author="Peteris Cedrins” date="1206920731"]

Think about Tibet as Latvia,

After fifty years of Soviet domination, the Soviet Union collapsed and Latvia regained its independence in 1991.

It is wrong. The Soviet Union has recognized independence of Latvia and has refused this territory by the State Act of September, 6, 1991.

While the crash of the USSR has happened in December.

Regards,

Juris

Brīvību Tibetai!

Sveiks, Juri!

There are a few things wrong with the article, in my view, but I think one can see the collapse as a longer process. Formal dissolution didn’t take place until December… but our de facto exit in August can be seen as part of the collapse.

Vysu lobu,
/P

There will be a discussion about Tibet on Latvijas Radio 1 at 13.05 today. It can be heard online here, in real time—I’m not sure if it will be archived.

Sarva Mangalam!
/P

P.S. Update—the broadcast is repeated at 21.05—it’s called Krustpunktā and everything is archived, so if you miss it live, it’s available here.

Word is that the response of politicians is beginning to change—on LTV, Godmanis cited the Lucas article and noted parallels in our history.

Peteris Cedrins - 30 March 2008 10:13 PM

Sveiks, Juri!

There are a few things wrong with the article, in my view, but I think one can see the collapse as a longer process. Formal dissolution didn’t take place until December… but our de facto exit in August can be seen as part of the collapse.

Vysu lobu,
/P

Of course, but the National movements in Baltic States did not occur from process of disorder of the USSR.

Faster visa versa, the USSR in 1940 has put under itself a delayed-action bomb which should whenever blow up.

There is no doubt, that national-liberation struggle in the Baltics has served the catalyst of the disintegration and collapse of the USSR (this process, sure, was long).

Regards,

Juris

Vive la France! (Not for joining Germany in screwing Georgia and Ukraine, but for this.)

/P

Published on Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2008/04/08/2003408697

Tibet: China’s make-believe world
Sushil Seth

Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008, Page 8

The amazing thing about the developments in Tibet is that Beijing feels wronged. It feels that the world is ignoring its side of the story.

Beijing claims that the uprising in Tibet is the work of a Dalai Lama “clique” through some kind of “remote control” process.

Indeed, China senses a conspiracy of sorts to derail the Beijing Olympics.

Beijing’s make-believe world is made up of multiple contradictions. They can be simultaneously arrogant, suffer from victimization and have a highly charged sense of moral outrage. All these are in evidence in the Tibetan situation.

The arrogance is seen in the summary dismissal of the Dalai Lama’s plea for dialogue, even when he has repeatedly insisted that he seeks only genuine autonomy for Tibet and not independence.

Beijing keeps on demonizing him. They have almost called him a terrorist. He has been described in the Chinese media as “a wolf in a monk’s robe, a monster with a human face but with the heart of a beast.”

They have ignored his call for an international investigation of his presumed role in the Tibetan unrest.

Indeed, he has earned the ire of his youthful Tibetan followers for advocating autonomy and not independence, counseling non-violence and threatening to resign if things were to get out of control.

Above all, he supports the Beijing Olympics, even in the midst of strong calls for its boycott in some quarters.

At the same time, as Tibet’s leader he has highlighted the cultural genocide being committed in Tibet over the years and the unmitigated disaster caused by Han Chinese migration into his homeland.

Following the process, the Tibetans are now a marginalized people.

China had hoped to solve the Tibetan problem by hiving off parts of the old country and merging them into the neighboring Han provinces, reducing Tibetans to a hopeless minority.

And, in what is now called Tibet, they are in the process of being overwhelmed by the Han Chinese migration.

But it has not worked satisfactorily, considering that even in the neighboring western provinces with residual Tibetan populations, Tibetans have staged strong protests.

The problem is that the Tibetans feel a strong sense of loss and a consequent frustration and anger at the way Beijing has stripped them of their cultural heritage.

The Han Chinese surround them on all sides, flaunting their new money and power. In this new order, the Tibetans increasingly feature as a people of yesterday and their monasteries and temples are the subject of curiosity by visiting Chinese tourists. The Tibetans, therefore, feel homeless in their own country.

In this situation of intense alienation, the Dalai Lama has come to represent everything that they are denied — their country, their culture and traditions, their one reference point for all the loss they feel. Tibetans feel an intense desire to be one with him.

But Beijing’s arrogance not to acknowledge his important role and to demonize him tends to only aggravate the Tibetan problem.

Beijing is simply waiting for him to die, as he is already into his 70s. After him, they will appoint their own Dalai Lama and, presto, the Tibet problem will be solved.

What China fails to realize is that Tibet is a problem because its occupation has no legitimacy among Tibetan people. And, if they have not been able to win over the local population over the last 50 or so years, the legitimacy issue remains. In fact, it is getting worse.

