PARIS - The head of the French parliamentary committee
on Tibet announced on Wednesday that he intended to
boycott a speech by Chinese President Hu Jintao before
the French National Assembly next week.

"I will not be present in parliament for the visit by
the president of the world's largest dictatorship,"
said Lionnel Luca, a member of the right-wing ruling
majority.

"I will join the associations defending freedom and
democracy in both Tibet and China in the Invalides"
square, near the French foreign ministry, where a
demonstration has been planned to coincide with Hu's
speech on Tuesday.

Hu will make a state visit to France from January 26
to 29 as Paris and Beijing mark the 40th anniversary
of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic
relations.

Luca added that he would meet separately with the
Chinese leader to deliver a text urging him to commute
the death sentence passed on a Tibetan monk whose
execution is set for April 7, and to renew contacts
with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's
spiritual leader.

China has ruled Tibet since a takeover in 1951. The
Dalai Lama has led a campaign for Tibetan independence
since fleeing into exile in 1959.