Published by: World Tibet Network News, 96/03/10 20:00 GMT
The PRC Embassy, Washington, D.C.
March 10, 1996
I am very pleased to speak to you today where the diplomats and agents of the People's Republic of China can hear us and see us. It is important that we speak up here, so that people inside the Chinese Embassy can know that no matter what policies they impose on Tibet, no matter what methods they use to suppress the desires of the Tibetan people, the Tibetan struggle for independence will always continue. It will not end until the legitimate hopes and desires of the Tibetan people, that is, their inalienable right to independence, not some sort of "autonomy" within China, is eventually realized.
Let me be clear with all of you. No Tibetan inside Tibet is fighting for "autonomy" as a part of a Chinese federation of some sort. Tibetans in Tibet have made it clear time and time again what they mean when they fight for their country. For them, for me, and I hope for all of you, a free Tibet is a Tibet that is completely independent of China. One of the great lessons of our time is this: oppressed nations can rise again, even after decades under the harshest totalitarian attempts to eradicate their distinctive identities, cultures, and languages. And more importantly , a sense of national identity and independence can not be satisfied by weak attempts at a pathetic version of "modernization." The Tibetan desire for independence has nothing to do with any economic or social changes that some politicians propose; it is concerned only with the survival of Tibet. This can only be acheived when Tibetans are free citizens in their own independent land. Anything else is just a formula for a slow death.
If there was previously any reason to wonder about the attitude of the Chinese government, all doubts have been removed by their treatment of The Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. Not only have they refused to allow Tibetans to recognize the young Panchen Lama and treat him with the respect that he deserves, they have turned their hatred and terror on two innocent Tibetan children who are now subject to Chinese manipulation. One is Gedhun Choekyi Nyima , the real Panchen Lama recognized by His Holiness The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people; a child chosen through careful examinations and consultations. He has been taken along with his parents, away from his home in Tibet, and his whereabouts are still unknown. It is believed that he is being held prisoner with his family in Beijing. If this is true, he is now Tibet's youngest political prisoner.
The other child is the young boy who has been forced by China to serve as its official Panchen Lama, in full opposition to the already recognized Panchen Lama. Just as the Chinese authorities have forced some of Tibet's leading religious leaders to go along with their decision under threats of violence and imprisonment, so too they are forcing a young boy to serve as their puppet, without any concern for him as a person. So much for China's respect for Tibetan rights and for Tibet's religious traditions. Can anyone now doubt why Tibetan independence is an absolute necessity? What will China do next?
But independence for Tibet is neither unrealistic nor extreme. The question of what is realistic and unrealistic is simply a matter of our determination to stand by the Tibetan people inside Tibet, who are firm in their committment to safeguard the Tibetan nation for future generations of Tibetans. Just as many of the peoples of the old Soviet Union finally triumphed by standing firm on their national hopes for independence in the face of one of the strongest armies in the world, so too Tibet can triumph. This can happen if Tibetans and their supporters make our national hopes for independence the firm element that anyone concerned about "realities" must address. As for the idea that Tibetan independence is extreme, I will simply point out that Tibetans are nowhere demanding vengeance for the horrors that China has inflicted on us for more than four decades.
Moreover, an independent Tibet can certainly accomodate China's security needs and interests. This is hardly an extreme position.
Tibet must be independent and in a position to deal with China as an independent party for any future arrangements to have any validity. We cannot and will not fly half of the Tibetan flag. Our entire flag must be flown all over the world, including at the United Nations. We will not occupy one-half of a seat at the United Nations. We have the right to a full seat at the United Nations.
We are about to begin our walk for Tibet's independence, a walk that is designed to draw attention to the determination of the Tibetan people to see their true aspirations realized. There are many people who would ask us to settle for the "slow death" that any sort of so-called "autonomy" in China would bring. We totally reject this position. Not because we are extremists who refuse to listen to reason. Not because we seek vengeance against China. And, not because we have decided on our own that it's the best we can get and therefore we should resign ourselves to this defeatist position. No, we reject this position because it is not the position of the Tibetan people in Tibet. It is the Tibetans in Tibet who give us our "marching" orders and none of us should have any doubts about how they feel. If they were here, there is no question that they would also be walking for Tibet's independence. I will walk for the Tibetans in Tibet, no one else. So, here we are, about to begin our long journey to the United Na
tions in New York City. I deeply thank all of you for the enthusiasm you have brought to this gathering and our march. I look forward to walking with each of you to New York City. Now, please chant with me:
Independence for Tibet
Independence for Tibet
Independence for Tibet
Long Live Gendhun Choekyi Nyima
Long Live Gendhun Choekyi Nyima
Long Live Gendhun Choekyi Nyima
Long Live The Dalai Lama
Long Live The Dalai Lama
Long Live The Dalai Lama
BOD RGYAL-LO!
