Paris, August 9 – In a press release yesterday here in Paris, Louis de Broissia, President of the Tibet Group in the French Parliament said that there hasn’t been any “concrete progress” on the issue of Tibetan autonomy even after six rounds of talks between the representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and China.
With a year before the Olympics the Chinese authorities cannot ignore the Tibet issue anymore, the press release said. He warned that the Tibet Issue might become a blot on Beijing Olympics. Already the Olympics 2008 slogan has been changed beyond recognition into “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008” by Tibetan activists.
Last year the Tibet Group, the largest such group in the French Parliament met with Chinese lawmakers and impressed upon them the importance of working with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to solve the Tibetan issue.
“The French members of Parliament will do all that is in their capacity to ensure that the Sino-Tibetan dialogue leads to real autonomy for Tibet, said Mr. Louis de Broissia in the press release.
Tibetans and Tibet supporters held a noisy protest in front of the Eiffel Tower yesterday to mark the one-year countdown before the Beijing Olympics. Many tourist visiting the famous Paris landmark signed petitions by Students for a Free Tibet.
Tenam is a freelance journalist based in Paris. He can be contacted at tenam@tibetwrites.org
