European Parliament on Thursday has demanded the ‘immediate and unconditional’ release of two Tibetans imprisoned by China for exercising their basic human rights. The parliament voted in majority for the resolution calling China to respect the basic human rights such as freedom of speech, religious belief and assembly as guaranteed by its own constitution.
“In a resolution passed by a majority of votes, members of the European Parliament called on China on Thursday to respect provisions in its own constitution guaranteeing the rights of Tibetans and other Chinese citizens to freedom of speech, religious belief, and assembly, including the right to criticize or protest against state policy.” said the report in the Radio Free Asia.
According to the report, the resolution adopted by the parliament–the Strasbourg, France-based legislative body of the European Union’s 28 member states–took particular note of the case of Tibetan shopkeeper Tashi Wangchuk, now facing a 15-year prison term for his advocacy for Tibetan language rights while it also noted for special attention was the case of the Tibetan monk Choekyi, jailed in 2015 for celebrating the birthday of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, with the European Parliament calling for the “immediate and unconditional” release of both men.
In its 28 clauses in relation to the issues of human rights with China, 7 clauses deal with issues exclusively relating to Tibet. Through this, we would like to thank the European Union and the European Parliament on their consistent stands on His Holiness the Dalai Lama and dialogue.
The European Union reiterated its call on the Chinese Government to engage with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his representatives, and expresses its support for a peaceful resolution of the issue of Tibet through dialogue and negotiations with a view to granting Tibet genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese Constitution” through the resolution.
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