October 29

Through My Eyes

Saturday October 29

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he continues explaining the Five-Point Peace Plan!)

" The vast occupation force in Tibet is a daily reminder to Tibetans of the oppression and suffering they have experienced. A troop withdrawal would be an essential signal that in the future a meaningful relationship might be established with the Chinese, based on friendship and trust.

Unfortunately, Peking read this first part of my proposal as a move towards separation, though it is not so in my mind. All that I meant by it is the logical conclusion that if there is to be genuine harmony between our two peoples, then one side or the other must make a concession or at least some conciliatory gesture. And since Tibet is the aggrieved party, because we Tibetans have lost everything, we have nothing to offer the Chinese. Therefore, it is reasonable to offer the Chinese. Therefore, it is reasonable that, in order to bring about an atmosphere of mutual trust, those people who carry the rifles ( whether these rifles be hidden or not) should be withdrawn. That is what I mean by a zone of peace : simply an area where no one carries weapons. Not only will this help to create trust between the two sides, but it will also give the Chinese an important economic boost. Their expenditure on maintaining large standing armies in Tibet is an enormous drain on their resources as a developing country.

The second component of my Five-Point Peace Plan concerns what amounts to the greatest threat to the continuation of Tibetans as a distinct race, namely the population transfer of Chinese into Tibet. By the mid-1980s, it had become clear that the Government in Peking is pursuing a deliberate policy of Siniciztion: what people have called a 'final solution' by stealth. They are doing this by reducing the native

Tibetan population to an insignificant and disenfranchised minority in its own homeland. This must be stopped. Such a massive transfer of Chinese civilians into Tibet is in direct contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. As a result of it, in the eastern parts of our country the Chinese now greatly outnumber Tibetans. For example, in Qinghai Province, which today comprises Amdo, where I was born, there are, according to Chinese statistics, 2.5 million Chinese and only 750,000 Tibetans. Even in the so-called Tibet Autonomous region (that is to say, central and western Tibet), the Chinese already outnumber Tibetans, according to our information.

This population transfer policy is not new. China has systematically applied it to other areas. Not long ago, the Manchus were a distinct race with their own culture and traditions. Today, only two to three million Manchurians are left in Manchuria, where 75 million Chinese have settled. In Eastern Turkestan, which the Chinese now call Xinjang, the Chinese population has grown from 200,000 in 1949 to over seven million today: more than half the total population. In the wake of the Chinese colonisation of Inner Mongolia, the Chinese number 8.5 million, Mongolians only 2.5 million. At present, in the whole of Tibet, we estimate that there are already 7.5 million Chinese, outnumbering the Tibetan population of around six million.

For the Tibetans to survive as a people, it is imperative that population transfer is stopped and that Chinese settlers be allowed to return to China. Otherwise, Tibetans will soon be no more than a tourist attraction and relic of a noble past. At present it seems that it is mainly economic incentive which keeps them there; they certainly find the conditions difficult: altititude sickness is reported to be endemic amongst the Chinese population.

The third component of my proposal concerns human rights in Tibet. These must be respected. The Tibetan people must once again be free to develop culturally, intellectually, economically and spiritually and to be able to exercise basic democratic freedoms. Human rights violations in Tibet are among the most serious in the world. This is attested to by Amnesty International and other such organisations. Discrimination is practised in Tibet under a policy of outright apartheid which the Chinese call ' segregation and assimilation'. In reality Tibetans are, at best, second-class citizens in their own country. Deprived of all basic democratic rights and freedoms, they exist under a colonial administration of occupation in which all real power is wielded by Chinese officials of the Communist Party and the PLA. Although the Chinese Government allows Tibetans to rebuild some Buddhist monasteries and to worship in them, it forbids all serious study and teaching of religion. Thus, while Tibetans in exile have the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights under the draft constitution promulgated by myself in 1963, thousands and thousands of my countrymen continue to suffer in prisons and labour camps for their belief in freedom. For in Tibet a Tibetan who shows loyalty to China is called 'progressive', but anyone who shows loyalty to his or her own country is branded a 'criminal' and incarcerated. "

( These conditions are still very much present in Tibet. I promise to add more tomorrow...)

*( please click here to read of the day with me )

* This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth

Dalai Lama of Tibet.

( Please see my spinning for you!)

( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day in our studio working on the sculpture of Tara Drolma which I spent most of the day on refining the features on the face then continuing with work on the torso. It looks just fine now! Our studio is a mess though; we'll clean up tomorrow! After that I headed up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi to continue bringing food to our trees and native plants which with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together is going quite well! After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual before returning to our studio to spin for you then worked on our a land of Tibet. I forgot to go to our sacred place today so two as one we'll go there tomorrow! I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up a bit early so we can rest.

