The People's Movement: A March forward

Press Statement                                                                                                                              7 July 2007

Introduction

The People's Movement is an effort to bring about a renewed vigour and vitality in the Tibetan movement.  History proves that a massive people's participation in large numbers has made significant differences in the struggle for freedom and justice.  The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) has formed this movement as a new strategy to push the Tibetan cause towards a higher level.

In 1949, Tibet was invaded by the People's Republic of China (PRC).  In the ten years that followed, the Chinese authorities conducted a series of atrocities against the Tibetan people.  In 1951, the PRC government forced the Tibetans to sign the 17-Point Agreement, which compromised Tibetan sovereignty by recognizing the country as a part of China.  Although the Tibetan people did not agree to the terms of the agreement, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the political and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, saw the agreement as a necessary compromise to reconcile with the PRC government in order to avoid continued violence.  Rather than accepting the compromise peacefully, however, the PRC increased its brutality.

On March 10, 1959, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was invited to watch a song-and-dance performance at the Chinese army camp in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.  The news of this invitation reached the Tibetan public, who worried that the life of their leader was in danger.  In response, thousands of Tibetans voluntarily took to the streets in Lhasa to protest the occupation.  In the midst of the chaos caused by the demonstration, the Dalai Lama escaped safely to exile in India.  This was the first people's demonstration against the Chinese presence in Tibet.  The movement was not organized by the Tibetan government. It was a movement that arose from the public to protect their leader and their country.

Since 1959, there have been many protests and demonstrations carried on in exile against the Chinese government, but none have matched the scale of the 1959 uprising.  Some of the more recent demonstrations organized by TYC include:

• In 1998, six Tibetans went on an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi, intending to strike onto death, at which time more Tibetans would replace them until their demands were met.  On the 48th day of the hunger strike, local police authority officers forced the strikers into the hospital, where they were made to end the strike.  In response, unable to tolerate the situation, a Tibetan named Thupten Ngodup sacrificed his life and set himself on fire in a public place to bring attention to the cause.
• Again in 1999, three Tibetans went on a hunger strike in Geneva, Switzerland.  This strike was ended on its 26th day, when UN Commissioner for Human Rights assured the UN intervention in the demands of the hunger strikers.
• In 2000, 60 exiled Tibetans attempted to go into Tibet's Mount Kailash on a pilgrimage march.  They were stopped by the Indian border police at Pithorgarh station and forcibly taken back to a place called Nainital.
• In 2004, 80 Tibetans set out from Dharamsala to Delhi on a peace march.  They were stopped in Lower Dharamsala by nearly 200 Indian police and forcibly detained for nearly 7 hours.
• Also in 2004, three Tibetans went on a hunger strike in front of the UN Headquarters in New York.  This strike was ended on its 32nd day, when a representative of the UN Secretary General promised the strikers that some of their demands would be met.
• In February 2006, during the Winter Olympics in Italy, three Tibetans went on a hunger strike, demanding the attention of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executives and European IOC President.  They assured the strikers that they would consider their demands, so the strike was ended.

It is clear from these few examples that TYC has been able to raise public awareness about the Tibetan cause with the international community, but most of our demands have not yet been met. 

The failure of these demonstrations to achieve all of their goals is due in large part to the lack of voluntary participation by the Tibetan people on a massive scale.  Although there has been a great deal of activity, the movement for Tibet has not made significant progress.  After fifty years of Chinese occupation, China's design to flood the Tibetan plateau with Chinese migrants and marginalize the Tibetan people will succeed if Tibetans do not come together as a unified force.  Thus, as the Tibetan nation is on the verge of extinction and Tibetans everywhere face many hardships, it is time for all Tibetans to come together and participate in a massive public movement in order to bring the Tibetan struggle to a new level.  We will surely face difficulties holding such a demonstration.  Knowing this, Tibetans must come together voluntarily, with strong conviction in their hearts and minds.  This demonstration, unlike those organized previously which appealed to the UN and other international bodies for support, will put direct pressure on the PRC Government and force China itself to respond.  Thus, it is imperative that the demonstration involve large numbers of Tibetans participating voluntarily on behalf of their country.

The exact demands of The People's Movement are as follows:

• Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, has been missing since 1995.  The Chinese authorities have repeatedly stated that he is alive.  We demand concrete evidence that he is indeed alive.
• In 2005, Tulku Tenzin Delek was sentenced to life imprisonment on alleged charges of “endangering national security”.  Many other Tibetans have been imprisoned after engaging in political activity.  The Chinese authorities claim that these people were sentenced by fair judicial process.  We demand that the PRC produce a convincing evidence that the judicial proceedings has taken place in a fair manner.  

• The PRC Government maintains the position that Tibetans enjoy human rights in Tibet, despite many reports of human rights violations, including freedom of religion.  We demand that the PRC produce a concrete evidence that the Tibetans are enjoying human rights in Tibet.
• China’s new railway line in Tibet is causing a massive population influx of Chinese into Tibet, marginalization of native Tibetans, exploitation of natural resources, destruction of the environment, and eradication of Tibetan culture.  China's stated rationale for this railway is to bring economic prosperity to the Tibetan people.  We therefore demand that the PRC produce a reliable evidence that the railwayline benefits Tibetans economically.

• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has aims to improve the human rights situation inside Tibet and China by giving Beijing an opportunity to host the Olympics.  We therefore demand that the IOC produce conclusive evidence that the human rights situation inside Tibet is acceptable.

Strategy of the Movement

This movement is a departure from the traditional approach of appealing to the international community for support.  This time, we are putting direct pressure on the Government of People's Republic of China (PRC) by creating a situation where they have no choice but to respond to the demands of hunger strikers before 7 August 2007.  TYC will send petitions to the Chinese government and IOC demanding an immediate response to the five demands listed above.  Starting from 8 July, 2007, the TYC will also initiate a mass indefinite hunger strike in Delhi.  At the same time, the regional chapters of TYC will organize regular campaign activities in their respective regions.  During the process, TYC will begin a campaign for Tibetan participation in a mass people's demonstration to begin on 8 August, 2007, based on the principles of nonviolence and Gandhi's tradition of satyagraha, meaning "insistence on truth".  If China fails to respond to the demands of the petitions before 7 August, 2007, the massive public gathering of hundreds of thousands of Tibetans will demand the Chinese government to allow Tibetans in exile to go into Tibet and witness its current state. Until there is a satisfactory response from the PRC, the movement will continue and PRC will be held responsible for any eventual consequences resulting from the movement.

Contact:           Kalsang Phuntsok Godrukpa
                        President, TYC Centrex
                        Mb: 9418329696, 9899769790