Australian Senate passes motion on Tibet

Friday, 16 May 2008, 3:03 p.m.

Dharamshala: Australian Greens
Leader Senator Bob Brown and Vice Chairman of All Party Parliamentary
Group for Tibet on 15 May, moved the following motion on Tibet in the
Senate.

All the political Parties – Labor, Liberal, Greens, Nationals,
Democrats and Family First – passed the motion without any dissent.

The motion welcomed the informal talks between the two envoys
of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Chinese representatives and the
agreement to hold further formal talks.

It encouraged both parties to work sincerely towards peaceful and mutually agreeable resolution on the Tibet issue.

It also praised Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s stand taken on Tibet
during his recent visit to Beijing, which calls for a constructive
dialogue on Tibet. It calls on the Government to “support and monitor
progress.

The full text of the motion is as below:

That the Senate:

a) notes:

(i) the continuing human rights concerns in Tibet,

(ii) the continuing restrictions on entry to Tibetan areas for
journalists, international observers, non-government agencies and
foreign diplomats;

b) welcomes the informal talks between the Chinese Government and
representatives of the 14th Dalai Lama on 4th and 5th of May in
Shenzhen, China and the agreement to hold a further round of the
China-Tibet dialogue;

c) encourages both parties to work sincerely towards a peaceful and
mutually agreeable resolution of the China-Tibet issue;

d) welcomes the Prime Minister’s forthright statements during his recent
trip to China, both in public and in private with the Chinese Premier
and President, on the need for constructive dialogue;

e) appreciates the Prime Minister’s commitment to being a ‘zhengyou or
‘true friend’ to the Chinese leadership and his willingness to raise
challenging issues including Tibet;

f) requests the Government to actively support and monitor progress.

—Based on report filed by Office of Tibet, Australia