By a common Tibetan who believes Rangzen is the best solution for Tibet and that we should openly demand for it. - April 2013
One of the arguments being made in favor of Middleway is that it has International support. I think it is a very weak argument, but it is made nonetheless mainly to imply that Rangzen does not have any such support, which is not true at all. It may be the case that many governments support a resolution through dialogue but we have to look at what that support has got us so far. These western governments whose support we so desperately seek will never sacrifice their economic interests for the sake of Tibetans. One has to just take a quick glance at the recent history to see the evidence of it. How do we know if they genuinely care about us and are not colluding with China. After all these western countries have a lot invested in China under the protection of the current Chinese Fascistic regime. And increasingly the Chinese government is now starting to invest a lot in these western countries. Why would they want to jeopardise their interests by causing instability in that region. How do we know that they are not feeling so lucky that Tibetans, unlike the Palestinians, are not only so passive but also can be so easily fooled?
On the other hand, it can be argued that there are equal number of foreign citizens and organizations who support Rangzen if not more. Believe it or not there are people who will come out and support a just cause IF WE FIGHT FOR IT. Even in India, at the recent Solidarity Rally organized by the CTA (no less), majority of the Indian political leaders who spoke at the rally expressed support for Tibet’s Independence.
There is this irrational fear among some Tibetans that if we change our position to complete Independence, we will lose International support. People who think this way are likely to have doubts if our cause is just or whether truth is even on our side. And that is so sad that it is beyond my limited English vocabulary to express.
As long as our struggle is non-violent there will always be support from people who believe in justice and truth.
Besides, has anybody thought that even if any of these foreign governments want to support Independence, how can they express it openly when our own government is saying we don’t want independence? No one wants to look like a fool. In other words, we won’t know if they will support us or not until we ourselves change our position. And there is no real reason to believe that they won’t support Independence for Tibet. And even if they don’t, should it really matter? Shouldn't we be fighting for what is rightfully ours any ways?
It is also being claimed that there are a lot of Chinese Buddhist supporters of Middleway. This drum is beaten so loudly these days that we are led to imagine Dharamsala must be overflowing with Chinese pilgrims. Well where are they? Even if there are Chinese Buddhist supporters, it should be questioned whether they are just dharma fans or whether they genuinely believe in a political solution between Tibet and China. Besides, there is no shortage of nut-jobs and self-serving people in this world who would say and do anything to be photographed with a world-famous person, just to boost their pathetic profile. Remember Shoko Asahara? The last thing we want is a Chinese mental patient slashing little Chinese school children with knife after returning from a visit to Dharamsala. I don’t know how much Chinese support we currently have,but if such a thing happens, I can guarantee you there will be no shortage of Chinese anger and hatred towards us.
One thing that needs to be clarified (and I blame the Rangzen advocates for not doing a good job of it) is that Rangzen advocates are not saying we will never negotiate with the Chinese. If there is to be a solution to our situation, of course there will have to be some sort of political negotiation. We will have to co-exist with the Chinese. And of course we are aware of that inevitable fact. But the difference between us and the Middleway is that before any such negotiation occurs we will always reserve our Right to Independence. That is something so sacred that we cannot give up. Such a negotiation will be on equal footings, between two nations. Therefore, our negotiation cannot occur in China. It has to occur in the presence of a neutral third country or at International stage. And furthermore, any negotiation with the current Fascist/Communist regime of China, which is directly responsible for all our plight,is almost out of the question.
Perhaps a stronger argument for Middleway is that it is practical and pragmatic, that it benefits both sides. But even if that is true ... Let’s say China and Tibet are equally skilled chess players (although that is a topic for another lengthy debate, let’s put that aside), how can Tibet expect to win the game by surrendering the Queen before it even begins? Also it is highly debatable that this solution is equally beneficial for both parties. A good businessman always sets the price high so that he will make profit even if he had to negotiate it down to the amount the customer can agree. Some might argue that the current situation is a small set back and that no harm has been done. No it is not. No real negotiations had even begun after all those talks. All they were doing was debating on the ground rules. The Tibetan delegation was being scolded repeatedly for being “mischievous”. In the end they came back with nothing. I don’t have to prove this; go ask Gyari Lodoe and Kesang Gyaltsen, the two superstars of Middleway. And now Beijing has rejected all possibility of any future talks. In other words, we have been completely snubbed, ridiculed, insulted,spit on, slapped and kicked between the eyes. So whether the Middleway proponents admit it or not that is the current result of this “mutually benefit”solution. AND we already gave up on Independence.
Middleway proponents are like someone who gambled and lost all his money and is now taking his anger out on his wife and children. They played all their cards. Hell, they even threw in the trump card – INDEPENDENCE. And guess what, the opposing team came to the table, spat on them and left the room. Of course, why would they play?They already have all the chips. Now, all we are left to do is somehow find a way to make ourselves not look like bhungus (donkeys). I mean what do you expect when you go to shake hands with the devil. It’s embarrassing and frustrating. But what can we do. When you are part of the family, sometimes you have to clean up the mess created by other family members and hope that they won’t repeat the same mistake. But in all likelihood that’s exactly what they are going to do. Aren't they? So the Tibetan people should seriously ask themselves whether they have stomach for another round of humiliation or learn from the past mistakes and declare enough is enough and start demanding what has always been rightfully ours – RANGZEN – and - NO LESS.
We may not win but we will never admit defeat before the game is over. We will not die away, China will have to come and strangle us. And even when we are dead,we will keep haunting them. But we will never say Tibet is part of China. We will never say Tibet is a “internal matter of China”. We will never sleep with the enemy in false hope that the enemy will someday love us. We have been slaves of our own ignorance and paid a heavy price for it; we don’t want to be slaves to the Chinese and their bed-fellows.
We must never give up our Right to Independence.
BHOD RANGZEN!!!
