On June 8-10, Chinese president Hu Jintao and several Chinese ministers will make an official state visit in Sweden. Hu will meet with the king, the prime minister, the foreign minister, and representatives of trade and industry who are naturally dreaming of gilt-edged business contracts.
It is important to remember that China is a one-party state lacking democracy. Fundamental rights and freedoms such as freedom of expression, freedom of press, freedom of organization, and freedom of religion, are all strictly limited.
In 1949 China invaded the independent country of Tibet which is since then kept in an iron grip. Tibetan Buddhism is systematically oppressed, and is under control of the Chinese authorities due to the close relation between the religion and the Tibetan national identity. Monks and nuns are routinely subjected to “patriotic re-education” which i.e. means that they have to condemn the Dalai Lama and swear allegiance to the Communist Party. Those who refuse are expelled from the monasteries or imprisoned. The second highest religious leader of Tibet, the 11th Panchen Lama, was kidnapped by Chinese authorities at the age of six. This happened in 1995 and since then, he has been missing.
On the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it says that human right issues constitute a central element of Sweden’s China policy. During a debate on questions raised in the Riksdag (parliament) on May 28, foreign minister Carl Bildt promised to raise the Tibet issue with the Chinese leaders during their visit. A pronounced Swedish support for unconditional negotiations between Beijing and the Dalai Lama about a solution of the Tibetan issue, as well as support for the legitimate wish of the Dalai Lama to make a pilgrimage to China, would be highly valuable.
We also urge the Swedish government to demand the immediate release of the Panchen Lama. We welcome the commitment of the Swedish government for a peaceful solution of the question of Tibet, and are harbouring a strong hope that our popularly elected leaders will indeed let the human rights issue hold the central position they made up their minds to give it during the Chinese state visit.
Louise Mattsson, chairperson, Swedish Tibet Committee
Jamyang Choedon, Tibetan Community of Sweden
The article is the full text of a letter to the editor published in the Swedish daily newspaper, The Svenska Dagbladet on June 8, 2007
