SECOND INTERNATIONAL TIBET SUPPORT GROUPS CONFERENCE

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET

Tibet and its future

Remarks of Lodi G. Gyari, President of International Campaign for

Tibet, Washington, D.C., at the Second Tibet Support Groups

Conference in Bonn, June, 1996

Fellow activists for Tibet,

In order to discuss Tibet and its future, we, the Tibetan supporters have the important task of understanding the needs of the Tibetan people and how we can assist them in reaching their objective. In fact, His Holiness the Dalai Lama put the role of the Tibet Support Groups very succinctly when he referred to us as the fourth precious jewel of Buddhism, in addition to the traditional three precious jewels of the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha. I thought it will be good if I present all of you with a few issues which could act as food for thought.

1) As bitter as it may sound, the honest truth is that the Tibetan movement is like all other liberation movements with its own quota of friction, disagreement and internal politics. After all, the Tibetan people are human beings, too. Sometimes this is a shock to some of our supporters who seem to harbour the mistaken belief that the Tibetan people are devoid of any mundane errors. Nevertheless, what is so special about the Tibetan people and our cause is that when the national interest is involved, unlike other similar movements, we work under one leader, have one Government and speak in a unified voice.

2) Given this situation, I feel the role of the support groups is to understand the aspirations of the Tibetan people and to see how TSGs can assist in their fulfillment. I am speaking both as a Tibetan as well as the head of a major Tibet organisation of United States. We at the International Campaign for Tibet believe that decision about the future of Tibet should be best left to the Tibetan people. I am saying this because sometimes, it appears that the Tibetan people face the risk of being marginalised from decision-making on issues which are central to their struggle.

3) In the Eighties, the Tibetan Government in Exile has made a conscious effort to seek international support to the cause. This decision to internationalise, so to say, the Tibetan issue was not by choice. Rather, the lack of positive Chinese responses to the series of peaceful initiatives of the Tibetan side left no alternatives. However, even as we were seeking international support, our main objective did not change, namely to seek a negotiated solution with the Chinese Government.

4) In order to achieve our objectives, we have been using the vehicles of human rights and environment effectively. We have been able to lay a firm ground on these fields. I feel we now need to seriously think of going further by trying to get international attention to the geopolitical importance of Tibet to the world. Historically, Central Asia had a distinct political entity. In between, the Soviet Union's domination of a major partof the countries in the region combined with China's invasion of Tibet, Eastern Turkestan, etc., contributed in the gradual disappearance of Central Asia-from the world scene. But now the situation is changing. The cold war, which was a major cause for loss of attention to Central Asia, is over. The Soviet Union has disintegrated and Central Asia is re-emerging. With this the issue of Tibet also gets a new position. At this point I would like to relate a perspective on the development which Dr. Edward Luttwak, whom many of you would know, has. He said in the past the Tibetan is

sue had got frozen during the cold war. Now that it is over, the ice is melting. However, the important thing now is to see to which direction the issue heads once the ice has melted.

5)So far, we have been able to take up the Tibetan issue in our respective countries on a bilateral basis. This has had some advantages, but at the same time it has shown our weak spots. A concrete case in point is the developments at the UN Human RIghts Commission. Because issues concerning China turned out to be sensitive to individual countries of the European Union, they have taken them up jointly. I feel it will be to our advantage to seek a multi-lateral approach on the Tibetan issue. Over the years, I have been urging the United States to work for a multi-lateral position on Tibet. This is particularly relevant in the economic field. Even as I am addressing you, an intense debate is going on in the United States concerning the renewal of the Most-Favoured-Nation status to China. We have been urging the United States to take a firmer position with the Chinese Government on this issue. However, the usual answer we get is that given today's situation, if the U.S. takes any other position, most likely the

Chinese will turn to the countries in Europe who will eagerly take up the opportunity. There is some truth in this. Therefore, I would like to urge this conference to come up with a strategy for a multi-lateral approach. I have already taken the issue up with member of the State Department.

6) Lastly, so far non-Tibetans have formed the backbone of the majority of Tibet support groups and for a good reason. There was an absence of sizable Tibetan presence in the region. However, today, at least in North America the Tibetan population is increasing. Even in Europe, too, the Tibetan community is significant although not large. I believe Tibetans should be coming forward to take an active role in the activities.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the Tibetans themselves to regain their freedom.

7) Over the years, the Tibetan issue has achieved tremendous success internationally. Those gathered in this room should take rightful credit for this although we should not forget the several thousand others who were not able to make it to Bonn. However, all of us will agree that the primary credit for the success should go to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His pragmatic and realistic approach has endeared himself to leaders and people all over the world. The Dalai Lama's efforts have been supplemented by the unwavering determination of the Tibetan people, both within and outside of Tibet.

I hope my thinking aloud on some of the issues affecting us are of interest to you and I look forward to discussing these and other matters during the conference.

Tashi Delek.