Activites

• 2009/03/12 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T6-0142/2009 summary

    Following the debate which took place during the sitting of 12 March 2009, the European Parliament adopted by 338 votes to 131 with 14 abstentions, a resolution on the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising and dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government. The resolution had been tabled by the EPP-ED, Greens/ALE, ALDE, and UEN groups. Parliament notes that March 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's flight from Tibet and the beginning of his exile in India. It also notes that the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People, produced at the request of the Chinese Government and presented by envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the eighth round of talks in November 2008 in Beijing, respects the principles underpinning the Chinese Constitution and the territorial integrity of the People's Republic of China, but was rejected by the Chinese Government as an attempt at 'semi-independence' and 'independence in disguise'. Parliament urges the Chinese Government to consider the Memorandum for Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People of November 2008 as a basis for substantive discussion leading towards positive, meaningful change in Tibet, consistent with the principles outlined in the Constitution and laws of the People's Republic of China. It calls on the Council to ascertain what exactly happened during the negotiations between China and the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Members call on the Council Presidency, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the exile of the Dalai Lama to India, to adopt a declaration calling on the Chinese Government to open a constructive dialogue with a view to reaching a comprehensive political agreement and to include a reference to the Memorandum for Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People. They note that over the last few days the Chinese authorities have tightened security in Tibet, implementing a 'strike hard' campaign against the Tibetan people. Furthermore, a large number of monks of the monastery of An Tuo, in the Chinese province of Qinghai, were arrested on 25 February 2009 during a peaceful march on the occasion of the Tibetan New Year.Parliament condemns all acts of violence, whether they are the work of demonstrators or disproportionate repression by the forces of law and order. It calls on the Chinese Government to release immediately and unconditionally all those detained solely for engaging in peaceful protest, and to account for all those who have been killed or gone missing, and all those detained and the nature of the charges against them. It asks the Chinese authorities to provide foreign media access to Tibet, including the Tibetan areas outside the Tibet Autonomous Region, and to abolish the system of special permits required for access to the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Chinese authorities are urged to grant UN human rights experts and recognised international non-governmental organisations unimpeded access to Tibet so that they can investigate the situation there.Lastly, Parliament asks the Council Presidency to take the initiative of including the question of Tibet on the agenda for a meeting of the General Affairs Council with a view to discussing how the EU could facilitate progress on a solution for Tibet.

Documents

• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0142/2009

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)