Article 82
Short Writings on Tibet etc
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1. TIBET VIEWED AS A WORLD SYSTEM PROBLEM
Ever since H.H. The Dalai Lama proposed the Peace Plan for the future status of Tibet in an address to the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Tibet is being viewed as a problem related to the evolution of an effective peace and security system on a global basis. This is a fundamental change and suggests that the time is ripe for an Integrated Approach to the issues of Peace, Development and Human Rights in Tibet. The subsequent address to the European Parliament audience has strengthened the growing global awareness of the problem.
2. RE-EMERGENCE OF THE UN AS A FORUM FOR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
The Iraq-Iran war–settlement scenario suggests that successful mediation by the UN is now a distinct possibility in the Tibetan case, given patience and serious efforts to utilise the evolving role of the UN in the management of international order.
This is not to deny that the UN lost interest in the Tibet problem over several decades. By there is today a return to the UN peacekeeping role and a restoration of the UN’s authority. We have to utilise the new opportunity to restore Tibet to the UN Agenda and to suggest the importance of a Tibetan solution for the new era of global harmony.
3. MIKHAIL GORBACHEV’S NEW INITIATIVE IN ASIA
In his Vladivostock speech in July 1986, Gorbachev elaborated his views for the elimination of regional hotbeds by means of political settlements. He also called for creation of nuclear free zones, and he wanted to work towards a constructive solution through an Asian conference.
Attention has focussed on Gorbachev’s efforts to improve relations with China. But it is equally clear that a solution of the Tibetan problem on the lines suggested by H.H. The Dalai Lama falls within the scope of Gorbachev’s new initiative : elimination of Tibet as a regional hotbed and movement towards a political settlement keeping in view the wishes of the Tibetan people; creation of a nuclear free zone in Tibet; and the utilisation of the contribution of the Tibetan people and HH The Dalai Lama for the advancement of durable peace in Asia.
4. THE NEW PARADIGM OF INDIAN POLITICS
The redistribution of political power within the Indian political system and the course of events for the period leading to the next General Elections favours the positive support to the proposals of HH The Dalai Lama. Apart from the CPI(M) there is developing large scale support to the Tibetan issue as an element in national policy.
The Indian political system has never been monolithic. It was possible for Jai Prakash Narayan and C. Rajagopalchari to utilise public opinion to change the policies of the Government of India on crucial issues.
Today it is generally accepted that the ongoing transformation in Indian politics at both the central and state level will produce a more plausible role for Indian public opinion to assert itself.
The Tibetan people and HH The Dalai Lama enjoy massive support among the Indian people. It is generally realised that peace cannot be maintained between India and China unless the rights of the Tibetan people are restored. Nobody in India believes in the so-called promises of the Chinese government. In the Congress Party as well as in the Opposition Parties the majority of the members are opposed to Rajiv Gandhi’s forthcoming visit to Beijing. If the China lobby can be exposed as anti-national, and HH Dalai Lama’s peace plan can be projected as a practical plan for lasting peace between India and China, the Indian political forces will unite in supporting:
1. Human Rights for Tibetans: 2. Democratic Rights and Free elections in Tibet: 3. Referring the Tibetan case to the International Court of Justice: 4. De-militarisation of Tibet: 5. Removal of nuclear weapons from Tibet: 6. Helping the economic rehabilitation of Tibet: 7. The full participation of Tibetans in all Asian forums: 8. The fullest freedom to the Tibetan people to choose their own political social, economic and religious system.
Admittedly some people in Government and outside are afraid of China. But the Indian Army and defence strategists are convinced that appeasement by India cannot diminish tensions between China and India. When the US has been compelled to leave Vietnam, the soviet Union has been forced to leave Afghanistan, most serious defence specialists in India believe that peaceful coexistence between India and China is only possible with a Chinese division to stop its illegal use of overt and covert military force in Tibet.
The most serious minded Indian politicians are of the view that a Rajiv visit to China on the lines of Chamberlain’s appeasement policy in Munich will not save India. True national security of India is dependent upon the elimination of Chinese military arsenal from Tibet and the restoration of Tibet as a human habitation for peace-loving Tibetans.
The Congress Party and Government is experiencing a serious crisis over the Tibet policy. On the one hand the China Lobby is pushing for a Beijing visit by Rajiv for the purpose of appeasement. On the other hand the senior Congress leaders remember that the Chinese are untrustworthy and by putting his trust in them Jawaharlal Nehru was led to political disaster and even to his physical exhaustion and ultimate demise. They fear that Rajiv’s China odyssey may result in total disaster, and they reject the advice of some of the rash upstarts in the Party who believe in quick-fixes.
Since the Allahabad election the Indian political scene has changed. The influence of public opinion on Indian politics has increased radically. The Indian people will support the right of the Tibetan people to find their own road to the future. What is needed is a synchronisation in the development for Indian support for the Tibetan cause.
5. ACTION PLAN
A) An immediate halt to all preparation for the proposed Rajiv visit to Beijing. The Parliamentarians must be mobilised to fight the appeasement lobby. The greed of a few unscrupulous Indian politicians who are in the pay of the Chinese must be exposed. India cannot be pushed to the brink of ruin by sacrificing its vital interests in the Himalayas. We need: (i) Publications (ii) Articles in the Press (iii) Press Release (iv) Network of Parliament and State legislatures to oppose the Rajiv visit.
B) A National discussion and support for HH The Dalai Lama’s Peace Plan.
C) All for making the UN effective on the Tibet Issue
D) Linking the Delhi Declaration on Principles for a Nuclear–Weapon–Free and Non-Violent World to the Tibet Issue.
E) Developing support for the Tibet issue in the SAARC area.
F) Utilise the emerging shift in US-USSR relations and the new thinking of Mikhail Gorbachev for a new world outlook on Tibet.
G) Developing the potentiality of Democratisation in Tibet: to develop democracy among the Tibetans in exile to provide moral ground for restoration of democracy in Tibet.
A Plan for Economic Development and Ecological Preservation of Tibet keeping in view the interests of the Tibetans.