We need to take a new path
by a Tibetan living in the UK
I don’t expect the meeting will change much. Most people will continue to agree with what His Holiness proposes. The Tibetan bureaucrats are slow to react and many do not dare confront the Samdong Rinpoche faction. However, I think we need to take a new path now, though still a non−violent one. The Middle Path approach has led to no results whatsoever. The lives of Tibetans inside Tibet have not improved, the Chinese have made no concessions, and the attitude of the West has not changed.
What we should now propose is full self−determination. There is nothing to lose this way. Tibetans will retain their hope, the lives sacrificed will not have been in vain, and we preserve our dignity. I think it’s also important to raise some issues in the meeting such as
- how to keep the Tibet cause alive among Tibetans (both inside and outside)
- how to improve the lives of Tibetans inside Tibet
- how to improve communication between inside and exile Tibetans
- how to nurture the resistance movement inside Tibet.
As for the situation in India, they have to think of a way to keep young and promising Tibetans (and government staff) there so that they can work for the community. It’s important that a new generation of Tibetans fill key positions.