Canada Free Press [Friday, March 21, 2008 10:20] Brit
spies confirm Dalai Lama's report of staged violence
By Gordon Thomas
London, March 20 - Britain's GCHQ, the government communications
agency that electronically monitors half the world from space,
has confirmed the claim by the Dalai Lama that agents of the Chinese
People's Liberation Army, the PLA, posing as monks, triggered
the riots that have left hundreds of Tibetans dead or injured.
GCHQ analysts believe the decision was deliberately
calculated by the Beijing leadership to provide an excuse to stamp
out the simmering unrest in the region, which is already attracting
unwelcome world attention in the run-up to the Olympic Games this
summer.
For weeks there has been growing resentment in Lhasa, Tibet's
capital, against minor actions taken by the Chinese authorities.
Increasingly, monks have led acts of civil disobedience, demanding
the right to perform traditional incense burning rituals. With
their demands go cries for the return of the Dalai Lama, the 14th
to hold the high spiritual office.
Committed to teaching the tenets of his moral
authority---peace and compassion---the Dalai Lama was 14 when
the PLA invaded Tibet in 1950 and he was forced to flee to India
from where he has run a relentless campaign against the harshness
of Chinese rule.
But critics have objected to his attraction to film stars. Newspaper
magnate Rupert Murdoch has called him: "A very political
monk in Gucci shoes."
Discovering that his supporters inside Tibet
and China would become even more active in the months approaching
the Olympic Games this summer, British intelligence officers in
Beijing learned the ruling regime would seek an excuse to move
and crush the present unrest.
That fear was publicly expressed by the Dalai
Lama. GCHQ's satellites, geo-positioned in space, were tasked
to closely monitor the situation.
The doughnut-shaped complex, near Cheltenham
racecourse, is set in the pleasant Cotswolds in the west of England.
Seven thousand employees include the best electronic experts and
analysts in the world. Between them they speak more than 150 languages.
At their disposal are 10,000 computers, many of which have been
specially built for their work.
The images they downloaded from the satellites provided confirmation
the Chinese used agent provocateurs to start riots, which gave
the PLA the excuse to move on Lhasa to kill and wound over the
past week.
What the Beijing regime had not expected was
how the riots would spread, not only across Tibet, but also to
Sichuan, Quighai and Gansu provinces, turning a large area of
western China into a battle zone.
For more information on how the Chinese
are trying to manipulate the media to cover up their orchestration,
see this
page at the Epoch Times of March 29. One of the "rioters"
on the Chinese 'wanted' posters, also featured in CCTV's riot
coverage, was a policeman. He was brandishing a long knife. Next,
the Chinese 'photoshopped' the image and re-published it!
March 28
An Appeal to the Chinese People from
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Today, I extend heartfelt greetings to my Chinese
brothers and sisters round the world, particularly to those in
the People's Republic of China. In the light of the recent developments
in Tibet, I would like to share with you my thoughts concerning
relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples, and to make
a personal appeal to you all.
I am deeply saddened by the loss of life in the
recent tragic events in Tibet. I am aware that some Chinese have
also died. I feel for the victims and their families and pray
for them. The recent unrest has clearly demonstrated the gravity
of the situation in Tibet and the urgent need to seek a peaceful
and mutually beneficial solution through dialogue. Even at this
juncture I have expressed my willingness to the Chinese authorities
to work together to bring about peace and stability.
Chinese brothers and sisters, I assure you I
have no desire to seek Tibet's separation. Nor do I have any wish
to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples. On the
contrary my commitment has always been to find a genuine solution
to the problem of Tibet that ensures the long-term interests of
both Chinese and Tibetans. My primary concern, as I have repeated
time and again, is to ensure the survival of the Tibetan people's
distinctive culture, language and identity. As a simple monk who
strives to live his daily life according to Buddhist precepts,
I assure you of the sincerity of my motivation.
I have appealed to the leadership of the PRC
to clearly understand my position and work to resolve these problems
by "seeking truth from facts." I urge the Chinese leadership
to exercise wisdom and to initiate a meaningful dialogue with
the Tibetan people. I also appeal to them to make sincere efforts
to contribute to the stability and harmony of the PRC and avoid
creating rifts between the nationalities. The state media's portrayal
of the recent events in Tibet, using deceit and distorted images,
could sow the seeds of racial tension with unpredictable long-term
consequences. This is of grave concern to me. Similarly, despite
my repeated support for the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese authorities,
with the intention of creating rift between the Chinese people
and myself, assert that I am trying to sabotage the games. I am
encouraged, however, that several Chinese intellectuals and scholars
have also expressed their strong concern about the Chinese leadership's
actions and the potential for adverse long-term consequences,
particularly on relations among different nationalities.
