SECOND INTERNATIONAL TIBET SUPPORT GROUPS CONFERENCE

Panel Session I

Tibet support group: Its Achievements And Expansion

statement of Mr Tempa TSERING

Tibetan Government in exile

Wasserwerk, Bonn 14-17 June 1996

Friends,

It is my great pleasure to speak to you. This gathering of more than 250 Tibet supporters from 56 countries symbolizes international concern for Tibet. On behalf of Tibetans around the world may I therefore extend my warmest greetings to you all.

EXPANSION OF TSGS:

Today the support for Tibet has reached a critical stage. The expanding Tibet movement has brought more countries under its influence. In the first TSG meeting in Dharamsala in 1990 we had delegates from 25 countries compared to 56 in this meeting. In six years the network has doubled. There are over 350 TSGs all over the world. Because of financial and logistical reasons, we have been compelled to limit the number of delegates from different regions. Had we not done this the number of participants would have been much more than what we have here.

Since the first TSG meeting there have been many regional conferences too. The North American and the European networks have been having their regular meetings. In India too there have been meetings of the Indo-Tibetan Friendship Societies, and the Himalayan Committee for Action on Tibet. Eco-Tibet conference and two world parliamentarian conventions on Tibet have also been held successfully. A lawyers' conference on Tibet produced an authoritative legal document on Tibet.

TSGs have brought together many men and women of talent and skill to the Tibet movement. Their lobbying skills, media expertise, their knowledge of the inner workings of the various bureaucracies and parliamentary procedures, their easy access to the various NG0s and the UN have empowered our movement and made it more vibrant and dynamic.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The network of TSGS, Buddhist centres, and individuals across the world working for the cause of Tibet have given our movement greater effectiveness, influence and reach. The Tibetan voice is now heard loud and clear in the various international forums. More and more NG0s are making statements on behalf of Tibet at the UN. There are increasing number of official statements from governments and resolutions by parliaments on issues relating to Tibet.

The combined efforts of the TSG movement worldwide have posed a direct challenge to the credibility and Chinese monopoly of news about Tibet. The World Tibet News has brought about an efficient sharing of news and views on Tibet. Independent reports and reviews by various TSGs on human rights, environment, nuclear missiles and waste dumping in Tibet and the Chinese population transfer policy into Tibet have done a great deal to erode the credibility of Chinese publicity on these issues.

The demonstrations and vigils organized by the TSGs either to commemorate the 1 959 Tibetan National Uprising or to protest the visits by various Chinese leaders have brought about a great deal of media coverage on the Tibet issue, and definitely contributed to increasing the awareness of Tibet in the world.

The release of Gendun Rinchen, the stopping of aid to the Panam project by the EU, the successful campaign to prevent China from getting to host the year 2000 Olympic Games, the huge media splash mode by nine Tibetan women at the UN World Women's Conference in Beijing last September, the recent Tibetan flag hoisting in many European cities, and the signature campaign for the release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the new Panchen Lama, the ongoing Toycott campaign, the boycott of toys made in China, the mushrooming of Students for Free Tibet across the campuses of America, and the recognition by governments of the power of various Tibet Support Groups as potent pressure groups all testify to the coordination and effectiveness of the worldwide movement for Tibet, and to the strength of the TSG movement.

The efforts of the TSGs have enabled the Tibetans to hold several productive and extremely meaningful dialogues with the pro-democracy Chinese groups in the west. These meetings have not only contributed to further increasing the understanding of the Tibet issue by the potential leaders of a democratic China but have increased our own admiration for these brave Chinese men and women who have a vision of China which may not be incompatible with the hopes and aspirations of the Tibetan people.

Also because of the sincere and consistent campaigns launched by the Tibet Support Groups, several Tibetan prisoners and human rights activists have received the prestigious Reebok Human Rights Award, which has given hope and courage to millions of Tibetans. Several Tibetan prisoners have also been adopted as prisoners of conscience by not only various Tibet Support Groups but also by human rights organizations.

Acts of courage, devotion and dedication from individuals have made great impact in reminding the world of the Tibetan people's struggle for freedom and justice. The name Grace Spring comes to mind. Grace started her one-woman vigil for Tibet nine years ago. Every Friday without fail she continues to stand in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. I express our heartfelt appreciation to her, and others who have undertaken similar individual initiatives on Tibet.

