Italian Parliamentarians pledge support to stop violence in Tibet/ENG

2012. március 12. /Phayul.com/TibetPress

http://phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=31053&article=Italian+Parliamentarians+pledge+support+to+stop+violence+in+Tibet

A delegation of Italian parliamentarians, who have come to attend the 53rd Tibetan National Uprising day commemorations said they will lobby their government and the European Union to put pressure on China, urging an “immediate cessation” of violence in Tibet.

“We clearly ask the Italian and the European Governments to promote formal steps vis-à-vis the People’s Republic of China, requesting the immediate cessation of the violence against the Tibetan people and Tibetan monks and nuns, and the establishment of a climate of dialogue and tolerance in the areas populated by the Tibetan people.”

The parliamentarians, who were addressing a press conference yesterday, said they will push the Chinese government for an early resumption of dialogue with the envoys of the Dalai Lama or Central Tibetan Administration.

Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay in his National Uprising Day statement had announced that the Tibetans were “ready” to send envoys to resume the dialogue process while blaming the Chinese envoy belonging to the United Front Work Department of investing “far more energy traveling around the world and making outrageous attacks on His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the CTA.”

The four-member Italian parliamentary delegation led by Gianni Vernetti, President, Parliamentary Initiative for Democracy in China and a member of the Foreign Affairs Commission, met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s de facto prime minster Dr Lobsang Sangay and members of Tibetan Parliament.

“Yesterday we met His Holiness the Dalai Lama and had a long discussion about Tibet-China relationship,” Vernetti said.

Responding to media queries on Italy-China relations, the head of the parliamentary delegation noted that China needs Europe more than ever before.

“We need China, but China also needs us more than ever before. Everything is interdependent,” Vernetti said.

While addressing the official March 10 function on Saturday, in Dharamshala, the Italian delegation had said that their presence was in solidarity with the Tibetan people, especially at a time when 26 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in the ongoing fiery wave of fiery self-immolations demanding the return of the Dalai Lama and freedom in Tibet.

“These episodes (self-immolations) are evidence of the extreme despair to which Tibetan people and religion have been driven by the systematic denial of one of the most important fundamental rights – the freedom of expression and freedom to freely practise their religion,” a statement issued by the delegation read.

Calling for “change” inside China, parliamentary delegates noted that the developments following the mass protests in the Chinese town Wukan, were encouraging signs.

“To be a trusted and respected, China needs to change. It needs to democratise its institutions,” Vernetti said.

Tendar Tsering