By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, November 26: Britain shares the “frustration” of the Tibetan people in failing to make any progress in autonomy talks with China, a British minister said Monday.
Commenting on the conclusion of the Tibetan exiles’ meeting in Dharamsala in India, British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said he welcomed the “renewed commitment from the Tibetan exile movement to pursue a sustainable solution to the underlying issues in Tibet through dialogue with China and non-violent means.”
“The British Government shares their frustration that it has not yet been possible to make substantive progress on the issues so far,” Mr Rammell added.
In his comment Rammell said that “some of the proposals put forward by the Tibetan side prior to the last round of dialogue should provide a basis for substantive discussion, focused initially on identifying points of agreement.”
“So I urge both parties to resume their discussions without delay, to find a system of meaningful autonomy for Tibet within the framework of the Chinese constitution, with full respect for Tibet’s distinct culture, religion and languages,” Rammell added.
But last month, just ahead of the latest round of talks held between the Tibetan and Chinese sides, Britain disappointed Tibetans, growing coalition of academics and Tibet supporters by deciding to accept China’s direct control over Tibet, an unprecedented shift in its policy, which for nearly a century has stopped short of formally recognizing Tibet as part of Chinese territory.
Many believe such an inattentive move by the British government has further weakened the position of the Tibetan exiles in their dialogues with China to seek a “real and meaningful autonomy” for their Himalayan homeland, which Chinese communist troops invaded in 1949.
In a little-noticed parliamentary statement on Oct 29, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband described a historic agreement dating back almost a century which acknowledged Chinese interest in Tibet but asserted that Tibet had never been fully part of the country as an “anachronism” and added: “Like every other EU member state, and the United States, we regard Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China.”
In the statement, Mr Miliband, nevertheless, gave his strong backing to talks between the Chinese Communist Party and envoys of the Dalai Lama. He also backed the Dalai Lama’s call for autonomy, rather than independence, for his homeland as a basis for agreement, and said that the exiled Tibetan leader had actually met conditions set by the Chinese government in order to have dialogue for a negotiated settlement over Tibet.
“Our interest is in long-term stability, which can only be achieved through respect for human rights and greater autonomy for the Tibetans,” Milliband said.
But the latest eighth round of talks, which finished in Beijing in the first week of this month, did not make any headway as the Chinese side categorically rejected the “Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People” put forward by the Tibetan envoys in all its form.
At the end of the six-day special meeting of Tibetan exiles in Dharamsala this week end, leading Tibetan representatives from around the world reaffirmed their vow to follow the guidance and direction that the Dalai Lama would make from time to time based on a prevailing situation. With large majority’s support, the meeting also decided to continue with the Dalai Lama’s Middle-Way policy, which seeks a meaningful autonomy for Tibet within the constitutional framework of China.
The meeting’s final report, however, also said “looking at the Chinese Government’s behavior in the past” options to “pursue complete independence or self-determination” should be reconsidered in future if China at all fails to respond positively within a timeframe.
Further expressing frustration over the lack of progress in the talks with China, the delegates of the meeting also called on their exile leaders to stop sending envoys to Beijing until China adopts a sincere attitude to resolve Tibet issue in a meaningful way.
