Kashag Vows to Follow Middle-Way Policy and Enhance Dialogue with Chinese PeopleWednesday, 10 December 2008, 11:25 a.m.
Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche addresses the function to commemorate the confluence of the nineteenth anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holinessthe Dalai Lama, the International Human Rights Day, and the Himalayan Festival, at Tsuglagkhang, Dharamshala, on Wednesday, 10 December 2008. |
Dharamshala:
The Kashag said Wednesday it would remain steadfast to follow the
Middle-Way policy with great confidence, strengthen the level of
dialogue with the Chinese people and create awareness to the
international community about the memorandum on genuine autonomy for
all Tibetans.Tibetans in Dharamsala on Wednesday commemorated
the confluence of the nineteenth anniversary of the conferment of the
Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the International
Human Rights Day, and the Himalayan Festival.While addressing
the gathering, Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche said: “We complied by
delivering a detailed explanation in writing of how the provisions of a
genuine autonomy as stipulated in the constitution of the People’s
Republic of China and its Law on National Regional Autonomy could be
implemented, thus clearly demonstrating to the world the position of
the two sides.”
Deputy Speaker Dolma Gyari addresses the gathering. |
“This,
we believe, will serve as a definite agenda if in the future dialogues
were to be continued between the two sides. And even if dialogues do
not take place for the time being, nobody can speculate on or distort
the real intentions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama because the Chinese
people and the international community have been clearly informed of
his intentions,” Kalon Tripa added.“Therefore, the entire
responsibility for the future status of our dialogues, irrespective of
what it is going to be, lies squarely on the Chinese leaders. The
Tibetan side has already made all the required clarifications and
brought a process of dialogue that began in 2002 to its logical
conclusion,” Kalon Tripa said.Kalon Tripa said: “The door of
dialogues always open should the leaders of the People’s Republic of
China be willing to continue discussions on the memorandum we
submitted.” Kalon Tripa said the support given to the
Middle-Way Appraoch by the overwhelming majority of Tibetan people
during the historic special general meeting held in Dharamshala,
clearly demonstrated the enlightened political vision and understanding
and the firm stance and unified force of the Tibetan people at the
grassroots level.
Rendition of Nobel Peace Prize song by the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts felicitating His Holiness the Dalai Lama. |
It
also showed that our democratic process has reached a high point of
maturity, for the Tibetan people partook in the Special Meeting with a
sense of responsibility within themselves, Kalon Tripa added.The
deputy speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Mrs Dolma Gyari,
appealed to the government of India and the countries who respect human
rights to extend their continued support for the Tibetan cause.Mrs
Gyari expressed deep gratitude and appreciation to the international
community, including governments and parliaments and common people, for
supporting the Middle-Way policy of the Central Tibetan Administration
to resolve the issue of Tibet.A battery of dignitaries of the
Central Tibetan Administration, including the Chief Justice
Commissioner, Justice Commissioners, members of the Tibetan
Parliament-in-Exile, members of the Kashag, heads of the automonous
bodies and secretaries of the departments attended the function. The full text of Kashag’s Statement follows:
Today,
as we commemorate the confluence of the nineteenth anniversary of the
conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the
International Human Rights Day, and the Himalayan Festival, the Kashag
extends its warm regards and greetings to the Tibetans in and outside
Tibet, as well as to all the peace-loving people of the world.His
Holiness the Dalai Lama has not only guided the people of the world
onto the path of peace and non-violence, the essence of which is loving
kindness and compassion as shown by the teachings of the Lord Buddha;
but also transformed the entire movement of Tibetan people for greater
freedoms in Tibet into a complete non-violent endeavour. In order to
show all the impartial people’s genuine respect and admiration for
these great deeds, His Holiness has been bestowed with the
world-renowned Nobel Prize for peace. As we commemorate today the
nineteenth anniversary of the conferment of this peace prize on His
Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Kashag of the Central Tibetan
Administration, on behalf of the Tibetans in and outside Tibet, makes
obeisance to His Holiness and prays that he may live long for the
benefit of humanity in general and the suffering people of Tibet in
particular. The Kashag also implores him to continue his meritorious
services in the religious and secular fields as before.The past
year has been the most significant and turbulent period in the
forty-nine years of our exile history with both positive and negative
developments. On the negative side, peaceful protests that rocked Tibet
