Parallels between the Tibetan and Transylvanian autonomy – Joint meeting of the Minority and Tibet Intergroups in the EP
The EP’s Intergroups for National Minorities and Tibet held a joint meeting at last week’s plenary session of the EP in Strasbourg and discussed the opportunities of the Tibetan autonomy.
The meeting was held with the participation of Wangpo Bashi, head of the Tibetan Government-in-exile and representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Paris, who explained that the Tibetan people to not seek independence, but a truly meaningful political autonomy respecting the territorial integrity of China.
In his remarks, DAHR’s MEP Csaba Sógor made a parallel between the situation of the Tibetan and Hungarian minorities. „During their history, Hungarians in Transylvania were in various situations: state-majority nation for centuries, then beneficiaries of a real autonomy, than subjects to a formal autonomy existing only on paper, and presently, although they are part of the governing coalition, they have no form of self government.
We are more than happy to exchange our experience with our Tibetan peers and I hope that the Tibetan issue will remain not be forgotten after the Beijing Olympic Games. We need to keep the issue of autonomy on the agenda, be it Tibetan or Hungarian in Transylvania, and we will organize expositions, conferences and discussions in EP in order to achieve this” – said the MEP.
In his remarks, DAHR’s MEP Csaba Sógor made a parallel between the situation of the Tibetan and Hungarian minorities. „During their history, Hungarians in Transylvania were in various situations: state-majority nation for centuries, then beneficiaries of a real autonomy, than subjects to a formal autonomy existing only on paper, and presently, although they are part of the governing coalition, they have no form of self government.
We are more than happy to exchange our experience with our Tibetan peers and I hope that the Tibetan issue will remain not be forgotten after the Beijing Olympic Games. We need to keep the issue of autonomy on the agenda, be it Tibetan or Hungarian in Transylvania, and we will organize expositions, conferences and discussions in EP in order to achieve this” – said the MEP.
