Tokyo: Discussions for the good of Tibet’s future is of paramount importance rather than engaging in making distorted claims about the history of Tibet which Kalon Tempa Tsering said the government of People’s Republic of China should leave to the historians to judge.
Kalon Tempa Tsering, who is His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s representative in New Delhi Bureau, accompanied by Kasur Jetsun Pema, is on a fortnight visit to Japan at the invitation of Japanese supporters. They briefed reporters from international news agencies and local Japanese media at a press conference organised by Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kalon Tempa Tsering said if PRC claims to have turned Tibet from a so-called “Feudal Serfdom into Socialist Paradise”, it should be opened to the world to see what the paradise is like. “The fact that Tibetans are even now risking their lives crossing the dangerous Himalayan ranges is a clear indication that death is better than this ‘Socialist Paradise’,” he added.
Briefing on the dialogue process between the Chinese government and the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he said it was founded on China’s late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s suggestion that ‘apart from independence, all issues can be discussed’.
Kalon Tempa Tsering said in October 2008 the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama had presented the ‘Memorandum on genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people’ to the Chinese government in accordance with their suggestion to His Holiness about the nature of autonomy. Later, to clarify the doubts and concerns of the Chinese leadership, the envoys submitted a ‘Note on the Memorandum’ to their Chinese counterparts during the ninth round of dialogue in Beijing in January this year.
Despite any positive response from the Chinese government, the Tibetan side has reiterated its commitment to continue the dialogue process, he added.
He termed the so-called Order no. 5 issued by the Chinese government on Management Measures for the Reincarnation of ‘Living Buddhas’ in Tibetan Buddhism as “total interference and unreasonable”. “How can a government that does not believe in religion think of giving approval to something as sacred as reincarnation issue?” he said.
On military build-up at Indo-China border, he said that the Tibet has been a peaceful buffer for centuries, now with this buffer gone, the increased military activities in the region is dangerous not only for India but also for neighbouring Asian countries in the regions.
He further said the issue of Tibet will remain alive with or without the Dalai Lama, as Tibetan youngsters’ hard work and dedication in and outside Tibet are living testimony to this trend.”
Thanking the Japanese friends for giving him the valuable opportunity to address the issue of Tibet, he said that Tibet is an issue of justice, freedom, non-violence and peace. “These principles being fundamental to all; Tibet issue is a universal issue that affects the whole world,” he added.
Speaking of education in the exile community, Kasur Jetsun Pema said: “Tibetans in exile have worked hard to preserve their unique language with special emphasis on introducing Tibetan as the medium of instruction in the schools.”
They attended a reception hosted by the Liaison Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Tokyo and Japanese supporters at Joenji Temple in Shinjuku. Around seventy people took part in the gathering.
They will take part in discussion forums and give public talks on Tibet issue, including the education of Tibetans, in Tokyo, Ishikawa-ken and Okinawa prefecture.
–Report filed by Tokyo-based Liaison of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan and East Asia