since March this year were brutally suppressed, as a result of which
hundreds of Tibetans have been killed and thousands incarcerated and
tortured. Some areas of China and Tibet suffered natural catastrophes
such as snowstorms, flood and earthquakes. His Holiness the Dalai Lama
had to undergo a medical treatment due to slight indisposition. On the
positive side, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, showing great health,
visited many countries and perpetuated his meritorious works in the
religious and secular fields. He, in particular, addressed the plenary
session of the European Parliament and met with the heads of the many
countries. He also received numerous awards and honorary degrees for
his outstanding contribution to the welfare of humanity as a whole.Moreover,
we were able to accomplish a host of politically significant works. For
example, His Holiness sent subsequent letters to many supportive world
leaders, explaining the emergency situation inside Tibet; he wrote to
President Hu Jintao as well. His Holiness issued messages to the
Tibetans, the Chinese and the Chinese believers of various faiths,
including Buddhism. The issue of Tibet generated great interest and
publicity internationally while the Olympic torch made rounds across
the world. Peaceful and non-violent campaigns were carried out across
the globe through the Tibetan Solidarity Committee. All India Tibet
Support Groups Special Meeting was organised. The envoys of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama conducted one informal and two formal rounds of
discussions with the concerned officials of the People’s Republic of
China. The first Special Meeting of the Tibetan exiles was convened
under the provision of Article 59 of the Tibetan Charter. His Holiness
the Dalai Lama not only issued statement to the Special Meeting, but
also addressed the participants after the meeting. Moreover, the
International Tibet Support Groups Special Meeting was convened to
solicit their suggestions on the future course of the Tibetan movement.
During the eighth round of talks, in particular, we delivered a
memorandum on genuine autonomy for all Tibetans to the People’s
Republic of China and an overwhelming majority of Tibetans in and
outside Tibet reiterated, through the Special Meeting, their support to
the Middle-Way policy. The Kashag considers these two developments of
great historical significance. Because, since the re-establishment of
Sino-Tibetan contacts in 2002, we have engaged in serious discussions
with the People’s Republic of China based on the policy of one official
channel and one agenda to determine the future of Tibet within the
framework of the Chinese constitution so that all Tibetans could enjoy
complete self-rule under a single administration. As a result, during
the seventh round of talks the Chinese side asked His Holiness the
Dalai Lama to clearly explain what he was actually seeking by saying
genuine or meaningful autonomy. We complied by delivering a detailed
explanation in writing of how the provisions of a genuine autonomy as
stipulated in the constitution of the People’s Republic of China and
its Law on National Regional Autonomy could be implemented, thus
clearly demonstrating to the world the position of the two sides. This,
we believe, will serve as a definite agenda if in the future dialogues
were to be continued between the two sides. And even if dialogues do
not take place for the time being, nobody can speculate on or distort
the real intentions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama because the Chinese
people and the international community have been clearly informed of
his intentions. Therefore, the entire responsibility for the future
status of our dialogues, irrespective of what it is going to be, lies
squarely on the Chinese leaders. The Tibetan side has already made all
the required clarifications and brought a process of dialogue that
began in 2002 to its logical conclusion.The current process of
Sino-Tibetan dialogue has failed to produce any positive changes in
China’s Tibet policy. Moreover, the situation inside Tibet is worsening
by the day. As a result, not only is the Tibetan community growing more
and more concerned and frustrated, but the very process of dialogue
underway is being criticised from different quarters. Therefore, His
Holiness the Dalai Lama invoked Article 59 of the Charter of the
Tibetans in Exile to convene the first Tibetan Special Meeting, feeling
that the time has come to seek mandate from the people on this issue
once again. The Special Meeting was participated by about 560 delegates
from all Tibetan communities across the globe, who for six days held
extensive discussions by breaking themselves into fifteen groups. Out
of these, eight groups supported the Middle-Way Approach by majority
vote, three groups by unanimous vote and four groups recommended the
Middle-Way Approach although they did not clarify as to whether it was
by unanimous or majority vote. Out of 161 written suggestions
received from 50 Tibetan settlements and scattered communities, 20
monasteries and nunneries, 44 educational institutions, 25 Tibetan
associations abroad and 22 Tibetan non-governmental organisations; 103
supported the Middle-Way Approach unanimously and 28 by majority vote.
