EU assembly moots Olympics ceremony boycott

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Parliament urged European Union leaders on Thursday to boycott the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics unless China starts talks with the Dalai Lama over the situation in Tibet.

"The European Parliament calls on the EU presidency ... to strive to find a common EU position with regard to attendance at the Olympic Games opening ceremony with the option of non-attendance in the event that there is no resumption of dialogue between the Chinese authorities and His Holiness the Dalai Lama," the assembly said.

The non-binding resolution, adopted by an overwhelming majority, added to pressure on EU leaders to take a stronger stand over "the brutal repression" of Tibetan protests by China, a major and fast-growing economic partner for Europe.

It also calls on the EU to "appoint a special envoy for Tibetan issues to facilitate dialogue between the two sides" and seeks "the immediate release of all those who protested peacefully".

"Today's vote sends an ultimatum to the Chinese authorities that if they wish to have political legitimacy at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, then they have until August 8 to open meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama," leader of the Liberals in the assembly told Reuters.

So far EU president Slovenia and senior EU officials have condemned violence in Tibet and called on Beijing to open a dialogue with the exiled spiritual leader on cultural and religious rights but stopped short of any call to boycott the Olympic Games.

OLYMPIC FLAME

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office confirmed on Wednesday he would not attend the opening ceremony and China said he had never been expected to attend. Brown will attend the closing ceremony. Britain will host the 2012 Games.

The directly elected EU legislature has no direct say in European foreign policy, but it is an echo chamber for public opinion and exerts political pressure on member states, the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said last month the EU should examine the possibility of staying away from the Beijing opening ceremony and invited the Dalai Lama to address the house.

"Now that the president has the full mandate of the parliament, he will be having bilateral talks with the presidency and Solana to push the issue and seek a strong common EU position," a spokesman for Poettering said.

He added that Poettering will also discuss a possible boycott at a meeting of leaders of the European People's Party -- which includes the ruling party's of Germany and France -- in Dublin next week.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country will hold the EU presidency at the time of the Games in August, has said his decision on whether to attend the ceremony will depend on whether China has resumed a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

"China promised change when they were awarded the games, but nothing has changed and I think the world's politicians are waking up to that," British Conservative MEP and assembly vice-president Edward McMillan-Scott told Reuters television.

"The fact that the parliament has now voted with such a huge majority ... a lot more people are coming around to the idea of a political boycott, which I think is an essential weapon against China."

Demonstrations against China's suppression of Tibetan protests have disrupted the progress of the Olympic flame in Europe and the United States, prompting a nationalist backlash from the Communist giant's authorities and media.

Thursday's resolution had the backing of the main political groups within the EU assembly, reflected in the vote of 580 to 24 with 45 abstentions.

Last month, Tibet's capital Lhasa was the centre of protests by Buddhist monks opposed to Chinese rule, which Beijing blamed on the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India.

Tibet's spiritual leader denies inciting the bloody rioting and said he wants talks with China to discuss Tibetan autonomy, not independence. Beijing refuses to talk to him.

(Editing by Paul Taylor)