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Friends, The following brief statement by Sen. Raynell Andreychuk, a Conservative from Alberta is the first notice I have seen of a proposal for a joint project by the World Bank and the People's Republic of China to transplant millions of Chinese peasants into Tibet and Mongolia where they will displace herding peoples who have used the arid lands of the interior of Asia for hundreds of years. I am sending this brief statement to you as someone who has expressed a previous interest in such issues and particularly in light of Sen. Andreychuk's observation that this action is in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. This displacement of human population is particularly noteworthy as a joint project between the World Bank, dominated by the U.S. with European support and the People's Republic of China, powers more commonly thought to be antagonistic to one another. As a proposal to displace human populations for the sake of an imperial power this World Bank proposal carries on the traditions of European and American imperialism while licensing China to continue her aggression in Tibet. This item is also remarkable in light of one of the many rather cliche arguments against the NATO intervention in Yugoslavia, "Why did NATO not intervene in Tibet?" The short answer is that the same powers are about to do just that, but in favour of the Chinese, not the Tibetans. I can only hope that in the coming session of the Canadian Parliament some nominally progressive elected MPs will pick up the issue raised here by an appointed Tory Senator. Failing that, perhaps we may find ourselves obliged to give credit where credit is due. Yours for peace with justice and dignity, Michael Posluns June 17, 1999 Debates of the Senate, 2. China 2.1 World Bank-Western Poverty Reduction Project-Violation of Fourth Geneva Convention Hon. A. Raynell Andreychuk: Honourable senators, the executive directors of the World Bank are scheduled to vote on Thursday, June 24, on funding a population transfer scheme that would move nearly 60,000 Chinese settlers up on to the Tibetan plateau and into the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture. The Western Poverty Reduction Project, as it is known, would move mainly poor Chinese farmers into an arid area that has been productively used by Tibetan and Mongolian herders for hundreds of years. The World Bank project would be the first time an international financial organization has funded Chinese transmigration of peoples into the Tibetan plateau. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has identified the Chinese influx as the greatest threat to the survival of the Tibetans as a distinct people and culture. The Tibetan government in exile has issued a public statement calling for the World Bank to reconsider its involvement in the project. Also, the International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet has also expressed its concern and has indicated that the mass transfer of Chinese people into Tibet violates the fourth Geneva Convention. I understand that the Honourable Paul Martin will be attending these meetings. I appeal to him to reconsider this project. We know in our own country that displacing people for whatever motives into other populations is rarely successful. For proof, we need only look to our own projects in Newfoundland and the aboriginal peoples in the North, projects that did not succeed. We can also look to the former Soviet Union and the mass migrations that occurred there. I appeal to the honourable minister and the government to reconsider their position when it comes time to vote on June 24. -- Michael W. Posluns, The StillWaters Group, First Nations Relations & Public Policy. Please note new address: mposluns@accglobal.net Phone 416 656-8613 Fax 416 656-2715 36 Lauder Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6H 3E3. We offer Canadian parliamentary debates available by topics and bills.
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