The Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day
is the fiftieth anniversary of the Tibetan people’s peaceful uprising
against Communist China’s repression in Tibet. Since last March,
widespread peaceful protests have erupted across the whole of Tibet. Most
of the participants were youths born and brought up after 1959, who
have not seen or experienced a free Tibet. However, the fact that they
were driven by a firm conviction to serve the cause of Tibet that has
continued from generation to generation is indeed a matter of pride. It
will serve as a source of inspiration for those in the international
community who take keen interest in the issue of Tibet. We pay tribute
and offer our prayers for all those who died, were tortured and
suffered tremendous hardships including during the crisis last year,
for the cause of Tibet since our struggle began.
Around
1949, Communist forces began to enter north-eastern and eastern Tibet
(Kham and Amdo) and by 1950, more than 5000 Tibetan soldiers had been
killed. Taking the prevailing situation into account, the Chinese
government chose a policy of peaceful liberation, which in 1951 led to
the signing of the 17-Point Agreement and its annexure. Since then,
Tibet has come under the control of the People’s Republic of China.
However, the Agreement clearly mentions that Tibet’s distinct religion,
culture and traditional values would be protected.
Between
1954 and 1955, I met with most of the senior Chinese leaders in the
Communist Party, government and military, led by Chairman Mao Zedong,
in Beijing. When we discussed ways of achieving the social and economic
development of Tibet, as well as maintaining Tibet’s religious and
cultural heritage, Mao Zedong and all the other leaders agreed to
establish a preparatory committee to pave the way for the
implementation of the autonomous region, as stipulated in the
Agreement, rather than establishing a military administrative
commission. From about 1956 onwards, however, the situation took a turn
for the worse with the imposition of ultra-leftist policies in Tibet.
Consequently, the assurances given by higher authorities were not
implemented on the ground. The forceful implementation of the so-called
“democratic reform” in the Kham and Amdo regions of Tibet, which did
not accord with prevailing conditions, resulted in immense chaos and
destruction. In Central Tibet, Chinese officials forcibly and
deliberately violated the terms of the 17-Point Agreement, and their
heavy-handed tactics increased day by day. These desperate developments
left the Tibetan people with no
alternative but to launch a peaceful uprising on 10 March 1959. The
Chinese authorities responded with unprecedented force that led to the
killing, arrests and imprisonment of tens of thousands of Tibetans in
the following months. Consequently, accompanied by a small party of
Tibetan government officials including some Kalons (Cabinet Ministers),
I escaped into exile in India. Thereafter, nearly a hundred thousand
Tibetans fled into exile in India, Nepal and Bhutan. During the escape
and the months that followed they faced unimaginable hardship, which is
still fresh in Tibetan memory.
Having
occupied Tibet, the Chinese Communist government carried out a series
of repressive and violent campaigns that have included “democratic
reform”, class struggle, communes, the Cultural Revolution, the
imposition of martial law, and more recently the patriotic re-education
and the strike hard campaigns. These thrust Tibetans into such depths
of suffering and hardship that they literally experienced hell on
earth. The immediate result of these campaigns was the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of Tibetans. The lineage of the Buddha Dharma was
severed. Thousands of religious and cultural centres such as
monasteries, nunneries and temples were razed to the ground. Historical
buildings and monuments were demolished. Natural resources have been
indiscriminately exploited. Today, Tibet’s fragile environment has been
polluted, massive deforestation has been carried out and wildlife, such
as wild yaks and Tibetan antelopes, are being driven to extinction.
These
50 years have brought untold suffering and destruction to the land and
people of Tibet. Even today, Tibetans in Tibet live in constant fear
and the Chinese authorities remain constantly suspicious of them.
Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive
generations of Tibetans have considered more precious than their lives,
are nearing extinction; in short, the Tibetan people are regarded like
criminals deserving to be put to death. The Tibetan people’s tragedy
was set out in the late Panchen Rinpoche’s 70,000-character petition to
the Chinese government in 1962. He raised it again in his speech in
Shigatse in 1989 shortly before he died, when he said that what we have
lost under Chinese communist rule far outweighs what we have gained.
