The Tibetan Youth Congress disapproved the 17-point agreement signed between independent Tibet and China 53 years ago on May 23, 1951, as it was thrust upon the Tibetan government and its people under duress by China.
The Controversial 17-point agreement had never been accepted by the Tibetan people because of the fact that it was secured from the then government of Tibet forcibly at the point of military invasion.
The terms and obligations of this controversial 17-point agreement have been invalidated as Beijing has constantly refused to honor the obligations of this treaty.
The ill-fated agreement
It was around this time that the 15-year-old Dalai Lama, who had just assumed power and moved to southern Tibet in case developments warranted his escape into India, delegated two Tibetan officials to negotiate with the Communists. Ngabo Ngawang Jigme, the governor of Chamdo who had been forced to surrender, was to head the Tibetan negotiating team. The delegation had been given strict instruction not to accept Cinese sovereignty over Tibet and that it should refer all important points back to Dromo for consultation. For that purpose a direct wireless communications was to be established between Beijing and Dromo. Soon after the Tibetan team’s arrival in Beijing, the Chinese government presented them a proposal, which was the same as the one issued by the South-West Military Command soon after the fall of Chamdo. This proposal was later to become the basis of what is today known as ’17-Point Agreement’.
The Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey is organizing a Mass Demonstration, Renouncing the 17-point agreement.
Venue : Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations
350 East 35th Street, New York, NY 10016
Date : May 23, 2004 (Sunday)
Time : 4:00 pm
