B.RAMAN
The Tibetan tragedy continues. On October 4,2012, a
41-year-old Tibetan burnt himself to death at Driru [in Chinese, Biru] county
in the Nagchu prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).This is the
second self-immolation attempt reported within a week. The earlier attempt was
reported from Sichuan on September 29,2012. In the earlier incident, the fire
was put out by the police and the man taken away by them. It is not yet known
whether he survived the burns.
2. Since the wave of self-immolations demanding
freedom for the Tibetan areas of China and for the return of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama to Tibet started in March last year in the Kirti monastery of the
Sichuan province, the incident of October 4,2012, is the 53rd self-immolation.
Of these, 48 have taken place in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai
and five in the TAR.
3. According to a report disseminated
by the US Congress funded Radio Free Asia, Gudrub, who died on October 4,2012,
had returned to Tibet from Dharamshala in India in 2005.He left a
statement, titled “Brotherly Love,” on China’s online network qq.com
calling on Tibetans to maintain their
unity and courage in the face of China’s rule in Tibetan regions. The statement
said: “If we reflect on the past, we can see nothing but signs of defeat,
anger, anguish, and tears. I pray that you all have good health and success in
the coming new year of the Water Dragon. At the same time, I appeal to you to
foster unity and solidarity, and to not lose courage in spite of the defeat and
loss that we face.”
4.The two incidents were reported immediately after
an appeal to the Tibetans in China issued from Dharamshala on September
27,2012, by a group of 400 Tibetan exiles from all over the world not to resort
to the extreme step of self-immolation to express their unhappiness over the
continued occupation of Tibet by the Chinese. The Tibetan exiles had met for
four days from September 24,2012, to discuss the situation inside Tibet in the
light of the continuing self-immolations, to analyse the likely policies of the
new Chinese leadership headed by Mr.Xi Jinping which would be taking over from
the outgoing leadership headed by Mr.Hu Jintao at the 18th Party Congress
starting in Beijing on November 8,2012, and to discuss the future options
available to the Tibetan people.
5.The appeal expressed the “grave concern” of the exiles over the burnings and urged Tibetans inside
Tibet not to take “drastic actions.” It said: “Tibet is a thinly populated
country, and in the present situation losing even one life is a great loss for
the Tibetan people. Please preserve your lives in the future.”
6.The Tibetan, who attempted self-immolation on
September 29,2012, might not have been aware of the appeal, but the person who
burnt himself to death in the TAR on October 4 would have been aware. The fact
that despite the appeal from Dharamshala he burnt himself to death shows that
the appeal has had no impact inside Tibet and that the “Self-immolation For
Freedom” movement has acquired a self-sustaining momentum of its own due to the
desperate human rights situation inside Tibet.
7.The desperation is growing due to the increasingly
muted expressions of concern by the international community over the human
rights situation in the Tibetan areas in general and over the spontaneous
self-immolation movement in particular.
8.During the current Presidential campaign in the
US, Mr.Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, has been raising off and on the
adverse impact of the Chinese economy on the US economy, but references to the
violations of the human rights of the Tibetans and the self-immolations have
been absent.
9.During the Presidential debate on October 4,2012,
Mr.Romney twice referred in passing to the adverse impact of the Chinese economy
on the US economy, but Mr.Obama chose to remain silent. The next debate will be
on foreign policy, but it is doubtful whether Tibet would figure in the debate
unless Mr.Romney raises the issue on the advice of his aides.
10.The mood of desperation due to the silence of
the international community in general and the US in particular seems to be
driving more Tibetans to the extreme step of
self-immolation disregarding the
appeal from Dharamshala not to burn themselves to death.
11.The Dharamshala meeting of the representatives
of the exiles was also reported to have done a brain-storming on the likely
policies of the new Chinese leadership towards Tibet. The only straw of hope
for the Tibetans is that unlike Mr.Hu, who spent the early part of his party
career suppressing the Tibetans in the TAR, Mr.Xi, who reportedly comes from a
family which had suffered the harsh repressive policies under Mao Zedong and
during the Cultural Revolution might be a little more nuanced in his attitude
to the Tibetans.
12.Even though Mr.Xi will take over the party
leadership on November 8, he will take over the State leadership as the
President of China only during the meeting of the National People’s Congress
(NPC) in March next. It is not yet known when Mr.Hu will hand over to him the
chairmanship of the Central Military Commission of the Party which controls the
PLA. It is premature to expect any initiatives on Tibet from Mr.Xi till he
feels himself firmly in the saddle in respect of the party, the State and the
Central Military Commission. The desperation of the Tibetans will continue to
rise.
13.How to address this desperation, how to keep the
Tibetan issue alive and active and how to re-energise the conscience of the
international community on the Tibetan issue? These were the questions discussed at the Dharamshala meeting by the
exiles and a set of recommendations was made to the Tibetan
Government-in-exile.
14. A statement issued at
the end of the Dharamshala meeting said: “The meeting resolved to pursue the
Middle Way (autonomy and not independence) policy to find a meaningful solution
through dialogue with the Chinese Government.” It also called on the government-in-exile to raise awareness of the
Middle Way policy and its proposals among the Chinese people themselves.
It added that consistent appeals for
support should also be made to the United Nations, the European Union, and
other world bodies. The meeting appealed to the new Chinese leadership to end
Beijing’s hardline policies towards Tibet.
15. Thus, a three-pronged
policy is proposed to be followed: firstly, keep the peaceful satyagraha for preserving the Tibetan
identity in the Tibetan areas alive while trying to persuade the desperate
elements not to resort to self-immolation, secondly, re-energise international
support for the Tibetan cause and , thirdly, appeal to the new Chinese
leadership to jettison the hardline policies of the outgoing leadership headed
by Mr.Hu.( 5-10-12)
(The writer
is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi,
and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate
of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com Twitter @SORBONNE75)
