Political Strugle Of The Tibetans

(The Tibetan movement for free Tibet led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is based on the three fundamental principles of truth, non violence and democracy; the motivating force behind it being compassion. The ultimate goal is not just political freedom for Tibet, rather the preservation and dissemination of the sublime cultural traditions of Tibet for the benefit if all humanity.)

History bears testimony to the fact that from the outset of Tibetan civilization, Tibet was an independent and sovereign country. In 1949, after the establishment of the communist government in China, relying on tremendous military power, the Chinese invaded and captured Tibet. To mislead the international community, the Chinese then formulated the Seventeen Points Agreement which was signed under duress by a randomly designated delegation headed by Mr. Ngapo Ngawang Jigme, who had been taken to Peking as a prisoner of war from Chamdo. With the international community remaining silent spectator, Tibet attempted for eight long grueling years to reconcile itself with China on the inhuman oppression and torture at the hands of the Chinese and their blatant violation of the Seventeen Points Agreement, there was a spontaneous popular uprising on 10th March 1959 in Tibet that utterly denounced the Chinese occupation.

The Chinese responded the uprising with unprecedented military force in the ruthless crack down which sscompelled His Holiness the Dalai Lama to flee Tibet and take refuge in India in the company of some 80000 Tibetans who followed him into exile. On arrival to India, the Dalai Lama used the earliest opportunity to announce the international media, the invalid of the Seventeen Point Agreement. Since that moment, the political struggle for the restoration of Tibet’s freedom began in earnest.

Goals and Strategies

To understand our goal and strategies, it is imperative to discuss the nature of Tibet’s problem. In fact, the issue is not purely a political one. It is neither an ideological nor an ethnic conflict. Our fight is also not against the Chinese people. The idea that Tibet’s freedom must be restored is not politically motivated, nor is it based on any nation-state theory. It is rather unique. The people born in the spiritual land of Tibet have a universal responsibility to the whole world, and the fulfillment of that responsibility is deemed a duty which we have inherited simply by the fact of our birth. If we do not live up to this duty, or if we are unable to act in a way that does justice to our heritage, then we are not worthy of being Tibetans.

Ultimate Goal: Not just Political Freedom

Our responsibility lies in maintaining and disseminating the unique inner sciences and culture traditions that were preserved and promoted for thousands of years by our countryman. If the Tibetans do not manage to preserve this heritage and it is allowed to disappear under the Chinese occupation, it will be a great loss not only for the Tibetans, but for the whole world. This heritage cannot be protected if Tibet does not regain its freedom and if natural ecological balance, without exploitation, is not restored to them. Therefore, the ultimate goal is not just political freedom for Tibet. Rather, our ultimate goal is the preservation, maintenance, and dissemination of the sublime cultural traditions of the unique inner science for the sake of all living beings. However, without proper means and favorable conditions, it is not possible for the Tibetans to fulfill that responsibility. We therefore must first undertake spiritual practice of liberating Tibet without delay.

Case for Tibet’s independence

Even in the strict political terms, Tibet is distinct from china ethnically, linguistically, philosophically, and even in its literary traditions. Indeed, every significant aspect of Tibetan culture is distinct from the Chinese culture. Historically, Tibet enjoyed independence until the Chinese invasion began in 1949. Even now, no Tibetan wishes to remain under Chinese rule. For all these reasons, we have the right to be an independent nation.

In addition, from an international perspective, the presence of a buffer state between the two most populous Asian countries India and China would promote regional peace. Geographically, Tibet is the highest country in the world and the source of most of the Asia’s largest rivers; hence, preservation of Tibet’s environment is prime international importance. Tibet is also closely linked to the stability and security of neighboring countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. A free Tibet as a peace zone would be extremely beneficial even for china. As an analogy, if the international community felt that it could not allow Iraq to occupy Kuwait, then there is no reason whatsoever why china should be allowed to occupy Tibet. Until Tibet is free from Chinese occupation, this stain in the moral record of modern civilization will not be removed, and the savage law of jungle will undoubtedly persist into the 21st century.

The Nature of our Movement

For the attainment of above mentioned goal, we must have a pure and an immaculate method. Therefore, we have carefully outlined the basic foundation, the motivation and the philosophical background for our spiritual practice to liberate Tibet (Tibetan Mukti Sadhana), which may called political struggle. The three basic fundamental principles on which our movement is based are: (1) Truth; (2) Non-Violence and (3) Democracy. Any idea or action which transgresses any of these three basic principles will not form a part of the freedom movement for Tibet led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The motivating force of our movement is compassion. It is compassion for the people of China, compassion for people of Tibet and compassion for all sentient beings that motivate us to undertake a peaceful and non-violence movement for liberating Tibet.

The philosophical background of our movement is based on the philosophy of inter-dependence. The nature of universe is interdependent, and thus ever changing. The freedom of Tibet was lost through cause and condition created by ourselves, each in order to liberate Tibet (which is certainly possible) the conducive causes and conditions must again be created by us.

