Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Tenth Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, 10 March 1969
The tenth of March is a day of special significance to us. It is so,
not only for the Tibetans but for all those who cherish freedom and
peace as the hallmark of the highest human values. The historic revolt
of the Tibetan people which has come to be a symbol of the tenacious
determination of the Tibetan people to regain the sovereign freedom of
Tibet is a decade old. A decade is a long time indeed if we just pause
to recall the harrowing experiences of naked terror, sufferings and
nightmarish hardships undergone by those of our countrymen left in
Tibet. With each passing year, the anguish and sufferings brought about
by mans cruelty to man perpetrated on the roof of the world, have
increased in magnitude and intensity. Each new movement, whether it be
“three-antis” or “proletarian cultural revolution” or revolutionary
committee, or “thought propaganda team” has only been an instrument of
destruction under a different garb to wipe out the totality of Tibetan
identity. The situation is deteriorating at an accelerating pace,
spelling out all the characters of a grave crisis.
The Chinese Communist propaganda machinery constantly boasts of a new
life of prosperity and happiness enjoyed by the Tibetans. This is what
they want the world to believe. This is nothing but the stereotyped
Chinese Communist pattern of distorting the true facts in their bid to
deceive the people of the outside world, and to create public opinion
which would lend support to their garbled version. But, the reality of
the situation and the facts as we find them in Tibet repudiate these
shameless assertions.
In fact, there is a surging tide of dissatisfaction and opposition to
be seen in all spheres of activities–in words, thoughts and actions.
Increasing number of Tibetan youth trained and indoctrinated in China
are publicly denouncing the very presence of the alien rulers, and
participating in acts of sabotage and other anti-Chinese activities.
To the Chinese Communists, Tibetan lives are of no value except as the
hewers of wood and drawers of water. The Chinese conception of Tibetans
is that they are as good as mechanical robots. Not to speak of
fundamental rights, a Tibetan is denied even the right to exist as a
human being. Tibetans continue to be subjected to inhuman treatment and
atrocities resulting in a heavy toll of lives. Yes, the one enduring
fact is that as the measures of persecution grow in intensity, so has
their determination to resist the aggressor. With an unshakeable
confidence and strength of mind they are all waiting for the day when
their country can be free again. In the recent period, reports have
reached us that the movement of resistance has even spread to the
prisons and concentration camps. Indifferent to the wrath and fury of
the Chinese guards, Tibetans condemned to prison cells and labour camps
keep up their morale by talking among themselves about the facts of
Tibet being an independent nation and the armed violations of Tibetan
sovereignty by the Chinese Communists. Those of the prisoners who have
read about the history of Tibet are asked by other fellow mates to
speak to them about the political history of free Tibet. Criticism and
dislike of the alien rule are voiced by the prisoners and other
enslaved people through songs which soon spread like a wildfire. The
suffering people left in Tibet look up to us. To them we are a symbol
of their hopes and aspirations in the fulfilment of the cherished goal
of national freedom. It is for this reason that we have been making
every effort to fulfil the hopes and trust that have been placed in us
by our countrymen in Tibet.
The Tibetan question was raised several times in the United Nations.
Constant efforts are being made to arouse the conscience of the world
to the anguish and suffering in which the innocent people of Tibet are
being subjected, and to make known the true facts of Tibet. Likewise,
we have adopted a number of other measures to draw support and sympathy
for our cause.
One should not be oblivious of the fact that the prime necessity of our
waging a relentless struggle emerges from the gravity of the situation
that has gripped our country, Tibet. It is because people in Tibet have
fallen in the abyss of mental and physical miseries going beyond the
limit of human endurance, and yet fired by the determined will to live
as free people again that we have taken upon ourselves the great and
sacred responsibility of unmitigated continuation of the national
struggle. There is no point in our participation as a key figure in the
national struggle for freedom if the masses of people left in Tibet
were contented and at peace as the Chinese claim.
When the day comes for Tibet to be governed by its own people, it will
be for the people to decide as to what form of government they will
have. The system of governance by the line of the Dalai Lamas may or
may not be there. It is the will of the people that will ultimately
determine the future of Tibet. In particular, the opinion of the
forward-looking younger generation will be an influential factor.
While mindful of the great responsibility that has fallen upon our
shoulders, I call upon my countrymen to be wide awake to the
developments that are taking place in this fast-changing world. There
are many ways in which we can contribute our share to the enrichment of
human knowledge. The scope, wealth and opulence of our own culture and
learning are vast. Today, more and more people are giving their time
and energy to the study and practice of the higher spiritual values.
The philosophy of Buddhism, in particular, is attracting the attention
of a growing number of people. People make great sacrifices, undergo
travail and hardships, in their efforts to dig out and study the wisdom
of Buddhist teachings. It is fortunate for us that our system of
learning has diligently retained the complete Buddhist teachings
including the profound and subtle subject of philosophy. And, we do not
have to take the help of another language in understanding the subtle
and deep meanings outlined in it. Our younger people should realise the
value of these facilities. I hope more of our youths will make use of
these rare facilities so as to contribute our mite to the world of
learning and spiritual cultivation.
During the past ten years of our exile, much has been achieved in the
education and rehabilitation of our people. The process of
rehabilitation is fast nearing completion. When this is complete,
attempts should be made to achieve continued progress in the standard
of living. We owe much to the government and the people of India for
their sympathy and magnanimity which have made possible the favourable
conditions we enjoy today. At the same time, it is essential for us who
have been able to reach free countries to strive for the liberation of
the majority of the Tibetan people still suffering under the yoke of
Red Chinese oppression, and, towards the achievement of a free Tibet
governed by Tibetans themselves. I call upon my countrymen to
rededicate themselves to this sacred task. Whether Tibet will be free
and independent in the near future depends on the efforts of the
Tibetan people themselves.
The Chinese believe that all activities can be achieved only through
violent means. That is why they are giving military training to the old
as well as the young. They consider that the acquiring of arms, digging
of trenches in strategic areas and the building of roads are the
essential groundwork of military preparedness. Moreover, they believe
in and strive towards the achievement of these goals purely through the
application of Mao’s teachings, assuming that these teachings contain
the quintessence of wisdom. But as it is impossible for millions of
people to think on the same line as one person, Red China is facing
today, from what we learn from various sources, an enormous problem of
ideological differences among the elder leaders who have for many years
stood firmly and faithfully with Mao. The total outcome of these has
been the creation of strife and dissension of a magnitude unknown in
the past.
It is necessary for the Chinese leadership to remember that oppression
has never, anywhere, succeeded in suppressing the eternal desire of
people to live as free men; free to think their own thoughts, free to
act as they consider best for the common welfare and live as human
beings and not as robots or slaves. Even if the Chinese leave nothing
but ashes in our sacred land, Tibet will rise from these ashes as a
free country even if it takes a long time to do so. No imperialist
power has succeeded for all time to keep other people in colonial
subjection for so long.
The Dalai Lama
March 10, 1969