Dalai Lama to Visit Minnesota
by Marie Simpson, WAMM
On May 8 and 9, 2001, one of the world's best known proponents of peace through nonviolence will be visiting the Twin Cities. The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader to millions of Tibetans, will honor Minnesotans, including about one thousand Tibetans living in this area, with teachings and a public address. Surely one of his messages in Minnesota will be about the plight of millions of Tibetans -- those still in Tibet and those living in exile throughout the world.
While helping develop a unique culture, centuries of Tibetan isolation also resulted in a world that was unaware and unconcerned when Chinese military forces invaded and occupied Tibet's eastern provinces of Kham and Amdo, then its capital city Lhasa in 1959. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans left Tibet at that time and many more have since escaped what they view as the repression of the Chinese occupying forces.
By Chinese accounts, 87,000 Tibetans were killed by Chinese troops during and immediately following the March 10, 1959 demonstrations in Lhasa. Tibetans believe 430,000 Tibetans died during the 1959 uprising and in the 15 years that followed. (The Tibetan resistance was encouraged by the United States for many years through the influx of secret CIA weapons and funds. CIA support was withdrawn around 1979.)
In 1959 and 1960, the International Commission of Jurists determined there was evidence of genocide by the Chinese forces upon the people of Tibet. Since the Chinese occupation began, Tibetans have been prohibited from practicing their Buddhist faith, and between 1959 and 1979 up to 6000 monasteries and shrines were destroyed. Tibetans report that schools were prohibited from teaching Tibetan children in their own language. For several years, Tibetans were prohibited from wearing traditional Tibetan clothing.
Agricultural and grazing processes that had served Tibetans for many hundreds of years were discarded and replaced by methods that failed to consider the fragile and harsh realities of Tibetan soil and climate. Famine, unknown before the Chinese occupation, reared its ugly head when Chinese farming methods floundered and new crops failed to flourish.
The International Campaign for Tibet states that nuclear waste stored in Tibet is disposed of using methods that are "casual in the extreme," such as the use of shallow, unlined landfills. China has exploited the natural resources of Tibet, deforesting half of the country's primarily old-growth forests, damming (and damning) Tibet's rivers, killing animals indiscriminately, mining valuable minerals without environmental safeguards, and extracting oil from oil fields in Amdo.
Many Tibetans observe that transportation in Tibet has been developed for the sake of resource exploitation, not the Tibetan people. China has also engaged in a decades-long policy of relocating Chinese people into Tibet, resulting in a population shift which has left Tibetans a minority in many parts of Tibet, including their capital, Lhasa. Economic and educational opportunities are often reserved for Chinese residents, resulting in increased poverty and hopelessness within the Tibetan community.
Since fleeing Tibet, the Dalai Lama has sought peace and restoration of human rights in Tibet. He abdicated his historical role as the political leader of Tibet and instituted a participatory government for Tibetans living in exile. In 1987 he proposed a five-point peace plan whereby Tibet would become a demilitarized zone of peace and nonviolence.
Under the Dalai Lama's proposal, the Chinese would agree to stop their policy of transferring Chinese residents to Tibet, agree to restore and protect Tibet's natural environment, agree to cease nuclear weapon production in Tibet, and commit to respect the Tibetans' human rights and democratic freedom. The final point of the proposal provides for an open dialogue to take place between China and Tibet to determine the future status of Tibet and the relationship between the people of Tibet and China.
As a result of this and other work, in 1989 (the same year as the Tiananmen Square uprising) the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In accepting the award, the Dalai Lama stated, "The suffering of our people during the past 40 years of occupation is well documented. Ours has been a long struggle. We know our cause is just because violence can only breed more violence and suffering. Our struggle must remain nonviolent and free of hatred. We are trying to end the suffering of our people, not to inflict suffering upon others."
While Minnesota Tibetans hoped education and knowledge would lead U.S. citizens to pressure their government to support the Dalai Lama's peace plan with China, the reality has been disappointing. They came believing this was a country of compassion and democracy. Sadly, they have learned that while there are many compassionate residents of this country, our government responds best to corporate interests. Our government views Tibet as just another part of China -- the new frontier for consumption.
Dalai Lama Events
Ticket Information:
612-624-2345
Tuesday, May 8, 2001
Teaching -- "Generating A Good Heart"
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Northrop Auditorium
Public Address - "Compassion and Universal Responsibility in a New Century"
5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Williams Arena
Wednesday, May 9, 2001
Interfaith Dialogue
5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Northrop Auditorium
The Interfaith Dialogue will be a panel discussion with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and religious leaders.
The Arts of Tibet
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Sunday, April 22, 2001
12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Tibet Resources
Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota
2344 Nicollet Avenue, Suite 430
Minneapolis, MN 55404
612-872-4866 (phone)
tafm@mtn.org
The Government of Tibet in Exile
The Office of Tibet
Tibet House, 1 Culworth Street
London NW8 7AF
0044-20-7722 5378 (phone)
0044-20-7722 0362 (fax)
info@tibet.com
www.tibet.com
International Campaign for Tibet
1825 K Street NW, Suite 520
Washington, D.C. 20006
202-785-1515 (phone)
202-785-4343 (fax)
ict@peacenet.org
www.savetibet.org
International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet
2288 Fulton Street, Suite 312
Berkeley, CA 94704
510-486-0588 (phone)
510-548-3785 (fax)
iclt@igc.apc.org
US Tibet Committee
241 East 32 Street
New York, NY 10016
212-213-5011 (phone)
212-779-9245 (fax)
ustcsft@igc.apc.org
www.ustibet.org