Struggle for Tibet will remain non-violent: Rinpoche

19 October 2009,

AHMEDABAD: The world had seen the great fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of powerful Soviet Union into independent nations, so thereis hope for the Tibet issue getting resolved in the near future, said Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche. Rinpoche was in the city to attend the 56th convocation ceremony of Gujarat Vidyapith. Rinpoche said, "It would be difficult to predict a time when the Tibet tangle will end but circumstances can change."

Replying to the growing impatience' among Tibetan youths, Rinpoche said, "People who are in favour of violent methods to resolve the issue of Tibet are in minority.

Violence cannot bring solution to these issues; it only complicates them. The eye-opening examples are of Sri Lanka, Israel, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. We still believe in our non-violent agitation for Tibet's autonomy and will continue with it." "China has become offensive after the recent Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008.

The Chinese incursion into Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim in India are recent examples. Also, the 3,000-km-long border between India and China is still under dispute. But the Indian government has shown great maturity on this whole issue," he added. Rinpoche reaffirmed that stability in India-China relationship is of utmost importance for world peace and also in favour of the Tibet cause. Rinpoche expressed his satisfaction over the Indian government's stand on Tibet imbroglio. Rinpoche said, "In the last many years, several political parties have come to power at the Centre, but the official Indian position on Tibet has remained the same since the Nehru era," he said. Rincpoche said, "The Chinese government has been involved in destabilising Tibet by drastically changing the demographic nature of the region. There is ongoing activity to make Tibetan voice a minority in their own region." "The other challenge which we are facing is environmental degradation. Glaciers are melting in the region while atomic pollution is increasing," he pointed out.
Source: TOI