Since ancient times, Tibetan and Chinese peoples
have lived as neighbors. In the two thousand year-old recorded
history of our peoples, we have at times developed friendly relations,
even entering into matrimonial alliances, while at other times
we fought each other. However, since Buddhism flourished in China
first before it arrived in Tibet from India, we Tibetans have
historically accorded the Chinese people the respect and affection
due to elder Dharma brothers and sisters. This is something well
known to members of the Chinese community living outside China,
some of whom have attended my Buddhist lectures, as well as pilgrims
from mainland China, whom I have had the privilege to meet. I
take heart from these meetings and feel they may contribute to
a better understanding between our two peoples.
The twentieth century witnessed enormous changes
in many parts of the world and Tibet, too, was caught up in this
turbulence. Soon after the founding of the People's Republic of
China in 1949, the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet finally
resulting in the 17-Point Agreement concluded between China and
Tibet in May 1951. When I was in Beijing in 1954-55, attending
the National People's Congress, I had the opportunity to meet
and develop a personal friendship with many senior leaders, including
Chairman Mao himself. In fact, Chairman Mao gave me advice on
numerous issues, as well as personal assurances with regard to
the future of Tibet. Encouraged by these assurances, and inspired
by the dedication of many of China's revolutionary leaders of
the time, I returned to Tibet full of confidence and optimism.
Some Tibetan members of the Communist Party also had such a hope.
After my return to Lhasa, I made every possible effort to seek
genuine autonomy for Tibet within the family of the People's Republic
of China (PRC). I believed that this would best serve the long-term
interests of both the Tibetan and Chinese peoples.
Unfortunately, tensions, which began to escalate
in Tibet from around 1956, eventually led to the peaceful uprising
of March 10, 1959, in Lhasa and my eventual escape into exile.
Although many positive developments have taken place in Tibet
under the PRC's rule, these developments, as the previous Panchen
Lama pointed out in January 1989, were overshadowed by immense
suffering and extensive destruction. Tibetans were compelled to
live in a state of constant fear, while the Chinese government
remained suspicious of them. However, instead of cultivating enmity
towards the Chinese leaders responsible for the ruthless suppression
of the Tibetan people, I prayed for them to become friends, which
I expressed in the following lines in a prayer I composed in 1960,
a year after I arrived in India: "May they attain the wisdom
eye discerning right and wrong, And may they abide in the glory
of friendship and love." Many Tibetans, school children among
them, recite these lines in their daily prayers.
In 1974, following serious discussions with my
Kashag (cabinet), as well as the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker
of the then Assembly of the Tibetan People's Deputies, we decided
to find a Middle Way that would seek not to separate Tibet from
China, but would facilitate the peaceful development of Tibet.
Although we had no contact at the time with the PRC - which was
in the midst of the Cultural Revolution - we had already recognized
that sooner or later, we would have to resolve the question of
Tibet through negotiations. We also acknowledged that, at least
with regard to modernization and economic development, it would
greatly benefit Tibet if it remained within the PRC. Although
Tibet has a rich and ancient cultural heritage, it is materially
undeveloped.
Situated on the roof of the world, Tibet is the
source of many of Asia's major rivers, therefore, protection of
the environment on the Tibetan plateau is of supreme importance.
Since our utmost concern is to safeguard Tibetan Buddhist culture
- rooted as it is in the values of universal compassion - as well
as the Tibetan language and the unique Tibetan identity, we have
worked whole-heartedly towards achieving meaningful self-rule
for all Tibetans. The PRC's constitution provides the right for
nationalities such as the Tibetans to do this.
In 1979, the then Chinese paramount leader, Deng
Xiaoping assured my personal emissary that "except for the
independence of Tibet, all other questions can be negotiated."
Since we had already formulated our approach to seeking a solution
to the Tibetan issue within the constitution of the PRC, we found
ourselves well placed to respond to this new opportunity. My representatives
met many times with officials of the PRC. Since renewing our contacts
in 2002, we have had six rounds of talks. However, on the fundamental
issue, there has been no concrete result at all. Nevertheless,
as I have declared many times, I remain firmly committed to the
Middle Way approach and reiterate here my willingness to continue
to pursue the process of dialogue.