And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow

my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright

long dark mane in sunlight

so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)


	Through My Eyes Saturday October 29 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he continues explaining the Five-Point Peace Plan!) " The vast occupation force in Tibet is a daily reminder to Tibetans of the oppression and suffering they have experienced. A troop withdrawal would be an essential signal that in the future a meaningful relationship might be established with the Chinese, based on friendship and trust. Unfortunately, Peking read this first part of my proposal as a move towards separation, though it is not so in my mind. All that I meant by it is the logical conclusion that if there is to be genuine harmony between our two peoples, then one side or the other must make a concession or at least some conciliatory gesture. And since Tibet is the aggrieved party, because we Tibetans have lost everything, we have nothing to offer the Chinese. Therefore, it is reasonable to offer the Chinese. Therefore, it is reasonable that, in order to bring about an atmosphere of mutual trust, those people who carry the rifles ( whether these rifles be hidden or not) should be withdrawn. That is what I mean by a zone of peace : simply an area where no one carries weapons. Not only will this help to create trust between the two sides, but it will also give the Chinese an important economic boost. Their expenditure on maintaining large standing armies in Tibet is an enormous drain on their resources as a developing country. The second component of my Five-Point Peace Plan concerns what amounts to the greatest threat to the continuation of Tibetans as a distinct race, namely the population transfer of Chinese into Tibet. By the mid-1980s, it had become clear that the Government in Peking is pursuing a deliberate policy of Siniciztion: what people have called a 'final solution' by stealth. They are doing this by reducing the native Tibetan population to an insignificant and disenfranchised minority in its own homeland. This must be stopped. Such a massive transfer of Chinese civilians into Tibet is in direct contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. As a result of it, in the eastern parts of our country the Chinese now greatly outnumber Tibetans. For example, in Qinghai Province, which today comprises Amdo, where I was born, there are, according to Chinese statistics, 2.5 million Chinese and only 750,000 Tibetans. Even in the so-called Tibet Autonomous region (that is to say, central and western Tibet), the Chinese already outnumber Tibetans, according to our information. This population transfer policy is not new. China has systematically applied it to other areas. Not long ago, the Manchus were a distinct race with their own culture and traditions. Today, only two to three million Manchurians are left in Manchuria, where 75 million Chinese have settled. In Eastern Turkestan, which the Chinese now call Xinjang, the Chinese population has grown from 200,000 in 1949 to over seven million today: more than half the total population. In the wake of the Chinese colonisation of Inner Mongolia, the Chinese number 8.5 million, Mongolians only 2.5 million. At present, in the whole of Tibet, we estimate that there are already 7.5 million Chinese, outnumbering the Tibetan population of around six million. For the Tibetans to survive as a people, it is imperative that population transfer is stopped and that Chinese settlers be allowed to return to China. Otherwise, Tibetans will soon be no more than a tourist attraction and relic of a noble past. At present it seems that it is mainly economic incentive which keeps them there; they certainly find the conditions difficult: altititude sickness is reported to be endemic amongst the Chinese population. The third component of my proposal concerns human rights in Tibet. These must be respected. The Tibetan people must once again be free to develop culturally, intellectually, economically and spiritually and to be able to exercise basic democratic freedoms. Human rights violations in Tibet are among the most serious in the world. This is attested to by Amnesty International and other such organisations. Discrimination is practised in Tibet under a policy of outright apartheid which the Chinese call ' segregation and assimilation'. In reality Tibetans are, at best, second-class citizens in their own country. Deprived of all basic democratic rights and freedoms, they exist under a colonial administration of occupation in which all real power is wielded by Chinese officials of the Communist Party and the PLA. Although the Chinese Government allows Tibetans to rebuild some Buddhist monasteries and to worship in them, it forbids all serious study and teaching of religion. Thus, while Tibetans in exile have the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights under the draft constitution promulgated by myself in 1963, thousands and thousands of my countrymen continue to suffer in prisons and labour camps for their belief in freedom. For in Tibet a Tibetan who shows loyalty to China is called 'progressive', but anyone who shows loyalty to his or her own country is branded a 'criminal' and incarcerated. " ( These conditions are still very much present in Tibet. I promise to add more tomorrow...) ( please click here to read of the day with me ) This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. ( Please see my spinning for you!) ( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day in our studio working on the sculpture of Tara Drolma which I spent most of the day on refining the features on the face then continuing with work on the torso. It looks just fine now! Our studio is a mess though; we'll clean up tomorrow! After that I headed up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi to continue bringing food to our trees and native plants which with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together is going quite well! After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual before returning to our studio to spin for you then worked on our a land of Tibet. I forgot to go to our sacred place today so two as one we'll go there tomorrow! I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up a bit early so we can rest. And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright long dark mane in sunlight so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)