Tibetans Struggle with an Orwellian Government

By Nick Gier, Unfiltered 3-19-08

TIBETANS STRUGGLE IN DEALING WITH
AN ORWELLIAN GOVERNMENT

By Nick Gier, Professor Emeritus, University of Idaho ()

In 1999 I visited the Drepung Monastery, 3 miles outside of Lhasa. There I saw firsthand evidence of Chairman Mao's Red Guard attack in 1966. Political graffiti defaced the walls of the huge temple complex in which 10,000 monks used to reside.

The Red Guards destroyed two of the four colleges, and they either killed or exiled all but 500 of the monks. Since 1959, an estimated 1 million Tibetans have died and 6,000 monasteries destroyed.

Everywhere I went Tibetans either flashed a picture of the Dalai Lama, or asked if I could give them one. Possessing his picture is illegal, so I was surprised to find several his pictures on open display in a travel office I visited.

On March 10, 400 Drepung monks marched on Lhasa. Half way to the capital city, they were stopped by the police, many were beaten, and 50-60 were arrested.

At Lhasa's Sera monastery, where I watched dramatic philosophy debates in 1999, 500-600 monks took to the streets shouting "we want an independent Tibet."

On March 14, Tibetans in Lhasa reacted to the suppression of the monks by throwing rocks at the police and setting fire to cars and Chinese businesses. The Chinese government reported that 16 have been killed, but Tibetan sources put the death toll at 80. One Chinese source said that the police were ordered not to fire back, even though several of them were reported killed by a barrage of rocks.

Observers believe that the Beijing government has been measured in its response because of the upcoming Olympic Games and the pressure that the government is under about its human rights record.

The monks timed their protests to coincide with the 49th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight from his home country. On March 31, 1959, after a grueling 15-day trek from Lhasa, the Dalai Lama crossed the border into India, where he set up a government in exile in Dharmsala in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Chinese officials have blamed the Dalai Lama for the violence, but he has always been committed to a peaceful solution to Tibet's status. On March 18 the Dalai Lama declared that he would step down as political leader of the Tibetan exiles if his followers in Tibet would not use nonviolent methods.

Much to the distress of many Tibetans, the Dalai Lama has given up the idea of an independent Tibet. He is willing to work with the Chinese authorities as long as there is a democratic vote to determine his status and other basic issues. The Beijing government, however, refuses to meet with him, and there have been no talks of any kind since 1993.

After a disastrous attempt to wipe out religion in China, the Communist government established an ingenious but oppressive compromise. Through the State Administration of Religious Affairs, the government carefully controls the religious lives of Chinese Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists.

Catholics may not pay allegiance to the pope, and Buddhists may not appeal to the authority of the Dalai Lama. Most of China's Christians, numbering perhaps as many as 40 million, attend illegal "house" churches.

In August, 2007, the ministry of religious affairs, in a proclamation right out of George Orwell's 1984, declared that no Tibetan lama could be reincarnated without its permission. This was a very stupid and clumsy way for the government to determine who the next Dalai Lama will be.

In announcing the new law an official explained that it was "an important move to institutionalized management of reincarnation." It was an answer to the Dalai Lama's announcement in 1995 that his successor would be born outside of Tibet and China.

The Beijing government has already chosen the new Panchen Lama, the Dalai Lama's right-hand man. The 6-year-old boy the Dalai Lama chose for this position was kidnapped by Chinese authorities and he has not been seen since 1995.

The Dalai Lama has become one of the world's most celebrated spiritual leaders. His simple charm and embrace of all religions has won the hearts of millions. Many have asked the Dalai Lama how they can become Buddhists, and his answer is that people ought to stay within their own religions. All of them, he claims, have a core of goodness.

As the Dalai Lama once said, "my religion is kindness," and one could not conceive of a better way to dialogue with the world's religions.

Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. Read or listen to his other columns at http://www.NickGier.com.

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