ITALIAN PARLIAMENTARY GROUP FOR TIBET TO VISIT DHARAMSALA
23 September, 2002 23 September – An Italian Parliamentary Delegation composed of members from both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate will arrive in Dharamsala tomorrow on an official visit that will include a series of meetings with the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, the Tibetan Government in Exile, Tibetan NGO’s and Institutions.
The five parliamentarians are members of the Italian Parliamentary Group for Tibet, established in May 2002, with the membership of more then 200 MPs from both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Italian Parliament.
During their four-day visit to Dharamsala, the delegation led by Mr. Gianni Vernetti, President of the Italian Parliamentary Group for Tibet, is scheduled to have meetings with officials of the Tibetan Government in Exile and the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, including Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, Chairman of the Kashag and Mr. Pema Jungney, Chairman of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. The delegation will also observe the proceedings of the 4th session of the 13th Tibetan Parliament in Exile which began on Friday, 20 September.
The Italian Parliamentarians are scheduled to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 27 September.
Mr. Gianni Vernetti(Freedom and Democracy Party) said that the delegation will bring to Dharamsala a copy of an important resolution on Tibet backed by 214 Member of the Chamber of Deputies belonging to 10 different political parties which has been submitted to the Italian Parliament. The resolution which will be discussed and voted in the coming weeks in the Italian Parliament makes the following calls:
- Resumption of dialogue leading to direct negotiations between the Tibetan Government in Exile in Dharamsala and the Chinese Government, under the UN survey, to find a mutually acceptable solution to the future status of Tibet.
- Respect for the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan People.
- Recognition of the Tibetan Government in Exile as the legitimate representative of the Tibetan people by the government of Italy and of the European Union, if Beijing does not grant full autonomy for Tibet.
The Italian Parliamentary Delegation visiting Dharamsala will include Marco Zacchera (Alleanza Nazionale Party), member of the Foreign Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Laura Cima (Green party), member of the Foreign Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Alessandro Forlani (Christian Democrats), member of the Foreign Commission of the Senate and member of the NATO Assembly, and, Antonio Iovene (Democrat of the Left), member of the Senate’s Commission on Human Rights.
The delegation will be accompanied by Mr. Chhime R. Chhoekyapa, from Tibet Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland.
Representatives from the International Department of the Democrat of the Left Party of Italy, Piedmont Regional Parliament of Italy, the Tibetan Community in Italy and Association Italy-Tibet (the biggest Tibet Support Group in Italy)have also joined this visit by Italian parliamentarians to Dharamsala.