Address of Mr. Pema Jungney, the Chairman of the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies, at the closing ceremony of the Fourth International Conference of Tibet Support Groups
19-21 October 2003
Prague:
Honourable Professor Josef Jarab, Chairman of Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Mr. Rolf Berndt, Executive Chairman, Friedrich-Naumann Stiftung and friends and colleagues.
It is an honour and privilege to address at the concluding session of the 4th International Tibet Support Group Conference to this august and esteemed gathering of Tibet supporters from all over the world. I extend my hearty appreciation and greetings to our friends who have gathered here for their unceasing support on behalf of the Tibetan people inside and outside Tibet.
We are very happy to have Mr. Takna Jigmey Sangpo in our midst today. His efforts in working for the cause of Tibet is a inspiration for the Tibetan people. We certainly hope that the efforts made by him and people like him will have a positive impact on ending the suffering of the six million Tibetan people.
The Tibet Support Groups have played a very vital role in the movement for the freedom of the Tibetan people. The Tibetan cause has always been associated with truth, non-violence and pragmatism under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. All of you who believe and uphold these principles have created awareness about the plight of the long suppressed people of Tibet and put pressure on the People’s Republic of China to find an amicable solution to the issue of Tibet through various means and for a very long time. It is not possible to prophesy how long this struggle will go on. Some of you have been involved in this movement for a very long time and some of you have joined recently. But for as long the struggle goes on and even after that, we would need your continued support. I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to all of you who are present here and the others who are not.
I will not dwell on the status of the Tibetan movement and the issues of concern to us. You all know these issues which you deliberated upon during the last three days. Anyway, the concerns of the Tibetan people were explained to you by no less a person than His Holiness himself and reinforced by our Kalon Tripa, the Chairman of the Kashag, Professor Samdhong Rinpoche. What is important now is how to carry forward the movement and the various campaigns with detailed action plans and how we can collectively and effectively implement these in perfect coordination with one other.
Notwithstanding the different backgrounds you have all come from and the different political environment that you have to function in, there are many campaigns in the action plan which should be done in coordination with others to give it a global effect. There are also many which could be undertaken locally. The global communication system has made the world seem smaller and all of us much closer. Except for a few places, we all should be able to communicate and coordinate without any problem.
I would like to say that the issue of Tibet is not an issue whether the Tibetans in exile can return to our homeland. The reason why we are involved in the struggle for Tibet is to ensure that China ends the present appalling human rights situation and improves the condition to the satisfaction of the Tibetan people.
For this reason we have decided to seek a negotiated, peaceful, mutually beneficial settlement with China based on the Five Point Peace Plan of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and since we have already rebuilt contacts with the Chinese leadership, the focus of the movement should be on urging, pressurising, lobbying and facilitating by all means in our common effort to expedite the process of negotiations. We don’t have much time. You all have discussed it. The very identity of the Tibetans is at stake, leave alone their unique culture, religion and language. If no solution is found as soon as possible, the coming decades will turn Tibetans into something like native Indians in America and aborigines in Australia. That will be very sad because the Tibetans have a lot to offer to global peace and harmony.
The Tibetan Government-in-Exile has taken all measures to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue. We do not feel that a lot of time is needed to understand our proposal. We have climbed down from our historical right to complete independence to genuine autonomy, the most important part of which is to turn the whole of Tibet into a zone of Ahimsa, where man and nature can coexist in harmony. Tibet should be totally demilitarized and it should be the centre of learning and the centre for the promotion of peace throughout the world. The PRC should stop the sinofication of Tibet. It is now the turn of the People’s Republic of China to reciprocate our goodwill because we are not seeking separation from China. Many fear that PRC might use delaying tactics to avoid international criticism. If such is the case, it will not bode well for the future of China. It will prove to be a historical mistake for the Chinese leadership.
There are drastic economic changes sweeping China, which also produce a host of problems. The leadership has to be more pragmatic and more transparent. There is no choice. It is inevitable. There are positive signs of receptiveness of the new Chinese leadership. They are looking for better neighbourly relations and a better world order. The members of our delegation have also seen a noticeable change in their attitude. They have in a way recognised the fact that the issue of Tibet cannot be ignored and it is an issue that needs to be resolved. And we are hopeful that the new Chinese leadership led by President Hu Jintao will take necessary initiatives for a peaceful and permanent solution.
We have brainstormed for several days on the various campaigns we need to wage to put pressure on China to develop more liberal policies in Tibet and to induce China to engage Dharamsala in a fruitful negotiated settlement of the issue of Tibet as early as possible. To this end, we have come up with an action plan. I believe that the most important thing now is to implement the action plan so that the suffering of the Tibetan people is greatly eased and the human rights situation is vastly improved.
Till then our struggle will go on and your support is invaluable. I would like to once again thank all of you and particularly the organisers who have painstakingly and meticulously planned the programmes for many months. Friedrich-Naumann Stiftung has been associated with the organisation of the previous three international conferences of Tibet Support Groups. We also have a partnership programme with the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation since 1991. The Friedrich-Naumann Foundation has not only talked about its ideals of liberalism and individual freedom in books and publications but has actually implemented its beliefs in supporting our cause even under extreme pressure. We are most indebted to the Foundation. We express our sincere appreciation to the Forum 2000 Foundation of former President Vaclav Havel, who personally is not only close to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but has actively supported the cause of Tibet. I would like to express the deep appreciation of the Assembly of the Tibetan People’s Deputies to the President and Vice-President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic for their willingness to hold this conference under their auspices. Their support for this conference is a source of great encouragement to the Tibetan people in and outside Tibet. Last but not the least I would like to thank staff of DIIR and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and others who are directly or indirectly involved in the organisation of this conference.
Thank you all very much.