OCCUPATION OF TIBET

Early day motion 407, tabled 9 March 1999 by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 53 members.

That this House condemns the continued occupation of Tibet and the current crackdown on dissent in Tibet and China; and, recalling the uprising 40 years ago in March 1959 when thousands of Tibetans were killed by Chinese forces and the Dalai Lama was forced to leave Tibet and the imposition of martial law in Tibet 10 years ago in March 1989, calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to enter into negotiations without preconditions with the Tibetan Government in Exile, to respect and preserve the cultural and religious identity of the Tibetan people, to end the policy of migration of Han Chinese into Tibet, to immediately end the use of torture, beatings and arbitrary detentions and to release all political prisoners, including thoses detained during martial law 10 years ago and including the nine year old boy Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, Tibet's second highest spiritual leader.

Signatures by party: Labour 27, Liberal Democrat 16, Conservative 5, Labour/Co-operative 2, UUP 2, Plaid Cymru 1.