They really need the Dalai Lama if they want to solve the Tibet issue. With his espousal of autonomy for Tibet, Beijing can create a new compact with its sovereignty intact. This would leave Tibetans to manage their own internal and cultural affairs, while China could deal with its foreign relations.

But this would be too much of a compromise for China’s communist leaders who are used to having their own way at whatever cost.

Just look at the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, when the army was let loose on students who demanded democratic rights. Naively, China thought it could do the same thing in Tibet.

In the midst of such monumental arrogance, China’s ruling oligarchy also suffers from a deep-rooted sense of victimization. If they are criticized for their human rights violations in Tibet or on any other issue, they immediately cry foul and believe that there is a conspiracy abroad to deny China its rightful place under the sun.

And this is, they would argue, because Western countries have not got over their superior imperialist disdain of China.

All this contributes to a moral outrage that China, which gave so much to the world, should be regarded morally deficient. “How dare they lecture us,” goes the refrain?

Beijing’s view is that China has pulled Tibet out of the dark ages. The Tibetan people and the world should, therefore, be grateful to China rather than lambaste it because of the riots engineered by the Dalai Lama clique.

The Dalai Lama is accused of plotting “terror” in Tibet, in collusion with Uighur separatists in Xinjiang.

If China’s communist rulers can believe this, they apparently live in a world of make-believe.

And this is the problem the world is faced with when dealing with China, whether it is in regard to Tibet, Taiwan or whatever.

Sushil Seth is a writer based in Australia.

Many thanks to Sushil for all this info.
Eventually what all we want is the end of the crisis
The protesters of the Olympic torch relay made themselves listen to all the world.

Normunds Naumanis

Tibetas ceļš

Tas ir īsts kino un ļoti aizkustinošs stāsts – tā pragmatisks prāts varētu raksturot notiekošo ap Olimpiskās lāpas gandrīz 140 tūkstošus kilometru garu ceļojumu pasaulē ar galamērķi komunistu režīma valsts Ķīnas galvaspilsētā Pekinā. Sarkanās Ķīnas okupētās mazās, taču lepnās kalnu pundurzemes Tibetas brīvības alku atbalstītāju līdz šim skaļākie protesti Parīzē un Londonā un masu mediju saceltā pamatīgā jezga ap tiem, kā arī aizvien ietekmīgāku pasaules politiķu iesaistīšanās “tibetiešu un Ķīnas pretstāvēšanas” problēmu apspriešanā, iespējams, liek arī daudziem latviešiem pirmo reizi tā kārtīgāk aizdomāties – jā, bet tiešām, kādēļ gan mūsu valsts pirmajām amatpersonām (Godmanim un Zatleram) par nodokļu maksātāju naudu jābrauc uz šo nu jau nepārprotami sakompromitēto spēļu oficiālajām ceremonijām, ja arvien vairāk politisku līderu pauž apņēmību tās ceremonijas boikotēt?

Grieķijā no Saules stariem aizdegtā Olimpiskā uguns un tās nešana cauri daudzām zemēm ir viens no skaistākajiem cilvēku labās gribas simboliem, kāds vispār iespējams – simbols olimpiskajai kustībai jeb sportam kā mierīgai fizisko un garīgo talantu sacensībai, kas vieno cilvēkus. Lāpas ceļš pasaules labāko sportistu rokās ir vizuāli ārkārtīgi izteiksmīgs “priekšnesums”, procesija, ko pavada milzīga publicitāte.

Ne velti sportisti uzskata šo simbolisko darbiņu – noskriet vai nosoļot dažus kilometrus ar Olimpisko lāpu rokās – ne tikai par lielu godu, bet arī brīnišķīgu PR akciju.

Nāk prātā kāda paralēle no nesenās vēstures. Kad trīs mazu, bet lepnu un arī komunistu režīma lielvaras, vārdā PSRS, okupētu teritoriju iedzīvotāji sadevās rokās un stājās unikālajā miermīlīgajā Baltijas ceļā, šis vienreizējais labās gribas žests bija ne tikai latviešu, igauņu un lietuviešu iemiesots sapnis un vēlējumies pēc brīvības un savas valsts. Arī tā bija izcila PR akcija, kura momentā nokļuva pasaules laikrakstu pirmajās lapās un televīzijas karstajās ziņās – arī dēļ tā, ka šeit, Baltijā, notiekošo varēja parādīt izteiksmīgās bildēs, kas runā bez vārdiem un ir saprotamas visiem brīvajiem cilvēkiem pasaulē. Tas bija “īsts kino un ļoti aizkustinošs stāsts” par kādu senu politisku netaisnību, ko vajadzētu labot. Tālāko mēs jau zinām.

