hummalumma
04-27-2005, 02:42 PM
By Tenzin Dargyal
Tibet And Canada: One Year After
On the same day that Prime Minister Paul Martin made perhaps his most important speech ever to the Canadian public, Tibetans and their Parliamentary supporters also sent a clear message to the Government of Canada. Close to 200 khatas, ceremonial white Tibetan scarf representing peace and friendship, were distributed to Members of Parliament to mark the anniversary of the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Parliament Hill and to show support for the peaceful struggle of the Tibetan people.
MPs from all parties, including several Ministers, took part in the event and made powerful statements to call for increased action from the Government of Canada on the issue of Tibet and ensure that Beijing takes concrete action to ensure that the current dialogue between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and China results in a negotiated settlement on the status of Tibet.
Both of Canada's longest standing MPs, the Hon. Bill Blakie and the Hon. David Kilgour, confirmed that the issue of Tibet today enjoys unprecedented support.
Despite the absence of the issue of Tibet in the highly anticipated international policy statement, it has been both an encouraging and concerning year for Tibetan cause in Canada since the visit of His Holiness. Firstly, envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama returned to China and Tibet in September 2004 for their third visit in the last three years. Though we have yet to achieve meaningful negotiations on the issue of Tibet, the envoys described the third visit as the most extensive and serious exchange of views on matters relating to Tibet.
Canadian public and parliamentary support of Tibet is stronger than ever. With their support, last December we saw Mr. Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Foreign Affairs, publicly state Canada's request to China to stop the execution of Tibetan monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. Before the prime minister's trip to China this January, we heard senior government officials publicly state Canada's encouragement of continued dialogue between envoys of the Dalai Lama and China. Though the prime minister did not publicly raise the issue of Tibet during his meetings with Chinese leaders, these government actions represent an encouraging break from prior government practice which has largely avoided any public discussion of the issue of Tibet.
Currently the largest cause of concern is Canadian corporate involvement in occupied Tibet. Just a few weeks ago, an "all-star" team of Canadian companies, Bombardier, Power Corporation and Nortel, formally announced their involvement in a controversial Chinese railway project to Lhasa. For many Tibetans, this first railway from mainland China to Tibet represents the final phase in Beijing's strategy to wipe out the land, culture and people of Tibet. It threatens to increase environmental pressure on the high-altitude ecosystem, facilitate the entry of large numbers of Chinese settlers onto Tibetan lands and bolster military strength in the region. The railway is expected to be completed and operational in 2006.
Despite the clear moral issue of their implication in this project and their publicly stated policies to conduct themselves ethically in their business dealings, these leading Canadian corporations are now poised to benefit from a project that Jiang Zemin publicly confirmed is part of a politi
cal strategy. To date, there are no encouraging signs that these companies will withdraw from the Tibet railway project or take any action to resolve our concerns. Meanwhile an international coalition of Tibet support groups is set to launch a global action plan and build on their past victories to get prominent organizations, such as the World Bank and BP, to leave Tibet off their corporate maps.
Some say the words "Tibet" and "impossible" are synonymous. We've already been reminded that we face an impossible mission against Canada's largest companies to withdraw from a contract in the seemingly lucrative China market. Let's just remember that last year we were repeatedly reminded that a meeting between the prime minister of Canada and His Holiness the Dalai Lama was impossible.
It is impossible to discourage those who believe that the peaceful struggle for Tibet must prevail.
-- Tenzin Dargyal is the National Coordinator of the Canada-Tibet Committee
Tenzin Dargyal
National Office / Bureau national
Canada Tibet Committtee - Comité Canada-Tibet
T.514-487-0665 F.514-487-7825
dargyal@tibet.ca
www.tibet.ca
"When a peaceful movement prevails, war loses"
Tibet And Canada: One Year After
On the same day that Prime Minister Paul Martin made perhaps his most important speech ever to the Canadian public, Tibetans and their Parliamentary supporters also sent a clear message to the Government of Canada. Close to 200 khatas, ceremonial white Tibetan scarf representing peace and friendship, were distributed to Members of Parliament to mark the anniversary of the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Parliament Hill and to show support for the peaceful struggle of the Tibetan people.
MPs from all parties, including several Ministers, took part in the event and made powerful statements to call for increased action from the Government of Canada on the issue of Tibet and ensure that Beijing takes concrete action to ensure that the current dialogue between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and China results in a negotiated settlement on the status of Tibet.
Both of Canada's longest standing MPs, the Hon. Bill Blakie and the Hon. David Kilgour, confirmed that the issue of Tibet today enjoys unprecedented support.
Despite the absence of the issue of Tibet in the highly anticipated international policy statement, it has been both an encouraging and concerning year for Tibetan cause in Canada since the visit of His Holiness. Firstly, envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama returned to China and Tibet in September 2004 for their third visit in the last three years. Though we have yet to achieve meaningful negotiations on the issue of Tibet, the envoys described the third visit as the most extensive and serious exchange of views on matters relating to Tibet.
Canadian public and parliamentary support of Tibet is stronger than ever. With their support, last December we saw Mr. Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Foreign Affairs, publicly state Canada's request to China to stop the execution of Tibetan monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. Before the prime minister's trip to China this January, we heard senior government officials publicly state Canada's encouragement of continued dialogue between envoys of the Dalai Lama and China. Though the prime minister did not publicly raise the issue of Tibet during his meetings with Chinese leaders, these government actions represent an encouraging break from prior government practice which has largely avoided any public discussion of the issue of Tibet.
Currently the largest cause of concern is Canadian corporate involvement in occupied Tibet. Just a few weeks ago, an "all-star" team of Canadian companies, Bombardier, Power Corporation and Nortel, formally announced their involvement in a controversial Chinese railway project to Lhasa. For many Tibetans, this first railway from mainland China to Tibet represents the final phase in Beijing's strategy to wipe out the land, culture and people of Tibet. It threatens to increase environmental pressure on the high-altitude ecosystem, facilitate the entry of large numbers of Chinese settlers onto Tibetan lands and bolster military strength in the region. The railway is expected to be completed and operational in 2006.
Despite the clear moral issue of their implication in this project and their publicly stated policies to conduct themselves ethically in their business dealings, these leading Canadian corporations are now poised to benefit from a project that Jiang Zemin publicly confirmed is part of a politi
cal strategy. To date, there are no encouraging signs that these companies will withdraw from the Tibet railway project or take any action to resolve our concerns. Meanwhile an international coalition of Tibet support groups is set to launch a global action plan and build on their past victories to get prominent organizations, such as the World Bank and BP, to leave Tibet off their corporate maps.
Some say the words "Tibet" and "impossible" are synonymous. We've already been reminded that we face an impossible mission against Canada's largest companies to withdraw from a contract in the seemingly lucrative China market. Let's just remember that last year we were repeatedly reminded that a meeting between the prime minister of Canada and His Holiness the Dalai Lama was impossible.
It is impossible to discourage those who believe that the peaceful struggle for Tibet must prevail.
-- Tenzin Dargyal is the National Coordinator of the Canada-Tibet Committee
Tenzin Dargyal
National Office / Bureau national
Canada Tibet Committtee - Comité Canada-Tibet
T.514-487-0665 F.514-487-7825
dargyal@tibet.ca
www.tibet.ca
"When a peaceful movement prevails, war loses"