The party leadership of the Socialist People’s Party (SF) has earned the wrath of several members of its parliamentary group following a decision to accept the government’s policy to repair relations with China over Tibet.

“I fail to understand why the party has agreed to this. It’s not right to say that it follows our One China policy as we have never decided whether Tibet is an integrated part of China,” says Culture Spokeswoman Pernille Frahm.

As late as in 2008, the Tibetan exile foreign minister Kesang Y Takla was a guest speaker at the SF national congress.

No comment
SF’s leadership has declined to comment on the issue, but according to Politiken’s information, the disagreement was raised during a meeting of the parliamentary group last Thursday – the day after the agreement was presented in the Foreign Policy Committee.

Party members were able to read their party’s new view of Tibet in the morning newspapers.

“SF now has a new policy about Tibet. My main criticism is that we haven’t even discussed this in our group – it’s just been decided by the leadership,” says Kristen Touborg who has previously proposed that Tibet should be given the right of address at the United Nations and that Denmark should establish that Tibet is an occupied country.

The new Sino-Danish accord is an attempt to improve the ice-cold relations between the two countries following a visit by the Dalai Lama to Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Lib) last May.

The Danish government declined to fulfill China’s demand for an apology.

Prime  Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen in coversation with the Dalai Lama in May this year.

Instead, the government has negotiated an accord which normalises relations between the two countries and which has been supported by most parties in Parliament apart from the Unity List and the Danish People’s Party.

The Danish government’s One China position is that Denmark does not support the idea of an independent Tibet, but that it believes the territory should be autonomous.