Published by: World Tibet Network News 97/12/02

Source: Indian Express

Date: Tuesday, December 02 1997

Author: Jyoti Malhotra

Over the 40 years since the Dalai Lama escaped Chinese repression in Tibet, exchanging the Potala for more modest lodgings in Dharamsala, thousands of Tibetans have continued to re-enact that terrible voyage. Monks and lay people, some even in their teens, measuring their desperation against the severe Himalayan winter, challenging mountains and blizzards and frostbite, reach the border between Nepal and China every year. They prefer the winter trek because they know the Chinese soldiers now have their guard down. They are welcomed by a

reception committee of Tibetans (mainly funded by the Americans), then sent onwards to where their God-king lives in exile in the shadows of the Dhauladhar ranges in Himachal Pradesh. Here the Indian Government has, many many years ago,

donated land to set up a Tibetan school, a religious centre, housing etc.

Thousands of miles away, in Washington, the first stirring of a new US policy on Tibet-China is making itself felt. A special coordinator for Tibet has been appointed by the Government on October 31. His name is Gregory Craig, he's a human rightswallah (member of the International Human Rights Law group) and an old pal of the powerful US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. And he's been in Delhi twice in the past two months.

The Dalai Lama, spending his 38th winter in India, is closely watching the unfolding of events that might yet have an impact on his own future and that of his mountain kingdom. It's like watching a scroll unroll, but so far the fabric only reveals inscrutable Chinese characters.

``I consider this appointment the result of sympathy and concern that has been expressed by the Government in the US and the people at large. They want a dialogue to take place with the Chinese Government. I am ready and willing to unite with the People's Republic of China,'' the Dalai Lama said in an interview. (See box) Six years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union,

the US Government's appointment on Tibet amounts to an act of pressure on Beijing, foreign policy observers here say. Even if Washington today has a far more realistic view of the Sino-US relationship than the wide-eyed perspective adopted by human rights groups, the fact that the reigning superpower has identified an outlying province of China, Tibet, with mass repression, and

has spoken of the need to provide ``genuine autonomy'' to its people, these observers say, sound like familiar warnings to students of Cold War history.

``In my new position, I will coordinate US Government efforts on Tibetan issues to ensure they are as effective as possible,'' Craig recently told the International Relations Committee of the US Congress. ``I will devote special attention to promoting substantive dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama...I will, furthermore, seek to travel to the region, so that I can assess for myself the circumstances on the ground in Tibet,'' he added.

When Craig does go, he will be the first US official doing so since Assistant Secretary John Shattuck went there in 1993.

Interestingly enough, the US appointment has struck many chords in the Indian Government. Some feel that New Delhi could well use US interest in the Dalai Lama (who lives here) as well as concomitant Chinese displeasure with that fact, to score a few points with Beijing. After all, not only does China refuse to

recognise Sikkim as an integral part of India (maps as recent as three months ago show it outside India's frontiers), it continues to quietly fund the Pakistani nuclear weapons programme.

``Of course, the US appointment amounts to leverage for India. Even if we don't do anything about it today, the fact that the Dalai Lama lives in India means that the option of playing that card at some future point always exists,'' one official said.

Others, however, feel it would amount to ``rank adventurism'' for New Delhi to attempt to tease Beijing on Tibet. Their worry stems from the fact that China has shown its capacity to create trouble in the North-East by funding Manipuri and Naga insurgents and that India cannot exchange ephemeral advantages for real trouble. Meanwhile, the Chinese have already made clear their conditions

for holding a dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Chinese President Jiang Zemin repeated in the US in October that talks with Tibetan authorities can only take place if the Dalai Lama declares he will abandon all pro-independence thought and action, as well as acknowledge that even historically, his kingdom has always been a part of China.

The Dalai Lama is having none of that. ``What is past, is past, I don't want to bring it up again. But how can I ever say that Tibet has never been independent. That would be a lie, since in the 1914 Simla conference, Tibet was one of the three represented parties, apart from China and British India.''

"I am ready to unite with China"

* I have never felt let down by the Indian Government, even though I feel that (vis-a-vis the Chinese) they're overcautious. But under the circumstances, the Government's limitations are understandable, because in its relations with the Chinese, a number of issues like the border issue are still not resolved. Both sides are trying to improve relations.

* On the other hand, the Indian Government has done as much as they could have in setting up schools for Tibetans, religious centres, preservation of Tibetan culture...I am greatly appreciative of this, because since I came here in 1959 I have been treated not like a refugee, but like a guest.

* My position on unification with China is that as far as the future is concerned, I am ready and willing to unite with the People's Republic of China. In fact in 1992, I wanted to make a short visit to Tibet, and I publicly announced that Tibet is a part of China.

* As far as the historical status of Tibet is concerned, however, it is not as simple as the Chinese Government has made it out to be. In the Simla conference of 1914, there were three parties, Tibet, China and British India. The Chinese do not recognise that conference, but I want to say that if we start touching history now there will be a lot of complications. n If we unite with China, we

might be able to share the material benefits of progress with our Chinese brothers and sisters. But for our spiritual preservation, we need genuine autonomy.

* The Chinese need not fear any danger of separation from the Tibetans. And we should not fear any danger of extinction from the Chinese side.

* I consider the US appointment of a special coordinator on Tibet to be a result of concern and sympathy expressed by not only the US Congress but also the people.

* The possibility of a dialogue with the Chinese always exists. In the long run I am very optimistic, but in the short run it is very difficult to say.* No, I don't miss the Potala palace or Tibet, even though I feel that my presence there would help counter the threat that Tibetan-Buddhist culture and spirituality is facing. There is a saying in Tibetan, if the place you're staying in is beautiful, if the people have a warm and welcoming attitude that place you can

consider your home. So my home is here.