"For nearly six decades, Tibetans in the whole of Tibet known as Cholkha-Sum (U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo) have had to live in a state of constant fear, intimidation and suspicion under Chinese repression." -Dalai Lama(cfr.org)
The conflict began when Chinese forces invaded Tibet in 1950. When China invaded, it pressured Tibet to sign the seventeen point agreement which gave China sovereignty over Tibet. In response to Chinese suppression of the Tibetan people, an uprising began in Tibet in 1959. During this time, it was feared that the Chinese planned to assassinate the Dalai Lama and he was forced to escape along with thousands of followers to Dharamsala, India. Chinese oppression of the Tibetan people people increased after the failed uprising and they aimed to eliminate Tibetan culture. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans were killed in the uprising and in Chinese prison camps. Thousands of temples have been destroyed and Tibetans were denied of their religious freedom. Many monks and religious figures were arrested, mistreated, and tortured. Tibetan women are also forced to be sterilized and have abortions. These violations of human rights continue today, but to a lesser extent.
Dalai Lama's Involvement
"Since the Chinese invasion, the Dalai Lama has taken numerous actions in hopes of establishing an autonomous Tibetan state within the People's Republic of China." (bio.com) |
The Dalai Lama presented a draft democratic constitution in 1963 which "grants freedom of speech, belief, assembly, and movement. It also provides detailed guidelines for Tibetans living in exile."(bio.com) The Dalai Lama also proposed peace initiatives to China, one of which was the Five Point Peace Plan. It proposed that Tibet become a zone of peace and protected environment, and that Tibetan human rights would be respected. Another attempted proposal was the Strasbourg proposal, in which the Dalai Lamai negotiated with China to create a self-governing Tibet, granting some power to the Chinese. For his peaceful attempts to free Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
|