Delhi: An official statement issued by the Tibetan prime minister, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, at the 3 day summit called the 6th International Tibet Support Group Conference which held at Surajkund, Haryana, near Indian capital, New Delhi. The conference was opened by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Friday morning with 258 attendees from 57 countries.
Samdhong Rinpcohe began by thanking the assembled crowd for attending the conference on behalf of the Central Tibetan Administration, moving on to more specific matter he said "I would like to pay the Kashag's sincere tribute to the Tibet Support Group (TSG) movement and its outstanding work. The worldwide Tibet movement is one of the longest running, most sustained and widespread movements in the world. This movement is propelled forward by the energy and enthusiasm of all of you involved in advancing the just cause of the Tibetan people. Your sustained and concerted campaigns over the years have resulted in promoting the awareness of the Tibetan issue all over the world and kept it as a burning topic and mobilised governments and parliaments around the world to speak up for the people of Tibet. The efforts and dedication of TSGs have inspired a new generation of committed Tibetans in Tibet. They are risking their lives to preserve Tibet's spiritual and cultural heritage by their non-violent resistance."
"For these reasons, the Tibetan people are blessed by the expanding network of friends and supporters around the world. No other cause, however just, no other struggle, however long, has been blessed as the Tibetan people are by the commitment of the Tibet Support Groups for the political cause of Tibet and the Tibetan Buddhist and cultural centres for the preservation and promotion of Tibet's rich cultural and spiritual heritage," He added.
The Tibetan prime minsiter highlighted the importance of Tibetan Buddhism for attracting more support for the Tibetan cause, saying that "These Tibetan cultural centres attract an ever-expanding circle of devout friends for Tibet in every corner of the globe, every year. This component is important for us because the activities of these centres ensure that Tibet's spiritual and cultural heritage can and will survive outside of Tibet. These centres also reflect the abiding relevance of the values of Tibetan culture and spirituality. This I feel gives us the confidence to say that with or without the Tibetan people, their culture and the values that underpin it will be cherished by the world. This is because Tibetan culture speaks not just the language of the Tibetan people. It speaks the universal language of humanity."
He then spoke to the Chinese memebers of the conference stating that "your continued support is strength of the Tibetan people's non-violent movement. Your presence here is a clear message that the Tibetan people's movement is not anti-China."
In his speech he suggested the logic behind China's vast economic was to "drown any attempt to assert Tibet's separate and distinct cultural identity."
"However, these attempts to throw money to solve Beijing's Tibet problem have been a spectacular failure. This is because most of Beijing's investment in Tibet has gone to infrastructure building of roads, airports, and railway network that will connect Lhasa with Shigatse and then extend to Tibet's border with Nepal. There is another extension plan to connect Dromo, Tibet's border with Bhutan and the Indian. Though the construction of roads, airports and a network of railway lines have a distinct military implications for Tibet's neighbours, for the Tibetan people the result of easier travel to and within Tibet is devastating. There is an onrush of settlers and migrant workers to the Tibetan plateau to take advantage of the greater job opportunities in Tibet. It is these new migrant Chinese workers who are the real beneficiaries of Beijing's financial generosity to Tibet." He stated
"These days Tibetans in Tibet see their traditional way of life washed away in a flood of so-called development activities that do not meet their real needs. They see their jobs taken away by an ever increasing number of migrant Chinese workers and their future and religion held hostage by an overbearing government. They see their environment disrespected and polluted by mining and ever more dams. Politically, the government has become increasingly intrusive in the personal lives of the people of Tibet. Even the mildest expression of devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama lands individual Tibetans in prison. Recently, a string of Tibetan writers, singers, film-makers, environmentalists and businessmen, all of whom are perceived as pro-Chinese establishment and some of whom have been honoured as model workers by the Chinese government, have been arrested and imprisoned for their alleged links with Tibetans in the free world. Even school children are hauled into prison for their expression of devotion to Tibet's separate cultural identity." Highlighting the recent protest inside Tibet over educational reforms that would see Tibetan no longer taught as the common langauge in schools.
Mentioning the recent protests and the 2008 uprising Sandhong Rinpoche explained that the majority of Tibetans still adhere to His Holiness' Middle-Way Policy saying that, "Our determination to resolve the issue of Tibet peacefully with Beijing is reflected in the fact that in 2008 alone His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy, Mr. Lodi Gyari, and Envoy, Mr. Kelsang Gyaltsen, met with their Chinese counterparts three times. As desired by the Chinese authorities, the two envoys handed them a Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People. Our basic demand as spelled out in the Memorandum is that all Tibetans should come under one administration that enjoys genuine autonomy. This demand is based on the rights given to the minorities as enshrined in the constitution and autonomy law of the PRC. Regardless of the current attitude of the Chinese government to our reasonable and legitimate demands, we remain committed to the dialogue process and is willing to meet the concerned PRC's officials any time, anywhere."
He concluded by saying that "this will be my last address as the Kalon Tripa at an international Tibet Support Group Conference. I have been able to attend all Tibet Support Group Conferences since the second TSG conference held at Bonn in 1996. The energy and enthusiasm generated by these conferences is a source of great hope. I would like to express my personal appreciation to all individuals who are involved in this great international movement for the survival of Tibet. Once again I would like to express the sincere appreciation of the Kasahg to all Tibet supporters, old and new and those who are no longer with us. The Tibet Support Group movement will remain a lasting legacy of their tireless work for the people of Tibet."
