2011-11-09

The International Campaign for Tibet Association, along with Brussels based Tibetan, expatriates organized a day-long series of events, including fasting and prayer, in front of the European Parliament on the 9th of November and demanding  for minority rights of  the Tibetan community in China to be respected.

DAHR’S MEP Csaba Sógor, as a member of the Tibet Intergroup of the EP, accepted on behalf of his colleagues in the Intergroup the letter of the demonstrators that salutes the decision of the EP and calls for an EU-level declaration. During the demonstration a high profile delegation held talk in the EP about EU-China relations.

Since March this year 12 monks, including one woman, have set themselves on fire in protest against the unbearable conditions of the Tibetan minority in Szechuan, the infringement of fundamental rights and the drastic, restrictive Chinese measures in Tibet: brutal raids, arbitrary arrests of monks, permanent police presence in the monasteries. The EP adopted a declaration in its last plenary session that condemned the fact that Chinese authorities raid Tibetan monasteries and restrict religious communities. Nevertheless, the EU has not yet publicly adopted a point of view in the matter even though some member states like Germany and Denmark, and even the USA has done so.

Making reference to the 19th point of the declaration, MEP Csaba Sógor urged the government of the Chinese People’s Republic to respect international fundamental rights, freedom of religion and the freedom of the monastery and lama communities. The Hungarian MEP from Transylvania expressed his compassion for the demonstrators, paid his homage to the brave acts of the monks and spoke about the eminent member of his own community, Sándor Kőrösi Csoma. He announced that he intends to support the Tibetan cause and has already invited Breton art historian Bernard Le Calloc'h to speak before the members of the Tibet Intergroup in March next year. The professor has been researching the common aspects of French and Hungarian history and specializes in the life of Sándor Kőrösi Csoma and Tibetan culture.

- I am convinced that professor Bernard Le Calloc'h will highlight connections between the European and the Tibetan culture. We need to open to each other through our cultures, in the spirit of freedom. Communities can truly know each other only through understanding – said Csaba Sógor.