(The Nation, Nairobi October 7, 1999)

The Dalai Lama: Exactly what Is KENYA'S Foreign Policy?

By David Makali

"It is not possible to find peace in the soul without security and harmony between peoples." -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

On September 25, President Moi announced at a public rally in Mau Narok that Kenya would not allow the Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, to visit Kenya "for whatever reason".

Perhaps it is because many Kenyans do not understand the import of President Moi's fiat that there has been little public response. Yet his announcement marks another critical foreign policy stance for Kenyan people in the post-Cold War era. It is the third major controversial stand taken by the government in the last three years.

The first was the handling of the suspects of the August 7, 1998, terrorist bombing of the United States embassy in Nairobi. Eventually, the suspects went on trial in the United States in spite of arguments that the crimes had been committed against Kenyans and were punishable under Kenyan law.

The second instance related to the mysterious circumstances that led to the Kenya government handing over Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdish Workers Party, PKK, to Turkey, which tried and sentenced him to death.

These two events underline what appears to be a consistent thread in Kenya's position in international affairs. Kenya seeks to be seen as a sovereign player in global politics, responsible for its own affairs but malleable to the whims of the mighty super-powers in the pursuit of international causes prescribed by themselves.

At another level, Kenya is one of the many beggar nations of the South often heard paying lip-service to justice, liberation and independence struggles for the oppressed people of the world. The Dalai Lama's case exposes this double-faced hypocrisy.

Many average Kenyans may not understand or even know about the existence of Tibet. But the story of Tibet is perhaps one of the 20th Century's most compelling stories of a people's struggle for identity and freedom from oppression.

Their country, Tibet, was forcibly occupied by Chinese government forces in 1950 following the October 1 revolution whose 50th anniversary was celebrated last week. But China, the most populous nation in the world, did not just occupy Tibet, it imposed a treaty on it and systematically embarked on suppression of the Tibetan culture.

The right of more than six million people to self-determination was extinguished overnight. Many Tibetans fled from persecution for their political beliefs and restriction to travel abroad. It is no secret that China has failed to observe three resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly (1959, 1961, 1965), calling for respect to the human rights and right to self-determination of the Tibetan people.

It has ignored proposals for restoration of Tibetan independence continues to use Tibet, regarded as the roof of the world, for nuclear tests and waste-dumping. The non-violent struggle of the Tibetan people for freedom has won international support and many heads of state and political leaders around the world (more than 45) have received the Dalai Lama, their leader, with open arms.

In 1996, President Nelson Mandela of South African received the Dalai Lama at his official residence in Cape Town. Like Mandela, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his peaceful crusade to free the Tibetan people.

Born Lhamo Dhondrub in 1935 in north eastern Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso is considered the incarnation of the Buddha, the Holy Lord of Compassion and founder of Buddhism.

He assumed political leadership of the Tibetan state in November 1950 after 80,000 troops of Mao Zedong's Red Army invaded and forcibly occupied his country. He fled to India in 1954 following the Chinese army's brutal suppression of the Tibetan National Uprising and settled at Dharamsala where he set up a government in exile in 1960, complete with a parliament to which Tibetans elect representatives directly.

He has remained not only the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people but is a living symbol of hope for many oppressed people of the world. His government in exile, through which thousands of Tibetans have established schools at home and abroad to keep their culture and way of life alive, is a model for the stateless people of the world. Most Tibetan refugees live in Nepal, Canada, India and Europe.

There is no Tibetan resident in Kenya and the Dalai Lama's planned visit was purely private and non-political. According to his office, he was to take a rest and enjoy the Kenyan fauna and flora with two days in the Mt. Kenya region and three days in the Maasai Mara.

He was to preach to an estimated 50 Buddhists at the KICC amphitheatre and deliver another public lecture at the Grand Regency Hotel.

The Dalai Lama's visit would have raised awareness about the plight of more than six million Tibetans living at home and abroad for whom moral and material support is crucial. However, it is difficult to see how this would have strained the diplomatic ties between Kenya and China as President Moi would have Kenyans believe. After all, how different is Tibet from Yasser Arafat's Palestine, Nelson Mandela's South African or Sam Nujoma's Namibia, which the Kenya government has given moral, diplomatic and material support?

Evidently, the relations between South Africa and China were not strained by Mandela's hosting the Dalai Lama. In fact, Mandela was thereafter received heroically in Beijing! Mr. Tashi Phuntsok, the Dalai Lama's representative in Middle East and Africa, says Kenya's foreign ministry had in fact approved the visit after a series of meetings, written and oral correspondence.

A letter dated 11 August, 1999, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives the nod: "This is to let you know that His Holiness is welcome to visit Kenya. We have no doubt that Kenya's flora and fauna will provide a well deserved rest for his Holiness."

So, what happened? President Moi's abrupt about-turn raises questions as to whether his government is advised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It has been suggested that in the case of Abdulla Ocalan, Foreign Affairs Minister Bonaya Godana's advice not to hand over the fugitive was ignored. Is this yet more evidence that Kenya's foreign policy is in a shambles?

It is important that Kenyans understand and look critically at the foreign relations of their government to make sure it projects their true aspirations in the world.

Suppose the Kenya government were to pose as a donor to other countries and give away money that it may have stolen from its poor people, would Kenyans approve of it?

The next time the government issues such an edict in the name of the people, perhaps Kenyans will consider asking one question. Why?

The question the Dalai Lama posed to a conference in Vienna in 1993 is food for thought: "When we demand the rights and freedoms we so cherish, we should also be aware of our responsibilities. If we accept that others have an equal right to peace and happiness as ourselves, do we not have a responsibility to help those in need?"

*David Makali is the editor of eXpression Today, a local media journal.