NEW YORK, June 9 – Even as the Tibetans in exile held a Long Life Ceremony for His Holiness the Dalai Lama on June 7, a message secreted out of Tibet to Dharamsala, the exile Tibetan headquarters in India, said that the “pure hearts” of the Tibetans in Tibet were at the ceremony, although they were physically unable to participate in it.
Sent in the name of “the representatives of 40 organizations” in the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the message compared the lot of Tibetans in Tibet to that of “chicks left in the nest without mother”, and stated that their one and only wish is the long life of their beloved leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Expressing full support for the Tibetan leader’s initiatives to resolve the issue of Tibet through dialogue with the Chinese leadership, the letter warned that the Tibetans in Tibet will be forced by history to take recourse to “the final option” if they see no hope for the success of dialogue. “Of this, we are certain, just as our determination is firm,” the letter said.
The message ended with a request for His Holiness the Dalai Lama to “take courage to live as long as the sky exists”, saying that 99 percent of Tibetans in Tibet “place our hope and trust in Your Holiness”.
Following is the full text of the letter, as transcribed from the Norwegian Voice of Tibet radio broadcast:
We, the representatives of 40 organizations in the Three Provinces of Tibet, would like to make the following submission:
First of all, we would like to express our gratitude to Your Holiness the Dalai Lama for your ceaseless efforts on behalf of the people of Tibet. We extend our appreciation and greetings also to the Tibetan government and people in exile.
Although we, the humans and deities of Tibet, are unable to physically join the ceremony of Long Life Offering to Your Holiness, our pure hearts are there with you. And, we are glad to have got this precious opportunity to send a message to Your Holiness.
We humans and deities in Tibet, who are like chicks left without mother in the nest, have only one wish: the long life of Your Holiness. Whether Tibet survives or not will depend solely on the life and efforts of Your Holiness. In the light of this fact, we pray to Your Holiness to live long.
We fully support the positive developments with regard to Your Holiness’ initiatives for negotiations with the Chinese government. However, in the event of this approach becoming hopeless, there will be only one final option left for us. To the extent that history will have presented this option to us, there is no way we can shy away from our duty. Of this, we are certain, just as our determination is firm.
As 99 percent of Tibetans, the tsampa-eaters, place our hope and trust in Your Holiness, we pray that Your Holiness may take the courage to live as long as the sky exists.
