PAGE 12: Interview with Thubten Wangchen, director of the Casa del Tibet Foundation in Barcelona

Lama Thubten Wangchen presented
a complaint for the genocide of
1.200.000 Tibetans in 1959.
Image: Kindly Francesc Sanz

Despite the fact that in Spain judicial silence continues to fall on the crimes committed during the Franco regime, an unprecedented decision of the Chamber 4 of the National Court returned this week to put the country at the forefront of the international fight for Human Rights. These are the arrest warrants issued by the Spanish Justice last Wednesday against the former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, former premier Li Peng, former Security Chief and head of the armed police Qiao Shi, former Secretary of the Communist Party in Tibet Chen Kuiyuan and former Minister of Family Planning Peng Peiyun. All of them were charged for their alleged responsibility in the genocide committed against the Tibetan population during the Chinese invasion of 1959, thanks to the complaint that Lama Thubten Wangchen, director of the Casa del Tíbet Foundation and member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, presented eight years ago in Madrid. Página/12 spoke with him in Barcelona, where the foundation is based, to learn more in detail about the process of a unique initiative in the world.

–After eight long years of process, ¿Why do you think the National Court finally decided to accept your claim??

–First we must recognize that, although it is a relatively long time for a conventional judicial procedure, It's pretty fast for one going against, no more no less, that of the Chinese government. I believe that the National Court admitted the complaint for dignity. Despite the pressure it has received from the Chinese and Spanish governments, The judges valued the countless evidence we presented and opted for justice and truth as victory.

–¿The Spanish government pressured the judges to abandon the case?

–And if… ¡poor Spain, also! It has a lot to do with China economically, and how the Chinese think they are the owners of the world, they give orders to all countries.

–¿No other country filed a complaint against the Chinese government for the massacres in Tibet?

–No. Spain is the first country in the world. Now I just got back from a tour of Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and London to explain the Spanish judicial process to judges and parliamentarians. Almost everyone was aware and wants to study how to do it too.

–They accepted your complaint for being a Spanish citizen, ¿TRUE?

–Yeah, thanks to the same legislation that has allowed Spain to try Pinochet, for abuse of Human Rights against Spanish citizens. in 2005 I filed a complaint for the genocide of one million two hundred thousand Tibetans during the Chinese invasion of 1959, among whom was also my mother, and they accepted it because I am a Spanish citizen.

–¿Why do you think that Spain, a country that has not yet judged the crimes committed during its own dictatorship, now dares against China?

–Former judge Baltasar Garzón supported us a lot. in 2005 He invited us to the Complutense of Madrid so that we could talk about the torture we had suffered at the hands of the Chinese police, He was moved and helped us start the process. During the following years other Tibetan witnesses have gone to the National Court to explain their experiences and at that time, The Chinese and Spanish governments also pressured the judges to freeze everything. But the magistrates appealed to the separation of powers and continued.

–¿Believe that the process will succeed?

–I think so because the Judiciary is autonomous.. If it were up to the government, this would be frozen tomorrow. But the judges have made a decision after eight years of evidence. Anyway, For us it is not a question of winning or losing. The important thing is to know that not everyone is after money, that there are those who value Justice and truth. It is a very hopeful message also for the Tibetans who are in Tibet.. They called me and told me that now everyone there is talking about this. low, yes indeed, because no one can express themselves freely in my country.

–¿What retaliation do you think China could take towards Spain??

–They say they are going to cut off economic negotiations but I think it will be temporary., as has happened with England, after the Dalai Lama visited David Cameron. The Chinese, so, They did not want to receive it but now they continue negotiating without problem. On this tour that we have just completed, we have asked the British Prime Minister to speak to him about Human Rights in Tibet in his next meeting with the Chinese government., at once, ¡do business! We Tibetans do not ask for war, blood, or boycott., we are not against the markets, we only ask for more human rights, freedom and dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

–After learning of the arrest order from the Chinese authorities, Spokesmen from the Asian giant accused Tibetans abroad of being “separatists”. ¿The complaint is also related to the demand for independence?

–I am now a member of the European Parliament representing Tibet, but when I made the complaint it was not, he was a normal monk, Tibetan and Spanish citizen. Therefore, It is not a complaint that comes from the Tibetan government, but a personal complaint.

–Although Tibet wants independence from China…

–Yeah, Catalonia and Scotland are a model for us, they seek independence, Tibet too. But China doesn't even want to mention that word, so the Dalai Lama, so as not to lose energy, because he knows that China is not going to move anything, dice: let's ask for something else, we demand autonomy.

–¿The Catalan government supports them?

–We have a good relationship, All the politicians here have known us for a long time. In fact, The Chinese Consulate usually calls the municipality to complain because the House of Tibet always has its national flag hanging outside, but the Catalan government warns us and tells us “do what you want”.