French Senators Urge China to Implement Provisions of Genuine Autonomy in TibetFriday, 4 September 2009, 11:56 a.m.

From right: Senator Thierry Repentin, Senator Jean Francois Humbert, Mr Penpa Tsering, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Kalon Kelsang Y Takla, Senator Jacquelin Panis and Mr Wangpo, secretary of the Tibet Bureau in Paris, at a press conference in Dharamsala, India, on 2 September 2009/Photo:thetibetpost.com

Dharamshala: A
three-member French Parliamentarians who visited the Tibetan community
in Dharamsala had urged the Chinese government to implement the
provisions of national regional autonomy in Tibet as enshrined in the
constitution.The envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama presented the memorandum on genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people
to the Chinese government during their eight round of talks in Beijing
last year. The memorandum puts forth the aspiration for the integrity
of the Tibetan nationality and the preservation of their rich and
distinct history, culture, language and spiritual tradition and other
issues which can be met through application of the principles on
autonomy of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China.The
French senators participated in the celebration of 49th anniversary of
the Tibetan democracy day on 2 September. They also visited various
educational, cultural and religious institutions during their five-day
visit.“Despite having a divergent views on various issues that
come up for discussion in the French Senate, the members are united in
their attitude and concern on Tibet’s problem,” Mr Jean Francois
Humbert, senator from Franche Comte province in Eastern France
affiliated to the right party told local and international reporters.“Our
visit to Dharamsala symbolises the French people’s solidarity and
support for the Tibetan people and was never aimed to harm the
sentiments of the Chinese people,” Mr Humbert said.He further
said we are not enemy of China and we don’t want to defeat China, but
what we want to tell the Chinese government is that what is happening
inside Tibet is not acceptable.He emphasised that Tibet’s
problem is not an internal issue of China, it is rather included in the
list of some of the most pressing issues of the international community.He
said the French people consider Tibet as an very important issue which
is concerned with survival of its unique culture, language, culture and
the non-violent struggle of the Tibetan people.”We were able to
experience and enrich our understanding of the issue of Tibet during
our visit to Dharamsala. We will convey the message to the people of
France”, he added.Mr Thierry Repentin, senator, affiliated to
the Socialist Party and member of the Tibet Information Group, urged
the world parliamentarians to visit Tibet and understand the problems
of the Tibetan people living under the Chinese government’s repressive
policies.He said the French Parliament had passed three
resolutions on Tibet and the members take strong interest in reviewing
and studying the issue of Tibet.The senators will meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi on 5 September.