Geneva: The Swiss foreign minister said the preservation of the Tibetan religion, culture and language is a major concern of the Tibetan people, and they hope that it will be the subject of discussions with the prospect of concrete results.
“Switzerland has been consistently insisting that for a peaceful and sustainable solution of the problems in Tibet it is inevitable to get into a dialogue with the Tibetan community and its representatives,” said Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, during her talk on “China and Europe: Learning from Each Other” on 19 September.
“The new round of talks between the envoys of the spiritual head of the Tibetans and Chinese government officials, envisaged for October this year, meets with our full support,” said Calmy-Rey.
“In our view, the preservation of the Tibetan religion, culture and language is a major concern of the Tibetan people, and we now hope that it will be the subject of discussions with the prospect of concrete results,” Calmy-Rey added.
She also said the Swiss government had made it clear from the very beginning that a boycott of sports and cultural events is not a proper instrument of foreign policy, when petitioners and concerned citizens urged government officials to boycott of Beijing Olympics to show their criticism of China’s violent crackdown on Tibet.
The officials of Tibet Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Geneva held a recent meeting with the officials of Swiss foreign ministry.
—Report filed by Tibet Bureau, Geneva.