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Statement as prepared for delivery by Kelsang Gyaltsen,Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at theHEARING ON TIBET: AN UPDATE ON THE CURRENT SITUATION AFTER THE BREAKDOWN OFNEGOTIATIONS WITH CHINA The European Parliament - Committee on Foreign Affairs31 March 2009 - BrusselsMr. Chairman and honourable members of the Committee, at this critical timefor Tibet, I wish to express my appreciation and gratitude to the EuropeanParliament for its consistent and principled support for His Holiness theDalai Lama and his efforts to find a peaceful solution for Tibet. I thankyou for convening this timely and important hearing.Undeclared martial-law in Tibet This hearing is taking place at a time, when Tibetan areas in the PRC arecompletely sealed off from the rest of the world. No foreigners can enter Tibetan areas. Communication lines - such as internet and mobile phoneservices - are cut off. There is a huge presence of security and militaryforces. Political campaigns are being conducted with rigor at monasteries,work places and schools to intimidate and coerce the people. On daily basis Tibetans are being arrested resulting in brutal beatings and torture duringinterrogations and detention. An undeclared martial-law has been imposed on Tibetan areas. At this very moment the Tibetan people inside Tibet areexperiencing the second military occupation of their homeland and theharshest wave of repression since the days of the Cultural Revolution.China´s misguided Tibet policyChina´s Tibet policy has been consistently misguided, because of lack of understanding, appreciation and respect for Tibet´s distinct culture,history and identity. In occupied Tibet there is little room for truth. Theuse of force and coercion as the principal means to rule and administer Tibet compel Tibetans to lie out of fear and local officials to hide thetruth and create false facts in order to suit and please Beijing. As aresult China´s treatment of Tibet continues to evade the realities in Tibet. These policies reveal the ugly face of racial and cultural arrogance,chauvinism and a deep sense of political insecurity. This approach is, of course, short-sighted and counter-productive. The Strasbourg ProposalHis Holiness the Dalai Lama has led the Tibetan freedom struggle on a pathof non-violence and has consistently sought a mutually agreeable solution of the Tibetan issue through negotiations in a spirit of reconciliation andcompromise with China. With this spirit in 1988 in Strasbourg at thisParliament His Holiness the Dalai Lama presented a formal proposal fornegotiations. The choice of the European Parliament as the venue to presenthis thoughts for a framework for negotiations was on purpose in order tounderline the point that a genuine union can only come about voluntarilywhen there are mutual respect and satisfactory benefits to all the partiesconcerned. His Holiness the Dalai Lama sees the European Union as a clearand inspiring example of this. On the other hand, even one country orcommunity can break into two or more entities when there is a lack of trustand benefit, and when force is used as the principal means of rule. The Middle-Way Approach This proposal, which later became known as the "Strasbourg Proposal",envisages that the whole of Tibet should become a self-governing democraticpolitical entity in association with the PRC. With this formal statementHis Holiness demonstrated his willingness not to seek the independence of  Tibet. The guiding spirit of the Strasbourg Proposal is the pursuit of amutually acceptable solution of the issue of Tibet through negotiations inthe spirit of reconciliation and compromise. This spirit has come to beknown as the "Middle Way Approach" of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In March1989 China imposed martial-law in Tibet which lasted for one year. Theworsening situation in Tibet and the failure to elicit any positive responsefrom the Chinese government since the formal presentation of his proposal inStrasbourg compelled His Holiness to state in 1991 that his "StrasbourgProposal" has become ineffectual. However, he left no doubt about hiscontinued commitment in seeking a resolution to the Tibetan problem in thespirit of the "Middle Way Approach".
 
Meanwhile, in Tibet a most alarming trend emerged: The flood of Chinesesettlers who come to Tibet to take advantage of Tibet´s opening to marketcapitalism. Every year, the Chinese population inside Tibet has beenincreasing at an alarming rate leading to economic, political and socialmarginalization of the Tibetan people in their own homeland. New measures of restriction in the fields of culture, religion and education coupled withthe unabated influx of Chinese immigrants have been presenting a constantassault on the integral core of the Tibetan civilization and identity.Obviously, if these concerns are not addressed soon the very purpose of trying to reach a negotiated solution becomes meaningless, because theChinese government would have then created facts in Tibet, which would makethe situation inside Tibet irreversible. Some of our Western friends callthis Chinese policy "the final solution" to the issue of Tibet.Against this background His Holiness the Dalai Lama left no stone unturnedto reach out to the Chinese government. Moreover, the Tibetan leadership inexile redefined the concrete features of the "Middle-Way Approach". A numberof components of the "Strasbourg Proposal" were dropped to conform toexisting political realities in the PRC. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership in exile took the courageous decision to seek genuineautonomy for the Tibetan people within the framework of the Constitution of the PRC in a way that would ensure the basic needs of the Tibetan people insafeguarding their distinct culture, language, religion and identity and thedelicate natural environment of the Tibetan plateau.Sino-Tibetan dialogueIn 2002, when direct contact with the Chinese leadership was re-established,the Tibetan leadership in exile had already formulated a clear policy on ourapproach in the dialogue process. The Kashag, the Cabinet of the TibetanGovernment in exile, with the approval of His Holiness, had determined thatthere will be only one official channel and one single agenda in our talkswith Chinese leadership. The single agenda has been to seek genuine ormeaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people under a single administrationwithin the framework of the Constitution of the People´s Republic of China.I have the honour to serve as one of the envoys of His Holiness the DalaiLama entrusted with the task of conducting the talks with therepresentatives of the Chinese leadership. With my senior colleague, Mr.Lodi G. Gyari and three senior Tibetan assistants, we engaged in eightformal rounds of discussion and one informal meeting with our Chinesecounterparts since 2002. The mission of our delegation was two fold: First, to