By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, Feb. 28: The exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai has expressed sadness over the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and said that he prays for peace to be “swiftly restored in Ukraine”.
In a statement released on Monday, the Dalai Lama said, “I have been deeply saddened by the conflict in Ukraine.
“Our world has become so interdependent that violent conflict between two countries inevitably impacts the rest of the world. War is out-dated – non-violence is the only way. We need to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity by considering other human beings as brothers and sisters. This is how we will build a more peaceful world”.
The Tibetan leader who is a well known advocate for global disarmament said that dialogue remains the only viable means to resolution of any disagreement. “Problems and disagreements are best resolved through dialogue. Genuine peace comes about through mutual understanding and respect for each other’s wellbeing.
“We must not lose hope. The 20th century was a century of war and bloodshed. The 21st century must be a century of dialogue,” he further said.
Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine is in progress despite stiff defense by Ukrainian forces which include the country’s defiant and vocal President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who has called on nations and people alike to come and fight for his country against the aggression of Putin’s Russia.
At least 64 civilians have been killed and more than 160,000 are on the move after Russian troops entered Ukraine last week, a United Nations relief agency said. Heavy shelling of Ukrainian cities such as Kiev and Kharkiv over the course of last week has resulted in many being displaced and running for the borders. Germany and US, among others have supplied arms to Ukraine despite Putin’s stern warning of counter measure in the event of “intervention” by other nations.
5 Responses
Tibet was an innocent country that did no harm to China. Because the world is so bad, no nation has objected to China’s occupation of Tibet.
More over 60 years ago, China invaded Tibet with its military and slaughtered Tibetan protesters.
Tibet should be freed now, as it is the only country that has spent nearly two thousand years going deeper into meditation.
We, Members of Organisation de Paix pour les Opportunités du Développement “OPOD asbl in Democratic Republic of Congo We are praying for a Peaceful in UKRAINE. May God keep Ukraine People in Peace.
War is outdated. But trying telling weapons manufacturers and all those who profit directly and indirectly from “weapons of mass destruction” that. Perhaps there should be global sanctions against those? Or does the almighty dollar or pound or euro way hold more sway than human lives? SWIFT has the ability to sanction companies as well. Military, in essence, can just as easily be used for peacekeeping functions such as infrastructure development as for killing civilians as collateral damage. In the long run the budget may also be better used.
This is more about global ideology how what people want. In general, the average person’s life is effected for something for which they may have little control so some bureaucrat can show their relevance.
Wars create refugees. How countries who profit from the situation treat people seeking refuge for a safer place for their children to grow up is also rather telling of the callousness of societies.
It was a belief in Europe after the terrible bloodshed in the Second World War that there will be no more wars in Europe until Putin send his dogs of war to invade Ukraine. The lies and propaganda and the pretext of Putin’s war on Ukraine has an uncanny resemblance to communist China’s invasion and occupation of Tibet in 1951. Putin claimed that he was sending his army to eliminate the Nazis that he accused are in Ukraine! The fact of the matter is the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his Prime Minister is a Jews! Since, Jews have a history of being grossly persecuted by the Nazis, this is a lie that can’t stand scrutiny. Tibetans must remember that in our own history, the Chinese communists also carefully constructed a myth of Tibet living in a “state of slavery” and that “99% of the population” were so called “serfs”!!!
This fabrication was the disinformation that brainwashed the Chinese people and to this day, every Chinese born in China believe this lie!!! Not a single Chinese person ever protested about the invasion and illegal occupation of Tibet in communist China.
While the Chinese communists illegally occupied our country with their military might and concocted lies, Putin’s lie has few takers in the world, especially, where it matters most, Russia. Thousands of Russian citizens who are sceptical of his claim are protesting in many cities across Russia. But they are summarily dragged away by Putin’s police because it’s illegal to protest without permission in Russia.
Putin’s megalomaniac tendency towards Ukraine is also same as that of Mao’s and communist Chinese fictitious myth about Tibet’s past history and its relations with the Mongol occupiers of China. Tibet was never conquered by the Mongols nor ruled by any foreign power. The Dalai Lama himself has declared in his Strasbourg Statement of 1988 that “AT NO TIME, SINCE THE FOUNDING OF OUR NATION IN 127 BC HAVE WE TIBETANS CONCEDED OUR SOVEREIGNTY TO A FOREIGN POWER”. This is a statement of fact!
