Please find below the Australia Tibet Council's condemnation of
Wooldridge's trip to Tibet, followed by Greens Senator Bob Brown's press
release also condemning the visit. It would be appropriate to swamp
Minister Wooldridge's office with requests (or demands!) that he raise
Australia's concerns at the unabated human rights violations within
China, and that country's brutal attempts to exterminate Tibetan
culture.
Apologies for X-postings....
Chris
----- Original Message -----
From: "ATC National Office" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 4:00 PM
Subject: Wooldridge Tibet Trip Coup for China
Dear ATC Member - VIC
For your information, following is a press release circulated yesterday
commenting on Michael Wooldridge's visit to Tibet.
14 February 2001: for immediate release
WOOLDRIDGE TIBET TRIP COUP FOR CHINA
The Australia Tibet Council said today that Health Minister Michael
Wooldridge's decision to visit Tibet this coming weekend was a publicity
coup for China.
The Minister's trip comes at a time when Beijing is desperate to improve
its human rights image in the run-up to the annual United Nations
Commission on Human Rights session and the decision on whether Beijing
will host the 2008 Olympics. The IOC's technical committee will visit
Beijing next week to assess the city.
ATC Vice President Alex Butler said today: "Minister Wooldridge's visit
to Tibet will undoubtedly be portrayed by China as evidence that
Australia regards the human rights situation in Tibet as normal. It will
be seen as a sign of approval."
Mr Wooldridge's trip will be the first to Tibet by an Australian
Minister since Bill Hayden visited in 1989 just before the Tiananmen
Square Massacre and the imposition of martial law in Lhasa.
Strict secrecy has surrounded the arrangements for the visit, with no
public announcements made in advance by either the Australian or Chinese
governments. No Australian media are accompanying Mr Wooldridge, which
means that the only press reports will be made by Xinhua, the strictly
controlled official Chinese media agency.
Ms Butler dismissed suggestions by Mr Wooldridge's staff that the
secrecy was because the Minister wanted the trip to be kept low-key as
unbelievable.
"Any visit to Tibet by a Government Minister from a western country is
big news, because it is so rare", Ms Butler said. "The Australian
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade must have been aware of this."
Ms Butler said she had no idea whether Mr Wooldridge had been briefed on
human rights or intended to raise human rights issues.
Contact: Alex Butler 0418 376 331
Paul Bourke 0419 420 526
---------------------------------------------
Australia Tibet Council
PO Box 1236, Potts Point, NSW 2011,
Australia
Tel: 61 2 9283 3466 Fax: 61 2 9283 3846
website: www.atc.org.au
---------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 14 February 2001
Wooldridge in Tibet
Minister Wooldridge's visit to Tibet will be opposed and viewed with
alarm by many Australians who support freedom for Tibet, Greens Senator
Bob Brown said today from Liffey in cental Tasmania.
"He will be the most senior Australian Government person yet to be used
as a patsy by the Beijing communist regime for their military occupation
of Tibet," Senator Brown said.
"The test of Michael Wooldridge will be how strongly he denounces the
military occupation and demands democracy and self determination for
Tibetans. I'm not holding my breath," Senator Brown said.
Bob Brown made a secret visit to Tibet in 1999 becoming only the second
parliamentarian in the world to visit Tibet without official Chinese
approval. His trip provided more first-hand evidence of the brutality of
the Chinese occupation of this beautiful land. For a full report on that
trip visit www.greens.org.au/bobbrown.
Further information: Ben Oquist 02 62773170 or 0419704095
----------------------------------------------
Ben Oquist
Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown
Parliament House, Canberra 2600
Australia
+61 2 62773170 ph
+61 2 62773185 fx
0419704095 mobile
http://www.greens.org.au/bobbrown
---------------------------------------------
You can receive Greens media releases by e-mail.
Go to http://www.greens.org.au
and sign up to the 'Greens-Media' opt in e-mail list.
----------------------------------------------
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