WRITTEN QUESTION E-3746/02 by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission. Tibet/China: death sentence on Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup.
Date: 2002-12-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: China, Tibetan question, death penalty, human rights, penalty, right to justice, the EU's international role

C 70 E/18

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.3.2004

The objectives of the Special Framework of Assistance (SFA), set out in Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC)
No 856/1999 of 22 April 1999 establishing a special
framework of assistance for traditional ACP
suppliers of bananas (1), are improvement of competitiveness and/or support to diversification. So far, no
project was refused on the grounds of its non-eligibility. In parallel with the technical assistance aimed at
modernising the ACP banana industry, projects approved so far have included different forms of aid
targeted at growers, including social support and training programmes. However, direct income support
could not be allowed under the SFA, and therefore if support for inputs took this form, it too would not
be allowed.

As a complement to SFA, Stabex funds are being used, with a great degree of flexibility, to support social
and human development such as housing schemes, pensions, schools, and private initiatives.

The new instrument FLEX, which is included in Envelope B of the Financial Protocol of the Cotonou
Agreement and replaces Stabex, might well constitute a possible source of funds in the future, provided the
banana sector fulfils the requirements foreseen.

(1) OJ L 108, 27.4.1999.

(2004/C 70 E/019)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3743/02

by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 December 2002)

Subject: Executions of Tibetans in China

Is the Commission aware that on 2 December 2002 a Chinese Court sentenced two Tibetans, Tenzin Delek
Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup to death for alleged involvement in a bomb attack?

Is the Commission aware that the evidence on the basis of which this sentence was made is extremely thin
and has been called into doubt?

Is the Commission prepared to act at very short notice in order to bring pressure to bear on the Chinese
authorities to prevent the executions, the first of which is planned to take place on 12 December and the
second within two years?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(16 January 2003)

The Commission has been informed of the death sentence imposed on the two Tibetans Tenzin Delek
Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup on 2 December 2002, on the basis of their alleged involvement in a
bomb attack. The Commission also took note that the proof on which the sentence was based and the way
the trial has been carried out has been contested.

The Union immediately expressed its concern officially to the Chinese authorities within the time limit
allowed by them so as to permit to the two Tibetans sentenced to death to lodge an appeal. Such appeals
have since been lodged (in December 2002).

(2004/C 70 E/020)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3746/02

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(20 December 2002)

Subject: Tibet/China: death sentence on Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup

A court in the province of Sichuan in western China has passed death sentences on Tenzin Deleg
Rinpoche, a senior Tibetan monk, and his attendant, Lobsang Dhondup,
following what many
international organisations regard as a completely unfair trial. The Chinese authorities have not released

20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70 E/19

any details of the trial of the Rinpoche and Dhondup, but Radio Free Asia has quoted a relative of one of
them as saying that they were denied lawyers. Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup were accused
by the local Communist authorities of committing a series of bomb attacks (two last year in the Ganze
region of Sichuan and a third in the provincial capital Chengdu), on the basis of statements by a former
assistant of Tenzin Deleg to the effect that the Rinpoche had instructed him to carry out one of the attacks
and of ‘confessions’ made to the police by Tenzin Deleg himself while in custody following his arrest on
7 April 2002, according to which he had masterminded this attack as well as six other previously
unsolved cases of bomb attacks carried out earlier in Ganze.

According to a number of sources, including some in the People’s Republic of China, Tenzin Deleg and
Dhondup may have been targeted because of their peaceful activism. The Chinese authorities have kept the
Rinpoche under strict surveillance in recent years. They tried to arrest him in 1998 after he attempted to
found a monastery without official permission, and for leading protests against deforestation of the area by
a local timber company.

What information does the Commission have on the trial of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and Lobsang
Dhondup, and what does it intend to do to obtain an immediate judicial review in accordance with
international standards of fair and due process? Has the Commission already conveyed to the Chinese
authorities its official disapproval of the flagrant violations of fundamental rights of which Tenzin Deleg
Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup are victims? Is the Commission aware that the Chinese authorities’
attitude in this case stands in stark contrast to the signals of willingness to enter into dialogue with the
Dalai Lama sent by these same authorities to western governments and the Tibetan government in exile
when they invited two special representatives of the Dalai Lama to China and Tibet a few months ago?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(10 February 2003)

The Commission has been informed of the death sentence imposed on the two Tibetans Tenzin Delek
Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup on 2 December 2002, on the basis of their alleged involvement in a
bomb attack. The Commission is also aware of the evidence on which the sentence was based and the
manner in which the trial has been carried out.

The Union immediately expressed its concern to the Chinese authorities and has had several official
contacts with the Chinese authorities on behalf of the two convicted Tibetans. The Commission is also
aware that the United States and Australian Governments intervened on behalf of the two convicted
Tibetans with Chinese authorities.

According to information available to the Commission, the two Tibetans have lodged an appeal which
means that the execution can not be carried out until the sentence has been reviewed by China’s People’s
Court.

The Commission will continue to closely follow this case and the general Human Rights situation in Tibet.

(2004/C 70 E/021)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3750/02

by Mario Mauro (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 December 2002)

Subject: Relations between the EU and the Republic of Surinam

In May 2000, presidential elections were held in Surinam which radically altered the state of political
instability which had characterised the preceding years.