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Stop EU-China arms sales, do not lift the embargo!
Olympic Watch has received information that the European Union is seriously considering lifting its embargo on arms exports to the People's Republic of China that it imposed in response to the Tiananmen massacre of 1989. We call on everybody who supports human rights of the Chinese and Tibetan people and peace in East Asia to send protest letters to the EU Member States' governments immediately. The issue will be discussed at the EU-China summit on 8 December and at the Euroepan Council on 16 December 2004. Next time on Tiananmen: tanks from the EU? Despite all its promises during its 2008 Olympics candidacy, the Beijing regime continues to grossly violate human rights of the people of mainland China and Tibet. It refuses to ratify and implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It has working relationships with other criminal governents, such as Burma, Cuba, North Korea and Sudan and it threatens to invade the democratic Taiwan. Lifting of the arms trade ban would be particularly cynical this year, as we commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising and the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen protests, both brutally crushed by the same army that EU might soon be equipping with weapons.Please write to EU foreign ministers, urging them to keep the arms embargo. We have attached the contact information of the ministers of the key Member States in this issue, together with a suggested text of the letter. Please keep your letters polite, friendly, and persuasive. Thank you. Austria: Ms. Ursula Plassnik fax: +43 (5) 01159-0 email (form): http://www.bmaa.gv.at/view.php3?f_id=1438&LNG=en&version= Czech Republic: Mr. Cyril Svoboda fax: +420 224 182 041 email: ministr@mzv.cz Denmark: Mr. Per Stig Moeller fax: +45 32 54 05 33 email: um@um.dk France: Mr. Michel Barnier fax: + 33 1 43 17 53 53 email (form): http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/courrier/default.asp?lang=gb Germany: Mr. Joschka Fischer fax: +49-30-5000-3402 email: poststelle@auswaertiges-amt.de Italy: Mr. Gianfranco Fini fax: +39 06.3236210 email: relazioni.pubblico@esteri.it Netherlands: Mr. Bernard Bot fax: +31 70 3484848 email: dvl-info@minbuza.nl Poland: Mr. Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz fax: +48 22 253 9000 email: sm@msz.gov.pl Slovakia: Mr. Eduard Kukan fax: +421 2 5978 3009 email: infopublic@foreign.gov.sk Spain: Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos Cuyabe fax: +34 91 379 97 00 email: ministra@mae.es United Kingdom: Mr. Jack Straw fax: +44 20 7008 1500 email: ministereurope@fco.gov.uk Suggested text of letter: Your Excellency, I am concerned to hear that the European Union is about to consider lifting the embargo on arms trade with the People's Republic of China. I respectfully urge you to vote against such a move. I believe lifting the ban would be premature, harmful, and outright cynical as:
Sincerely, (name, address) |
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