Peaceful Overtures and Violent Uprisings
When peaceful overtures won't work, people become tired of the tedious, non-productive enterprise of attempting to prod a recalcitrant interlocutor to reason, and inevitably human nature turns, through implacable frustration, to expressions of doubt, of blame, of violence.The Dalai Lama, recognized throughout the world as a messenger of peace, harmony, good fellowship and love for one's fellow man, has tried throughout the course of a half century of his life as the spiritual leader and imperial titular head of Tibet, to convince China to loose its grip on his country. Ah, contends China, Tibet is not "your country", it is a historical province of China.
And this province of China is a troublesome one. Its culture, ethnic population and religion cause more problems than they are worth. Therefore, in the greater interests of imperial Communist China, they must cease to exist. First comes the conquest, then the dilution of the population by an influx of Han Chinese, and a gradual diminution of the role of traditional Tibetan culture and religion.
Perhaps not so gradual, in view of the destruction of thousands of Buddhist temples. And oh yes, that little matter of the 1950 invasion and the resulting Tibetan deaths at the hands of resolute Chinese troops, in incomprehensible numbers. Then of course there's the value of various types of nationalistic repression.
Autonomy you say? China interprets that request rather differently. As an indecorous and sneaky manner in which to achieve independence. Were China to grant Tibet its vaunted freedom to pursue its singular interests, China's grasp would be weakened. It is not to be.
China must act expeditiously to restore order, to tamp down the insurrection. To condemn the Dalai Lama as a destroyer of China's nationhood, a detestable splittist. The result, rioting. Lethal weapons. Excess force. Violence from both sides. Protesters have become rioters, have availed themselves of any weapons to hand, have destroyed and set fire to homes and shops.
Thirteen Chinese civilians burned or stabbed to death, 61 Chinese police officers injured. The death toll of Tibetans has been placed at 80. Mayhem, with Tibetans setting fires, throwing rocks, looking for Han Chinese to kill, no matter; adults, children, it was claimed. Words of wisdom from the mouth of a Chinese settler: "When peace and stability is gone, ordinary people suffer."
The Dalai Lama, committed to peace, to harmony, to compassion and understanding between peoples is helpless in the face of his peoples' agony. "I have no such power", he said, when responding to an enquiry, asking why he hadn't called for an end to the protests. The protesters say they "...demand a peace dialogue between His Holiness and the Chinese".
For it is not the Dalai Lama who has relinquished his decades-long efforts to convince the Chinese authorities that Tibetans' right to exist as they will should be recognized and permitted. It is the adamant dismissal of this request by the Chinese government that has called an end to meaningful discussions.
Tibetans are furious that they may not be Tibetans, that they may not celebrate their culture, that their monks are held to be of a lower order of being than the Chinese. That they may not fly the flag of Tibet. That they may not display photographs of their sanctified spiritual leader. That their economic and social needs are ignored, while those of the Han Chinese are supported.
China is decidedly unhappy that protests are being carried out in front of Chinese diplomatic missions abroad. That within other provinces of China, resident Tibetans are carrying the protests forward. That even in Beijing students at the Central University for Nationalities held a candlelight vigil.
Above all, the assault on their dignity, sense of self, their honourable intentions, their aspiring and prideful showing of their achievements and accomplishments during the Olympics have been placed in an increasingly troublesome perspective.
China is a reaping a bitter harvest from the bitter seeds she has sown. And it's so very true, it's always the people who suffer. They suffer too in Darfur, in Burma.
They always do, they always have.
Labels: Political Realities, Social-Cultural Deviations, World Crises
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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