The Danish government appears to be re-appraising its stance on Tibet following criticism that a statement on Tibet last December was too strong.

China put diplomatic relations with Denmark on ice in the autumn of 2009 after Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Lib) received the Dalai Lama at the official government residence at Marienborg.

Chinese pressure and the U.N.’s upcoming COP15 environment conference in Copenhagen resulted in a statement that Denmark was ‘against Tibetan independence’.

But according to a proposal from Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller (Cons) that Politiken has been given access to, the government is proposing that Parliament should recommend dialogue “that ensures the Tibetans real autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution, with cultural and religious freedom and respect for human rights.”

“This is a clear softening of the very pronounced formulation in December. It was a very strong wording, and one could ask whether it was necessary to go that far,” says Copenhagen Business School China Expert Professor Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard.

Parties
Both the opposition Red-Green Alliance and the government’s parliamentary support party the Danish People’s Party have been outspoken critics of the December statement. The Danish People’s Party has viewed the government’s statement as a knee-jerk reaction to avoid a diplomatic crisis up to the COP15 meeting.

“The climate conference is now over and we can see that there was no result from bowing to China. The parties that signed must have a bad taste in their mouths,” says Søren Espersen of the Danish People’s Party.

Government
The government does not agree that its new formulation changes its December stance, as it clearly states that Tibetan autonomy should take place within the framework of the Chinese constitution.

“I simply can’t see a softened approach. The Dalai Lama wants autonomy and not independence, and that is what we have followed,” says Naser Khader (Cons).