Latvijas toreiz, astoņdesmito izskaņā, līdzība ar Tibetu tagad ir pilnīgi nepārprotama. Lielvalstu “inkorporētas” mazas teritorijas apdzīvojošo ļaužu alkas pēc tiesībām būt brīviem cilvēkiem savā zemē. Atšķirība vien tā, ka tibetiešu ir pulka reizes vairāk kā latvju.

Tibetas garīgais līderis Dalailama (lasi: politiskais vadītājs emigrācijā) ir vieds cilvēks – viņš aicina sportistus neboikotēt Olimpiskās spēles. Jo sports – tas ir miers, un šo globālās olimpiskās kustības dibinātāja Kubertēna devīzi Dalailama liek pie sirds. Taču tibetiešu mūks apzinās arī to, cik nozīmīgs ir tibetiešu brīvības sapņus atbalstošo protesta vilnis, kas pavada Olimpiskās lāpas ceļu pasaulē. Kaut kā tomēr dīvaini, ka Latvijas politiķi par šo jautājumu nepauž savu viedokli. Jeb vai viņi nestāvēja Baltijas ceļā?

http://www.diena.lv/lat/izklaide/blog/normunds_naumanis/tibetas_celjsh

“Deputāti nolemj atlikt deklarācijas pieņemšanu par situāciju Tibetā”

/P

Route change surprises San Francisco
4/10/2008 9:14:19 AM
A Olympic representative from Bejing holds the torch aloft after lighting it on Wednesday, before passing it on to San Francisco runner

The Olympic torch’s only stop in North America turned into a game of hide and seek on Wednesday(April 9) as San Francisco abruptly changed the route, angering both China
supporters and protesters on Wednesday (April 8).

The sixth leg of the torch’s global journey was smooth compared to the disruptions seen in London and Paris earlier this week.

Though at one point, pro-Tibet protestors tried to disrupt the torch relay police pushed them back and the relay went off smoothly despite the presence of thousands of pro and anti-China protestors.

The organisers of the relay sprang a nasty surprise by making a last-minute change in the route as the torch was handed to the first runner. She along with the torch disappeared into a dockside warehouse.

An hour later the torch reappeared and began its route through the city amid heavy security, avoiding the chaos seen in the earlier relays in London and Paris.

San Francisco organizers, who had already trimmed down the route scrapping proposed stops at the Golden Gate Bridge and Chinatown, were again forced to shorten the relay yesterday.

“People are blocking the street so we have to shorten the route,” a police official, who would not be quoted by name, told AFP.

Policemen on bicycles and motorbikes lined the parade route, while police choppers hovered above the crowds and US Coast Guard vessels guarded the inlet. Two police officers
were even patrolling the waters on jet skis.

Police said in a statement that there had been no arrests, although an AFP photographer witnessed one young male pro-Tibet protestor being arrested earlier after a noisy standoff with pro-China supporters.

And a Chinese-born US citizen sparked angry scenes when he attempted to unfurl a Tibetan flag just yards away from the starting point. Xiao Tan, a 32-year-old medical student from Stanford
University, was pushed and shoved by furious pro-Chinese supporters who attempted to rip the flag from his hands while smothering him with their own banners.

Pressure to boycott continues

Close on the heels of his rival Hillary Clinton urging Bush to boycott the opening of the Olympic ceremony, US Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has asked the American president to consider skipping the event saying that China had not taken steps to help stop genocide in Darfur and improve human rights in Tibet.

And the US President as urged China to “begin a dialogue” with representatives of the Dalai Lama as part of efforts to curb the Tibet unrest. Bush has hailed as the Dalai Lama as ‘a really fine and peaceful man’ who is not for independence but for the cultural identity of the Tibetans.

Bush may be sitting on the fence on the Olympicss boycott issue, but British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has no such intentions; the British Prime Minister will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics saying he had never intended to be part of the event in the first place.

http://www.timesnow.tv/Newsdtls.aspx?NewsID=7094

Maija Sinka

Saprāts vai cinisms?

Ir pagājuši gandrīz septiņpadsmit gadu kopš Latvija atguva savu neatkarību ar plašu ļaužu protestu pret svešas varas okupāciju.

Atcerēsimies, ka toreiz pirmā valsts, kas atzina atjaunoto Baltijas valstu neatkarību bija Īslande - maza, “nenozīmīga” valsts un tauta, kas negaidīja uz lielvaru lēmumiem, lai saprastu, kas ir svarīgi un pareizi un rīkotos attiecīgi.

Atcerēsimies arī, ka tolaik lielākās pasaules varas, ASV, prezidents Bušs sen., uzrunāja Ukrainas Augstāko padomi ar vārdiem “…Padomju Ukrainas suverēnā tauta”, un dažādi centās izpalīdzēt Gorbačovam saglabāt Padomju Savienības integritāti.

