DHARAMSHALA: Condemning the use of Chinese government plan to make Chinese as main medium of instruction in Tibet, the European Parliament on Thursday
MEPs voting in Strasbourg
The resolution was passed during a plenary session on EP’s urgent debate on Tibet, titled “plans to make Chinese the main language of instruction ” in Strasbourg.
“In a resolution on Tibet, MEPs urge the Chinese authorities to support a genuine bilingual language policy, in which all subjects can be taught in the Tibetan language. They condemn the “increased crackdown on the exercise of cultural, linguistic, religious and other fundamental freedoms” of the six million Tibetan people as well as the Chinese authorities’ plan to make Chinese the main language of instruction in Tibet,” said a press release issued by the European Parliament.
“[European] Parliament deplores the often discriminatory treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in China and asks the European Commission to report on the use made by China of the €1 million fund requested in 2009 to support Tibetan civil society,” it said.
In a separate resolution on Burma, the European Parliament welcomes the recent release of Burmese democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.