This year the Chinese people are proudly and
eagerly awaiting the opening of the Olympic Games. I have, from
the start, supported Beijing's being awarded the opportunity to
host the Games. My position remains unchanged. China has the world's
largest population, a long history and an extremely rich civilization.
Today, due to her impressive economic progress, she is emerging
as a great power. This is certainly to be welcomed. But China
also needs to earn the respect and esteem of the global community
through the establishment of an open and harmonious society based
on the principles of transparency, freedom, and the rule of law.
For example, to this day victims of the Tiananmen Square tragedy
that adversely affected the lives of so many Chinese citizens
have received neither just redress nor any official response.
Similarly, when thousands of ordinary Chinese in rural areas suffer
injustice at the hands of exploitative and corrupt local officials,
their legitimate complaints are either ignored or met with aggression.
I express these concerns both as a fellow human being and as someone
who is prepared to consider himself a member of the large family
that is the People's Republic of China. In this respect, I appreciate
and support President Hu Jintao's policy of creating a "harmonious
society", but this can only arise on the basis of mutual
trust and an atmosphere of freedom, including freedom of speech
and the rule of law. I strongly believe that if these values are
embraced, many important problems relating to minority nationalities
can be resolved, such as the issue of Tibet, as well as Eastern
Turkistan, and Inner Mongolia, where the native people now constitute
only 20% of a total population of 24 million.
I had hoped President Hu Jintao's recent statement
that the stability and safety of Tibet concerns the stability
and safety of the country might herald the dawning of a new era
for the resolution of the problem of Tibet. It is unfortunate
that despite my sincere efforts not to separate Tibet from China,
the leaders of the PRC continue to accuse me of being a "separatist".
Similarly, when Tibetans in Lhasa and many other areas spontaneously
protested to express their deep-rooted resentment, the Chinese
authorities immediately accused me of having orchestrated their
demonstrations. I have called for a thorough investigation by
a respected body to look into this allegation.
Chinese brothers and sisters - wherever you may
be - with deep concern I appeal to you to help dispel the misunderstandings
between our two communities. Moreover, I appeal to you to help
us find a peaceful, lasting solution to the problem of Tibet through
dialogue in the spirit of understanding and accommodation.
With my prayers,
Dalai Lama
March 28, 2008
Note: translated from the Tibetan original
Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa
Representative of H. H. the Dalai Lama
Yesterday (March 27, 2008) His Holiness
the Dalai Lama spoke directly about the troubles in Tibet, asking
all supporters worldwide to help in any way they can, providing
that this happens in a strictly non-violent way. He explained
that this is a moment of crisis, and that it is all of us, rather
than the Tibetans in exile, who have the potential to shift the
situation.
His Holiness specifically stated, not for the first time, that
Tibetan dharma cannot survive without Tibetan freedom. He explained
that only Tibetan Buddhism has been able to preserve the full
Nalanda tradition and its message of universal compassion, its
techniques to promote inner values and its teachings on interdependence,
with their extraordinary potential to bring peace and harmony
to the modern world.
One of the only ways that we can influence the decisions of the
Chinese government is to show that there is widespread and increasing
public condemnation of their actions in Tibet. How can we do this?
How can we link together all the feelings of individuals, who
by themselves may feel powerless, but as a group could have an
unforgettable impact?
We have a simple suggestion. We all want to stand up for Tibet.
Let's do it, literally. Every day, let's commit to simply standing
up. just for a few moments, with either a printed or digital photo
of the Tibetan flag in our hands. Individually or in a group.
Quietly or noisily. In the most creative and spectacular way imaginable.
On the street, in schools, on trains and buses, in the workplace,
in bars and restaurants. Let's be visible, newsworthy, fun and
contagious. We want to make our feelings public throughout the
world, and we want millions of people to join in.
March 31st has been designated an international day of
action by the International Tibet Support Network. Will you stand
up that day, wherever you happen to be? And then continue, as
long as the situation lasts.
We are not only standing up for one country that is experiencing
oppression, but for every act of injustice and repression that
has happened personally to us, or to other people in the world.
This is something we can all do for Tibet. Who can you phone,
text or email and encourage to join in? Can we make this happen
across the globe, particularly during the next weeks, before it
is too late? We need your help and are very grateful for anything
you can do to make this happen.
With a big prayer for peace in Tibet
Valentina and Alison
Spread at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche
If man will only realize that it is unmanly to obey laws that
are unjust, no man's tyranny will enslave him.
This is the key to self-rule or home-rule.
Gandhi
See also my Blog
on Tibet
