The Dilemma of the Dalai Lama visit

Prime Minister John Key and his ministers do not intend to meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to New Zealand this week.

Could this have been a topic for discussion at the APEC meeting held in Singapore lat fortnight? China’s President Hu Jintao apparently had talks with all the heads of state and this appears to have been the result; or perhaps it is not the propitious time (or Karma) for the Dalai Lama to visit New Zealand.

He suffered a similar fate in the US and recently in India when he visited the Himalayan state of Arunachal, which the Chinese claim as their territory.

Truly, he has become an international ‘touch me not’.

As more and more western governments feel the crunch of the times and the need to revive the economy, they are kowtowing to China’s monetary influence as a saviour.

The Peoples Republic of China (PRC), in return demands not only recognition of Tibet as part of its territory, but also an apology for not having done so earlier.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetans and he took refuge in India 60 years ago when the Chinese occupied Tibet.

Along with him came several thousand Tibetans into a land that has historically accepted refugees, more out of compassion than as foreign policy.

Geographical proximity to India and spiritual compatibility may have been influencing factors for India’s action.

Another US muddle

However, it is now publicly known through The CIA’s Secret War in Tibet (a book written by former CIA Operatives Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison), that the Dalai Lama’s exile into India was facilitated by covert US interest in Tibet.

Historically, the Himalayan State has been under Chinese rule from time to time, but enjoyed an autonomous and tributary status, with less interference in their spiritual and cultural freedom.

General Zorawar Singh Kahluria of the Sikh Empire led his campaign into Tibet in 1841. The Tibetans fought the invaders with Chinese help.

Later in 1904, the British and the Manchus signed a treaty, which kept Tibet somewhat autonomous.

Tibet has been invaded several times, but what is now of concern is that they are at the risk of losing their cultural identity due to the growing influence of the dominant Han population of China.

To most people around the world, the Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader first and then perhaps seen as the head of a Government in exile.

I visited the Dharmasala in Himachal Pradesh sometime ago, heard his discourses and served with Tibetans. I found them to be a proud and successful community who have retained their identity while assimilating their host’s culture.

Home & Away

India is home to these Tibetans. Unfortunately, the same is not true for the Tibetans in Tibet. Even today, several walk hundreds of miles into India to escape a harsh regime. They, like many other minorities in China, oppose the Hanification of their regions (similar to the Russification of the various nationalities in the erstwhile Soviet Union).

Despite this, the Dalai Lama has stated that the economic progress of Tibet lies with China. He accepts this as Karma but not the ensuing generations.

The PRC perceives threats to its security from its neighbours, even as it has historical trade links with all of them driven by their hegemony.

There is a fear of containment from the US and its allies. Greater still is the threat from the internal strife of the minorities and the Chinese Government sees the Dalai Lama spearheading an international charade against their interest.

The question here is not of territorial integrity, but that of the aspirations of the people. The more the PRC distances itself from reality; it nourishes a threat to its internal security.

Foreign sympathy is aggressively countered with coercion and not with any constructive dialogue towards autonomy. In their drive to become more powerful than the rest, the Chinese have reached a position where they can influence local actions that affect communities around the world.

We have had several occasions in Auckland where the PRC has intervened in local events. This is a sad commentary for the Chinese community in New Zealand, that freedom is still curtailed by the Chinese government.

China has signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with several countries. It would regard the pact with New Zealand less important.

There are many debateable issues around any FTA and its effects on asymmetrical partners are yet to be seen.

The Dalai Lama has visited New Zealand several times and so have the heads of the Chinese government. In 2003, when I was working at the University of Auckland, Hu Jintao was visiting the University.

The Chinese officials demanded that the crowd of Falun Gong and other protestors outside the Clock Tower be taken away, to which one of the police officers on duty replied, they had a right to be there.

The police officer made all of us proud that we live in a land that is free and not governed by the dictates of a foreign power. In essence, he conveyed the feelings of the common people of New Zealand.

The Dalai Lama will be in New Zealand during the first week of this month.

My request to the Prime Minister is, “Please meet him. You have the mandate of the people of this country, which is more important than the feelings of a foreign government.”

Pradeep Kanthan, a former Colonel of the Indian Army, is an independent researcher on regional security with a focus on South Asia. He has been an invitational speaker at the New Zealand Defence Staff College addressing the Junior and Senior Command Courses and presented at seminars at the University of Auckland, AUT and the New Zealand Asian Studies Society. He was earlier Manager of New Zealand Asia Institute (University of Auckland) and now the Finance and Operations Controller of the Property Council New Zealand. Email: p.kanthan@xnet.co.nz