French Parliamentarian to Boycott Hu’s Speech
Dharamsala, 22 January: The head of the French parliamentary committee on Tibet said Wednesday that he would boycott an address by Chinese President Hu Jintao to the French National Assembly next week, an AFP report said.
“I will not be present in parliament for the visit by the president of the world’s largest dictatorship,” AFP quoted Lionnel Luca, a member of the right-wing ruling
majority, as saying.
Luca had told that he will join the associations defending freedom and democracy in both Tibet and China in the Invalides square, near the French foreign ministry, where a
demonstration has been planned to coincide with Hu’s speech on Tuesday.
Hu will make a state visit to France from January 26 to 29 as Paris and Beijing mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.
Luca has also said that he would meet separately with the Chinese leader to deliver a petition urging him to rescind the death sentence passed on Trulku Tenzin Delek, and to renew contacts with representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.