15 October 2005
European Parliament adopts resolution on Drepung Monastery
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Tibet (and also Hong Kong), in particular the recent curfew placed on the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa. The parliament expressed its deep concern over the health of the five monks who were arrested and urged the Chinese leadership to immediately release them and to continue the dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama. In a statement on behalf of Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission, said: "We are worried to see that the local authorities have imposed a strict framework setting the limits of this exercise and we deplore the recent cases of detention of monks and particular the blockade of the monastery of Drepung in Lhasa."