Gerardo E. Martínez-Solanas
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Tibet should never be a "lost cause" - 2007/11/07 16:44
There is a tendency to give up on efforts that are perceived as “lost causes”. One of them is Tibet's plight under Chinese rule. Even the Dalai Lama, as the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, has given up on his people’s wishes for independence and is taking a very soft stance in favor of some sort of autonomy under Chinese political and military rule.
The Dalai Lama is thus trying desperately to save the cultural heritage and identity of his people. But the Chinese rulers do not even want to concede on that. The resulting repression of any kind of Tibetan self expression is ruthless.
Chinese rulers go to such extremist actions as the recent preposterous law that would sanction and punish any Dalai Lama that dares to reincarnate within China’s boundaries (wich, of course, includes Tibet).
There is a long list of abuses, but it is good to be specific by mentioning some particular cases instead of relying on the statistics only, no matter how sad and cruel they are.
Let us remember the case of Ngawang Sangdroid. She was imprisoned as a 13-year-old nun, acused of praying at a cultural festival for the long life of the Dalai Lama. She was barred to return to her nunnery upon her release, and two years later was arrested again and sentenced to three years. She shares prison cells with 13 other nuns.
Let us remember the case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, sentenced to death for “splittism”. His sentence was later commuted to life in prison.
Ringzin Wangyal was also sentenced to Life imprisonment because he organized a protest against the celebration of Tibet’s annexation by China. He died in custody.
Let us also remember the 11th Panchen Lama, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, taken into custody at age of six. He has disappeared from public sight.
Phuntsog Wangyal, one of the highest ranking Tibetans allowed in the Chinese government spent 18 years in solitary confinement. His entire family suffered as well – his wife died, persecuted and tormented, all of his children were imprisoned, his brother was actually in the same prison with him but neither of them knew it and his father died in abandon. Today he is 84-years-old, and is forced to live in Beijing, far from his land. He has been able to express his wish for a dialogue between the Dalai Lama and Chinese rulers.
Most recently, among many other abuses, scores of Tibetans has been jailed and tortured for peacefully displaying the banned old Tibet's flag. In addition, a Tibetan teacher has been jailed for “espionage” charges and for “endangering state security” because of his unpublished work titled “The Restless Himalayas”. He was able to smuggle an appeal to the United Nations claiming that “they think that what I wrote about nature and geography was also connected to Tibetan independence. But the book does not justify such a sentence by itself. Therefore, they added the accusation of espionage”.
The free World is shocked by the severity and extremism of the sentences that Tibetans face – and even more astonished to learn of how simple and inoffensive are their crimes. The Chinese authorities obstruct the flow of information to the outside world and often provide incomplete and deceptive reports to international requests.
Those of us who wish to keep informed about the Tibetan plight and how to help them, may visit www.savetibet.org. Anything anyone can do to draw attention to Tibet will help. Do not think that actions, initiatives or help you undertake are too small to make a difference.
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