MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
10 January 2005
pursuant to Rule 115(5) of the Rules of Procedure
by Thomas Mann and Bernd Posselt
on behalf of the PPE-ED Group
on the human rights situation of Tibetans, especially the case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
B6-0043/2005
European parliament resolution on the human rights situation of Tibetans, especially the case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
The European parliament,
- recalling its earlier resolutions on Tibet and the human rights situation in China,
- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas on 2 December 2002 the Kardze Intermediate People's Court in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province sentenced Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, an influential and respected Buddhist lama, to death with a 2-year suspension and his attendant, Lobsang Dhondup, to death without suspension,
B. whereas the involvement neither of Tenzin Delek nor Lobsang Dhondup in a series of bombings or in the incitement of separatism has not been proven,
C. whereas 26 January 2005 marks the second anniversary of the day of the execution of Lobsang Dhondup in 2003,
D. seriously concerned at the fact that the period of suspension of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's execution will expire on 23 January 2005,
1. Affirms its call for the abolition of death penalty and an immediate moratorium on capital punishment in China;
2. Repeats and enforces its demand on the Chinese Authorities immediately to suspend the death sentence handed to Tenzin Delek and release him;
3. Would regard the prospective commutation of the death penalty into life imprisonment as a sign of goodwill by the Chinese Authorities and as the first step leading to his immediate release;
4. Underlines its strict rejection to lifting or any easing of the EU arms embargo against China, as the Government and the Authorities of the People’s Republic continue to commit severe violations of human rights against the Tibetans as well as other minorities;
5. Calls on the Member States, the Council and the Commission to connect the continuous violation of human rights in China in general and the case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche in particular closely with any consideration of or actions relating to the arms embargo against China;
6 Calls on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to step up the ongoing dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama to reach a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of Tibet without further delay;
7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the UN Secretary-General, the Chinese Government, the Governor of Sichuan Province and the Chief Prosecutor of the Sichuan Provincal People's Procuratorate.