Penpa Tsering is the political leader of the exiled Tibetans. “Europe understands that in the long term China is the greater threat to the world than Russia,” he says in the interview.
Munich/Dharamsala – It is probably the most desperate form of protest a person can choose: Again and again Tibetans set fire to themselvesto oppose the occupation of their country by China to demonstrate. “It started in 2009,” says Penpa Tsering. “To date, around 157 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, and many of them have died.” Tsering is the political head of the exile Tibetans, and he directs the fortunes of the small community from Dharamsala in northern India. It is mainly younger people who set themselves on fire, the politician says in an interview FR.de from IPPEN.MEDIA. “They feel that their identity is being destroyed and that they have no freedom.” The hope of drawing attention to the fate of Tibet drives people to such desperate acts. “But unfortunately nothing happens,” complains Tsering.
Tibet was occupied by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in 1950. Previously, the “roof of the world” had been a de facto independent country since the end of the last Chinese imperial dynasty in 1912, with the Dalai Lama as its leader. Hundreds of thousands of people have died since the Chinese invasion, countless monasteries and other sacred sites have been destroyed, especially during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Today the 14th Dalai Lama lives in exile in India. Ten years ago, the religious leader handed over his secular power to the so-called Sikyong, the political head of the exile community. Penpa Tsering has held this post since his election last year.
Chief of exile Tibetans: “In 10 or 15 years there will be people in Tibet who no longer speak their own language”
Tsering describes the situation in Tibet in gloomy colors. Especially since Xi Jinping became Chinese head of state and party leader ten years ago, the situation has deteriorated. “He’s trying to destroy Tibetan identity by suppressing the Tibetan language,” says Tsering. “In ten or 15 years there will be people in Tibet who no longer speak their own language.” Pupils would increasingly be taught in boarding schools and “indoctrinated there,” he believes. This is also confirmed by human rights organizations such as the Tibet Initiative Germany, which speaks of up to 900,000 Tibetan schoolchildren aged six and over being taught in “forced boarding schools”. The classes there are mainly in Chinese, while Tibetan is only an optional subject. A recently published UN report also mentions forced labour: as in Xinjiang, there are “forms of slavery” in Tibet, according to the text.
The Chinese government routinely rejects such reports and points out that that the situation of the Tibetans has continuously improved over the past decades. Life expectancy has increased and healthcare is better than it used to be. That may be true. However, human rights activists and exile Tibetans repeatedly emphasize that the Tibetans would have achieved all of this if they were not part of China. In addition, Tibet is still the poorest of the Chinese provinces.
“We are dying a slow death,” said Penpa Tsering. It’s a silent death that rarely makes headlines. However, Tsering believes that this could change soon, that the West’s view of China is already changing. Of the Ukraine war show the “free world” what happens when you make yourself dependent on authoritarian states, he says. “We see a change in European behavior towards China. They understand that China is the greater threat to the world than Russia in the long run.”
Tibet and Ukraine: “People are being killed without the perpetrators being held accountable”
The Russian invasion of the Ukraine remind him of the invasion of Tibet more than 70 years ago. At that time, too, a small country was attacked by its overpowering neighbor. “It’s the same helplessness as it was then: people are being killed without the perpetrators being held accountable,” he says. Unlike then, however, the world is now watching closely what is happening in Ukraine. And unlike then, the Ukrainians’ fight against the Russians does not seem hopeless.
The Tibetans, Tsering believes, would never have stood a chance if they had taken up arms to defend themselves. “Six million Tibetans would have to fight against 1.4 billion Chinese – that’s impossible,” he says. “Violence leads to more and more violence.” His government-in-exile therefore relies on negotiations with China. An independence from Beijing has not been the goal for a long time, rather they want real autonomy. But there have been no official talks with the Chinese leadership since 2010, as Tsering also confirms. “But of course there are contacts.” However, he is silent on details.
There are also no official links to the German government. When Tsering was visiting Berlin in April, he was only able to hold unofficial talks with German government officials and members of parliament. In Washington, on the other hand, Tsering met, among others, Nancy Pelosi, Chairwoman of the US House of Representatives, which China recently provoked with its visit to Taiwan.
Head of exile Tibetans wants Scholz to meet with the Dalai Lama
In Germany, however, Tsering – whose government in exile is not recognized internationally – fares a bit like the Taiwanese representative in Germany: For fear of China’s acts of revenge, they don’t even pose for a photo together. Economic dependence on Beijing is too great. Tsering still wants the Chancellor to meet Olaf Scholz with the Dalai Lama. The spiritual leader of the Tibetans rarely leaves his Indian exile. But should Scholz travel to India: “Why shouldn’t they meet?” Tsering asks. A spokeswoman for the federal government declined to comment on what the chancellor thinks about a possible meeting with the religious leader. Scholz’s predecessor, Angela Merkel, received the Dalai Lama in Berlin in 2007, despite loud criticism from Beijing.
Tsering is certain that the Dalai Lama is not only revered abroad, but also within Tibet. “For every Tibetan, whether inside Tibet or outside, he is a source of inspiration. He embodies the spirit of Tibetans and the Tibetan cause. He is our leader, he gives us hope,” he says.
About IPPEN.MEDIA
That IPPEN.MEDIA-Netzwerk is one of the largest online publishers in Germany. At the locations in Berlin, Hamburg/Bremen, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart and Vienna, journalists from our central editorial office research and publish for more than 50 news offers. These include brands such as Merkur.de, FR.de and BuzzFeed Germany. Our news, interviews, analyzes and comments reach more than 5 million people in Germany every day.
China’s communists want to decide who will succeed the Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso, the secular name of the 14th Dalai Lama, turned 87 in July. In ancient Tibet, after the death of a Buddhist dignitary, a search party was sent out to find his reincarnation – according to Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is reborn on earth. Should the current Dalai Lama die, that will be difficult. Beijing’s communists have already announced that they want to interfere in the selection process. However, a China-loyal Dalai Lama is unlikely to be an option for the vast majority of Tibetans in and outside of China.
“People in the free world will not accept a Dalai Lama chosen by the Chinese government,” agrees Penpa Tsering. This can be seen in the example of the Panchen Lama, the “number two” in Tibet’s religious hierarchy: since the tenth Panchen Lama died in 1989, there have been two successors – one whom the Dalai Lama recognized and who has disappeared for decades. And there is the Panchen Lama, recognized by Beijing, who, according to Tibet’s exile chief, is not accepted even by the Tibetans inside China.
In any case, the United States already has the case in case the Chinese leadership interferes in the process of selecting the next Dalai Lama donald trump Sanctions announced against those responsible. The Dalai Lama, on the other hand, has repeatedly stated in the past that his reincarnation will not take place in China. “But that’s not relevant at the moment,” says Penpa Tsering. “His holiness will be with us for another 10 or 15 years.” (sh)
#die #slow #death