Tibet: Conflict Since 1959

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." -Lao Tzu

The history of Tibet, a remote region in the southwest of China, is in many ways similar to most of the stories in history, at least when viewed from the perspective of colonization.  Tibet has remained largely isolated from the world for almost all of modern time.  Tibet is the highest region on earth, and is often referred to as the "roof of the world".  It is reported that humans have inhabited the region for over 20,000 years despite its inhospitable climate and elevation.  The people of Tibet have historically existed largely off of subsistence farming and agriculture, although that is changing rapidly today.  Tibet is the homeland of His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama, a prominent figure in world peace activism and religious tolerance.  Most of us are familiar with his face...

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of Tibet.  Before 1959, he lived in Lhasa in the Potala Palace overlooking the city.  In 1959, the Chinese army invaded Tibet and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee over the Himalayas to India where he currently lives in exile in the city of Dharmasala.  Since that time, Tibet and China have been in a struggle to determine who has the right to control the affairs in Tibet.  In is in this struggle for control that the conflict exists.

The long history of whether or not Tibet is a part of China is too long and complex to explore in this post, so I am choosing to write about what has been happening very recently in this conflict.  In 2008, as the Olympic Games were nearing in Beijing, peaceful protests began to erupt in Tibet over Chinese control in the region.  Protesters saw an opportunity to make their cause better known on the world's stage and they took it.    The Chinese government was embarrassed by widespread unrest in the Tibetan region just before the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and has been cracking down on any form of protest or civil unrest ever since.  The Chinese government says that only 19 people were killed during the 2008 civil unrest, but the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, which operates out of Dharmasala, India claims that Chinese troops killed more than 200, injured hundreds more, and have jailed many others for participating in the peaceful demonstrations.  In recent times, we have seen the Chinese government react strongly to any mention of the "Jasmine Revolutions" occurring in Northern Africa and the Middle East by arresting anyone known for voicing opposition to Chinese policies and giving stern warnings to those who have not been arrested.  Just this week, the Dalai Lama announced that he will be stepping down from his political role as a Tibetan leader so that he can allow the democratic process in Tibet develop new leadership.  

The policy of the Chinese government toward Tibet has been one of a competing style of conflict.  It is clearly a case of China believing that a hard bargaining approach, backed by clear military superiority is their best approach.  China blamed the Dalai Lama for the protests that began in 2008 and called him “a wolf in monk’s robes”.  The Dalai Lama, in his normal magnanimous style, invited the Chinese to send an investigation team to his home to look through all of his personal documents and speeches to determine if he had any role in the instigation of the protests.  China has not taken him up on his offer.  We can see here that the style of the Dalai Lama is a collaborating method.  He has constantly called for efforts to work together to solve the conflict, in spite of the constant demonization of him by the Chinese government and its cronies.  Even his recent step down from a political role has been met with scorn by the Chinese government.  An official said that his stepping down is a "trick to deceive the international community."

The conflict between Tibet and China is a clear example of a dominant culture  marshaling all of its forces to overrun another. Tibet has vast unexplored areas of wilderness that may contain resources that China needs to maintain its incredible growth.  It is not lost on me the many similarities between what has been happening in Tibet and what happened here in the United States when we overran and took everything from the American Indian tribes who had lived on these lands for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.  When everything is viewed as a commodity, the march of progress does not slow down to consider the people being trampled and left in its wake.  We are witness, once again, to such a process in Tibet.