The Tibetan Parliamentary delegation with the administrators of the EU Committee of the Regions in Brussels on 4 November
Photo: OoT/ tibet.net
A delegation of Tibetan Parliament members led by Speaker Penpa Tsering has been on an extended tour of Europe throughout November. They met EU officials and advocates for Tibet to help spread awareness about the state of Chinese policy-making. In every country they also met representatives of the various Tibet support groups and members of the Tibetan communities living there.
On November 4 in Brussels they met officials from the EU Committee of Regions. The meeting was presided over by Mr Vincent Matten, the EU Policy director of the International Campaign for Tibet. They also attended a meeting of the 98th Tibetan Intergroup which was founded in 1989 by Monsiuer Michel Herva, a former French parliament member. The Tibetan Intergroup’s stated primary goal is to “promote broader international recognition of the Tibetan problem” within the European Parliament.
The delegation met members of both the European Economic and Social Committee, as well as members of the European External Action Service and their East Asia director, Mr Gerhard Sabathil. These two organisations serve as consultants in the development of the EU’s Economic and Diplomatic policy abroad. They also met representatives from the Flemish parliament as well as a small group of senators from the Belgian parliament.
In France, from November 7, the delegation met members of the parliamentary group for Tibet and briefed French MPs about the efforts made by the Tibetan leadership in exile to resolve the issue of Tibet through dialogue, and discussed ways to end the sufferings of Tibetans inside Tibet. The French MPs assured the delegates of their continued support for the Tibetan cause. Terming the Tibet issue as an “international issue”, they said every nation of the world has a moral responsibility to stand up for Tibet.
The delegation arrived in Germany on November 13 where they met members of the German Parliamentary Group for Tibet who expressed indignation at the repressive policies of the Chinese government in Tibet. They took part in the “SnowLion award” ceremony which awards German writers and reporters for raising the issue of Tibet through their work. They also met Chinese citizens from mainland China and explained the current situation prevailing inside Tibet. The visit was organised by the Office of Tibet in Switzerland and the International Campaign for Tibet.
In the United Kingdom the delegation met Mr John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, as well as several other members of the British parliament. They later met several staff members from the China desk of the Foreign Office. Their activities and campaigns in the UK were co-ordinated by the Office of Tibet in London and the International Campaign for Tibet, UK.
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