Dharamsala, June 27 – The Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) expresses shock and anguish over the Indian Prime Minister’s joint Declaration inked with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). India recognized Tibet as an autonomous region of China. India preferred to look away from the issue that was the bone of contention between the two Asian giants: the issue of Tibet.
Regardful of Tibet’s long historical and cultural ties with India, any official Indian visit to Beijing are tied with the hopes, optimism and expectations of the Tibetans. Mr. Vajpayee’s visit this time was nothing different. TWA petitioned Mr. Vajpayee with the appeals and prayers of all the Tibetans to raise the Tibetan issue with his Chinese counterpart. However, we never expected Tibet to be discussed in the manner the Joint Declaration stated. This is an utter disregard to the Tibetan sentiments whose fate was sealed in a ‘joint declaration’.
TWA maintain that Tibetans have the right to be consulted and to engage in any discussions and decisions involving the Tibet question. We determine our own fate. In consideration of HH the Dalai Lama’s repeated call for resolving the Tibet issue non-violently, TWA emphasize here our stand for truth and justice. We demand that the spirit of truth and justice must guide any talks on Tibet. It is needless and futile for India to talk with China without discussing Tibet. Lasting peace will never prevail without resolving the Tibet issue peacefully and respecting the sentiments of the Tibetans.
TWA express with disappointment that the Indian leadership is once again repeating the same blunder of 1954 when PRC successfully managed to hoodwink India. The Sino-Indian Trade Agreement in 1954 was, at the cost of accepting China’s sovereignty over Tibet, mistakenly taken by then PM Nehru as a resolution to the border crisis and dawn of peace in the region but the Chinese attack in 1962 challenged Nehru’s understanding of the Chinese mentality. Mr Vajpayee in the Sino-Indian Declaration, put Tibet at stake while implicitly understanding China’s acceptance of Sikkim as a part of India. No penned evidence shows Sikkim as part of India but Tibet was inked clearly in the declaration. No wonder, much jubilation and hype surrounds this meet in the Chinese press.
We are concerned if Mr. Vajpayee is aware of the territorial boundaries of the real ‘Tibet’. The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) claimed by Beijing as ‘Tibet’ exclude large chunks of Tibetan regions located in northern and eastern Tibet which has been assimilated into Chinese region.
Tibetan Women’s Association is the largest and only Tibetan women’s NGO working for the freedom of Tibet. Originally founded in 1959 and revived in 1984, TWA has over 11,000 members and 43 regional chapters in India and abroad.
Issued by Central Executive Committee, Tibetan Women’s Association, Dharamsala, Tel: 01892-221527
