Kalon Tripa, Special Envoy Address Prague Conference on Dharamsala policy
Prague, 20 October 2003: The conference continued today with workshops and plenary sessions on human rights, western development program and 2008 Olympic Campaign. In the morning Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche talked about the relevance of Satyagraha to the Tibetan issue. He dwelt on the nature of Satyagraha and the importance of truthfulness in it. He talked about the importance of honesty in political life and said his Administration was making an effort towards this. In the evening, Kasur Lodi Gyari gave an overview of the development of contact with the Chinese leadership in recent years.
He said the situation leading to the two visits of his team to China and Tibet was not something that developed overnight, but part of a considered plan and strategy by the Tibetan leadership led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He said even during President Clinton’s days low profile behind the scene, but direct contact had been established with the Chinese leadership and three meetings were even held with Chinese representatives.
He talked about the two kinds of reaction to his team’s visits. The first kind felt that the very visit was an indication of giving in to the Chinese. The other view was that too much hope was placed on the visit. He said both were misplaced. He said the Tibetan leadership had taken advantage of the window of opportunity available to make efforts at contacts with the Chinese leadership. He said the visits were proactive action on the part of the Tibetan leadership and a result of the international pressure generated on China by the Tibetans and Tibet supporters. He said immediate results could not be expected because of the very nature of the issue.
He talked about the difference between the attitude of the set of leaders his team met during the recent two visits and that of the Chinese leadership that was there in 1982 and 1984 when he was part of the High Level Exploratory delegation. He said the mission of his team was to implement the policy decision taken by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, supported by the Kalon Tripa and the Tibetan Parliament. He said his team’s task was not to go on fact-finding trips, but to build a bridge with the Chinese leadership. He talked of the confidence building measures taken by the Tibetan leadership and said that he had told the Chinese leaders that one of the confidence steps that the Chinese should take is remove the ban on the image of His Holiness.
Kasur Gyari said the Tibetan leadership was being cautious, but at the same time being very committed to the process. He said the leadership knew the challenges before them and said that the Tibetan supporters had played a good role in bringing the Tibetan issue to the level it has reached today.