We were also able to collect suggestions from various parts of Tibet. What
became very clear, on the whole, was this: all of these suggestions
unanimously agreed to follow the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai
Lama; an overwhelming majority of these suggestions supported the
Middle-Way Approach; there were other opinions expressed as well. This
clearly demonstrated not just the enlightened political vision and
understanding, as well as the firm stance and unified force, of the
Tibetan people at the grassroots level; it also showed that our
democratic process has reached a high point of maturity, for the
Tibetan people partook in the Special Meeting with a sense of
responsibility within themselves. In the same vein, the
International Tibet Support Groups Special Meeting strongly supported
the views of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Middle-Way policy.
Therefore, not only will the Central Tibetan Administration be able,
now, to abide by and follow the Middle-Way policy with great
confidence, but will also strengthen its constructive actions or
programmes towards this end internationally. A time has come for us, in
particular, to raise the level of dialogue with the Chinese people. We
have, furthermore, kept the door of dialogues always open should the
leaders of the People’s Republic of China be willing to continue
discussions on the memorandum we submitted. His Holiness the
Dalai Lama’s address to the European Parliament on 4 December is an
invaluable political guidance for the future of Tibet. All should,
therefore, study this address carefully. Due to the reasons
cited above, we are now initiating these two campaigns with full force:
circulating the memorandum on genuine autonomy for all Tibetans and
creating awareness about it internationally; and strengthening dialogue
with the Chinese people. We are also planning to convene a meeting of
our Chinese friends at an appropriate time and in an appropriate place
next year. We urge all Tibetans to take keen interest and co-operate
with us in carrying out these campaigns. In short, the issue
of Tibet has reached a very crucial and critical juncture, whether one
looks at it from the perspective of the strength of peaceful protests
that erupted in Tibet or the outcome of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue, as
well as the international political scenario. Therefore, we would like
to emphatically urge all Tibetans to make all possible efforts to
initiate constructive programmes, as well as work towards enhancing the
Tibetan people’s collective merit, so as to ensure that the lives laid
down by hundreds of our brethren in Tibet do not go in vain. His
Holiness the Dalai Lama has recently spoken about our gross failure in
the areas of improving education among the Tibetan people and
sustaining the Tibetan settlements in exile. Keeping these concerns in
view, the relevant departments of the Central Tibetan Administration
are seriously considering these issues by holding extensive discussions
among themselves. The Kashag would like to urge the Tibetan people at
the grassroots level to take keen interest and co-operate in the
implementation of whatever plans or programmes these departments will
come up with in the near future. The Kashag would like to
express its heartfelt gratitude to the government and people of India,
as well as Tibet supporters across the globe, for their assistance and
co-operation in enabling over hundred thousand Tibetan refugees, led by
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to freely preserve their culture and to
continue their struggle for the just cause of the Tibetan people during
the last almost fifty years. Finally, we pray for the long
life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the spontaneous fulfilment of
all his wishes. May the truth of the issue of Tibet prevail soon!The Kashag10 December 2008N.B.
This is an English translation of the original statement issued in
Tibetan. If there is any difference between this and the Tibetan
version, please treat the latter as authoritative and final.