EU urges China to hold dialogue on Tibet

By Marcin Grajewski and Marja Novak

BRDO, Slovenia (Reuters) - The European Union called on Saturday for an end to repression in Tibet and urged China to hold a dialogue on Tibetan cultural and religious rights, ministers said.

Emerging from the meeting, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the 27-member bloc wanted Beijing to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, after his denouncement of violence.

In a joint text the bloc would avoid direct reference to the possibility of boycotting the start of the Beijing Olympic Games in August, diplomats said, after EU countries differed on what stance to take.

"The EU condemns all violence and pays its respect to the victims. It calls for an end to the repression and asks that arrested persons be treated in conformity with international standards," the 27 EU foreign ministers were to say in their text, according to a draft document obtained by Reuters.

The text was to call for a "necessary, substantive and constructive dialogue which addresses the core issues like preservation of the Tibet (sic) language, culture, religion and traditions."

The ministers sought a joint line on China's suppression of Tibetan pro-independence protests after a week of public differences on whether to attend the Olympic opening ceremony.

PRESSURE

The EU is under public pressure to step up its response to the unrest, in which China says 19 people have died but the Tibetan government-in-exile says up to 140 have been killed. Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of inciting the riots.