Tibetan Special Envoy says Tibetans want trouble-free Olympics
Thursday, 24 July 2008, 10:53 a.m.
Washington: A Beijing Olympics
that goes smoothly without “unhealthy disturbances” will best serve
Tibetans by fostering a more confident China, said the special envoy of
His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
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Lodi Gyari said His Holiness the Dalai Lama, believing the
Olympics would have a positive impact on Chinese society, had endorsed
holding the games in China before Beijing was selected in 2001.
“We would like them to be a success, not so much for the
political leadership of China, but for China as a nation and Chinese as
a people, because it is very important that she gets the needed
international recognition and self-confidence,” Gyari said in a recent
interview in Washington.
Human rights activists have criticized plans by Western leaders
such U.S. President George W Bush and French President Nicholas Sarkozy
to attend the Olympics. But their presence in Beijing could be helpful,
said Gyari.
“We are not at all opposed to international leaders
participating, because it is important that the Chinese people feel
that they are being honored, that there are global leaders there to
celebrate together their coming of age,” he said.
Scapegoating Risk
Gyari said in an interview that Chinese arrogance stemming from
insecurity was “the biggest stumbling block” in Tibetan-Chinese
relations.
“There is always that arrogance — not arrogance at the personal level — but institutional arrogance,” said Gyari.
“China is a powerful nation and is becoming even more powerful
economically and politically, but when it comes to issues like Tibet,
they are so insecure,” he added.
That attitude colours statements by Chinese officials
portraying Tibetans as desperate for talks and repeating demands the
Dalai Lama has already accepted, he said.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has denounced violence and
supported that China should host the Olympics and has appealed to
Tibetans not to protest during the Beijing Games.
The spring protests, which drew a harsh and still deepening
crackdown across the Tibetan plateau, underscore why the Tibetans
“certainly don’t want any unhealthy disturbances” during the Olympics,
Gyari said.
“If any disturbances happen, particularly if disturbances
happen that have a kind of Tibet connection, it will give the Chinese
authorities yet another opportunity to look for a scapegoat,” he said.
–Reproduced from Zee News online