re-establish directcontact with the leadership in Beijing and to create a conducive atmosphereenabling direct face-to-face meetings on a regular basis in future.Secondly, to explain His Holiness the Dalai Lama´s Middle-Way Approach withthe aim of bringing about earnest negotiations in resolving the issue of  Tibet peacefully. Throughout our contact we focussed our energy and effortstowards building confidence by dispelling misconceptions and distrust.With this spirit after our first visit to China and to Lhasa in September2002, Kalon Tripa, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, the chairman of the Kashag,appealed to Tibetan communities in exile and to our international supportersto abstain from holding demonstrations during visits of Chinese dignitariesabroad and to help creating a constructive atmosphere for the dialogueprocess. Within our limited possibilities, the Tibetan leadership in exileinitiated a number of such confidence-building measures. Tibetan suggestions and proposalsRight from the first round of discussions in 2002, we proposed that bothsides initiate measures that help building trust and confidence in ourrelationship. We requested the Chinese leadership to make a good-willgesture by stopping the denunciation and lifting of the ban on thepossessions of the photographs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This wouldsend a psychologically important positive message to the Tibetan people andhelp to create the right kind of environment. We also proposed to expand ourcontact by allowing visits between Tibetans living in exile and in Tibet andto arrange exchange visits by scholars and experts to academic, cultural andreligious institutions in the PRC and as well to institutes of the Tibetanrefugee community. When it became obvious in our discussions that there weremajor differences on a number of issues between the two parties, includingsome fundamental ones, we proposed to first concentrate on issues where bothsides have common interest in cooperating and to increase the number of 
 
meetings to two or three times per year. In 2005 we requested the Chinesegovernment to allow a small number of 5 - 10 monks to visit various sacredsites in Tibet to perform prayers for a long life on the occasion of 70thbirthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.A major difference between the two sides has been the conflictingperspectives on the current situation inside Tibet. So in order to have acommon understanding of the real situation, we proposed in 2007 that we begiven an opportunity to send study groups to look at the actual reality onthe ground, in the spirit of "seeking truth from facts". We explained thatthis could help both sides to move beyond each other´s contentions. In 2008after the wide-spread demonstrations throughout Tibet and the ensuing eventsduring the Olympic torch relay, it was appropriate and necessary to send astrong and clear signal to the Tibetan and Chinese people as well as to theinternational community that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chineseleadership are determined to engage in serious discussions on all issuesconcerning the Tibetan people with the aim of finding a mutually acceptablesolution. We, therefore, proposed in July 2008 to issue a joint statement tothat effect at the conclusion of the seventh round of discussions (a copy of the draft joint statement is submitted for the record). Moreover, right atthe beginning of our contact on April 18, 2002, we had written to President Jiang Zemin explaining, among other things, that our mission was to bringabout a face-to-face meeting between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and theChinese leadership. Such a summit has the potential to achieve abreakthrough in opening a new chapter in the relationship between the Tibetan and the Chinese peoples. Consequently, in all the rounds of discussion we raised it again and again. His Holiness the Dalai Lamareiterated publicly in 2006 his wish to visit China on a pilgrimage.Chinese attitude and positions To our deep disappointment, none of our suggestions and proposals wereentertained or accepted by the Chinese side. Nor has the Chinese sidereciprocated any of our confidence-building initiatives or presented theirown suggestions or proposals for a way forward. Since the start of thisdialogue in 2002, the Chinese side has been adopting a position of norecognition, no reciprocity, no commitment and no concession and nocompromise. Although they continue to profess even to these days that thedoor to dialogue is open, however, so far they have been pursuing a strategyof avoiding any progress, decision and commitment. This lack of politicalwill on the part of the Chinese leadership was clearly demonstrated at thelast round of discussions that took place in November last year.In July last year during the seventh round the Chinese side explicitlyinvited suggestions from His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the stability anddevelopment of Tibet and emphasised the fact that they would like to hearour views on the degree or form of autonomy we are seeking. Accordingly, onOctober 31, 2008, we presented our Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People to the Chinese leadership. (A copy of the memorandum issubmitted for the record). Our memorandum puts forth how the specific needsof the Tibetan people for self-government can be met through the applicationof the principles on autonomy contained in the Constitution of the PRC. TheConstitution gives significant discretionary powers to state organs in thedecision-making and on the operation of the system of autonomy. Thesediscretionary powers can be exercised to facilitate genuine autonomy in waysthat would respond to the uniqueness of the Tibetan situation. On thisbasis, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been confident that the basic needsof the Tibetan people can be met through genuine autonomy within the PRC.Unfortunately, the Chinese side rejected categorically our memorandum in itsentirety. At one point of our discussion the Chinese Executive Vice-MinisterZhu Weiqun stated: "Even the title of your memorandum is unacceptable. Howmany times do we need to say that the Dalai Lama has no right to speak aboutthe situation in Tibet or in the name of the Tibetan people?" When we askedhim why in the first place he had invited us to present our views onautonomy, his answer was: "This was a test to see how far you have comeunderstand the position and the policy of the Central Government. And youhave failed the examination miserably". (The press release of Chinese siderejecting the Tibetan memorandum is submitted here for the record). The basic Chinese position on the issue of TibetDuring the sixth round of talks from June 29 to July 5, 2007, the Chineseside outlined their basic position as follow:"Firstly, the Dalai Lama must accept the political basis for maintaining
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