OFFICIAL RESOLUTION OF ANGUISH AND SOLIDARITY
PREAMBLE
It has been 70 years since the Communist Party of China began to govern China after it established on the 1st of October in 1949 what it called the People’s Republic of China. Under the armed invasion and accompanying violent repression of the communist Chinese government, the entire territory and the natural and human resources of the great independent nation of Tibet was, through course of time, brought under the dominion of the occupation rule. As a result, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the supreme temporal head and spiritual leader of Tibet, was compelled to travel to India for refuge, along with many tens of thousands of other Tibetan people. Over the last more than 60 years, there has been no change whatsoever in the policy of violent repression and brutal persecution pursued by the government of China on the issue of Tibet. In addition, on the one hand China maintains that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a separatist, the head of the ‘Dalai separatist clique’ and thereby issues all sorts of blasphemous as well as libelous remarks and vile epithets against Him. On the other hand, it has issued documents such as the State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5 which lays down Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas and thereby greatly increased its interference in the process for the recognition of His reincarnation in recent years. On that basis, it has taken to subject the lamas, tulkus and other religious figures in Tibet to special training courses. Through such and various other means as well, the government of China has strengthened its interferences by taking direct charge of matters concerned with the process for the recognition of the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and this remains an ever growing intrusive trend. Besides, there is continuing violation of fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people. There is coercive deprivation of right to exercise religious freedom. Places of religious training and practice are being destroyed while limits are imposed on the strength of enrolment of monks and nuns. The movement of the Tibetan people even within their own land is severely restricted. The natural environment of Tibet has been devastated with reckless mineral ore extraction undertakings. Tibetans are being prevented from protecting their own linguistic heritage. Innocent Tibetans continue to be detained or arrested and jailed on false criminal accusations in large numbers. Many such Tibetans continue to be subjected to such treatment as to cause their unnatural death. With a panoply of such and other kinds of abuses having continued through some four generations of Tibetan people, it is little wonder that there has never been any let up in peaceful Tibetan protest campaigns against the communist Chinese government. In particular, since the year 2009, until now, a total of 153 Tibetan people have been driven to set themselves on fire in protest against the communist Chinese government. But despite such and other kinds of desperate protest actions, the government of communist China has not cared to listen to or respond positively to the demands of the Tibetan people. Rather, it has continued to subject the Tibetan people to such brutal ill-treatment and torture as if the realm of hell has been transferred to the land of the living people. It is therefore appurtenant to address the requirement of the time that a resolution be adopted accordingly at this session of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile.
RESOLUTION
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the unsurpassable leader of the Tibetan people, is like the eyes on the forehead and the hearts in the bosoms of all sentient beings in general in the Snowland of Tibet and especially of all of the Tibetan people in Tibet and in exile with whom He is connected by a special bond of devotional vows that continues from lifetime after lifetime. Hence the leadership of the Chinese government should bring an end to its separatist campaign activities of blasphemy and defamation being carried out against Him. All powers to take decisions pertaining to the process for the discovery and recognition of the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama lie exclusively in His Holiness Himself and the duly empowered trustees of the Gaden Phodrang Foundation of the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan Parliament in Exile remains emphatic that the leadership of the atheist communist Chinese government can never have that power.
- The Central Tibetan Administration remains perseverant in its commitment to pursue a solution by every possible means through the Middle Way Approach which is mutually beneficial to China and Tibet. In keeping with this commitment on our part, the Tibetan Parliament in Exile insists that the government of China be also forthwith on its part in unequivocally starting a Sino-Tibetan dialogue for this purpose.
- As expressed in successive resolutions of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile in its numerous previous sessions, the government of China should end its policy of violent repression and brutal persecution in Tibet. It should release all political prisoners in Tibet, including especially the Panchen Rinpoche. It should bear full responsibility for the survival and wellbeing of the Tibetan people it has released after they had been arrested and jailed or detained. It should also end the coercive deprivation of the fundamental human rights and religious freedom of the Tibetan people. It should bring to an end the environmental devastation of Tibet wreaked by such activities as reckless extraction of mineral ores being carried out by it throughout the land. The Tibetan Parliament in Exile demands that the leadership of the government of China no longer remain deaf and insensitive to the peaceful protests carried out and pleas issued by the Tibetan people over the period encompassing the past nearly four generations of them and instead respond to them positively.
- In the year 2018, the United States Congress adopted a law, mandating that China provide reciprocal access to Tibet for its citizens. The Tibetan Parliament in Exile appeals to all concerned authorities to assume a high level of responsibility to duly implement or respect the provisions of this law. Likewise, we call on the government of China to return in all speediness the passports of Tibetan people it has confiscated and so on.
- To all the governments and parliaments as well as non-governmental organizations or private individuals in the international community who have thus far extended support and offered solidarity in our period of anguish; in particular, adopted laws or passed resolutions beneficial towards furthering the issue of Tibet; and otherwise extended – and still continue to extend – help, facilities as well as other kinds of support, both nationally and internationally, The Tibetan Parliament in Exile expresses utmost gratitude. The Tibetan Parliament in Exile hereby adopts this resolution with unanimous approval on this the 20th day of September in 2019.
The above resolution was adopted with unanimous approval at the 8th session of the 16th Tibetan Parliament in Exile on this the 20th day of September in 2019.
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* In case of any discrepancy between this English translation and its Tibetan original, the latter should be considered authoritative and final for all purposes