However, the communists and their predecessors have conjured a revanchist narrative to falsely make claims over Tibet just like that of Putin’s who tried to peddle the lie that “Ukraine is not a real country and Ukrainians are not real people”. In reality Ukraine has more than a thousand years of history and Kyiv was a metropolis when Moscow was not even a village!
You can see the uncanny similarity of history and the evil designs nurtured and propagated by the likes of imperialist Russia and China. To their good fortune, they have many powerful friends across the world and they are making it very difficult to swallow Ukraine by Putin and his marauding forces. They got an incredible leadership in President Zelensky who has shown his true mettle by standing up to the enemy forces and inspiring his people to fight to the death to save their nation.
Unfortunately, Tibet had no such luxury and even the brave Khampas who lay down their lives to fight the enemy were not even given the moral support let alone military support by our own Government in Lhasa. This goes to show the courage and wisdom of the Ukrainian Government versus the Lhasa Government.
The Ukrainians have always hated the Russians in their history because of Russias imperial designs to conquer them and have loathed their inclusion into the Soviet Empire from 1917 until 1991. They have always kept the hatred of their oppressor and to this day, despite overwhelming odds, they are fighting their enemy with all their might. As the saying goes, God help those, who help themselves, the international community is rallying behind Ukraine and its brave people to resist enslavement and occupation by Russia. Where does such courage and determination come from? It comes from the HATRED OF THE ENEMY. Hatred is the ugliest of emotions. But for oppressed nations, HATRED IS A HIDDEN TREASURE. BURIED DEEP IN THE HEART, IT CAN SUSTAIN RESISTANCE FOR GENERATIONS.
Most unfortunately, Tibetans are told not to look to the occupiers as enemies and as a result the Tibetans lost their guard against the enemy. Many Tibetans are now secretly spying for China by befriending Chinese officials in their respective host countries. The incident of a Tibetan spying for China was first discovered in Sweden. A Tibetan man born in Amdo called Dorjee Gyaltsen (56 yrs old)was spying on fellow Tibetans for communist China in Sweden. He was expelled from Sweden. Another Tibetan spying for China was the New York based cop known as Baimadajie Angwang (Pema Dorje Ngawang) who was 33 years old and born in Amdo region as well. Embracing the enemy has made use lose our determination and the courage to hold the enemy accountable for the terrible suffering and enslavement inflicted upon the Tibetans by communist China and dissipated Tibetan people’s nationalism. It has reduced the Tibetans to be Chinese poodles without any sense of self-worth and pride in one’s national independence.
The Ukrainians have never given up on the independence of their country and they believe as we do that truth is on their side. They believe that is their greatest weapon. We also say the same thing but look at the commitment of Ukrainians and ourselves and you will see that we are no where near the level the Ukrainians are. Why? Because we lost our hatred of the enemy who has stolen our country, murdered more than one sixth of our population, plundered our resources, ransacked and pillaged 6000 monasteries and enslaved our people.
Beautifully written. Perfectly explained with great feeling and heart. I am so deeply sorry that the Tibetan people, your people, have been so brutalised and oppressed by China. The Tibetan nation was innocent of any wrongdoing. China was and is driven by an insatiable and cruel lust for power.
It would be true to say that dictators and despots do not negotiate. Diplomacy is not the solution. Never appease a despot because if you give them an inch they will take a mile.
I agree that anger is an empowering force. It can drive a person,a culture, a nation to be defiant in the face of evil. It can fuel a person, a culture a nation, to take action to stay strong and to do good.
My ancestral home, my people, the Ukrainians are fighting against extinction. It is honourable to fight for one’s identity. It is vital to fight for one’s life.
Ukrainians do not want to be Russians. We are a sovereign, liberal democracy espousing European values and we reject being oppressed and subsumed by an autocratic, kleptocratic, genocidal fascist, namely Putin and his corrupt, totalitarian regime.
With the support of one’s allies, to defend one’s beloved family and homeland against a brutal, remorseless aggressor, is truly the right thing to do.