Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Eighteenth Anniversary of the Tibetan
National Uprising Day, 10 March 1977
On this commemoration of the March 10th anniversary, our thoughts turn
inevitably to events taking place in Tibet. It is well known that by
invading Tibet, the Chinese Communists have stationed military
personnel and civilian garrisons in extensive areas in the country.
Parallel to this, Chinese settlements have even penetrated into the
eastern and north-eastern frontiers of Tibet. In addition to this
influx, Chinese migrants continue to arrive in Central Tibet. According
to Radio Lhasa broadcasts, between May 1975 and January 1977, 6660
retired PLA veterans as well as graduate students from different parts
of China were transported to Central Tibet to raise families and settle
there. Forty-three separate batches were thus mobilised for this scheme
on the pretext that they were volunteers who “had come to join the
socialist revolution and socialist construction work in Tibet”.
Those of our people left behind in Tibet continue to experience a life
of poverty and relentless hard labour. To cite an instance of this,
according to reports received on the construction of a new dam during
the winter at Lhatse, all young and old, male and female inhabitants
were summoned to the site of the construction and compelled to work
round the clock without any break until the dam had been completed.
Even those who developed open wounds on their backs had no alternative
but to work without respite. Many became mutilated as a consequence of
severe frostbite. From another report on construction work at Taktse,
we learn that the inhabitants were forcibly put to labour on
agricultural cultivation by day, and with the assistance of kerosene
torches, were compelled to work on a hydro-electric plant by night.
These reports have neither been fabricated nor exaggerated by us, but
were broadcast by Radio Lhasa three or four weeks ago.
At a meeting convened to mourn the death of Mao a few months ago, 300
Tibetans were arrested and several were executed on the grounds that
the accused showed a lack of genuine sorrow and grief at the meeting. A
review of these facts will single pointedly indicate the extent of
forcible oppression and repression which the Chinese Communists have
wrought on the Tibetan people.
At present, the campaign against hegemony and colonialism has taken
precedence in international affairs and the call for the equality of
all races has gained momentum. Yet the Communist Chinese persist in a
policy of invasion and expansionism in Tibet, a renowned nation in the
history of Asia, and have reduced its innocent and defenceless people
to interminable oppression, suppression and torture. How is it
justified to neglect and leave unattended such tragic happenings in
Tibet?
Our struggle for the independence of Tibet is compatible with the hopes
and aspirations of 6,000,000 Tibetans. It is a fulfilment of our rights
and duties, and a just cause. Therefore, in order to realise this goal
in its entirety, every Tibetan must endeavour to work in unity, with
resolve, courage and determination. It is the responsibility of every
Tibetan, irrespective of age, to preserve, promote and personify the
exemplary traditions inherited from our forefathers, to abide by truth
and justice and to inculcate respect for our elders, tolerance of
problems and difficulties in addition to benevolence to others, while
at the same time remaining humble and modest. If deceitful and immoral
means are adopted for insignificant and temporary gain and fame, not
only will ridicule and abuse befall the subject of such indulgence, it
will also be unbecoming of his status as an intelligent human being. It
therefore becomes imperative for us all to cultivate the quintessence
of a moral and prudent approach at all times.
The Dalai Lama
March 10, 1977