Author: B Raman
Publication: Rediff.com
Date: March 26, 2008
URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/mar/26raman.htm
The worldwide demonstrations of Tibetans of
all ages against China and the uprisings in Greater Tibet since March 10,
2008, have come as the culmination of a long debate in Dharamsala and among
Tibetan refugees all over the world, including India, over the wisdom of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama's continued adherence to his Middle Path policy.
By Middle Path, he meant autonomy not independence
and a non-violent struggle to achieve that objective. By autonomy, he meant
on the Hong Kong model of one country, two systems; and not the present Chinese
model of total integration and Han colonisation in the name of autonomy.
He was seeking a dialogue with the Chinese
leadership in the hope of thereby making his Middle Path a reality.
Tibetan youth organisations such as the Tibetan
Youth Congress, formed in 1970 under the blessings of His Holiness, and Students
For A Free Tibet, went along with him till 2003 despite having serious reservations
as to whether the policy would work and about the insincerity of the Chinese.
The action of A B Vajpayee, the then Indian
prime minister, in agreeing to Tibet being described as a part of China in
a statement issued during his visit to China in 2003, set off alarm bells
ringing in the Tibetan community abroad as well as in Greater Tibet.
Large sections of the Tibetan youth felt that
even while pretending to keep the door open for a dialogue with the Dalai
Lama, the Chinese were undermining his political and spiritual authority,
encouraged by the silence of the Indian authorities.
While they continued to respect and venerate
the Dalai Lama as their religious and spiritual leader, the Tibetan youth
started looking upon him as politically naive. They began stepping up pressure
on him for giving up the Middle Path policy.
The disenchantment of the Tibetan youth over
the policies of His Holiness and their concern over the perceived headway
being made by the Chinese in strengthening their occupation of Greater Tibet
was reflected in the seventh session of the Tibetan Parliament held at Dharamsala
in March 2004.
It adopted a private member's resolution,
which called for a review of the policy of the Middle Path after a year, if
the Chinese failed to start formal negotiations with His Holiness to solve
the Tibetan problem.
The elder members of the Tibetan community
criticised the resolution as disrespectful to the Dalai Lama and as tending
to undermine his political authority.
An editorial on this subject in the September
2004 issue of the journal of the TYC said: "The on-going Middle Path
policy came into being after the then Chinese supreme leader Deng Xiaoping
set the precondition that we should abandon the demand for independence. For
the last 24 years, our leadership has been sincerely trying to hammer out
a compromise solution but from the Chinese side, there has always been deceit,
double-dealing and delaying tactics so that we have not even managed to make
the beginning of a meaningful dialogue.
Many thinking Tibetans, Tibetan supporters
and China-watchers have now come to honestly conclude that the Chinese have
no intention to conduct negotiations. They are only biding time for the Dalai
Lama to pass away and in the meantime evade international pressure and condemnation
by indulging in periodical delegation diplomacy. It is vitally important that
we Tibetans should not fall prey to their devious ploys. Another important
matter to be taken into consideration is the so-called Chinese White Paper
of May 2007.
With the finality of the tone and tenor of
that document, all our hopes for a negotiated settlement on the lines of the
One-Nation-Two-Systems theory of Hong Kong and Macao or a genuine autonomy
have been dashed irrevocably. The only choice given to the Tibetans is to
accept the arrangement under the Tibet Autonomous Region as the best one and
return. This, surely, is not the answer to the Middle Path!
The Chinese White Paper, in one go, has fully
rejected what the Tibetan government has been trying to achieve during the
last nearly 25 years through that policy. Therefore, a rethinking on the part
of our leadership is called for whether we like it or not. The present resolution
is nothing new or surprising. In fact, the need to review the Middle Path
policy has become more urgent and relevant after the issuance of the Chinese
White Paper."
The trend towards the radicalisation of the
Tibetan youth and their disenchantment with theMiddle Path policy became pronounced
as the TYC came increasingly under the influence of American citizens of Tibetan
origin.
Tibetan youth, living in India, paid heed
to the words and advice of the Dalai Lama even while criticising his Middle
Path policy.
They went along with his advice against any
attempt to sabotage the Olympics even while taking advantage of the opportunity
provided by the Olympics for drawing attention to their cause. They contined
to respect the authority of the Dalai Lama as a spiritual and political leader.
But the Americans of Tibetan origin, who had
migrated to the US from India and obtained US citizenship under a special
dispensation of the US Immigration Department, which granted US citizenship
to 1,000 Tibetan refugees, came increasingly under the influence of anti-China
groups in the US, which egged them on to sabotage the Olympic Games in order
to embarrass China.
