Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Jan. 20: Italian Senator Anderà Priamo has stated that a new resolution addressing key Tibetan concerns has been drafted, following a meeting with Central Tibetan Administration’s security minister Gyari Dolma during her recent European diplomatic tour.
According to the exile Tibetan government run tibet.net, the Italian senator Anderà Priamo informed Minister Dolma during the meeting in Rome’s Senate building on 16 January that a resolution addressing key concerns related to Tibet has already been drafted that aims to amplify the Tibetan voice in both the Italian Senate and the Chamber of Deputies (lower house of the parliament) of Italy.
The former member of parliament, Gyari Dolma, was on a European diplomatic visit that included stops in Germany and Switzerland from January 5th to 18th. The security minister met with Italian parliamentarians and the former deputy foreign minister to discuss pressing issues concerning Tibet.
The meeting, attended by former Italian MP Gianni Vernetti and other Tibetan representatives, builds upon Italy’s historical support for the Tibetan cause. The Italian Parliament has previously taken strong positions on Tibetan issues, notably through a 2014 resolution by the Senate’s Special Committee on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, which called for an end to the oppression of Tibetan people and urged resumed dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s envoys.
That 2014 resolution specifically addressed concerns about teaching the Tibetan language in schools and called for unrestricted access to Tibet for international press, diplomats, and EU officials. It also emphasised the need for United Nations monitoring of human rights conditions in Tibet.
This latest initiative follows a pattern of Italian parliamentary action on Tibet, including a 2012 resolution by the Chamber of Deputies’ Foreign Affairs Committee that called for an immediate end to violence against Tibetan people and religious practitioners while advocating for renewed dialogue between Chinese authorities and Tibetan representatives.
