The Statement of the Kashag on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama
[Thursday, 10 December 2009, 5:19 p.m.]
Today, as we
celebrate the confluence of the twentieth anniversary of the conferment
of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the
International Human Rights Day, the Kashag first of all makes obeisance
to His Holiness in utter gratefulness. The Kashag, at the same time,
extends its best greetings to the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. His
Holiness the Dalai Lama has been making tireless efforts to realise the
cause of the Tibetan people in general, and in particular to preserve
and promote the unique language, culture and religion of Tibet, as well
as to promote world peace, inter-religious harmony, basic human values,
environmental promotion and universal responsibility throughout the
world. So great and unimaginable is his contribution in these fields
that he has been granted over 100 awards and certificates of merits by
the countries and organisations/institutions across the globe. This
year alone, he has received these many awards and honorary
certificates: Honorary Citizenship of Warsaw City, Poland; Honorary
Doctorate from the University of Marburg, Germany; International
Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, USA;
Prize for Love and Forgiveness from the Fetzer’s Institute, Vancouver,
Canada; Honorary Doctorate from the University of Calgary, Canada; Tom
Lantos Human Rights Prize, USA. These awards are additional plumes to
the hat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who was also the recipient of
the world’s most prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Therefore,
today is a very happy moment not just for his followers, particularly
the people of his adopted Land of Snows, but also for all the
peace-loving people of the world. On this special occasion, the Kashag
– on behalf of all Tibetans – expresses its heartfelt gratitude to His
Holiness the Dalai Lama for all he has done for us followers and prays
that he may live long for the sake of humanity in general, and
particularly for the people of the Land of Snows who always look to him
to cast his compassionate eye on them. The Kashag also prays that he
may continue his meritorious work in the religious and secular fields. Today
marks the 61st year since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was
announced. However, not only is there no protection of the basic human
rights in the world, but also like a big insect eating a smaller
insect, the relationship between the militarily and economically
powerful nations and the weaker nations is worsening. The biggest
disregard for human rights comes from the political and economic
globalization through which traditional culture, religion, indigenous
custom and languages of people and societies are being systematically
erased. Yet, far from facing these challenges, these are not even
recognized. This is the basis of our concern.On 1 October this
year, China celebrated 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s
Republic of China. During the celebration an awe-inspiring and
large-scale parade of military hardware was carried out, whose main
audience, according some news media, was not the enemies outside, but
people of Tibet, Uighur and others within China who have different
principles than the ruling Chinese Government. The result is the brutal
suppression by the Chinese Government of the protests in East
Turkistan, (Chin: Xinjiang) in July this year; and the number of people
killed in the violent Chinese crackdown on the peaceful protests that
took place in the whole of Tibet last year. However, according
to information that we have gathered till 27 October this year − from
March 2008 until today, 228 Tibetans have died under the crackdown, out
of which we have names and other personal details of 118; 371 Tibetans
were given jail sentences; 4657 Tibetans were either arrested or
detained; 990 Tibetans have disappeared and 1294 were injured during
the peaceful protests. Who knows how many others Tibetans were killed;
jailed or are being tortured?We are especially concerned about
the young Panchen Lama, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, who was forcefully
arrested by the Chinese Government since as a child, thus disregarding
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Though twenty years old now,
he is denied of the basic rights and to date his whereabouts remains
unknown. We urge that all the innocent political prisoners, including
Gendun Choekyi Nyima, be released immediately.According to
reliable information in various global media, two Tibetans namely
Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak who were associated with the peaceful
protests in Lhasa last year were executed. Three other Tibetans namely
Kangtsuk, Tenzin Phuntsok and Penkyi (female), who were given death
sentence with two-year reprieve, were also executed. There are also
news about other Tibetans in other Tibetan regions, who were arrested
and were given sentences similar to the ones mentioned above.It
appears that there is no hope for China to change its hard-line
policies to solve the appalling situation in Tibet as mentioned above.