This group was very vocal in the criticism
of the Middle Path policy and started expressing its reservations over the
wisdom of the policies of His Holiness on political issues. The Tibetan youth,
who continue to be resident in India, shared His Holiness' gratitude to India
for giving shelter to the refugees and looking after them, but the youth,
who had settled down in the US and obtained US citizenship, did not share
this gratitude.
Under the advice or instigation of the anti-China
groups in the US, it started itching for a confrontation with China even if
this caused unhappiness in the Dalai Lama and created difficulties for India.
The influence of American citizens of Tibetan
origin on the policies and activities of the TYC increased after Tsewang Rinzin,
an American citizen, was elected as the president of the Executive Committee
of the TYC at its session held at Dharamsala in September 2007, and Tenzin
Yangdon, another US citizen, was elected as a member of the Executive Committee.
Many Tibetans in India were surprised as to
how Rinzin was elected as the president and who proposed his name and influenced
his election.
Some claim that even His Holiness was surprised
by his election. Since his election, he has been following the agenda of the
anti-Beijing Olympics groups in the US, which want to sabotage the Olympics
in contravention of the wishes of His Holiness that nothing should be done
to sabotage the Olympics.
The Dalai Lama's own views on the Olympics
are as follows: "I have, from the very beginning, supported the idea
that China should be granted the opportunity to host the Olympic Games. Since
such international sporting events, and especially the Olympics, uphold the
principles of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, equality and friendship,
China should prove herself a good host by providing these freedoms.
Therefore, besides sending their athletes,
the international community should remind the Chinese government of these
issues. I have come to know that many parliaments, individuals and non-governmental
organisations around the globe are undertaking a number of activities in view
of the opportunity that exists for China to make a positive change. I admire
their sincerity.
I would like to state emphatically that it
will be very important to observe the period following the conclusion of the
Games. The Olympic Games no doubt will greatly impact the minds of the Chinese
people. The world should, therefore, explore ways of investing their collective
energies in producing a continuous positive change inside China even after
the Olympics have come to an end."
As against this, Rinzin has warned of attempts
to disrupt the passage of the Olympic torch and the Games itself. The Wall
Street Journal (March 20, 2008) has quoted him as saying as follows: "This
is a golden opportunity for our struggle."
Rinzin is the son of a Tibetan driver in south
India. He migrated to the US in 1993 and obtained US citizenship. Till his
election in September 2007, he was working in a bank in Portland-Vancouver
in north-west United States.
He was also president of the local chapter
of the TYC. Since his election, he has shifted to Dharamshala, but his wife,
also an American citizen of Tibetan origin, and their two children continue
to live in the US.
In January 2007, the TYC, the Tibetan Women's
Association, Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet, the National Democratic Party of
Tibet, and the Students for a Free Tibet, India, issued a statement announcing
the launching of a Tibetan People's Uprising Movement.
They described it as 'a global movement of
Tibetans inside and outside of Tibet taking control of our political destiny
by engaging in direct action to end China's illegal and brutal occupation
of our country. Through unified and strategic campaigns we will seize the
Olympic spotlight and shine it on China's shameful repression inside Tibet,
thereby denying China the international acceptance and approval it so fervently
desires.We call on Tibetans inside Tibet to continue to fight Chinese domination
and we pledge our unwavering support for their continued courageous resistance.'
It called upon the international community
to cancel the Beijing Olympics.
In February last, the TPUM is alleged to have
held two training camps in Dharamshala for selected Tibetan youth in subjects
such as the Importance of a Co-ordinated Movement, Contemporary Chinese Political
Scenario, Strategy and Vision, the Situation inside Tibet, Olympic politics,
Media and Messaging, Non-Violent Direct Action and Fund-Raising Strategy.
On March 10, the TPUM launched synchronised
protests and demonstrations all over the world, including in Lhasa, to mark
the 49th anniversary of the flight of the Dalai Lama from Tibet.
The protests and demonstrations in Lhasa took
a violent turn on March 14, 2008. On coming to know of this, the Dalai Lama
threatened to resign as the political leader of the community if the violence
continued and also called the office-bearers of the TYC to express to them
his unhappiness over their activities.
The writer is additional secretary (retired),
cabinet secretariat and, presently, director, Institute for Topical Studies,
Chennai. He is also associated with the Chennai Centre For China Studies.
E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com
