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RESOLUTION
INTRODUCED IN NYC COUNCIL CALLING FOR REMOVAL OF GAMES FROM BEIJING
New York -- U.S.-Tibet Committee (USTC) is pleased to announce that
on March 12, 2008, New York City Council Member Tony Avella introduced
a proposed resolution (Resolution
1299) in the City Council calling for the removal of
the 2008 Olympic Games from Beijing and calling upon all American
businesses and corporations who have their headquarters in New York
City or do business in New York City to review their financial dealings
with China to ensure compliance with international human rights
standards, and to withdraw sponsorship or support of the 2008 Olympic
Games if they are held in China.
USTC has been working closely with Council Member Avella's office
over several months to introduce this resolution in the City Council
and was directly involved in the drafting of the text of the resolution.
At present, four City Council Members have co-sponsored this proposed
resolution. In order for this resolution to pass, it will need a
majority of support from City Council Members.
USTC is asking all New York City residents and NYC-based Tibet support
groups and Tibetan associations to contact their Council Member
and ask him or her to co-sponsor Resolution
1299 in order to show solidarity with the peaceful protestors
in Tibet and to condemn China for its brutal crackdown on innocent
Tibetans.
USTC thanks Tom Weiss for his valuable assistance on this proposed
resolution.
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RESOLUTION
1299 - THE CITY COUNCIL OF NEW YORK
BY COUNCIL MEMBER AVELLA
Whereas,
The People's Republic of China invaded the independent country of
Tibet in 1949-50, and has committed "acts of genocide"
according to the International Commission of Jurists; and
Whereas,
On March 29, 2000, the New York City Council adopted Resolution
No. 802, which recognized the sovereignty of Tibet (including the
Tibet Autonomous Region and all Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Sichuan,
Gansu and Yunnan Provinces) as an occupied country, stated that
Tibetan people have the right to control their own economic development,
and proclaimed that China should enter into good faith negotiations
with representatives of the Tibetan government in exile; and
Whereas,
The United States Congress has stated that Tibet, including those
areas incorporated into the Chinese Provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan,
Gansu and Yunnan, is an occupied country under the established principles
of international law; and
Whereas,
Between 1959 and 1965, the United Nations General Assembly passed
Resolutions 1353 (XIV), 1723 (XVI) and 2079 (XX), calling for the
cessation of practices which deprive the Tibetan people of their
fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right to
self-determination; and
Whereas,
In the past fifty years, China has engaged in systematic human rights
violations in Tibet, including actions which constitute genocide
or the attempted genocide of the Tibetan people, imprisoning and
torturing hundreds of thousands of Tibetans, arresting arbitrarily,
detaining without public trials, denying free speech and free press,
and engaging in forced or coerced abortions and sterilizations of
Tibetan women; and
Whereas,
China has not complied with international law, including the International
Covenant on Civil & Political Rights and the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and
Whereas,
In 2001, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected China
to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games; and Whereas, China promised
to improve human rights conditions in China and Tibet and allow
greater media freedom prior to the start of the Summer Olympics;
and
Whereas,
According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, China
has not met its obligations to improve human rights in preparation
for the Olympics, and human rights in both China and Tibet have
actually deteriorated since China was designated as the Olympics
host nation; and
Whereas,
Reporters Without Borders has found that China has not allowed greater
media freedom as promised, but in fact remains the world's largest
prison for journalists; and
Whereas,
In 2006, the United States State Department reported that serious
human rights violations have occurred in Tibet, such as imprisonment
and torture of political prisoners, denial of freedom of speech,
religion and association, the forcing of monks and nuns to denounce
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and interference in the selection of
Buddhist leaders, such as the Panchen Lama and Gendun Choekyi Nyima;
and
Whereas,
Other reports from human rights groups have found that China has
forcibly resettled thousands of Tibetan nomads without their consent
and without adequate compensation; and
Whereas,
According to The Office of Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet,
China continues to strip Tibet of its natural resources such as
gold, copper, iron, timber, and minerals and transport these resources
to China; and
Whereas,
China has announced plans to divert important waterways from Tibet
to China, such as the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which is causing severe
environmental problems in Tibet and neighboring states; and
Whereas,
The unrestricted influx of Chinese migrants to Tibet, often with
government subsidies, is further marginalizing the Tibetan people,
especially since the completion of the Gormo-Lhasa Railway, and
threatens to make Tibetans a minority in their own homeland; and
Whereas,
The IOC rejected Tibet's request to enter its team in the Summer
2008 Olympics; and
Whereas,
Many American corporations with headquarters and operations in New
York City sponsor the Olympic games and have financial dealings
with China; and
Whereas,
The rights of the Tibetan people in their struggle for human rights,
economic justice and self-determination must be acknowledged and
respected; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED,
That the Council of the City of New York calls for the removal of
the 2008 Olympic Games from Beijing; and, be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Council of the City of New York calls upon all American
businesses and corporations who have their headquarters in New York
City or do business in New York City to review their financial dealings
with China to ensure compliance with international human rights
standards, and to withdraw sponsorship or support of the 2008 Olympic
Games if they are held in China.
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