< FREEDOM FOR TIBET/DEMOCRACY IN CHINA ! - #54 >
Newsletter on the campaigns of the Radical Party for the freedom of Tibet and the democracy on China.
"I truly believe that individuals can make a difference in society. Since periods of great change such as the present one come so rarely in human history, it is up to each of us to make the best use of our time to help create a happier world".
Tenzin GYATSO, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, 1992
Number 54 - March 17th, 1997
Editors office: Massimo Lensi, Dorottya u. 3.III.em6 - 1051 Budapest (H)Tel. +36-1-266.34.86 - 266.09.35 Fax. +36-1-11.87.937
E-mail: M.Lensi@agora.stm.it WWW-URL http://www.agora.stm.it/pr - Telnet: Agora.stm.it
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Published in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Hungarian, Croatian and Rumanian
GENEVA MARCH 9-10 1997
3,000 PEOPLE UNITE BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS FOR THE FREEDOM OF OCCUPIED TIBET. A BITTER VICTORY.
Many months of preparation, the Bonn Conference, and two important organizational reunions in Brussels and Strasbourg have consigned to the history of the movement for the liberation of occupied Tibet a manifestation which gathered approximately 3,000 people in Geneva on March 9th. Now is not the time to pronounce declarations of success, nor is it the time to announce undeserved political defeat.
We prefer in this moment, with the manifestation still fresh in our minds, to define it a "bitter" victory, a political initiative of historical importance because of its content and its participants (among them many proponents of Chinese dissidence in exile), but also a political initiative that faced many obstacles and difficulties in its organization. Nevertheless, it is a step toward Satyagraha 1998, and the global movement for the freedom of Tibet.
It is not our style to waste time analyzing errors or pretending that everything went as destiny had determined it. This "bitter" victory is in need of reflection, analysis, and organizational adjustment. The future should benefit from this experience, especially that of the last few weeks of organizational tension.
We must, however, emphasize one fact: together we had established that we would all work together to bring thousands and thousands of citizens from all over Europe to demonstrate before the gates of the United Nations in Geneva for the opening of Sino-Tibetan negotiations. The difficulties we faced trying to obtain a police permit for the march, which was definitely granted to us only nine days before March 9th, obviously complicated the preparatory work in many cities, but cannot be used as justification or excuse, when inserted into the larger context of political reflection upon the general coordination of events and the working relationship between the organizations.
The "Flag for Tibet 1997" campaign has now reached a total of 560 mayors that have committed to its support, a number that is still far from the goal of 3,000 mayors that was agreed upon at the Bonn conference. Numerous cities have dedicated streets or squares to "the freedom of Tibet." The campaigns continue and will proceed, for the moment, with the 3,000 people who have decided to dedicate hours of the lives to demonstrate for the freedom of Tibet and democracy in China. This is no small feat. As TRP Secretary Olivier Dupuis reminded us during his speech in Geneva, we must already begin to think of June 4th, and the commemoration of the massacre in Tien An Men Square, so that the date will not fall into the rhetoric of great, tragic events, and become instead another moment to seize for the purpose of nonviolent political struggle.
The battle for the freedom of Tibet and for democracy in China belongs to the political responsibility of each of us: Westerners or Easterners, European or Asiatic, Americans, Tibetans, Chinese, Buddhists, Catholics, Hindu, or Muslim, atheist or agnostic. It is up to us, all of us, to make democracy grow throughout the world.
It is necessary to end these few lines with a strong and hearty embrace to all of the people who guaranteed, among thousands of obstacles, the realization of the "2 DAYS" in Geneva: to the Communal Counselor of Geneva Regis De Battista, without whom we would have never obtained the necessary permits from the city authorities, and those who sacrificed hours, days, and entire weeks for the organization of these two days. To them, and the many who, from Lione to Padua, Brussels to Marseilles, Spalato to Vienna, Strasbourg to Frankfurt, and from Monaco to Florence who mobilized to the last, a heartfelt thank you.
Massimo Lensi
