att. "Slobodna Dalmacija"

Budapest 12th November 1996

Respectable Sirs,

It is very interesting to note the Chinese Ambassador's reaction to the interview of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in your esteemeted paper. Not so surprisingly it contains no direct reaction to His Holiness' considerate and thoughtful suggestions for solving the Tibet issue. Regrettably, the Ambassador took the opportunity to put across their propaganda materials against His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people again.

I do not feel the need to react to Chinese propaganda which always contains wholly false and imaginary stories about Tibet. I am sure your readers are wise enough to differentiate between facts and propaganda. However, there are some points where I feel it is necessary to comments to put the record straight.

I

The size of historical Tibet inhabited by Tibetans is 2.5 million sq.km. In a pure colonial way the Chinese authorities divided up Tibet into five portions, as soon as they invaded Tibet, leaving only 1.2 sq.km as the "Autonomous Region of Tibet". The Tibetans inhabiting in the historical Tibet numbered six million. If we are to go by the Chinese claim of Tibet and Tibetans, even His Holiness the Dalai Lama becomes a Chinese as he was born in the Tibetan provinces of Amdho which is no more in the so called Autonomous Region of Tibet.

It is absurd to say that Tibet had been part of China for over seven hundred years. This claim has far wider designs than Tibet. Chinese Authorities have claimed recently that Tibet became part of China since the Mongols invaded China and that the same Mongols exerted some influence over Tibet during the 13th century. If we are to go by this claim many nations of Asia are part of China. It is as absurd as Hungary claiming sovereignity over Croatia just because these two countries have been invaded by the Turks at the same period in their respective history.

II

The Ambassador tried to paint an imaginary slave State of Tibet to justify their illegal occupation. First, the story about slavery is so wild and full of fantasies that it is simply not worth answering them. But several questions naturally arise.

If the situation in Tibet was so bad before their invasion and that the Tibetans are truly liberated and happy in Tibet now, why is it that Tibetans after 40 years still long for the Dalai Lama to the extent that the Chinese Government banned the possession of the picture of His Holiness the Dalai Lama? Why are they so afraid of a 6 year old boy since he is recognized as the Panchen Lama by His Holiness the Dalai Lama? What is the need to swamp up Tibetan population in a sea of Chinese who are being transfered from China? Why is it that the Chinese could not find even a single Tibetan from the masses to a position of real power in China or in Tibet?

The fact is that human rights violation has been taking place in Tibet in an unprecedented scale since the Chinese occupation of Tibet: 1.2 million Tibetans died of unnatural death as a direct result of their invasion. Over six thousand monasteries and temples have been completely destroyed. Tibetans are having to live under colonial rule without any basic freedom. The whole nation is enslaved now.

The Chinese proudly claim that both Tibetan and Chinese languages are taught and used in schools and offices. What is the need to teach Chinese? Tibetan language and literature are extremely advanced and rich. Tibetans did not need a second language for over two thousand years of their existence as a nation. Why should they need Chinese now?

The Chinese claim of spending so much for the upkeep of Tibetan treasures such as the Potala. Why and for whom? Potala was shelled extensively in 1959. Tibetans do believe that it was almost a miracle that it did not collapse during the several days of shelling. Then there were reports of dynamite used to excavete military banker underneath of Potala Palace. These irresponsible actions of the Chinese have caused damage to Potala. Tibetans have nothing to be grateful to the Chinese for the recent "renovation". If values of treasures of each of the six thousand monasteries and temples destroyed by the Chinese are to be calculated, it is simply immeasurable. Some Tibatans from Lhasa suggest tht even treasure looted from Potala itself alone could cover several times of recent restoration works. Now, Potala is being used as a museum for tourists collecting hundreds and thousands of yuans each year. I doubt the money generated from Potala will be used for the benefit of Tibetans. In any case it is a deliberate ins

ult to the Tibetans to use one of their holiest palaces as a museum.

Chope Paljor Tsering

Representtive of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

(for Middle, South-Eastern Europe and the Baltic Countries)