European Parliament Reassures Full Support For Tibet’s Autonomy

Thursday, 10 July 2008, 9:44 a.m.

Strasbourg: The President of
the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, said Wednesday he very
much hope that the dialogue between the envoys of the His Holiness the
Dalai Lama and the Chinese authorities will soon be pursued in a
constructive way aimed at achieving results.

Hans-Gert Pöttering, the president of European Parliament (File Photo)

He said: “The Dalai Lama has always called for non
violent approach and has rejected calls for Tibetan independence. He
has instead proposed the middle way of cultural autonomy and religious
freedom for Tibet and has never questioned China’s territorial
integrity.

“He has the full support of the European Parliament for his approach,” he added.

Expressing great regret over the lack of concrete result after
the seventh round of discussion on Tibet held in Beijing, he said:
“Given that these talks have to date proved inconclusive, I have
decided not to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.”

He said, “We expect that China will respect its own public
commitments to human rights and minority rights, announced when the
decision to allow China to organise the Games was taken. This is a
great opportunity for China to open itself up to the world and to
demonstrate that it is committed to internationally-recognised
fundamental rights.”