At the same time, I would also recognize the efforts of members of the Tibet Support Groups around the world who go to Tibet, at great risks, to document the human rights abuses of the Tibetan people. These acts not only contribute to increasing the outside world's understanding of the Tibetan tragedy, but serve as a morale booster to the Tibetans in Tibet who hope, and continue to struggle for, that their present tragedy one day will become just a bad memory compared to Tibet's future as a land of peace, happiness, prosperity and boundless goodwill to all.

Another accomplishment of the Tibet movement is the increasing number of newsletters brought out by an increasing number of Tibet Support Groups, which however small, go a long way in educating people on the Tibet issue. And with the untiring lobbying assistance of the Tibet Support Groups, Tibetans have also managed to make parliaments, international forums andorganizations around the world to pass at least 90 resolutions on the question of Tibet, which come as a breath of fresh air to Tibetans bottled up under Chinese communist occupation.

The success of the worldwide TSG movement is a vindication of the true strength and power of the citizens of the, world. It is a vindication of PEOPLE POWER. It shows that eventually it will be the people who will change the fate and destiny of our world. This is what democracy is all about: that the strength of conviction of either one individual or a group of individuals will become the rallying cry for a cause bigger than governments, bigger than the military might of a powerful nation.

The greatest achievement of the Tibet movement is our ability to place morality, nonviolence, truth, and justice on the agenda of the international community. The respect for these values is our only hope for peace and stability in the world and for a future free Tibet. It is on these values that we Tibetans have been waging our struggle for the freedom of Tibet and For dignity for our people.

PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE

Despite our achievements, the struggle ahead of us is long and hard. The issues are complex, the international political scenario is in a state of flux, the interests of governments are mainly economic, and China, in the pursuit of its perceived national interests, is seen as flexing its newfound military and economic muscle in a way which makes the whole world nervous.

Faced with such a daunting prospect, we need to work with renewed hope and courage. We must remember that all our efforts finally must concentrate to help the Tibetan people regain their lost freedom. In this struggle, nonviolence is our path and a negotiated political settlement with China our central policy. I take this opportunity to appeal to all our friends gathered here to help us launch a consistent, unrelenting campaign worldwide based on these two points.

Besides this basic issue, one of the most pressing Tibetan concerns is the ongoing Chinese population transfer policy in Tibet. All of us have thought long and hard on this issue. However, the stage has come when we need to vigorously engage ourselves in devising new means to stem and eventually reverse the tide of Chinese immigration into Tibet. The Chinese population transfer policy continues to pose as the gravest threat to the Tibetans as a distinct people. The Chinese in Tibet already outnumber the Tibetan population of six millions. Now we are receiving reports that China plans to move half a million Chinese miners into Tibet to mine the second largest deposit of copper in the world. The sudden influx of such a large number of Chinese will not only threaten the fragile ecosystem of Tibet but will further contribute to marginalising the Tibetan people.

The small technical setback for Tibet at the UN Human Rights Commission this year should not discourage us. In the recentyears we have gained a great victory because of the fact that more and more governments are becoming aware of the seriousness of the situation in Tibet. Instead we need to redouble our efforts and prepare ourselves for the coming battles at the UN in the years ahead. Because of the lobbying skills of our friends, because of their unrelenting and untiring efforts, the Tibet issue is becoming a focal point for the world body.

In Tibet the situation is getting worse. China is fastbackwarding Tibet to the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, when a midnight knock at your door spelled your doom or that of your spouse or children. The political vocabulary and rhetoric China employs to heap abuse and insult to the person of His Holiness the Dalai lama comes straight of the days of the Cultural Revolution, except even in the worst nightmare of the Cultural Revolution days did China dare question the legitimacy of His Holiness the Dalai lama's spiritual leadership of the Tibetan people. Now China questions the very spiritual authority of His Holiness the Dalai lama .

In keeping with its harsh rhetoric, China is coming down hard on the Tibetan people. In fact, the only reason why the Chinese Communist Party is still in power in China and still occupies Tibet is its effective suppression of all the fundamental human rights of both the Chinese and the Tibetan people.

In its new report, China: No One Is Safe, Amnesty International says, "Gross violations of human rights have intensified in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) since a resurgence of demonstrations other activities in favour of Tibet's independence began in September 1987... Its concerns rest with the authorities' denial of free speech and association in the region, and the persistent pattern of gross violations of other fundamental human rights in connection with the suppression of the nationalist movement."

Photos of His Holiness the Dalai lama are today banned in Tibet, and monasteries and nunneries cannot be built without official approval, which is not forthcoming because the authorities think these two institutions of Tibetan learning and knowledge are hotbeds of what they call "splittism."

