Laima Andrikienė: Tibet has to be on the political agenda of the democratic community

Press release, 9 April 2021

 ‘Tibet has to be on the political agenda of the countries that belong to the democratic community’, said Laima Andrikienė, Deputy Head of the Seimas Group for Inter-Parliamentary Relations with Tibet, after today’s meeting of the Group and the debate “Tibet on the European political agendas”.

Andrius Navickas, Head of the Group, noted that ‘it is very important to have the whole of Europe speaking on the situation in Tibet with one voice, loud and clear, and in a principled way. To this end, our parliamentary Group seeks to cooperate with the supporters of Tibet around the world. An important step is to engage in a debate on this matter with the parliamentarians of the European countries and the European Parliament (EP) who attach significance to the urge for China to begin to respect human rights.’

The remote discussion with Members of the Lithuanian Seimas was attended by Mikulaš Peksa MEP, President of the EP Tibet Intergroup, the Czech Republic, and Isabel Santos MEP, Member of the EP Tibet Intergroup, Portugal, as well as Tashi Phuntsok, Head of the Tibetan Representation in Brussels, and Vincent Metten, EU Policy Director of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) in Brussels.

Members of the European Parliament presented the EP’s resolutions on Tibet, future initiatives by the EP on Tibetan freedom cause and human rights issues, as well as priorities and guidelines for action of groups that support Tibet in certain EU Member States, including the Czech Republic and Portugal.

Tashi Phuntsok, representative of His Holiness Dalai Lama, and Head of the Office of Tibet in Brussels, shared the latest information on the elections announced by the Central Tibetan Administration. He informed the participants of the election of President-in-exile of Tibet (Sikyong), with the second round of elections due on 11 April 2021, and of the elections of the 17th Parliament-in-exile. He noted that the election of the Head of the Tibetan government-in-exile was scheduled for 14 May 2021. He also made an overview of the EU’s policy on China and its consequences for Tibet and the world at large.

During the meeting, Members of the Seimas and of the European Parliament discussed possibilities for joint action and possible joint initiatives in Europe with a view to contributing to the protection of the rights of Tibetans guaranteed by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international conventions.

The Seimas Group for Inter-Parliamentary Relations with Tibet consists of eleven Members of the Seimas representing a range of parliamentary groups.

Jovita Morkūnaitė, Adviser to Dr Andrius Navickas, Member of the Seimas,

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Aldona Drėgvaitė, Adviser to Dr Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Member of the Seimas,

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