By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, July 28: The Indian Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, in her response to questions over Tibet issue at the Rajya Sabha yesterday, said that India is not a ‘mute spectator’ when it comes to addressing the issue. She said, “We are not sitting as a mute spectator. Whenever there are differences, we raise them.”
As for India’s stand on Tibet, she said, “We used to earlier talk of One China policy, but we maintain that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. And when we say that, we want China to recognize this also. Our policy has been made very clear.”
The union minister has said that there is no quid pro quo with China on the matter of Tibet issue and the atrocities Tibetans are put under. She also added that the no quid pro quo also extends to the issue of stapled visa given by Beijing to residents of Arunachal Pradesh.
China had protested against the visit of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama or the Indian president to the border state. The minister said, “The Dalai Lama wanted to visit Tawang and we allowed him to do so.”
She also added that New Delhi has lodged protest against issues that are against India’s interest.
His Holiness’s visit to Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh drew lots of censure from Beijing which claims the region as a part of their territory dubbed as ‘Southern Tibet’.
As for the recent cancellation of a trip of a group of Indian journalists to Tibet, the administration said that there is no official information from China about it and that it was between the ‘independent journalists’ and the Chinese officials. “As far as the visit being cancelled, officially we don’t have any information. It is between the journalists and the host country,” said Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar. The scribed-trip was scheduled from July 8-15 for the journalists who were to visit Tibet at the invitation of the Chinese government.
