[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 139 (Friday, September 8, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S12967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 169--SENSE OF THE SENATE WELCOMING HIS HOLINESS THE 
                               DALAI LAMA

  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:

                              S. Res. 169
       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 Government-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 
     self-determination 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
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) warmly welcomes His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the 
     United States;
       (2) urges the President to meet with His Holiness the Dalai 
     Lama during his visit to discuss substantive issues of 
     interest to our two respective governments, and to continue 
     to encourage the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to meet the Dalai Lama or his representatives to discuss a 
     solution to the present impasse in their relations; and
       (3) urges His Holiness the Dalai Lama to remind the Tibetan 
     people that, as they move forward in their struggle toward 
     preserving their culture and regaining their freedom, the 
     Congress and the American people stand with them.

     

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