,

B. considering that, throughout its history, Tibet succeeded in maintaining a national, cultural and religious identity distinct from China until this began to be eroded following the Chinese invasion,

C. reaffirming the illegal nature of the invasion and occupation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China; whereas, before the invasion by China in 1950, Tibet was recognized de facto by many countries and whereas it is an occupied territory according to the principles laid down by international law and the resolutions of the United Nations,

D. condemning the attempt made by the Chinese authorities to destroy the Tibetan identity inter alia by a policy of large-scale settlement of ethnic Chinese in Tibet, forced sterilization of women, abortions, political, religious and cultural persecution and the Sinification of the Tibetan administration,

1. Calls on the Chinese authorities to ensure that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family will be immediately released and allowed to return to their village;

2. Calls on the Chinese Government to put an end to its violations of human rights, ensure respect for the fundamental rights of the peoples and individuals in Tibet and put an immediate end to officially-encouraged population transfers of ethnic Chinese to Tibet;

3. Invites the Commission and the Council to intervene with the Chinese authorities to stress how the continued oppression of the Tibetan people damages relations between the European Union and the People's Republic of China;

4. Calls on the institutions of the European Union on the one hand to support any move to settle the Sino-Tibetan problem by means of a political dialogue and, on the other, on the Chinese Government and the Tibetan Government-in- exile to begin negotiations along those lines, and, in this context, expresses its support for the efforts of the Dalai Lama to restore by peaceful means the cultural and religious freedom of the Tibetan people, as well as their political autonomy;

5. Expresses its support for the Tibetan people and hopes to establish permanent contacts with the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile;

6. Instructs its president to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the government of China, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Parliament-in-exile of Tibet and the UN Secretary-General.