00                      SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18                                                                    
01 Urging the United States Congress to take action to end the People's Republic of China's                                
02 repression of human rights in Tibet, to recognize Tibetan political autonomy, and to                                    
03 urge the government of the People's Republic of China to negotiate in good faith with                                   
04 representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet.                                                                
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06       WHEREAS the people of Tibet lived in peace and harmony for centuries; and                                       
07       WHEREAS the people of Tibet harbored no ill will toward anyone and had no desire                                
08 to extend their mountainous territory beyond its historic boundaries; and                                               
09       WHEREAS, with absolutely no provocation from the Tibetan people, on March 10,                                 
10 1959, the army of the People's Republic of China illegally invaded that peaceful Himalayan                              
11 Mountain kingdom; and                                                                                                   
12       WHEREAS it has been reported that more than 1,000,000 Tibetans have perished as a                               
13 direct result of the Chinese occupation, that the Tibetan people have been deprived of any                              
14 right of self-determination, and that it is now nearly impossible for them to continue their                            
15 distinctive cultural practices and religious observances; and                                                           

01       WHEREAS, despite the assertions of the government of the People's Republic of                                   
02 China, the Tibetan people pose no threat in any manner to the security of that government;                              
03 and                                                                                                                     
04       WHEREAS Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in no                                     
05 uncertain terms that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading                            
06 treatment or punishment"; and                                                                                           
07       WHEREAS the cruelty and repression that the People's Republic of China has                                      
08 inflicted on the Tibetan people during a half-century of occupation is a serious violation of                           
09 human rights; and                                                                                                       
10       WHEREAS the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General                                       
11 Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948, states that contempt for human rights                              
12 deserves condemnation on the part of the international community when it results in                                     
13 barbarous acts that outrage mankind; and                                                                                
14       WHEREAS, in March 2008, large numbers of Tibetans protested against their                                       
15 occupiers from the People's Republic of China; hundreds of Tibetans were killed, and many                               
16 remain missing or imprisoned; and                                                                                       
17       WHEREAS March 10, 2009, marked the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of                                 
18 China's invasion of Tibet, and protests around the world known as "Tibet Solidarity Walks"                              
19 sent a message of outrage to the government of the People's Republic of China, demanding                                
20 that Tibetans be treated with respect and human dignity; and                                                            
21       WHEREAS ending the cruelty, repression, and other unfair treatment of the Tibetan                               
22 people by the government of the People's Republic of China should be treated as a matter of                             
23 high priority by the United States Congress;                                                                            
24       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature condemns the continuing                                        
25 repression of the Tibetan people and expresses its solidarity with the individuals who                                  
26 participated in the protests throughout Tibet in March 2008; and be it                                                  
27       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                      
28 Congress to                                                                                                             
29            (1)  take action to end the People's Republic of China's repression of human                                 
30 rights in Tibet;                                                                                                        
31            (2)  recognize the right of the Tibetan people to freedom and genuine political                              

01 autonomy; and                                                                                                           
02            (3)  urge the government of the People's Republic of China to negotiate in                                   
03 good faith with representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet to find meaningful                              
04 autonomy for the Tibetan people.                                                                                        
05       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
06 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
07 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John F. Kerry, Chair of the U.S. Senate                                     
08 Committee on Foreign Relations; the Honorable Howard L. Berman, Chair of the U.S. House                                 
09 Committee on Foreign Affairs; the Representative for Americas of His Holiness the Dalai                                 
10 Lama at the Office of Tibet in New York, New York; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and                                 
11 the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                             
12 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.