A Model for Free Tibet

In accordance with the vision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, after the restoration of Tibet’s freedom, the will be demilitarized zone of peace, free of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, a centre for environmental protection and it will follow Buddhist economic principles of avoiding all extremes. Free Tibet will be springs of the unique culture of inner sciences, a country that will seek it alleviate the many sufferings inflicted upon the people by modern society. it will be distinctively spiritual and yet a truly democratic nation, replete with those characteristics of the old Tibetan system that stem from a world view based on love, and yet ornamented by those positive aspects of modernity which do not contradict with principles of compassion. Free Tibet will epitomize a model polity for entire world, and it will help maintain peace and goodwill throughout the world, especially in Asia. In order to reflect these ideals in our nation life, these have been enshrined in the proposed future constitution of Tibet. The preamble of the drafted future constitution states, “we the people of Tibet, in order to build a just, human and prosperous society guided by the light of eternal Dharma, to secure Tibet as a sanctuary of peace, spirituality and environmental purity, and to ensure ourselves and future generations the blessings of a constitutional democracy founded on the rule of law, and on the eternal ideals of freedom, equality, love, beauty, compassion, justice, non-violence and truth, do hereby establish this constitution of Tibet.”

Gradual Development of the Movement

When His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama became the head of state in 1950, he inherited the legacy of the previous Tibetan government along with its minute and poorly equipped army. Nevertheless, this small force put up considerable arm resistance at the time of initial Chinese aggression. Thereafter, a civil resistance movement started some time in 1955-56 and wide spread guerrilla warfare continued until the late 1960’s. Therefore the Tibetan freedom movement cannot claim that it has remained totally non-violent right from its inception. In exile His Holiness began to assert his commitment to the principles of non-violence more forcefully, and movement gradually became more and more non-violent as it was consolidated under his leadership. The 1991 charter of Tibetans in exile clearly affirms the principles of non-violence and renounces all forms of warfare. Thus, the principle of non- violence is the national commitment, and it has gained even more strength and effectiveness.

We, the Tibetans have been engaged in twofold political movement. Firstly, we have striven for full democratization of the Tibetan government in exile; the ceaseless efforts of His Holiness in this regard for more than 30 years, were finally rewarded when the 11th Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies adopted for Tibetans in exile in 1991. Today, the government is functioning as a completely democratic system under a well defined basic law. This will be the nucleus around which the new policy will grow in Free Tibet.

The second aspect of political covement is the liberation of Tibet from the present situation. These efforts have also proceeded along two paths. On the other hand, we have sort support from international community and on the other hand, we have attempted to pursue our goals through direct interaction with Chinese authorities.

In 1959, 1961, 1965, the Tibetan issue was raised in the UNO, and a resolution was passed to preserve human rights in Tibet and to guarantee the right to self determination to Tibetan people. Unfortunately there have so far been no means for implementing these resolutions. Efforts, however have continued to create international awareness about the plight of Tibet in relation to the political situation, human rights, the environment, religious freedom, and so on. These efforts have led to a slow but steady increase in awareness of Tibet’s plight throughout the world. As a result many people have began to appreciate the seriousness and the gravity of the situation, and support groups and initiatives are increasing day by day throughout the world.

Dialogue with Peking Government

In 1979, Deng Xiaoping initiated a direct dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and stated that all issues were negotiable with the exception of the independence of Tibet. His Holiness and the Tibetan Government in –exile responded sincerely and cordially to this initiative and attempted to negotiate with Chinese for about 14 years. Several delegations were send to Tibet and China, and as a basis for negotiation, His Holiness announced the Five Point Pease Plan 1987 and the Strasbourg Proposal in 1988. But finally we realized that the Chinese were not sincerely interested in dialogue; they simply indented to stall every step taken in this direction and mislead the international community. Again in 1991, His Holiness offered to visit Tibet in order to seek a solution from the people living in Tibet, but this proposal was rejected by the Chinese.

Initiating a Referendum

In view of these circumstances, His Holiness the Dalia Lama intends to initiate a referendum amongst Tibetans both in exile and in Tibet. This referendum will be promulgated through various possible means, and it will seek to ascertain the peoples’ mandate for a future strategy and course of action. While waiting for the referendum, a number of individuals and non- governmental organizations are seriously considering the strategy of initiating a peaceful resistance movement in Tibet. The recently proposed but postponed Peace March to Lhasa is an example of this new kind of strategy. A comprehensive programme for a Satyagraha or “instance of truth” Movement is under preparation, and it will include various forms of civil disobedience, non cooperation and passive resistance which will either be made public at the time of the referendum or launched at an appropriate time in the future.

A Do or Die Situation

Many people think that since China is ruled by a powerful ruthless government, such a movement would be simply suicidal and they claim it would not bring any positive results. But consider the present situation in Tibet; the continued violation of human rights, the ongoing suppression and torture, the persistence attempts of cultural genocide, the denial of education to Tibetan youngsters, the degradation of the environment, and above all the population transfer that will before long make the Tibetans a microscopic minority in their own land. What is the alternative? The very existence and identity of Tibet is on the verge of being completely wiped out. In short, time is running out. It is a do or dies situation. If a Satyagraha Movement does not succeed, all may well be lost. But if we do nothing, all will certainly be lost. Since the very identity of the Tibetan people will disappear in either case, it is much better to perish in non-violent resistance instead of perishing through non –action. That is the reality of the situation of today.