The European and Canadian Parliaments adopt motions urging continued dialogue between Chinese authorities and envoys of the Dalai Lama.
Below is an article published by International Campaign for Tibet:
The European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, today [15 February 2007] adopted a resolution on the Dialogue between the Chinese Government and Envoys of the Dalai Lama. The comprehensive resolution includes recommendations to the European Union on a more vigorous approach in support of the dialogue and, specifically, "urges the government of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama to continue and resume, notwithstanding their differences on certain substantive issues, the dialogue without preconditions and in a forward-looking manner that allows for pragmatic solutions that respects the territorial integrity of China and fulfils the aspirations of the Tibetan people." The resolution demonstrates continued EP interest in the progress of the dialogue and a heightened interest in the EU taking a facilitating role, including in collaboration with the US and other non-EU countries.
The Canadian Parliament, meeting in the Capitol city of Ottawa, toady [15 February 2007] adopted a motion by unanimous consent that "urges the Government of the People's Republic of China and the representatives of Tibet's government in exile, notwithstanding their differences on Tibet's historical relationship with China, to continue their dialogue in a forward-looking manner that will lead to pragmatic solutions that respect the Chinese constitutional framework, the territorial integrity of China and fulfill the aspirations of the Tibetan people for a unified and genuinely autonomous Tibet." The motion was introduced by Ms. Peggy Nash, a Member of Parliament from Toronto where most Tibetans in Canada reside. The draft resolution has been championed by Senator Consiglio Di Nino, Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, as an initiative that parliamentarians around the world could take up in their own legislatures. "The coordinated actions of democratically elected bodies representing hundreds of millions of people would demonstrate an unprecedented level of solidarity for achieving a negotiates solution for Tibet," Di Nino said.
Mary Beth Markey, ICT [International Campaign for Tibet] Vice President for International Advocacy, called today's parliamentary actions, "expressions of significant, long-term engagement in the dialogue process and high expectation that the dialogue can produce a solution for Tibet that is mutually acceptable, or as Beijing would say, a 'win-win solution' for China and Tibet."
