European foreign ministers to discuss Tibet: EU presidency
(LJUBLJANA) - European foreign ministers will this week discuss the unrest in Tibet, the EU's Slovenian presidency said Wednesday, amid talk of a possible boycott during the Beijing Olympic Games.
"We will say something," on Tibet, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel told reporters ahead of the two-day EU foreign ministers' meeting which starts in Slovenia on Friday.
"I believe a draft is being prepared by those that have proposed that discussion," he added, without mentioning whether the foreign ministers would mull the pros and cons of any boycott when they discuss Tibet over lunch on Saturday.
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders, in an interview with a Belgian newspaper published Wednesday, did not rule out a boycott if the situation in Tibet worsens.
Meanwhile, a prominent Euro MP called for "mayhem in Beijing" during the Olympic Games, including a boycott of the opening ceremony and high-profile protests over the Chinese crackdown in Tibet.
On Tuesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy left open the possibility of boycotting the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
"I guess much can be said about Tibet," said Rupel, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency until France assumes the helm from July 1.
"There have been human victims, attacks against Chinese embassies and much more. We wish that the China authorities and the representatives of Tibet could reach an agreement, reconciliation, a deal for co-habitation."
News that the foreign ministers will discuss Tibet came a day after French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he would like his EU colleagues to to adopt a common position on both China and Tibet.
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