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Free Tibet – it belongs to the Tibetans
 Tsewang Sangmo Lama
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My country, Tibet, ceased to be a nation when China, under Mao Tse Tung, forcefully occupied it in 1950. Tibetan people in the thousands followed His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and fled into exile in India, Nepal and Bhutan in 1959, after nine long years of failed peaceful resistance and negotiations with China. Under President Eisenhower, the CIA did train Tibetan guerrillas in the beginning to eradicate the Chinese communist influence in Tibet, but later, during Richard Nixon's days, due to its economic interest with China, the CIA abandoned Tibet.
In exile, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, as our spiritual and political leader, set up a government in Dharamsala in Northern India and set forth a parliamentary form of democratic government. Tibetan people, both in exile and in Tibet, recognize the exile government as legitimate. His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressed the Five Point Peace Plan to the members of the United States Congress Sept. 21, 1987, which is one of the most comprehensive solutions proposed by the Dalai Lama to resolve Tibet-China conflict. His Holiness the Dalai Lama received world-wide recognition when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Dec.10, 1989.
As a kid, traveling to and from Nepal and India for my boarding school, I had to undergo much humiliation of identity crisis. My school ID card, which had Tibetan nationality in it, was not accepted in the custom offices by means of air, bus or train transport. Though we don't follow Indian freedom fighter Subash Chandra Boss's words, "Give me your blood and I will give you your freedom," Tibetans are wounded people. We've resorted to non-violent ways these past 50 years of peaceful freedom movement.
I had the best of life being born in Nepal, having studied in India and then flying to U.S. for my college degree and being in a truly democratic country. Back in my country, people are deprived of that. I have some good Chinese friends in St. Cloud and we discuss the Tibetan issue despite their reluctance to speak of it. I jokingly tell them that I am not afraid of them. I am happy that I can speak my mind here and I can help voice my fellow Tibetans.
The Tibetan-U.S. resettlement project approved by the U.S. Congress in 1990 helped the Tibetans economically and politically. One thousand Tibetans (whom we now nickname the "Lucky Thousand") settled in the U.S. through the lottery system. They then brought their families here. Currently, there are more than 7,000 Tibetans spread across the U.S. Surprisingly, Minnesota has the second largest Tibetan population in U.S., with more than 1,000 Tibetans living here. There is an office — Tibetan American Foundation (TAFM) — on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, staffed with American and Tibetan social and political activists.
The institutions of Dalai Lama has been the source of inspiration to all the Tibetans inside and outside. Tibet and Tibetans are the victims of communist occupation, genocide, human rights abuses, discrimination and so on. Time is running out. We need your help. President Bush will leave for his first-ever U.S.-China summit this Saturday and Tibetans and supporters from different states have been actively mobilizing, holding rallies and civil disobedience at the Chinese embassy and U.S. Capitol.
Most of the Western countries, especially the U.S., continue to support Tibet on issues of gross human rights violations. I am also aware of many other treaties, international laws, conventions and so on signed in the history of the world, particularly, Article 15 under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states, "Everyone has a right to a nationality, and no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality." I hope one day all these set forth laws and declarations apply to Tibet and Tibetans who are also a part of this world.
Free Tibet and long live His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
Tsewang Sangmo Lama can be reached at: [email protected]
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