East Turkestan: EU Parliament Adopts a Resolution defending Tibetans and the Uyghur People

European Parliament adopts a resolution covering the death penalties and life imprisonment sentences handed down to Tibetans and Uyghurs by the Chinese courts recently

Below is an article published by the phayul.com:

The European Parliament, on 26 November 2009, adopted a very broad resolution covering the death penalties and life imprisonment sentences handed down to Tibetans and Uyghurs by the Chinese courts recently.

The resolution also called for "the reopening of sincere and results-orientated dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama's representatives, based on the 'Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People' and leading towards a positive, substantial and meaningful change in Tibet consistent with the principles outlined in the Constitution and laws of the People's Republic of China". It added that "in order to ensure that Tibetans and Uighurs, China's two major ethnic minorities, can coexist peacefully with the great majority of the Chinese population, who are of Han ethnicity, it is essential to begin a frank, ongoing and mutually respectful dialogue."

Strongly condemning the execution of the two Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak in Tibet, and nine Uighurs in East Turkestan the Parliament called upon China to "suspend all the other death sentences passed by the Intermediate People's Courts of Lhasa and Urumqi and to commute those sentences, in the case of persons duly found guilty of acts of violence."

The resolution condemned the death sentences with two years' suspension imposed on Tenzin Phuntsok and Kangtsuk, following the March 2008 protests, and the life sentence on Dawa Sangpo. Pointing to reports by various Tibetan NGOs and notably Human Rights Watch, the Parliament also underlined its concerns about whether the Tibetans had received a fair trial.

The resolution further instructs its President to forward the text to the European Council, the Commission, the Governments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Government of the People's Republic of China.

The resolution also called upon China to "ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; deplores the often discriminatory treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in China."