Statement of the Kashag on the 45th Anniversary of the
Tibetan National Uprising Day
Today,
as we commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Tibetan people’s
peaceful uprising in Lhasa¾an
event which cannot be erased from the memory of the Tibetan people¾the
Kashag pays its tribute to the brave men and women of Tibet who sacrificed their
lives for our spiritual and political cause. We also pledge our solidarity with
the innocent men and women in prison in Tibet who continue to suffer.
In
the last two 10-March statements of the 12th Kashag, we reflected on
the past events and took stock of both the negative and positive developments.
We outlined the Kashag’s implementation policy of His Holiness the Dalai
Lama’s Middle Way Approach for resolving the issue of Tibet through
negotiations, and means of reinforcing the strength of the Tibetan people. We
also dwelled on the recent re-establishment of our contacts with the Chinese
leadership and our appeal to the Tibetan community-in-exile how to conduct
ourselves for the realisation of negotiations. All these were made clear, aimed
specifically at the Tibetan people inside and outside Tibet. I am hopeful that
everybody is well aware of this. Therefore, instead of repeating the whole thing
again, I would now like to concentrate on the developments of the past year and
related to this, tell you briefly about our future plans, keeping especially in
mind the leaders of the People’s Republic of China.
After
the smooth transition of the leadership of the People’s Republic of China from
the leaders of the third to the fourth generation, the delegation led by the
envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited China again in May/June, 2003.
They held discussions with the new leaders and were able to take a step further
in sustaining this relationship. They
were also able to visit some Tibetan places, including the Dechen Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. We are currently doing our groundwork preparation for the
third possible visit by our delegation to discuss the matter of beginning the
actual process of negotiations. A request for this has already been placed
before the Chinese Government and our delegation is ready to go after we receive
a clear signal.
During
the year 2003, His Holiness the Dalai Lama traveled to many countries across the
globe, and held unprecedented meetings with many high-level leaders of the
world. Not only did he welcome the recent revival of contacts between the
Chinese authorities and Dharamsala and express hope and optimism over it, but he
also said that there had been no visible positive developments taking place in
Tibet so far. Above all, he aired his views about some of the developments in
Tibet that were of abiding concern to him. Moreover, in October 2003, His
Holiness the Dalai Lama made his gracious presence at the Fourth International
Conference of the Tibet Support Groups and addressed the gathering in the same
way. Although the leaders of the People’s Republic of China expressed
reservations about some of these developments, yet our contact with the Chinese
leadership basically remains unscathed. As far as the Tibetan Administration is
concerned, we have been making our best efforts to create an atmosphere
conducive for dialogue. In this regard, we are deeply appreciative of the
whole-hearted cooperation extended to us by the Tibetan diaspora as well as the
Tibet Support Groups around the world. I would like to request you all to
continue to lend us the same cooperation in the future as well¾until
the problem of Tibet is resolved forever.
As
the leaders of the People’s Republic of China are well aware, the late Deng
Xiaoping proposed in 1979 that anything except the independence of Tibet could
be discussed and resolved. His Holiness the Dalai Lama responded to it by saying
that if all the three traditional provinces of Tibet enjoyed genuine autonomy
with a democratic system of governance, he would not seek independence. From
that time to this day, it has been 25 years. The leaders of the People’s
Republic of China know very well that after all these years¾under
any circumstances, at any place and at any time¾His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s steadfast commitment to his Middle
Way policy remains unaltered and this has been widely known across the globe.
However, the Chinese leadership seems to be very skeptical about it; they have
not been able to work towards the realisation of the proposal Deng Xiaoping and
His Holiness the Dalai Lama made with unmatched courage, and have always been
playing with time. Instead of it being beneficial, this has proven to be of
great loss to both Tibet and China. It is a general phenomenon that any
political problem, which is not addressed immediately and ignored and prolonged,
will only aggravate the problem further. This is quite evident from the
experiences of many international problems that we see around us. By the same
token, if the Tibetan problem is not resolved at once and authorities continue
playing with time, it will not be a loss to the Tibetan people alone. It will be
a great loss to the People’s Republic of China as well. This view is not only
shared by the majority of the intellectuals of the world but by many impartial
Chinese intellectuals who support this argument with vigorous reason. It is
needless to mention that if we are not able to begin a substantive dialogue to
resolve the Tibetan problem and indulge in pushing the matter further, the
future generations from the two sides would view both the Chinese and Tibetan
leaders as not acting responsibly.
