The Dalai Lama during a lecture at Syracuse University in 2012
(afp_tickers)
As Tibetans become aware of the Dalai Lama's once unthinkable passing, The United States seeks to establish a red line for Beijing when choosing its successor.
The United States hopes to make clear in advance that China will face international opprobrium if it tries to manage the reincarnation process., as demonstrated by the warning of a senior official and a bill being studied in Congress.
To his 84 years, the 14th° The Dalai Lama has reduced his relentless schedule and was hospitalized last April for a respiratory infection., although there are no indications that he faces serious health problems.
Nevertheless, both Tibetan activists and Beijing are aware that the death of the Nobel Prize winner, one of the most popular religious leaders in the world for his teachings and quirky humor, will set the pulse to achieve greater autonomy for the Himalayan region.
China has not held talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives for nine years and has increasingly hinted that it may identify his successor., who, according to Beijing, would support his iron dominance of Tibet.
But a bill recently presented in the US Congress includes sanctions for any Chinese official who interferes in the succession of the Tibetan Buddhist..
The State Department's top official for East Asia, David Stilwell, prometió ente el Congreso que Estados Unidos seguirá presionando por una "autonomía significativa" For Tibetans.
"De manera inquietante, and ironically, The party continues to claim its role in the reincarnation process of the Dalai Lama, incluso cuando el presidente Xi ha instado a los miembros del partido a seguir siendo 'ateos marxistas inflexibles'", said.
"Creemos que los tibetanos, like all religious communities, deben poder practicar su fe libremente y seleccionar a sus líderes sin interferencia", declared.
– Questioning tradition –
Tibetan monks traditionally elect the Dalai Lama through a ritual that can take years., with a celebration in search of signs that warn which child is the reincarnation of the last spiritual leader.
14° Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since fleeing a failed rebellion in 1959, has reflected on a non-traditional succession that would mislead China.
The leader assured that he could choose his successor while he is alive, even choose a woman, or even decide that he is the last Dalai Lama.
Matteo Mecacci, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington-based lobby group close to the Dalai Lama, He said the legislation introduced in the US Congress would send a clear message to both China and Tibetans.
"Esperamos que el dalái lama viva mucho más, pero creo que tener una legislación pronto tendrá un impacto en la mentalidad china", warned.
"No digo que esto vaya a cambiar la decisión del gobierno chino, pero probablemente tendrán que reconsiderar algunas de las consecuencias y sus implicaciones", nuanced.
The bill, introduced in the House of Representatives by Democrat Jim McGovern, It would also prevent China from having new consulates in the United States until Washington can open a mission in Tibet's capital., Lhasa.
– China on the rise –
Mecacci, former member of the parliament of Italy, He said the US law would have an impact on politicians in Europe and Asia, and warned of international effects if China installs a submissive Dalai Lama.
"Si tienes un líder religioso que es el brazo de un gobierno extranjero y que tiene centros budistas en todo el mundo, esto es parte de un plan mucho más ambicioso para controlar el budismo", pointed out.
Lobsang Sangay, elected Tibetan prime minister in exile after Dalai Lama relinquishes political role, dijo que el objetivo de Pekín es "convertir el Tíbet en un territorio chino y convertir a los tibetanos en chinos".
China faces international criticism over its treatment of Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim Turkic-speaking minority, with the detention in concentration camps of up to a million people in the western region of Xinjiang.
China says it is providing vocational training and has brought development to both Xinjiang and Tibet.
Some observers expect China to do the same thing it did in 1995, when he selected his own panchen Llama (the second religious authority in the country) and arrested a six-year-old boy for his influential Buddhist position, who was described as the youngest political prisoner in the world.
But Branch, on a recent visit to Washington, expressed doubts that a Dalai Lama appointed by China would enjoy legitimacy.
"Pongamos por caso que Fidel Castro reconociera a un papa y les dijera a todos los católicos: 'Hola, this is my dad, ¿they will follow him?'", he wondered.
