History of Peace Initiatives for Tibet

Tibet: Peace Initiatives

History of Peace Initiatives
Tibet was occupied by the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Prior to that date, Tibet functioned a de-facto independent state. In 1951, the Tibetan government signed the 17-Point Agreement on autonomy for Tibet with China. In 1954 the Dalai Lama visited Beijing and met with Mao Zedong to discuss cooperation between China and Tibet in a manner that would preserve Tibetan autonomy and safeguard the Tibetan religion and way of life. After a popular uprising in Lhasa in 1959 against Chinese rule, the Dalai Lama fled to India and repudiated the 17-Point Agreement as having been signed under duress.

Between 1959 and 1985, Tibet was effectively sealed off against the outside world. Much of its Buddhist culture and rich Buddhist heritage were destroyed. An estimated 1.2 million Tibetans were killed and 6,000 monasteries razed to the ground. The United Nations adopted three resolutions on Tibet, in 1959, 1961 and 1965, affirming the Tibetans’ right to self-determination.

In 1979, during the first visit to China by Gyalo Thundrup, the elder brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Deng Xiaoping told him that except for independence, all other issues could be settled through discussion. Between 1979 and 1985, at the invitation of Deng Xiaoping, four Tibetan fact-finding missions to Tibet took place to see the situation with their own eyes. They met with an emotional response by the Tibetans, who welcomed them as emissaries of the Dalai Lama.

In September 1987, in an address to the United States Congress, His Holiness proposed the Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet as the first step towards a peaceful solution to the worsening situation in Tibet. He envisaged Tibet  as a sanctuary; a zone of peace at the heart of Asia, where all sentient beings could exist in harmony and the delicate environment could be preserved.

The Five Point Peace Plan contained five basic components:
1. Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace.
2. Abandonment of China’s population transfer policy that threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a people.
3. Respect for the Tibetan people’s fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms.
4. Restoration and protection of Tibet’s natural environment and the abandonment of China’s use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of nuclear waste.
5. Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples.

China has so far failed to respond positively to the various peace proposals put forward by His Holiness.

Strasbourg Proposal
On 15 June 1988, in an address to the European Parliament, His Holiness elaborated on the last point of the Five Point Peace Plan. He proposed talks between the Chinese and Tibetans leading to a self-governing, democratic political entity for all three provinces of Tibet. This entity would be in association with the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Government would continue to remain responsible for Tibet’s foreign policy and defence. China responded to the proposal by offering to hold talks, on condition that the Dalai Lama drop the pursuit of independence. In 1993, the Dalai Lama sent two representatives to Beijing to submit a memorandum detailing his position. Subsequently, all formal contacts were cut.

Recent Peace Talks

Since 2002, and after a nine-year impasse, , eight rounds of talks have taken place between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese authorities.
At the seventh round of talks, just preceding the Olympic Games in 2008, the Chinese asked the Tibetans to explain their position of genuine autonomy within the Constitution of China.
The Dalai Lama aims to achieve genuine autonomy in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). At the eighth meeting, which was held in October 2008, the Tibetans presented the Chinese with a Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy.

According to the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy, “to a very considerable extent Tibetan needs can be met within the [Chinese] constitutional principles on autonomy.” Central to the Tibetan position is that the Tibetan nationality’s integrity must be respected and that all Tibetan areas in China –the Tibetan plateau- should be governed as one administrative autonomous unit. Today, the areas where Tibetans live are divided in a number of autonomous region’s, provinces and units.
In accordance with Chinese autonomy laws, Tibetans would have the right to to create their own regional government and have decision making powers in areas such as economic and social development and education. Genuine autonomy would also mean that Tibetans would have the right to preserve their traditional Buddhist culture, way of life and their language.

The Dalai Lama has stated: “I believe that the process of dialogue will benefit Tibetans as well as Chinese.” The Memorandum emphasises that Tibetans can benefit greatly from the rapid economic and scientific development China is experiencing and want to actively participate and contribute to this development. However, at the same time, Tibetans want to ensure that this happens without the people losing their Tibetan identity, culture and core values and without putting the distinct and fragile environment of the Tibetan plateau at risk.

However, at the close of eighth and last round of talks, the parties were further away than ever from reaching a common understanding.

Resolving the Tibetan issue in a peaceful manner will contribute to the stability and integrity of China. Governments and Heads of State worldwide support the proces of dialogue between Tibet and China. In addition, a growing number of Chinese themselves realise that the Tibetan-Chinese dialogue has created an opportunity for discussion about Tibet.

By rejecting the Middle-Way’ approach of the Dalai Lama, by denouncing the autonomy proposal contained in the Memorandum as ‘implied independence’ and by openly speculating about the Dalai Lama’s death, the Chinese attitude has been leading to more and more frustration among Tibetans. During a gathering of approximately 600 Tibetan leaders from all over world, however, a large majority of Tibetans issued their support to the Middle-Way approach of the Dalai Lama.