Statement by Lodi Gyari, Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,concerning the dialogue process with China
My attention
has been drawn to an interview published in the Chinese media by
Executive Vice Minister Zhu Weiqun of the Central United Front Work
Department of the Chinese Communist Party on December 8, 2009
concerning our dialogue process.We are currently under
discussion with the Chinese leadership on the next round of dialogue
and so the timing and content of this interview are perplexing. It is
my understanding that the Chinese leadership is as desirous as our side
in continuing a discussion, which we hope will ultimately lead to a
mutually satisfactory negotiated solution to the Tibetan issue. During
our fifth round of talks in February 2006, the Chinese side clearly
expressed appreciation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s position not to
seek Tibetan independence and of seeking a solution within the
framework of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. The
Tibetan transcript from the recording of that meeting shows the Chinese
side terming His Holiness’ position as a “Tamsangpo” (good or
welcome news). It reads, “It is a welcome news that (the Dalai Lama) is
showing a gesture by saying that he wanted to resolve the problem on
the basis of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China.” We
looked at this as a small but important progress in our dialogue
process with our counterparts. We felt that for the first time the
Chinese side was registering and taking due note of His Holiness’
position in finding a mutually acceptable solution. We have been
highlighting the positive aspect in our dialogue process and this was
one such developments from the Chinese side in the five years that had
passed since the re-establishment of our contact in 2002. It was this
spirit that we conveyed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama upon our return
to Dharamsala. At the same time the Chinese side drew our
attention to various issues that needed to be resolved. On our part we
stated the willingness of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to address all
these concerns in a statement. We even suggested that both sides have
consultations on the formulation of the statement in order to ensure
that it will have the desired result in achieving a breakthrough.
There was no response from the Chinese side to this initiative of ours.Instead,
from around May 2006 the authorities began intensification of campaigns
in Tibet, including launching of patriotic re-education campaign. There
was increased vilification of the person of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and restrictions placed on peoples’ religious activities.Following
the series of demonstrations in Tibetan areas in 2008, we had two
rounds of talks and one informal session with the Chinese leadership.
During the most recent 8th round held in November 2008 we in fact
presented a Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People that
clearly outlined the basic needs of the Tibetan people that can be
fulfilled even under the present Constitutional provisions of the
People’s Republic of China. The outright rejection of the
Memorandum by the Chinese side, without even looking into many of the
points raised therein, did not leave any scope for further contacts.
However, His Holiness the Dalai Lama continued to be committed to the
dialogue process and impressed upon us the need to take steps to reach
out once again to the Chinese leadership. So far, it has been
all our initiatives that have been the basis of any perceptible
positive side to the dialogue process. It was at our initiative that
contact was re-established and continued since 2002. Every time it has
been our initiative that has started the process for the rounds of
discussions. The February 2006 meeting was not the only
occasion when the Chinese side showed some positive development on His
Holiness’ position. During the informal session in Shenzhen in May
2008, the Chinese side came out with “Three Stops” (stop separatist
activities, stop violence and stop sabotaging the Beijing Olympic
Games) directed at His Holiness. When we rejected these charges, the
Chinese side came up (during the subsequent seventh round in July 2008)
with “Four Not-to-Supports” (not supporting activities that would
disturb the Beijing Olympic Games; not supporting plots inciting
violent criminal activities; not supporting and concretely curbing
violent terrorist activities; not supporting activity seeking Tibetan
independence.) as a replacement saying that this was being done
positively because they considered our point that His Holiness was not
indulging in the activities mentioned in “Three Stops” (one of which
related to independence). Therefore, changing from “Three Stops” to
“Four not-to-Supports” was an indication that the Chinese leadership
acknowledged that His Holiness was not indulging in Tibetan
independence activities. The recent statements coming from
Beijing, therefore, reminds me of an advice given to me by a Chinese
Professor who was involved with the Tibetan issue for many years while
serving the Chinese Government. He said that we should not expect the
Chinese leadership to have the political courage to remove the hat of
separatism from His Holiness the Dalai Lama even though they clearly
are aware that he is not working in that direction. The professor told
me that if the Chinese side were to remove such a hat from him, then
they would not be able to justify to the Chinese people their current
policies in Tibet or on the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to
Tibet.Time and again, the Chinese side has been the one that
has been cautioning us from negotiating through the media. They contend
that we should take things up directly and face to face. But we see it
is the Chinese side that is increasingly coming up with obstacles
presented through selective interviews to the media. During our seventh
round held in July 2008, the Chinese side portrayed the “Four
Not-to-Supports” positively in comparison to the “Three Stops.”
However, after our meeting and even before we had reached India to
brief His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Chinese side went to the media
and gave a totally negative message of their position. We feel
if the Chinese side is really serious in wanting to address the
grievances of the Tibetan people and to provide them with the same
rights that are provided for in the Chinese Constitution and the
relevant statutes on minority rights, we should do that through our
channel and across the dialogue table. His Holiness the Dalai Lama
continues to be committed to the dialogue process and we are ever ready
to continue the discussions. Washington, D.C.December 10, 2009
