DALAI LAMA'S REPRESENTATIVE PREDICTS CONTINUED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 000808 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2028 TAGS: PHUM PREL OVIP CH IN SUBJECT: DALAI LAMA'S REPRESENTATIVE PREDICTS CONTINUED UNREST IN TIBET NEW DELHI 00000808 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: Ambassador David C. Mulford for reasons 1.4 (b and d) 1.(C) SUMMARY: In a March 17 meeting with Ambassador Mulford, Representative of His Holiness The Dalai Lama Tempa Tsering characterized the recent uprisings in China as SIPDIS Tibetans and monks &making a desperate move to preserve their culture8 in the face of the massive government-orchestrated migration of Han Chinese into the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). He worried that the movement would continue to gain momentum and lead to further violence. He also noted that the unrest differs from past skirmishes with the authorities as it involved not only monks but also Tibetan youth, specifically from Lhasa University. He said that his discussions earlier in the day with the GOI focused on the ongoing peace marches organized in India, and the Ministry of External Affairs made no mention of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi,s Dharamsala visit on March 21. Tsering asked the Ambassador to urge the USG to continue to SIPDIS urge the Chinese government to exercise restraint, pressure the Chinese for substantive talks with the Dalai Lama and to support the Dalai Lama,s call for an international tribunal to investigate China,s violent repression of Tibetans in Lhasa. Tsering also handed the Ambassador a copy of a letter to President Bush. END SUMMARY. -------------- A desperate move to preserve Tibetan culture -------------- ¶2. (C) At the Ambassador,s invitation, on 17 March Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tempa Tsering briefed Ambassador Mulford on the ongoing unrest in the TAR and protests in India. He delivered a letter from the Dalai Lama to President Bush (see para 7) and a letter from himself to the Ambassador (para 8). Tsering explained that the riots in Lhasa were the result of a pent-up and longstanding frustration over the Chinese government,s policy of promoting the migration of Han Chinese to the TAR. He noted that the Tibetans no longer comprise the majority of the population in Lhasa and worried that the Tibetan culture would be erased through population dilution within a few years. He stated that Tibetan youth and monks were &making a desperate move to preserve their culture, highlighting that the movement included the younger, secular segment of Tibetan society for the first time.8 Tsering explained that the Chinese authorities, imposition of martial law in Lhasa is resulting in similar uprisings in neighboring provinces such as Sichuan and Yunnan. He forecast that the movement &will not die easily.8 -------------- Tibetans in India won't sit idly -------------- ¶3. (C) Turning to recent protests and resulting arrests in India, Tsering told the Ambassador that Tibetan marchers arrested by Indian police in Kangra District last week were being detained for fourteen days, as they declined to sign statements that they would desist from future demonstrations. Tsering lamented that the GOI,s response to the peaceful marchers, commenting that it was an ironic reaction by a government that prides itself on being the world,s largest democracy. He remarked that MEA officials were &very itchy8 about the ongoing peace march to Tibet and asked the office of the Dalai Lama to control its people. Tsering said he replied that the 100,000 Tibetans residing in India could not sit by idly while their brethren were being massacred in Tibet. He highlighted that the Dalai Lama publicly urged Tibetans residing in India to abide by the law of the land and avoid any activities that will embarrass India. Tsering reported that the marchers in India were employing Gandhian tactics and planned to replace any demonstrators arrested with new recruits who will continue the march. He said that sixty new marchers had resumed the peace march from Dehradun on March 17. -------------- Pelosi visit expected without incident -------------- ¶4. (C) Tsering told the Ambassador that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi,s scheduled March 21 visit to Dharamsala, the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, will not be marred by demonstrations, relating that Dharmasala,s population of 12,000 Tibetans will celebrate the Speaker,s visit. He recounted that the Ministry of External Affairs did not give any indication that they were displeased with the proposed Pelosi visit during his March 17 meeting. NEW DELHI 00000808 002 OF 004 -------------- No refugee influx expected -------------- ¶5. (C) In response the Ambassador,s question regarding potential refugee influxes due to the crackdown in Lhasa, Tsering postulated that martial law in Lhasa and similar SIPDIS crackdowns elsewhere severely restricted the freedom of movement of the Tibetan people. Therefore, no influx into India or neighboring Nepal is expected. ¶6. (SBU) Tempa completed his briefing by positing that the GOI, as the world,s largest and flourishing democracy &needs to stand up against the Government of China,8 permit peaceful demonstrations, and urge the Chinese government to enter into meaningful and substantive negotiations with the Dalai Lama to address the legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people. He also requested that the Ambassador urge the USG to support the Dalai Lama,s idea of an international tribunal to investigate the recent violent repression in Tibet and pressure the Chinese to accept the process. -------------- Indian Parliament, press critical of government -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Tibet question was addressed at length in the March 17 session of the Indian Lok Sabha with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee reiterating the GOI's March 15 press release that India was concerned over the unsettled conditions, violence and deaths of innocent people in Tibet. He proclaimed that India,s policy on Tibet and China, which was formulated in 1959, remained the same and no government, including the opposition when it had been in power, had changed it. The opposition BJP asked the government to "raise its voice" against the crackdown during the session with the BJP's V K Malhotra criticizing the government, alleging that Tibetans were being "massacred" in Lhasa and that China was trying