Above all, the Chinese authorities are becoming increasingly distrustful of the Tibetan cadres. A recent official party document described the Tibetan cadres as "having their stomach with the party but their heart with the Dalai lama," meaning that, despite being fed and looked after by the Chinese Communist Party, the Tibetan communists continue to owe their first allegiance to His Holiness the Dalai lama.

As a consequence of this, Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, reported on 25 February 1995 that 1,000 cadres and technicians from 14 Chinese provinces would be send to Tibet to man and manage 44 key county posts in Tibet. This is an indication of the real extent of the "autonomy" enjoyed by Tibet.

Faced with such a situation, I feel that we now need to focus onfour major and specific areas in addition to the areas in which we work on for the common cause of Tibet. The first is continuing to extent the range and vigour of the Students for Free Tibet movement. This movement has seen a remarkable growth in recent years in America and now we need to make the Students for Free Tibet into a world movement.

The second is continuing in our efforts to dialogue with the pro-democracy Chinese movement. The several conferences we have had in the past several years have contributed to a better understanding and better appreciation of the efforts of both the Tibetans and the Chinese democracy movement to secure dignity and freedom for both the Chinese and the Tibetan peoples. We need now to further increase both the frequency and the range of topics to be discussed at such future meetings so that mutual distrust will be replaced by mutual respect and suspicion by understanding, for the good and prosperity of both Tibet and China .

The third is that we need to focus our international efforts in the developing world. The Chinese authorities have been accusing Dharamsala and His Holiness the Dalai lama of being a "tool" and "stooge' of "Western hostile forces." In order to show that truth and justice has support everywhere in the world, we need to increase our activities in the so-called Third World.

The fourth is to increase our efforts in Tibet. Without putting any one at risk in Tibet, we need to increase the input of literature to Tibetans in Tibet. Complementing this we need to redouble our efforts in creating more awareness of the tragedy of Tibet and Tibetans amongst Chinese masses in China. We are encouraged by our experience with the Chinese democracy movement in the free world. It has helped us in clearing their misunderstanding about Tibet. This is crucial because the Tibetan and Chinese peoples will always have to live as neighbours irrespective of the context in which the Tibetan issue is resolved.

As the human rights situation in Tibet worsens, we may use several upcoming events to spread the word about Tibet. The Olympic Games in Atlanta this year and the holding of the International Parliamentary Union's conference in Beijing this September and the handing of Hong Kong to Chinese rule next year may be events we may use to launch specific campaigns to highlight the ongoing tragedy that is taking place on the roof of the world.

Finally, His Holiness the Dalai lama has received increasing respect and goodwill across the globe. There is no better way for the world to show their respect and regard for him than by inviting him to address the UN General Assembly. We might wish to launch a campaign on this issue.

A WORD TO DESCRIBE THE TIBETAN TRAGEDY

And before I conclude I would like to make a suggestion. The Tibetan people have suffered grievously at the hands of the Chinese communists, but till now we have not succeeded in coininga word or a term to describe the enormity of the sorrow, tragedy and sadness of the Tibetan people. If our movement is to be energized, sustained, and eventually to succeed, we need to develop a vocabulary which can explain the unprecedented suffering of the Tibetan people. The African National Congress had its apartheid, a single word which describes the sin and the great wrong of racial segregation and separate development for whites and blacks. The Balkan tragedy has its ethnic cleansing, a term which brings out very forcefully and vividly the systematic attempt by those powerful and mighty to eradicate a people of a different race or religious beliefs.

The Tibetan tragedy has all these elements, including the elements from the horrors of the Jewish holocaust. How is it that we Tibetans have suffered so much and yet are unable to articulate our suffering in inspired terms?

Here are some new words which might set you thinking. First one is culturecide. The next is Tibetocide. The third and last is deshangrilized. I have jotted these done in the hope that you will, at the end of the conference, be able to come up with a much more expressive coinage.

We Tibetans have contributed only three words to the English language, lama, yak and shangrila. Today because of this conference let us give a fourth, a word most expressive of the suffering and tragedy of the Tibetan people, expressive enough to provoke a continuous and inspired literature on the subject.

Finally, while once again expressing our profound sense of appreciation and gratitude to everyone of you for your consistent devotion and solidarity for the freedom of Tibet, I appeal to all the Tibet Support Groups to increase better coordination and better understanding among yourselves as you continue to work for the cause of the Tibetan people. It will ensure more concrete results.

In the end, I wish you TASHI DELEK, and as we always say, NEXT YEAR IN LHASA.