Activists Call For Human Rights Talks At EU-China Summit

PRAGUE, Czech Republic—The head of the Czech branch of Amnesty International, Dasa van der Horstova, and the Green party deputy, Katerina Jacques, handed a petition to Czech Premier Jan Fischer on Monday. The activists are appealing that the topic of human rights observance will take a “vital part” in the forthcoming EU-China summit in Prague.

Prime Minister Fischer hinted that he might raise the human rights issue in the talks with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, but will “decide later.” Human Rights Minister Michael Kocab also accepted the petition.

"If [the human rights issue will be] omitted, it will be nothing but a farce as this would neglect political prisoners, torture in prisons and censorship," Amnesty spokeswoman Eva Dobrovolna told the Czech Press Agency.

Former Czechoslovak and Czech president Vaclav Havel voiced his official support for the Amnesty petition on Monday. "It seems to me, that the economic interests are winning over elementary solidarity with people suffering from a lack of freedom," told the former dissident on a news conference.

The EU-China 11th Summit, scheduled on Wednesday, is organized by the Czech Republic, which holds the European Union Presidency. The meetings are expected to focus on global economic crisis, economic relations between China and EU, and the environmental issues.

The 11th Summit was originally scheduled for December last year, but China cancelled its presence to protest against French President Nicolas Sarkozy meeting Tibetan leader Dalai Lama in Poland.