Empty original: “We ask for help to stop immolations in Tibet”
LOBSANG, PRIME MINISTER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN EXILE OF TIBET
“La ocupación y la continua represión son las causas de las inmolaciones", says the leader
ANA GABRIELA ROJAS
Dharamsala (India)
Lobsang Sangay he looks relaxed and smiling. It's been a year since this Harvard lawyer received from the Dalai Lama the political power of the Government of Tibet in exile. “From time to time I go to the Dalai Lama to ask for his guidance and advice.”. He has been our leader for 60 years and knows much more, but, in the end, “The decision is mine.”, he says sitting in his office in Dharamsala, the city in northern India where the headquarters of the Government in exile is located. There he received EL PAÍS shortly before starting the special meeting attended by Tibetan leaders and international observers, who will discuss the issue until Friday. immolations in Tibet.
On the wall behind his desk hangs a huge photograph of a young Tenzin Gyatso, el actual Dalai Lama. In March of last year, the still religious leader of the Tibetans announced his retirement from politics and by vote Sangay was elected prime minister, position of which I took office in August. Until then the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 It was the only voice of the Tibetans. So, with a political leader, democratically elected, the autonomy movement has gained strength by not depending on a single individual, dice. The religious leader forced democracy and “has been supported a lot in the transition”.
“Among Tibetans, the anxiety that was experienced at the beginning over the transfer of political authority has decreased.. Besides, solidarity for the Tibetan cause has remained strong”, mentions as part of his achievements in the Government. But, Sangay does not lose sight of the fact that the biggest problem for Tibetans remains the same: “China's uncompromising policy”.
The phenomenon of immolations in Tibet is conclusive proof. In the last two years, 51 people have set themselves on fire and 41 of them have died. “The occupation and continuous repression are the causes of the immolations: “a desperate cry that says they would rather die than live under Chinese rule”. The government in exile has asked Tibetans to stop suicides. “But we have to recognize that we can do very little to avoid it as long as we cannot offer them better life alternatives”, says an official source.
"Podemos hacer muy poco para evitar [the immolations] while we cannot offer them better life alternatives
The political leader says that, as a Buddhist, Pray for those who have taken their lives and who, like Tibetan, “supports his aspiration for freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama”. Thank countries like the United States, the European Union and Japan parliamentary resolutions showing solidarity for suicides, but asks the international community for “concrete actions” to end them."
One way would be to pressure China to allow the media to enter Tibet., international delegations or independent Chinese scholars to inspect the situation within and inform the world.
“We have no basis to be optimistic, But human beings live on hope.”, says about a possible reopening of China to dialogue with its next leader, which is almost certainly Xi Jinping. For Sangay, times have changed and the Arab Spring and the release of Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, They are good signs.
Tibetans “remain committed to dialogue and peace”. He emphasizes that, like the Dalai Lama, He and the vast majority of Tibetans want the “middle way”, which means they do not seek independence, sino genuine autonomy within China and within the framework of its Constitution. “It is a very moderate and reasonable position. If China accepts it, it would benefit its image as a negotiating power and its unity as a country.”. If you don't accept it, China, is showing intransigence, and for the rest of the world “it is a lesson in what the Chinese are capable of”.
With his legal experience, Sangay explains that within the Asian country this type of autonomy arrangement already exists with Hong Kong and Macau. "But maybe they believe them because they are Chinese and we don't.", because we are Tibetans”.
China has recently rejected the lawyer as an interlocutor for having belonged to the Tibetan Youth Congress, that calls for independence. “But it is unreasonable. Until the day before the elections they had no problem with me. in 2005 They even allowed me to enter China. and in my 16 years of Harvard I interacted with many Chinese and even with people from the Communist Party and they never had problems because of it”. Sangay moved from Boston to Dharamsala last year when he was elected prime minister.. His wife and six-year-old daughter stayed in the United States., but he hopes they will move in with him soon.
In Dharamsala, Tibetans say that, during the Sangay Government, India has accepted that the renewal of exiles' residence permits is every five years and not every six months or a year, which saves them time in bureaucracy and gives them peace of mind. “This measure makes people's lives more comfortable.”. Benefits 90% of the community in India, to those who were born here or those who are over 20 years of living here”. India could soon transfer the administration of Tibetan schools to the Government in exile, which would be considered a great step to strengthen the conservation of culture.
In his year as political leader of the Tibetans, Sangay has traveled to several countries including the United States, Japan, Swiss, Austria, Germany or Norway, where he has been received by some parliamentarians. “Some people from the Government have also received me, but unofficially. That's fine as long as I can interact with them.". He assures that a large part of his work is to keep the Tibetan cause alive internationally..
