PETER WORTHINGTON URGES VOTERS TO REMIND MPS TO KEEP VOWS MADE DURING THE DALAI LAMA’S VISIT IN APRIL
By PETER WORTHINGTON, TORONTO SUN
WHEN THE Dalai Lama visited Canada in April and met with the prime minister and the three opposition leaders, he was treated with the deference of a rock star. To his credit, Paul Martin became the first Canadian PM to meet His Holiness — ignoring the protests by China, which saw it as a hostile act.
Stephen Harper was the most supportive of the Dalai Lama, and even tried to get Parliament to make him an honorary Canadian citizen, as it once did for Nelson Mandela, who is not the man of non-violence that the Dalai Lama is.
Harper’s bid failed.
LARGE ADORING CROWDS
Nevertheless, Martin and rivals for his job on June 28 did indicate sympathy over Tibet’s occupation by the Chinese and the cultural genocide waged there for the past 53 years, which has resulted in more than a million Tibetan deaths.
Throughout his triple-city visit (Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto) to large and adoring crowds, the Dalai Lama avowed that Tibet no longer seeks independence from China, but merely freedom to practise its religion and culture in peace.
At age 68, the Dalai Lama’s time is running out. He wants Beijing to agree to negotiations with him and the Tibetan “government-in-exile” to effect a reconciliation.
The Dalai Lama thinks Canada’s cordial relations with China could help — especially since the Canadian government has showed patience, generosity and understanding towards Quebec’s sporadic attempts to separate.
Canada’s example could help influence Beijing’s dealings with Tibet’s hunger for autonomy. Or so the theory goes.
The Canada-Tibet Committee (CTC) is urging supporters of Tibet to put pressure on Martin and Harper to deliver on implied promises of support they made when they met the Dalai Lama.
After their 15-minute meeting, Mr. Martin said he and the Dalai Lama had discussed human rights and Tibet, and he had asked: “What can we do?”
The Dalai Lama made no specific requests, but urged: “In general, keep talking about human rights.”
With the election now less than three weeks away, Martin shows no sign of talking about how Canada might help resolve the China-Tibet impasse. Nor has Harper said anything about Tibet, which is non-existent on the Conservative campaign Web site.
SUPPORT HAS FADED
When an issue is popular, like the Dalai Lama’s visit, politicians are enthusiastic. When the issue fades, so does political interest.
Once again, Tibet seems to have been relegated to the black memory hole of Canadian politics.
The Tibetan leadership in Canada is urging Canadians to pester candidates in their ridings on where they stand on the Tibetan issue — not to be aggressive, not to give ultimatums, just to express support to persuade China to be pragmatic.
Voters are urged to check the Tibetan Web site (www.tibet.ca) and check if their MP signed the Tibet China Negotiation Campaign (TCNC) letter to the PM, and then to question what he or she has done.
Montreal’s Thubten Samdup, national president of the Canada-Tibet Committee, says he’s disappointed but not surprised that politicians have shown little interest in speaking up for a Tibet that they were so vociferous in supporting when the Dalai Lama was here.
“MPs were very vocal when His Holiness was here, but strangely silent now,” says Mr. Samdup.
“This is ironic, because conditions are better than ever before for the Chinese to seriously negotiate.”
While Mr. Samdup would like to discuss the matter with politicians, a letter-writing campaign to newspapers might produce greater results.
Conservatives and the lib-left (Hollywood) seem especially aware of Tibet, and a declaration of support from Stephen Harper might actually mean something if he becomes PM.
Meanwhile, at the local level, those who care about Tibet should bug their MPs.
