Olympic Torch Highlights Tibet
Protesters’ Voices Drown Dalai Lama’s Silence
The world trip of the Olympic flame has replaced the sporting spirit with an anti-China message, but the Dalai Lama's spirit seems lower than most.
Protests on the route of the Olympic torch have brought the fate of Tibet to the front of the political agenda, but the Dalai Lama has remained strangely silent throughout the last few months.
In what has been an ideal opportunity for a defiant stand in the tradition of Martin Luther King or Gandhi, the exiled leader of Tibet has stayed as silent as his supporters have been vociferous.
The China-Tibet Situation
China sent in thousands of troops to enforce its claim on the region in 1950. Some areas became the Tibetan Autonomous Region and others were incorporated into neighbouring Chinese provinces.
In 1951, the Tibetan representatives, under Chinese military pressure, signed a seventeen-point agreement with the Chinese Central People's Government affirming China's sovereignty over Tibet.
Before 1959, the present extent of the Tibet Autonomous Region was governed by the government of Tibet headed by the Dalai Lama. Since 1959, after a failed anti-Chinese uprising, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet and set up a government in exile in India. Most of Tibet’s monasteries were destroyed in the 1960s and 1970s during China's Cultural Revolution. Thousands of Tibetans are believed to have been killed during periods of repression and martial law.
Beijing claims a centuries-old sovereignty over the Himalayan region. But the allegiances of many Tibetans lie with the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, seen by his followers as a living god, but by China as a separatist threat.
Flame route and the protesters
The flame has so far brought protests in every city and country it has been on its journey; and as the route has progressed to different cities, authorities have responded to anti-China and Free Tibet Movement protests by making the route shorter and quicker with an increasing amount of security.
Most recently, Chinese authorities have agreed a shoot-to-kill policy with Nepalese guards if any protester should attempt to stop the flame reaching the summit of Mount Everest on its final journey.
The protests so far, some of which have been violent and been met with violence, have put local authorities and flame-bearers under increasing pressure.
The effect of the protests
Protesters have highlighted the amount of opposition to China’s rule of Tibet and the violence used to suppress opposition. While there has always been disagreement about the treatment of Tibet, recent events mean it’s been brought to the forefront of the world, the media and global politics. No-one can now claim ignorance as even Buddhist monks have voiced opposition.
Yet the Dalai Lama has been strangely silent as the voices echo around him. As the world’s political leaders score points, supporters of an independent Tibet protest loudly on the streets and other religious leaders speak out.
In March, the Dalai Lama spoke of his helplessness at the situation. “I do feel helpless,” he told a news conference. “I feel very sad, very serious, very anxious. Cannot do anything.” (The New York Times)
Conclusion
Despite being a mainly secular society, China also prides itself on its Buddhist roots. Yet how one Buddhist nation can treat another in the way it treats Tibet is beyond belief. Even the Dalai Lama appears to have lost the will to fight and his silence has been overtaken by the voice of the world speaking out on behalf of his country.
It’s a sorry state when such strong religious leaders are reduced to such secular support.
