By Tenam
Paris, February 5: French Prime Minister François Fillon today reiterated that Nicholas Sarkozy did the right thing in meeting the exile Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Fillon said Sarkozy has “the right to talk” with the Dalai Lama. French President Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in Poland on December 6 caused strong opposition from China which cancelled a planned China- EU summit in Lyon, France.
The Prime Minister was responding to a question raised by Jean-Pierre Raffarin at the question session in the French Senate on Thursday. Mr. Raffarin, a former Prime Minister himself, was sent by Sarkozy to Beijing after mass protest against the Olympics torch relay in Paris last year caused a huge anti-French sentiment in China.
According to the French head of the government, the policy of France vis-a-vis China is clear and is a continuation of the one China policy of General de Gaulle since 1964, reported AFP.
The Chinese PM who was touring Europe conspicuously skipped France. When asked about it, Wen Jaibao responded that “Everybody knows why I did not visit France”. He added that China is not “responsible,” reported the French daily Le Monde. Though Angela Merkel, Gordon Brown and others have met the Dalai Lama, France continues to bear the brunt of Chinese anger which some analysts say is an attempt to warn other Western democracies. Beijing has recently called on Paris to make a “gesture” to “improve bilateral relations” between the two countries.
Meanwhile Tibetans and their supporters staged another surprise protest in front of the National Assembly of France as the Chinese Ambassador was heading there to attend an official meeting.
“We want to send a message to the Chinese authorities that we will follow them everywhere till the Tibet issue is resolved”, said a protester.
The French PM said that the Chinese reaction to the meeting between Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama is “quite predictable”. Asked after meeting the Tibetan leader in Poland last December, the French President responded that things were being blown out of proportion.
French papers further reports that Mr. Raffarin will lead a French delegation next week on the occasion of 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and the People’s Republic of China.
