VZCZCXRO9186
OO RUEHCN RUEHGA RUEHGH RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0803 1651959
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131959Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8032
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000803 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM CH CA
SUBJECT: CANADIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS CALL ON CHINA TO 
NEGOTIATE WITH DALAI LAMA 
 
REF: OTTAWA 407 
 
¶1.  (U)  Senator Consiglio Di Nino, chairman of the Canadian 
Senate's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
International Trade as well as head of the "Parliamentary 
Friends of Tibet" group, on June 13 shared with PolMinCouns a 
copy of a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao calling for 
"earnest" negotiations with the Dalai Lama.  (Full text in 
para 2.)  102 Members of Parliament -- primarily from the 
three opposition parties (including leaders of the two 
smaller ones as well as the shadow foreign minister from the 
Official Opposition Liberal Party) but also including 17 
members from the ruling Conservative Party -- and Senators 
co-signed the letter.  Parliament in 2006 granted honorary 
Canadian citizenship to the Dalai Lama, who last met with 
Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa on October 29, 2007. 
Members of "Parliamentary Friends of Tibet" separately met 
with the Dalai Lama in April 2008, but not in Canada. 
 
¶2.  (U)  Begin text 
 
June 6, 2008 
 
President Hu Jintao 
President of the People's Republic of China 
Office of the President 
Beijing 
People's Republic of China 
 
Dear President Hu, 
 
In the spirit of friendship and respect, we offer our 
cooperation in finding a solution to the longstanding Tibetan 
dispute. 
 
It seems to us an honourable resolution is attainable.  Your 
government is seeking assurances that Tibet will be an 
integral part of a sovereign China.  His Holiness the Dalai 
Lama has accepted this as a condition for declaring the 
Tibetan Plateau a genuinely autonomous region where Tibetans 
can speak their language, practise their religion and cherish 
their culture. 
 
Mr. President, while encouraged by your government's renewal 
of contact with the Dalai Lama's representatives, we strongly 
urge that negotiations begin in earnest with a firm 
commitment to reach a settlement within a reasonable 
timeframe.  What is now required is trust and goodwill from 
each side to craft an agreement that achieves both China's 
objectives and the Tibetan people's aspirations. 
 
We respectfully offer whatever assistance we may be able to 
provide to bring this dispute to a successful conclusion. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
/s/ 
 
end text 
 
Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at 
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada 
 
WILKINS