TNAG-2295-FCO40-3309-Possible-visit-by-the-Dalai-Lama-to-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 12

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THE TIBET LOB BY

In the UK there is strong and persistent interest in the human rights issue in Tibet from various pressure groups such as the Tibet Society, the Tibet Support Group UK, the Campaign Free Tibet Group, Amnesty International, and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Tibet. The latter is led by Lord Ennals (President of the Tibet Society) who visited China/Tibet in 1988 and published an account of human rights infringements in Tibet. Two other members of the group who have been active on Tibet are Sir Bernard Braine (Chairman) and Lord Avebury (Vice Chairman).

The Tibet lobby press a range of demands from a meeting between the Dalai Lama and/or his representatives with the Prime Minister or the Secretary of State to allegations that the Chinese have swamped Tibet with Chinese settlers and suppressed the Tibetan religion, culture and language. Since the events of June 1989 in Peking, besides raising questions about Tibetan self-determination and decolonisation, they have also pressed for comparisons between Tibet and Hong Kong and between the 17 Point Agreement China signed with Tibet in 1951 and the Sino-British Declaration on Hong Kong. During the Gulf crisis they compared the UK's reaction to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait with her response to China's involvement in Tibet. They also liken Tibet to the Baltic Republics. The main aim of the Tibet Society is to promote the independence of Tibet, an objective to which Lord Ennals is on record as being committed. Various Tibet support groups sponsored an "International Consultation on Self-Determination for Tibet", in London in July 1990. The Conference issued a declaration calling upon governments to recognise the Tibetan "government-in-exile" and undertaking to ensure that the issue of Tibet is brought before the United Nations by 1992. Tibet supporters in the United States Congress tacked an amendment onto the 1991 State Department Authorisation Act "expressing the view that Tibet is an occupied country whose true representatives are the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile". The resolution is not binding and does not affect the US administration's policy. Tibet suport groups have declared 1991 the "Year of Tibet" and are attempting to ensure that it retains a continuously high profile.

DALAI LAMA'S FIVE POINT PLAN FOR TIBET AND STRASBOURG SPEECH PROPOSING INTERNAL SELF GOVERNMENT FOR TIBET

The five point peace plan was presented by the Dalai Lama before the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus on 21 September 1987. It proposed turning Tibet into a zone of peace; abandonment of Chinese population transfer into Tibet; respect for Tibetan human rights and democratic

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