For
the People’s Republic of China, there are no hurdles in the way of resolving
the Tibetan problem. All conditions are ripe, be it politics, economy or
international relations. We all know this very well that a mutually-beneficial
solution to the Tibet problem through a non-violent process of dialogue will set
a good example for resolving other domestic and international problems for
China. It will also provide an opportunity for His Holiness the Dalai Lama¾
through his service to humanity¾
to make an unmatched contribution in bringing about unity among the general
public of the People’s Republic of China, including the Tibetan nationality,
and also in the areas of religion and culture.
Taking
due note of these important developments, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his
exiled administration have adopted a conciliatory and flexible approach by
setting aside past history and treating the future as more important. And in
order for the Tibetan and the Chinese people to co-exist in unity within the
framework of the People’s Republic of China, we have been striving for a
genuine self-rule without bothering about the problem it entails and the
emotions of the Tibetan people. This decision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of
unifying the Tibetan and the Chinese people is not only a great decision beyond
our general thought but also has a historical significance of promoting equality
of nationalities, unity and the stability of the motherland. If the leaders of
the People’s Republic of China without laying too much importance on temporary
gains are able to use this great opportunity with a more flexible mind and in a
proper manner, I have no doubt that they will be able to leave a great historic
legacy. Conversely, delaying the negotiations by laying difficult preconditions
and putting more importance to past history than the future will not be
beneficial to both sides. Worse, it will make the present problem more
complicated and hence more difficult to resolve.
Presently
all nations of the world - whether big or small - and the autonomous regions,
provinces and districts, etc., are all able to achieve their present status by
adapting to changing circumstances and due to the changes and developments that
had taken place in the world over the past hundred years. Since it is an
established fact that there is no country or autonomous state that has come into
existence without changes in its past history, we believe that resolving the
issue of Tibet by putting emphasis on the future rather than on the past must be
considered a contemporary political skill.
We never
try to make the Tibetan problem an international issue because His Holiness the
Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration do not want to. However, those
in the international community who love truth and justice can’t help but
express their concerns because of the continued deterioration of political
freedoms, nationality rights, Tibetan language and traditions, human rights
situation and the environment in Tibet. This indirectly changes the nature of
the Tibetan problem into an international issue. Nobody can stop this unless a
positive change takes place in Tibet.
It
is an illusion to hope that the Tibetan issue will naturally die down after
sometime by delaying in solving it. This is because the issue is not about the
personal position and power or for that matter is not related to the future
career prospects of a few leaders and individuals. The Tibetan issue is directly
related to the Tibetan identity and interests. Because of this it is obvious
that as long as the Tibetan nationalities remain in existence, mere changes in
leadership and generation will not make the Tibetan issue disappear. We hope and
appeal to the new generation of Chinese leaders to seriously consider this issue
by seeking truth from facts and for the long term benefits of the Tibetan and
Chinese people. We appeal to them not to waste the good opportunity and the
conditions created by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I once again emphasize that
this hope and appeal is not for the benefit and interests of the exiled Tibetans
but for the future aspirations of all the Tibetans within the three provinces of
Tibet who want to have the freedom to preserve the Tibetan identity and culture.
I, as a
directly elected spokesperson of the Tibetans in exile, stress here again that
there will be no changes in what His Holiness the Dalai Lama publicly declared
in 1992 that the administration of Tibet will be undertaken by the Tibetans in
Tibet and that no one from exile would hope for power and rights once the
Tibetan issue is peacefully resolved through negotiations.
Considering
that there is a limit to the patience of the Tibetans and the fact that
obstacles could be created by those who are opposed to a negotiated settlement,
I would like to once again urge the Chinese leadership to make use of the good
opportunity and the conditions available at their disposal to begin at the
earliest opportunity substantive negotiations for resolving the issue of Tibet.
Finally I
pray for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and an immediate
resolution of the just cause of Tibet.
The Kashag,
10 March
2004
N.B.
Translated from the Tibetan.
(The
Kashag is the Cabinet of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness
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Last updated: 10-March-2004