One step closer to a solution for Tibet

10 maart 2010

Today, the Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibetan people, gave his yearly 10 March statement in Dharamsala, where he lives in exile since 1959. Today, the Dalai Lama invited Tibetan officials working for the Chinese government to visit Tibetan communities in the free world to understand the aspirations of the Tibetans living in exile in India, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Switzerland and other countries. This new initiative, mirroring Chinese initiatives, is aimed at building bridges and enhancing understanding between Tibetans living in Tibet under Chinese rule and Tibetan refugees abroad. Though recently the Dalai Lama has been pessimistic about achieving a solution for Tibet in his lifetime, he perseveres in his attempts to find a peaceful solution. Tibetans see some reason for optimism. During the ninth round of talks between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, in February this year, the Tibetan envoys concluded that: "we do not see any reason why we cannot find common ground on these issues." The talks identified stability as the common goal though both sides diverged starkly on how to achieve it.

Most significantly, the ninth round of talks included for the first time Tibetans from the Tibetan areas outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. Most Tibetans live in these outlying areas, formerly known as Kham and Amdo but now incorporated into Chinese provinces and not part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The fact that Tibetans from these areas were included is significant because in the Tibetan memorandum for genuine autonomy, which the Dalai lama presented to the Chinese government last year, seeks autonomy for all Tibetans living in the Tibet Autonomous region and in these adjacent areas.

The broadening of the representation of Tibetans is in line with the outcome of the fifth Work forum, a top-level strategic meeting of the Chinese leadership on Tibet, which concluded that the lives of all Tibetans needed to be improved through development of all Tibetan areas. The so-called Work-Forum for the first time decided to implement their policies "uniformly" in all Tibetan areas. This is a significant departure of past policies which denied the existence of a Tibetan people outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. Creating a common understanding among Tibetans and unity of effort between the exile community and the Tibetans living in China is crucial to finding a solution for the Tibetan issue. It has been more than sixty years since China occupied Tibet and more than 50 years since the first resolution on Tibet was passed by the UN General Assembly. For decades, the Chinese authorities have used Tibetans in their delegations to international gatherings to show that Tibetans are happy in Tibet. The large-scale March 2008 demonstrations against decades of Chinese misrule in Tibet, particularly in the outlying Tibetan areas in Chinese provinces, showed this is not the case. The Chinese leadership has now acknowledged this. Development, however, is not the answer to the problem though it is badly needed. In his 10 March statement, the Dalai Lama emphasized that the Tibet-issue is not the result of a dispute between Tibetans and Chinese but the result of the "ultra-leftist policies of the Chinese Communist authorities." He urged "Tibetans everywhere to build closer relations with the Chinese people." The Dalai Lama has cautioned against placing "our hopes in material progress alone" and urged vigilance against "progress that could damage our precious culture and language and the natural environment of the Tibetan Plateau." Tibet is important to China's stability. Social instability is what China likes to avoid at all costs. Social stability is not achieved though tightening security and "merciless repression" and neither through economic prosperity alone. Real social stability in Tibet is achieved through finding a way for Tibetans and Chinese to live together harmoniously while safeguarding Tibetan culture and way of life. That includes the Dalai Lama, who, for many Chinese is a spiritual leader they would like to see back in their country.