Many concerned and unbiased Tibetans have also spoken out about the
hardships of the Tibetan people. Even Hu Yaobang, the Communist Party
Secretary, when he arrived in Lhasa in 1980, clearly acknowledged these
mistakes and asked the Tibetans for their forgiveness. Many
infrastructural developments such as roads, airports, railways, and so
forth, which seem to have brought progress to Tibetan areas, were
really done with the political objective of sinicising Tibet at the
huge cost of devastating the Tibetan environment and way of life.
As
for the Tibetan refugees, although we initially faced many problems
such as great differences of climate and language and difficulties
earning our livelihood, we have been successful in re-establishing
ourselves in exile. Due to the great generosity of our host countries,
especially India, Tibetans have been able to live in freedom without
fear. We have been able to earn a livelihood and uphold our religion
and culture. We have been able to provide our children with both
traditional and modern education, as well as engaging in efforts to
resolve the Tibet issue. There have been other positive results too.
Greater understanding of Tibetan Buddhism with its emphasis on
compassion has made a positive contribution in many parts of the world.
Immediately
after our arrival in exile I began to work on the promotion of
democracy in the Tibetan community with the establishment of the
Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in 1960. Since then, we have taken gradual
steps on the path to democracy and today our exile administration has
evolved into a fully functioning democracy with a written charter of
its own and a legislative body. This is indeed something we can all be
proud of.
Since
2001, we have instituted a system by which the political leadership of
Tibetan exiles is directly elected through procedures similar to those
in other democratic systems. Currently, the directly-elected Kalon
Tripa’s (Cabinet Chairperson) second term is underway. Consequently, my
daily administrative responsibilities have reduced and today I am in a
state of semi-retirement. However, to work for the just cause of Tibet
is the responsibility of every Tibetan, and as long as I live I will
uphold this responsibility.
As
a human being, my main commitment is in the promotion of human values;
this is what I consider the key factor for a happy life at the
individual, family and community level. As a religious practitioner, my
second commitment is the promotion of inter-religious harmony. My third
commitment is of course the issue of Tibet. This is firstly due to my
being a Tibetan with the name of ‘Dalai Lama’; more importantly, it is
due to the trust that Tibetans both inside and outside Tibet have
placed in me. These are the three important commitments, which I always
keep in mind.
In
addition to looking after the well being of the exiled Tibetan
community, which they have done quite well, the principal task of the
Central Tibetan Administration has been to work towards the resolution
of the issue of Tibet. Having laid out the mutually beneficial
Middle-Way policy in 1974, we were ready to respond to Deng Xiaoping
when he proposed talks in 1979. Many talks were conducted and
fact-finding delegations dispatched. These however, did not bear any
concrete results and formal contacts eventually broke off in 1993.
Subsequently,
in 1996-97, we conducted an opinion poll of the Tibetans in exile, and
collected suggestions from Tibet wherever possible, on a proposed
referendum, by which the Tibetan people were to determine the future
course of our freedom struggle to their full satisfaction. Based on the
outcome of the poll and the suggestions from Tibet, we decided to
continue the policy of the Middle-Way.
Since
the re-establishment of contacts in 2002, we have followed a policy of
one official channel and one agenda and have held eight rounds of talks
with the Chinese authorities. As a consequence, we presented a
Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People, explaining how
the conditions for national regional autonomy as set forth in the
Chinese constitution would be met by the full implementation of its
laws on autonomy. The Chinese insistence that we accept Tibet as having
been a part of China since ancient times is not only inaccurate, but
also unreasonable. We cannot change the past no matter whether it was
good or bad. Distorting history for political purposes is incorrect.
We
need to look to the future and work for our mutual benefit. We Tibetans
are looking for a legitimate and meaningful autonomy, an arrangement
that would enable Tibetans to live within the framework of the People’s
Republic of China. Fulfilling the aspirations of the Tibetan people
will enable China to achieve stability and unity. From our side, we are
not making any demands based on history. Looking back at history, there
is no country in the world today, including China, whose territorial
status has remained forever unchanged, nor can it remain unchanged.
