Interview: British MEP disappointed with EP´s Tibet resolution

Source: Xinhua | 03-13-2009 08:18

STRASBOURG, France, March 12 (Xinhua) -- A British member of the European Parliament (EP) on Thursday spoke against the EP's adoption of a resolution on Tibet.

"I'm very disappointed with the adoption of the resolution," Nirj Deva, also chairman of the EU-China Friendship Group in the European Parliament, told Xinhua.

"I'm supporting the entire British government's view that recognizes Tibet as an integral part of China," Deva said.

Deva pointed out that "the question is that there is very few people here realize that the Chinese government has done a great deal to improve the lives of ordinary Tibetans."

Many members of the European Parliament knew little about the history and the current situation of Tibet, Deva said.

"Tibet many years ago was a feudal serfdom with people being owned by other people and the Chinese central government liberated the Tibetan people from feudalism," the British MEP said.

Deva urged those members to look at the real development in Tibet, and criticized them for still being caught by the fantasy of a "Shangri-la" in Tibet advocated by the exiled Dalai Lama.