to "culturally finish Tibet." BJP member Adityanath claimed that if China was not stopped now, it would "annex Nepal and then the northeastern states. The Samajwadi Party's Ramjilal Suman called for the government to inform the House about its stand on the 'violation of human rights' in Tibet while 48 members of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum called for the GOI to allow the Tibetans to demonstrate peacefully. Minister of Parliament and All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum member Kiran Rijiju announced that he will write a letter to the Home Minister demanding the immediate release of all Tibetans arrested for their peaceful demonstrations. ¶8. (SBU) The Asian Age, often a champion of the Left, surprisingly characterized the Communist Party India-Marxist's (CPI-M) comment on the uprising in Tibet as "an internal matter," as hypocritical and "blatant escapism." The March 18 Times of India reported China is pressuring the GOI to remain neutral about the Tibetan situation and urging the Indians to continue to restrain demonstrators in India. The TOI cited an unnamed Chinese Embassy official as stating that, "We realize India would not directly discuss this issue with the Dalai Lama, but there are ways for India to persuade him." The TOI also reported that officials in Beijing said that India's help at this critical juncture would help boost bilateral ties. Chinese Ambassador to India Zhang Yang met with several select journalists on March 17 and said that, "We hope that Indian friends can clearly see the nature of those instigating and conspiring activities of the Dalai clique which aims at splitting China and disrupting the Olympics." Signaling China's satisfaction with India's stance on the uprising in Tibet, Zhang added that, "The Indian government has not fallen into the trap of western nations that are condemning the Chinese government's actions in Tibet." ¶9. (SBU) Begin text of Dalai Lama,s letter to the President: March 15, 2008 Your Excellency: As you are aware, there have been demonstrations and peaceful protests in many parts of Tibet, including Lhasa, in recent days that have resulted in a number of deaths. I am very disturbed and saddened by these developments. I have appealed to the Chinese government to stop using force. I would like to strongly urge Your Excellency to prevail upon NEW DELHI 00000808 003 OF 004 the Chinese leadership to exercise utmost restraint in dealing with these protests. Instead of addressing the long-simmering resentment through dialogue with the Tibetan people, the Chinese government accuses me of being behind these protests. This is preposterous and completely baseless. On the contrary we remain committed to the process of dialogue with the Chinese government in order to seek a mutually beneficial solution to the Tibetan Issue. With my prayers and good wishes. Yours sincerely, /s/ Tenzin Gyatso H.E. George W. Bush President of the United States of America The White House Washington, DC USA End text of Dalai Lama,s letter to the President. ¶10. (SBU) Begin text of Tempa Tsering,s letter to Ambassador Mulford: BUREAU OF HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA H.E. Mr. David C. Mulford Ambassador Embassy of United States of America Chanakyapuri New Delhi 110021 17th March, 2008 Your Excellency, As Your Excellency is aware, the developments in Tibet are extremely disturbing and painful. These developments are the consequences of Chinese Government's persistent and recently intensified policies of repression, denying fundamental human rights to the Tibetan people, massive Chinese population transfer into Tibet thus making Tibetans insignificant minorities and second class citizens in their own country, systematic destruction of everything that represent Tibetans as a distinct people, be it language, culture, religion and the unprecedented and most derogatory criticisms against His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Despite China's claim of prosperity, happiness and developments, the reality is that the vast majority of Tibetan people in Tibet live in constant fear and anguish and are opposed to the Chinese policies. Therefore, the ongoing series of demonstrations taking place all over Tibet are a spontaneous expression of Tibetan people's popular movement to express their resentment and opposition against China's rule and it's treatment of the Tibetan people. The Tibetan people now seriously feel that their very existence and survival is greatly threatened. Though unconfirmed but according to reliable information we have just received, about 80 people were killed and many more were seriously wounded. Lhasa is now under virtual martial law. The situation continue to remain extremely tense and it is being reported that the demonstrations have quickly spread to many other parts of Tibet particularly in those areas incorporated into neighboring Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu & Yunnan. The Tibetan population in Tibet is completely unarmed and Tibetans are by nature non-violent and peace loving. It is a common knowledge that Chinese authorities do not tolerate any dissent or opposition, no matter how just or peaceful these may be; the world has witnessed this at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989. We are now deeply concerned that the Chinese authorities will resort to further use of brute force to suppress the non-violent and peaceful demonstrations of the Tibetan people. May we, therefore, request Your Excellency and through you to your government: 1) To ask the Chinese Government to refrain from using brute NEW DELHI 00000808 004 OF 004 force against the Tibetan demonstrators and to release all those detained; 2) To ask the Chinese Government to restore fundamental rights of the Tibetan people and respect their aspirations; 3) To ask the Chinese Government to make serious and concerted efforts to find a peaceful and negotiated resolution to the issue of Tibet; and 4) To ask the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Amnesty International and any other independent international organization to thoroughly investigate and monitor the human rights situation in Tibet, particularly following the recent protests. I enclosed herewith some updates on the developments relating to the recent demonstrations in Tibet for your kind information. With assurance of my highest esteem, /s/ Tempa Tsering Representive (sic) of His Holiness the Dalai Lama End text of Tempa Tsering,s Letter to Ambassador Mulford. MULFORD