by Henry Gekonde

IUPUI Sagamore - Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis

(a link to this article can be found at: http://www.sagamore.iupui.edu/current/29-tibet.html)

47 years of China's illegitimate presence in Tibet has led to millions of deaths, turned thousands into refugees and ruined a once thriving Buddhist culture.

MAP-MAKING IS POLITICS. Tibet does not exist as an independent country on most maps produced in the United States, but friends of this formerly independent Buddhist theocracy of six million people (controlled by China since 1950) have made sure the Tibetans' yearning for independence remains on our political-map consciousness for the rest of time.

From the comfortable grove of academe to exhibitionist Hollywood and even to the corrupt halls of the U.S. Congress, people devoted to peace and justice have made the land of the Buddhas the perfect symbol of the human will to be free. You can find some version of "Students for a Free Tibet" on many university campuses and Hollywood has taken up the Tibetan cause.

But even with the efforts of such interest groups as the Tibet House, the Free Tibet Campaign and the International Tibet Independence Movement, most people who think of themselves as well-informed fail to understand Tibet's quest for independence.

"Tibet is part of China," asserts Rlee Johnson of Indianapolis, a Vietnam veteran who also argues for Saddam Hussein's 1991 abortive attempt to annex Kuwait.

Tibetan culture is distinct from Chinese culture, and one needs to understand the former and what the Chinese invaders have done to it to understand the Tibetan situation.

Until the Chinese invasion of 1949 Tibet was an independent country that had no contact with the outside world. Buddhism, a distinct language and literature, and an agreeable balance with nature kept the Tibetans together. The Dalai Lama was the political and spiritual leader of his people. The system had endured for thousands of years.

In 1951 the Tibetans signed an agreement with the Chinese authorities in which the Chinese promised not to interfere with Tibet's existing system of government. There was an even earlier agreement between China and Tibet - the agreement of 823 A.D.

By 1960, however, the Chinese had ignored all the points of both treaties and were already trying to integrate Tibet into the Chinese communist system.

The following is part of the impact of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, according to pro-Tibet activists:

Settlement of Chinese migrants in Tibet (some 7 million of them) have turned the Tibetans into minorities in their own country.

More than 1 million Tibetans have died through torture and executions during the occupation.

Nearly one quarter of a million Tibetans live as refugees outside Tibet.

There is an estimated 1 million Chinese troops occupying Tibet.

Over 5000 monasteries have been destroyed by Chinese authorities, and religious expression is suppressed.

China has renamed two of Tibet's three provinces as part of the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan.

As the world's powerful nations talk trade with the Chinese, the latter continue their repression of the Tibetans.

Writes Bernard Levin in the Sept. 20, 1996 edition of the Times of London: "Three monks were shot and injured by the 'security forces;' several others in the party had broken legs, head wounds and severe beatings. Why? [These monks and nuns] want nothing but a tiny handful of food and the time to meditate."

There is something the mighty United States can do to help the Tibetans. No one I know suggests a U.S. invasion of Tibet; a war with China would be disastrous. As we all know, America's two recent interventions in Asia - in Vietnam and Korea -were both shameful fiascoes. The United States can't win a ground war with China.

What then should the United States do? We should put Tibet on the table in any talks with the Chinese about human rights. But the Clinton administration is unlikely to do that; trade links with China promise returns in billions of dollars for America's multinational corporations. And if the Americans don't trade with the Chinese, the eager Europeans would. That is precisely why Vice President Al Gore rewarded China with a state visit last month. The Tibetans, sadly, are mostly on their own.

Forwarded by Larry Gerstein, Director, ITIM