Our
aspiration that all Tibetans be brought under a single autonomous
administration is in keeping with the very objective of the principle
of national regional autonomy. It also fulfils the fundamental
requirements of the Tibetan and Chinese peoples. The Chinese
constitution and other related laws and regulations do not pose any
obstacle to this and many leaders of the Chinese Central Government
have accepted this genuine aspiration. When signing the 17-Point
Agreement, Premier Zhou Enlai acknowledged it as a reasonable demand. In
1956, when establishing the Preparatory Committee for the “Tibet
Autonomous Region”, Vice-Premier Chen Yi pointing at a map said, if
Lhasa could be made the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, which
included the Tibetan areas within the other provinces, it would
contribute to the development of Tibet and friendship between the
Tibetan and Chinese nationalities, a view shared by the Panchen
Rinpoche and many Tibetan cadres and scholars. If Chinese
leaders had any objections to our proposals, they could have provided
reasons for them and suggested alternatives for our consideration, but
they did not. I am disappointed that the Chinese authorities have not
responded appropriately to our sincere efforts to implement the
principle of meaningful national regional autonomy for all Tibetans, as
set forth in the constitution of the People’s Republic of China.
Quite
apart from the current process of Sino-Tibetan dialogue having achieved
no concrete results, there has been a brutal crackdown on the Tibetan
protests that have shaken the whole of Tibet since March last year.
Therefore, in order to solicit public opinion as to what future course
of action we should take, the Special Meeting of Tibetan exiles was
convened in November 2008. Efforts were made to collect suggestions, as
far as possible, from the Tibetans in Tibet as well. The outcome of
this whole process was that a majority of Tibetans strongly supported
the continuation of the Middle-Way policy. Therefore, we are now
pursuing this policy with greater confidence and will continue our
efforts towards achieving a meaningful national regional autonomy for
all Tibetans.
From
time immemorial, the Tibetan and Chinese peoples have been neighbours.
In future too, we will have to live together. Therefore, it is most
important for us to co-exist in friendship with each other.
Since
the occupation of Tibet, the Communist China has been publishing
distorted propaganda about Tibet and its people. Consequently, there
are, among the Chinese populace, very few people who have a true
understanding about Tibet. It is, in fact, very difficult for them to
find the truth. There are also ultra-leftist Chinese leaders who have,
since last March, been undertaking a huge propaganda effort with the
intention of setting the Tibetan and Chinese peoples apart and creating
animosity between them. Sadly, as a result, a negative impression of
Tibetans has arisen in the minds of some of our Chinese brothers and
sisters. Therefore, as I have repeatedly appealed before, I would like
once again to urge our Chinese brothers and sisters not to be swayed by
such propaganda, but, instead, to try to discover the facts about Tibet
impartially, so as to prevent divisions among us. Tibetans should also
continue to work for friendship with the Chinese people.
Looking
back on 50 years in exile, we have witnessed many ups and downs.
However, the fact that the Tibet issue is alive and the international
community is taking growing interest in it is indeed an achievement.
Seen from this perspective, I have no doubt that the justice of Tibet’s
cause will prevail, if we continue to tread the path of truth and
non-violence.
As
we commemorate 50 years in exile, it is most important that we express
our deep gratitude to the governments and peoples of the various host
countries in which we live. Not only do we abide by the laws of these
host countries, but we also conduct ourselves in a way that we become
an asset to these countries. Similarly, in our efforts to realise the
cause of Tibet and uphold its religion and culture, we should craft our
future vision and strategy by learning from our past experience.
I
always say that we should hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
Whether we look at it from the global perspective or in the context of
events in China, there are reasons for us to hope for a quick
resolution of the issue of Tibet. However, we must also prepare
ourselves well in case the Tibetan struggle goes on for a long time.
For this, we must focus primarily on the education of our children and
the nurturing of professionals in various fields. We should also raise
awareness about the environment and health, and improve understanding
and practice of non-violent methods among the general Tibetan
population.
I
would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude
to the leaders and people of India, as well as its Central and State
Governments, who despite whatever problems and obstacles they face,
have provided invaluable support and assistance over the past 50 years
to Tibetans in exile. Their kindness and generosity are immeasurable. I
would also like to express my gratitude to the leaders, governments and
people of the international community, as well as the various Tibet
Support Groups, for their unstinting support.
May all sentient beings live in peace and happiness.
The Dalai Lama
10 March 2009