Tibet Autonomy Issue Goes Beyond Dalai Lama
-Tenzin Tsundue*
TIMES OF INDIA
April 4, 2005
BEWARE THE DRAGON
When Vamana Avataar asked for three strides of land from Bali Raja,
the generous king granted it but didn't know that this avatar of
Lord Vishnu would grow up to be so big that his two strides would
cover the earth and the rest of the universe, and he would be left
with nothing to offer for the third stride but his own head. The
Dalai Lama is the trying just that in 21st century. Of course,
without any offer from Beijing. Beijing may not be familiar with
this lesson from Hindu mythology, but it has witnessed the
collapse of the former Soviet Union and become very, very cautious.
Like the USSR, the People's Republic of China is a conglomeration
of nationalities: Mongolia, the Islamic country, East Turkestan
now called Xinjiang, Manchuria and Tibet. With great tension th
communist government is struggling to keep things under control as
"One China". The last thing they would want is the entry
of the Dalai Lama into Tibet, knowing his simple presence could
unite the people and reinvigorate their desire for freedom.
This March during the 46th anniversary of the Tibetan National
Uprising Day, the Dalai Lama once again announced that he does not
seek Independence and is willing to settle for "genuine
autonomy" within the framework of the People's Republic of
China. Though this doesn't come as a shock to Tibetans as it does
to non-Tibetans, it further disappoints many
of us who continue to stand for an independent Tibet.
For the Tibetan community, the Dalai Lama is not only their leader
but also the Buddha who knows the past, present and future. Even
when you reason and prove that "genuine autonomy" isn't
a viable solution as we negotiate with Beijing, the majority of
Tibetans would say, "There must be something His Holiness has
in mind which is beyond our understanding".
This leap of faith makes the Tibetan leader His
Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama, however, doesn't go unopposed within the Tibetan
community, especially among the youngsters who do not cow down to
say: "We beg to differ, your Holiness". On the stand for
independence, for example, the biggest Tibetan NGO - the Tibetan
Youth Congress with 20,000 members in 77 different chapters all
over the world - makes its goal of independence clear to the Dalai
Lama. There is, however, pressure from the older generation to
conform to his directives.
I am a second generation Tibetan, born and brought up in India on
stories of our freedom struggle and the wonderful dream of a free
Tibet. We were anxious to grow up fast to take part in the freedom
movement. Today, when we are ready to shoulder responsibility, the
goal posts are being shifted. I can never think of being party to
the corrupted Communist China, which has brutally massacred her
own children on Tiananmen Square when they demanded freedom and
democracy.
The Tibetans who emerged from isolation behind the Himalayas in
1959 - marvelling at the sight of even a bicycle - have made a
fast forward journey into modernity. It was a youthful Dalai Lama
who introduced democracy into the Tibetan community in 1960 and
slowly passed most of hi temporal powers into the hands of the
prime minister of the exile government. Today we have a
functioning democracy, which can change the whole tradition of
leadership.
The process of finding a negotiated solution to our impasse with
Beijing was passed as a resolution by the Tibetan Parliament in
1999, making it the official stand of the Tibetan
government-in-exile. The idea originated way back in 1979 when
Premier Deng Xiaoping offered to discuss anything other than
Independence with the Dalai Lama. Twenty five years later, with
Deng dead, diplomacy with China has reached nowhere. Three
delegations have visited China and Tibet since the reopening of
the diplomacy exercise in September 2002, yet Beijing is not even
willing to give official recognition to the delegations sent by
the Dalai Lama.
China too wants to solve the Tibet Issue, preferably before
the 2008 Beijing Olympics to have the Dalai Lama seated alongside
Beijing leaders at the opening show. But for this, the Dalai Lama
has to declare to the world that Tibet and Taiwan are historically
a part of China. In fact, this has been the precondition for
negotiations, which Beijing repeated again recently while refuting
the Dalai Lama's March 10 message. From the Tibetan side, this is
something no one can agree to - no, not even the 14th Dalai Lama -
even if China is promising autonomy in exchange.
The Dalai Lama always maintains that history is history;
let's talk of the future, he says. The way the exile government is
practising the policy of appeasement - banning all protest
expressions to create a "conducive atmosphere" for
negotiations - it doesn't look too implausible for the delegations
to strike a deal for a lesser autonomy. If this happens the Dalai
Lama and the exile Tibetans could return home, wrapping up the
exile government. It would be difficult for us to accept Chinese
citizenship, but that would be the beginning of the true freedom
struggle while being inside Tibet.
Behind the Himalayas, six million Tibetans are living under
the repressive Chinese rule, resisting, waiting for their leader
to return from exile. Here in exile, we will again protest, when
China's prime minister visits India in a few days, braving arrest
and lathi charge. We will not keep silent; this is our right.
*Tenzin Tsundue is a writer and activist
for free Tibet. He can be contacted at:
tenzin@friendsoftibet.org
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