III

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 169

Expressing the sense of the Senate welcoming His Holiness the Dalai Lama

on his visit to the United States.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 8 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 5), 1995

Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. HELMS, Mr. PELL, Mr. D’AMATO, Mr. MACK,

and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate welcoming His Holiness

the Dalai Lama on his visit to the United States.

Whereas historically Tibet has demonstrated those attributes

which under international law constitute statehood: it has

had a defined territory and a permanent population; it

has been under the control of its own government; and

it has engaged in, or had the capacity to engage in, formal relations with other states;

Whereas beginning in 1949 Tibet was forcibly and coercively

invaded and occupied by the People’s Republic of China;

Whereas under the principles of international law Tibet is an

occupied country and its true representatives continue to

be His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Govern-
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•SRES 169 ATS

ment-in-exile, which the Congress has recognized on several occasions;

Whereas the Tibetan people are historically, territorially, and

culturally distinct from the Chinese population in the

People’s Republic of China and were forcibly incorporated

into the People’s Republic of China;

Whereas the Tibetan people are entitled to the right of selfdetermination as recognized in 1961 by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution No. 1723;

Whereas instead of being afforded that right they have been

subjected to repressive actions on the part of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, which have resulted in the deaths of countless Tibetans, the destruction of over 6,000 temples and monasteries as well as

much of Tibet’s unique cultural and spiritual patrimony,

the flight of the Dalai Lama and over 100,000 Tibetans

from their homeland, the establishment in Tibet by the

Chinese of a consistent and well-documented pattern of

human rights abuses including numerous violations of the

United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, and the

settlement of thousands of Chinese in Tibet in an effort

to reduce Tibetans to being a minority in their own land;

and

Whereas this September His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be

making his first extended visit to Washington, DC, since

1993: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the Senate—

2 (1) warmly welcomes His Holiness the Dalai

3 Lama to the United States;
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•SRES 169 ATS

1 (2) urges the President to meet with His Holi2 ness the Dalai Lama during his visit to discuss sub3 stantive issues of interest to our two respective gov4 ernments, and to continue to encourage the Govern5 ment of the People’s Republic of China to meet with

6 the Dalai Lama or his representatives to discuss a

7 solution to the present impasse in their relations;

8 and

9 (3) urges His Holiness the Dalai Lama to re10 mind the Tibetan people that, as they move forward

11 in their struggle toward preserving their culture and

12 regaining their freedom, the Congress and the Amer13 ican people stand with them.

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