Full Text: Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide
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E-mail Xinhua, April 15, 2015
IV. A Veneer of Peace and Non-violence
Over the years, the Dalai group has propagated its "middle way" with the use of such terms "peace" and "non-violence" to hide its true nature, feigning beneficence to gain international sympathy and support. Looking beyond the warm words, however, it is not difficult to find evidence that they have been willing to resort to both violence and non-violence, and to carry out violence under the guise of non-violence. For the Dalai party, "peace" and "non-violence" are no more than fig leaves, and in truth they have never abandoned the use of violence to promote their ultimate goal of "Tibetan independence."
- The Dalai party has never abandoned the use of violence to achieve their ultimate goal of full independence.
In 1959, the Dalai party launched a large-scale armed revolt against officials the central government stationed in Tibet, and massacred local Tibetans who supported democratic reform. The 14th Dalai Lama was not only well-informed of the action but gave it his active support. He wrote in his book My Spiritual Autobiography: "Every one of them is armed to teeth, and even my personal cook is carrying a bazooka, with his waist belt full of ammunition. He has been well trained by the CIA..."
After the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, he reorganized an army and waited to "fight his way back to Tibet." In 1960 in Mustang, a county in north Nepal, he rebuilt the "Chushi Gangdruk," an anti-Chinese guerilla force. In 1962, with support from external powers, he built a Special Frontier Force composed of mainly Tibetan exiles. From 1961 to 1965, these forces sneaked across the border 204 times to harass Chinese border troops and civilians.
The Dalai group has got armed support from the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). According to the US archives disclosed, the Dalai Lama first established contacts with the US government in 1951 after the peaceful liberation of Tibet. During the armed rebellion in Tibet, the CIA not only sent agents to help the 14th Dalai to flee, but also purposefully trained militants to support his forces and airdropped a large quantity of weaponry. An article titled "Heiliger Schein" published on June 8, 2012 in the Suddeutsche Zeitung commented that, as the leading exponent of pure pacifism, Dalai's knowledge of the CIA's infiltration in Tibet was probably much more than he had admitted so far; and this tainted the spiritual leader. The article also pointed out that the 14th Dalai Lama's relationship with CIA was "incompatible with his status as the supreme moral authority."
With the evolving international situation since the late 1970s, the Dalai group's use of violence was steadily losing public support. It turned to a new dual strategy: constantly provoking incidents of violence to keep up the pressure on the central government, while publicly proclaiming non-violence to deceive his international audience. In the 1980s, a succession of violent incidents took place, planned or instigated by the Dalai party. On September 21, 1987, the 14th Dalai Lama made a speech to the US congress, calling for independence. On September 27, in the square of Jokhang Temple, a group of lamas shouted separatist slogans, attacked police, and injured many civilians. On October 1, a small gang of rioters raided the police station on Barkhor Street in Lhasa and burned seven cars, leaving dozens of policemen injured. The rioters proclaimed that the Dalai Lama was fighting for Tibetan independence. They demanded the support of bystanders and the general public, and threatened personal retaliation on those who failed to join them. On March 5, 1988, during the Monlam Prayer Festival, a gang of rioters stormed into local Party and government offices and police stations around the Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street, smashing and burning cars and shops, leading to 299 police and civilian casualties. From March 5 to 7 of 1989, Lhasa witnessed another riot in which one policeman was shot dead and 40 others were injured, and 107 shops and 24 government offices, primary schools and neighborhood committees destroyed. On March 11, 1992, nine Tibetan separatists attacked the Chinese embassy in India with fire bombs.
A much more serious riot took place on March 14, 2008. That day, a mob congregated in the downtown area of Lhasa, assaulting innocent passers-by with weapons including rocks, daggers and clubs, smashing and looting vehicles, shops, banks, the Telecom business offices, and government properties, severely disrupting social order, and causing heavy losses of life and property. During the incident, there were over 300 cases of arson, while 908 shops, seven schools, 120 houses, and five hospitals were damaged. Ten bank branches were looted, at least 20 buildings were burnt to the ground, and 84 vehicles were torched. Most seriously, a total of 18 people were burnt or hacked to death, and 382 people were injured - 58 of them seriously. There is ample evidence that the March 14 riot was organized, masterminded and instigated by the Dalai group. After the incident, the 14th Dalai Lama himself released a statement through his personal secretariat, describing the riots as "peaceful protests." On March 16, he said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that he would not ask the rioters to stop because their demands came from the Tibetan people, and he had to respect their will. In the meantime, the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), very much under the influence of the Dalai, passed a resolution to "immediately organize guerrillas to infiltrate China for armed struggle." The head of the TYC claimed that they were ready to sacrifice another 100 Tibetans to win complete victory. ( - The separatists' attempts to disrupt the Olympic Games expose their hypocrisy.
The Olympic Games are a symbol of peace, friendship and progress, which is welcomed and cherished by all peoples. The Tibetan separatists' disruption of the Beijing Olympic Games exposed their hollow image of "non-violence."
In May 2007, the Tibetan independence forces and the international anti-China forces held the Fifth International Campaign for Tibet in Brussels. It was attended by Samten, leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile. At this meeting, a strategic plan was agreed to launch a campaign to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Later, the Tibet independence organizations in the US put forward proposals for a "Tibetan people's uprising." Believing the 2008 Olympic Games represented the last opportunity to achieve the Tibetan independence, they decided to take advantage of this "opportunity" while China was the focus of international attention before the Olympic Games. Their goal was to "instigate and coordinate activities within Tibet to create crisis for China."
Towards the end of 2007, radical groups, such as the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) and the Tibetan Women's Association (TWA), held meetings in India, announcing plans to launch a People's Uprising in Tibet. On January 4 and January 25, 2008, seven Tibetan independence organizations held a press conference in New Delhi, India, releasing proposals for this uprising, spreading the news on more than 100 websites, and threatening to instigate constant large-scale uprisings from March 10, 2008. On March 10, the 14th Dalai made a speech, urging his followers within Chinese territory to engage in violence. On the same day, the TYC made a statement, claiming that it would "now seize a most important opportunity never before seen in our struggle for independence - the upcoming Olympic Games," and that it would "spare neither blood nor life for Tibetan independence."
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