New York, May 6 – The Second Global Greens Congress, which concluded on the 4th May 2008 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, passed a resolution strongly condemning China’s brutal repression of the Tibetan demonstrators in Tibet and also expressed a serious concern about its policy of assimilation for Tibet as well as other minorities like the Ugyhurs.
The four day conference was attended by more than a thousand delegates of Green Parties and Global Young Greens from 80 countries. Prominent delegates to the Congress include the Brazilian Green Party leader Jose Luiz de Franca Penna, Australian Green Party leader Senator Bob Brown, Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May, German Green Party leader Reinhard Buetikofer, Member of the European Intergroup of Tibet Milan Horacek, Italian Green Party leader Angelo Bonelli, New Zealand Green Party leader Keith Locke, French Green Party leader Denis Baupin, Belgium Green Party leader Senator Isabelle Durant and President of Sweden-based Green Think Tank Per Gahrton.
The Global Greens’ resolution on Tibet, sponsored by German, French and Taiwanese Green Parties, calls for an independent international inquiry into the tragic events in Tibet and urges the Chinese authorities to grant foreign reporters full access to Tibet and the bordering regions.
While regretting that the past six rounds of talks between the Beijing and Dharamsala remained inconclusive, the resolution supported His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s call for a resumption of serious negotiations between the two sides with a view of achieving a full and genuine political, cultural and spiritual autonomy for Tibet within China.
The resolution also welcomed the Beijing’s recent announcement of its willingness to resume a dialogue with the representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and stressed “the need for a real talk between both sides to enter into a substantive and constructive dialogue with a view to reach a sustainable solution acceptable to all that would fully respect Tibetan culture, religion and identity”.
The resolution also called on the Chinese authorities “to invite the Dalai Lama to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games as a sign of goodwill”.
At the concluding ceremony of the Global Greens Congress, the TGIE’s Liaison Officer, Tsewang Phuntso, was invited to present His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s views on the current crisis and his plans for achieving a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Tibet question.
In his presentation, Tsewang Phuntso shared with the delegates the development in Tibet since March 10 of this year and the current plight of the people inside Tibet. He urged the leaders of the Global Greens to press for immediate remedies for the suffering of the Tibetan people.
On the overall issue of Tibet, Phuntso informed the delegates that the position of His Holiness the Dalai Lama remains unchanged, whether it is his commitment to the Middle-Way approach, commitment to non-violence, or his commitment to a policy of engagement with China to resolve the issue of Tibet.
Tibet resolution was among the FIVE DECLARATIONS–a joint Green climate crisis action plan for the next decade, the statement on how best to protect biodiversity, a declaration on the future of the Global Greens and a Green Charter for big cities, and the declaration of “21 points for the 21st Century”–THREE RESOLUTIONS–call for the immediate release of Former Colombian Presidential Candidate and Colombian Green Party leader Ingrid Betancourt, call for the ban of nuclear sites on the East Asian Coasts, and on Tibet–passed by the Congress.