Tagad, kad Tibetas tauta cenšas atbrīvoties no līdzīga jūga, kāds mūs saistīja ar mūsu okupantiem, redzams, cik atšķirīgi mēs esam no īslandiešiem, kurus mēs paši toreiz slavējām. Cik maz laika bija vajadzīgs, lai mūs pārvērstu no cīnītājiem par taisnību - par ciniskiem pašlabuma meklētājiem.

Manuprāt, tieši mazām tautām, kam nav lieli finanšu resursi un militāra spēka, ir svarīgi uzturēt principus un nepakļauties ciniskam materiālam aprēķinam. Cik daudz vairāk mēs izceltos pasaules acīs, ja mēs būtu vieni no pirmajiem, kas savu piedalīšanos Olimpiskajās spēlēs saistītu ar Tibetas tautas tiesību ievērošanu, nekā ja mēs šajās sporta sacīkstēs iegūtu trīs zelta medaļas.

Latvijas Okupācijas muzejs ir viena no ārzemnieku visapmeklētākajām vietām Rīgā, un atsauksmes par muzeju pasaules presē ir izcilas. Muzeja izstāde un moto “Atcerēties, atgādināt, pieminēt” daudzus muzeja apmeklētājus - no skolniekiem līdz Japānas imperatoram - ir iedvesmojuši un izsaukuši līdzjūtību un cieņu tiem desmitiem miljonu cilvēku, kas pagājušajā gadsimtenī bija totalitāru varu upuri.

“Atcerēties, atgādināt, pieminēt” derētu arī visiem mūsu politiķiem un naudas, un varas vīriem, kas šobrīd steidzas uz Pekinas koliseju…

Cerot, ka drīz viena otra lielvara tomēr izlems nepalaist garām šo iespēju iespaidot Ķīnas politiku pret cilvēktiesībām, tāpat kā reiz Padomju Savienību - šoreiz, jādomā, pietiks, ja būs pieteikts demokrātisko valstu politisko pārstāvju boikots Olimpisko spēļu atklāšanai. Varbūt tad mūsu valdība lems: “Mēs arī!”

Cik žēl, ka mēs paši nedarām to, ko mēģinām lūgt citiem: atcerēties, atgādināt, pieminēt - un cīnīties ar vārdiem un darbiem, lai tas neatkārtotos un nenotiktu nekur pasaulē. Bet, cik maksā principi?

Maija Sinka un citi Okupācijas muzeja ļaudis

http://diena.lv/lat/tautas_balss/lasitaji_raksta/lasiitaaji_raksta_sapraats_vai_cinisms

What sickens me most about the present turmoil is the pathetic eagerness of governments all over the world to assure Beijing that they recognize the claim that Tibet is an integral part of one indivisible China.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, when China was isolated and poor, it would have cost little for Western and other governments to reject the Chinese claim to sovereignty over Tibet as simon-pure historical yak dung.

Now China reacts to international criticism and protest (not initiated or supported by any government, of course) with an outpouring of Big Lies that would have made Goebbels envious, and which no sane person could believe for a moment.

Of course the analogy between the Baltic countries under Soviet occupation and the Tibetans (and Uighurs in Xinjiang) under Chinese occupation is only partly valid. Analogies of this sort are never perfect. It’s good enough for the great majority of Balts to empathize immediately with the Tibetans, and the similarity is indeed sufficient to call for such empathy. The Dalai Lama has for at least two decades been willing to settle for autonomy (remember when rumors circulated that the Soviet-occupied Baltics would be granted the status of satellite countries rather than SSRs?); many Tibetans disagree, and continue to call for real independence. The same convictions that made me a (gasp!) “liberationist” in the bad old days of the USSR make me a “splittist” now in respect of China, but that sort of decision ought to be made by Tibetans and not by sympathizers.

In any case, it would be nice if some outside country had the pauti to cry bullshit on China’s entire claim and officially recognize Tibet as an occupied country. While the rest of us looked away, China has been aggressively buying friends in Africa and Latin America, so chances of that are remote at best. Let it stand as one more monument to cowardice in high places.

Stephen

Aicinājums.

/P

Kad Latvija ar savu garaspēku nevardarbīgi atguva neatkarību, tika cerēts, ka mēs, tieši mēs - mazā Latvija! - starptautiskajā politikā varētu stiprināt morālo dimensiju, kas būtu ļoti svarīgi. Vai šī mūsu godpilnā misija vairs nav nekā vērta? Vai tā vairs nav aktuāla?

Silva Bendrāte: Tibeta ir Latvijas sirdsapziņas jautājums

A deeper question with shoals one wonders about when trying to take soundings?

Hey—where’s Ambersun when you need her?

/P

P.S. The Saeima just voted down the resolution supporting Tibet. 28 MPs were in favor of the resolution. (Didn’t expect anything else.)

“Saeima neatbalsta deklarāciju par situāciju Tibetā”

/P