Europe puts China under pressure on Tibet

Sean Whelan, Europe Editor, reports from Brussels on how an emergency debate in the European Parliament heard calls for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics over Tibet.

The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, has called on China to open talks with the Dali Lama on the human rights situation in Tibet.

He also questioned whether European leaders should attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

Mr Poettering, a German Christian Democrat from Angela Merkel's CDU party, said: 'I genuinely say that all politicians must ask themselves whether they can attend the opening ceremony if China fails to take part in dialogue.'

'We wish to contribute to an outcome whereby the world's athletes can meet in fair and free competitions in Beijing. But our values and our self-respect will not allow us to surrender our principles,' he said.

Speaking at the start of an emergency debate on Tibet in the European Parliament, President Poettering said he does not call into question the territorial integrity of China, nor does it condone violent attacks from any quarter.

However, he said the European Parliament would not turn a blind eye to human rights violations. He urged the Chinese authorities to seek a solution to the current unrest through dialogue with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

'I therefore call upon decision-makers in Beijing to negotiate with the Dalai Lama and, without prejudice to the territorial unity of China, seek a consensus which respects and guarantees the cultural and religious identity of the Tibetan people.'

President Poettering also condemned Chinese media attacks on the Dali Lama, which have linked him with violent attacks on Chinese people and property.

'We declare our solidarity with the Dali Lama, a figure who has stood for peace, reconciliation and balance. We cannot allow a situation in which the Dali Lama is mentioned in the same breath as terrorists,' he said.

The Dali Lama is due to address the European Parliament in December, as past of a series of speeches by spiritual leaders on intercultural dialogue (other speakers include Pope Benedict XVI). But today Mr Poettering said the Dali Lama was welcome to address the Parliament anytime. He later received and read out a letter from the Dali Lama, thanking the parliament for 'this gesture of sympathy and support at a time of great difficulty for the people of Tibet'.

Speaking for the EU presidency, the Slovenian secretary of state for European Affairs, Janez Lenarcic, said the presidency does not believe that a boycott of the Beijing Olympics would be the right response to open political issues.

He noted that last week EU sports ministers also expressed opposition to a sporting boycott, and did not even discuss a political boycott of the opening ceremonies. The sports ministers said a boycott would be a missed opportunity to promote human rights dialogue with China.

The External Affairs Commissioner, Benita Ferraro-Waldner, urged China to exercise restraint in Tibet, release prisoners arrested during protests, and allow journalists free access to the region.

A number of MEPs called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. British Conservative Edward McMillan Scott said that, after China's actions in Tibet, for politicians of principle the question was not whether to boycott, but what sort of boycott.

The leader of the Green party, Daniel Cohn-Bendit (a one-time leader of the Paris student uprising of 1968) likened Beijing 2008 to the Berlin Olympics of 1936 staged by Nazi Germany.

Earlier the speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, Karma Chophel, said the Olympics should go ahead, despite the Chinese clampdown. On a visit to the European Parliament Mr Chophel, an ally of the Dali Lama, said: 'We must use the Olympics to force China to conform with international rules.'

Yesterday the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, refused to rule out boycotting the opening ceremonies. He too called for dialogue between China and the Dali Lama, and offered to facilitate any dialogue between the two sides.