Looking from another side, since the large-scale peaceful protests in
Tibet last years, many Chinese lawyers, intellectuals and general
public who were not fooled by Beijing’s propaganda, have come out with
open reports. In spite of Chinese Government’s severe blockage of news
media, the number of articles written in the internet in support of
Tibetan issue is increasing. Even in the international arena, the
support for Tibetan cause has grown stronger than before.From 6
to 8 August this year, International Sino-Tibetan Conference was held
in Geneva, Switzerland, and in the final document ‘Finding a Common
Ground’ − “the root cause of the Tibetan issue is not a conflict
between the Chinese people and the Tibetan people, but rather the
autocratic rule of the People’s Republic of China in Tibet and its
cultural genocide in Tibet. The Beijing government’s claim that ‘Tibet
has always been a part of China’ is factually incorrect; and everyone
present at the conference highly respects the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way
Approach.”On 18th and 19th of November this year, the fifth
World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet was held in Rome, Italy,
and according to its Rome Declaration − “International pressure must be
applied in order to start a meaningful dialogue between the
representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government; [and] express support for the substantive negotiations between the Chinese
Government and the representatives of the Dalai Lama toward a
meaningful resolution of the Tibet issue, with the Memorandum on
Genuine Autonomy as the realistic and constructive basis for
negotiations.”This year again, eight Nobel laureates made a
statement in support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan
people, which mentions − “We urge the Chinese government to take
immediate and constructive steps to resolve the status of Tibet and an
end to the oppressive policies that continue to marginalize the
impoverished Tibetan in their own land. By implementing law that are
enshrined in the Chinese constitution for a legitimate and meaningful
autonomy for all Tibetans, the Chinese government will make great
strides in securing peace and unity in their land.”The day when
Chinese government was celebrating 60th anniversary of the founding of
the People’s Republic of China with a grand display of their military
might, the United States government announced an appointment of Mrs.
Maria Otero as a Special Coordinator for Tibet issues on 1 October,
2009. She is tasked with coordinating US policy on Tibet and as well as
plans and programmes for Tibet issues. In addition to that, she will
work towards creating a conducive environment for a dialogue between
the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government.
Besides, she was also given a responsibility to lead support for the
preservation of Tibet’s distinct culture. On 17 November, 2009, Mr.
Barrack Obama, the President of United States, at a press conference
with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of People in Beijing
has urged Chinese government to start a dialogue with the envoy of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama. This clearly represents the support and the
interest International Community and the United States government have
on the Tibetan issues.Unity of nationalities is the very basis
of a nation’s stability whereas the stability of China is the basis of
World Peace. The importance of this fact cannot be denied by any. The
Central Tibetan Administration headed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is
a free spokesperson of the 6 million Tibetans. Because of that, the
concerned members of the People’s Republic of China were repeatedly
explained that to resolve Tibetan issues, we will hold on to Middle Way
Approach seeking solution to the Tibet issues within the present
constitution of the People’s Republic of China. Moreover, we are
committed to talk on the basis of the memorandum given by the envoys of
His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the leaders of the United Front
Department during their 8th meeting. From our part, we will continue to
work towards a solution where there is no separation of Tibetans and
the Chinese.To make 21st century a century of co-operation and
dialogue, nations and peoples should co-exist harmoniously with each
other. Where there is conflict between nations and peoples, they should
not stand against each other; rather they should have wisdom to resolve
their differences through a peaceful means. A peaceful method is not
only in accordance with the need of the time but it also goes well with
the desire of the people for universal values such as equality,
freedom, democracy and human rights. It is clear that the present
Chinese leaderships has to respect the call from the international
community in the long-term interest of the Tibetan and the Chinese
people and, to secure stability for China.Speaking on Indian
foreign policy, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during his state
visit to United States last month, meant it when he said, “I think the
respect for fundamental human rights, the respect for the rule of law,
respect for multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious rights, I
think those have values. So, even the Indian perforce with regard to
the GDP might not be as good as the Chinese, certainly I would not like
to choose the Chinese path,”. In the past 50 years, headed by
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, over a 1,00,000 Tibetans were given a
complete freedom to preserve their culture as well as to sustain their
struggle for Tibet. We would like to thank people and the Government of
India as well as various State governments from the very bottom of our
heart. We would also like to thank all our supporters worldwide. Finally,
the Kashag prays for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and
the spontaneous fulfillment of all his wishes. May the truth of the
issue of Tibet prevail soon.The KashagDecember 10, 2009 N.B.
This has been translated from the Tibetan original. If there is any
discrepancy between this and the Tibetan version, please consider the
Tibetan authoritative and final.
