FREE TIBET , FREE CHINA, FREE WORLD

WHAT IS FREE TIBET?
ལྷག་བསམ་གཙང་མས།

Chinese communist regime forcefully invaded Tibet since 1950s. Despite the Chinese massive propaganda claiming liberation, freedom and prosperity in Tibet, Tibetan people have never been free. Even now, there is no freedom of speech, movement and religious practice. Tibet is bound by the ruthless tyrannical, repressive and colonial iron chain. Tibetans want to free themselves from this iron chain to live freely as Tibetans. They want this iron chain taken away so that they can practice their religion, culture and language freely. This is "Free Tibet". This is the slogan the Tibetans and their supporters have been raising so faithfully and vehemently on the streets, before the Chinese embassies and the UNO offices for the last many years.

This year, the 56th anniversary of 10th March Uprising Day, we saw some unfortunate and deplorable incident, where instead of directing our slogans and energy to the common target, we found ourselves quarrelling on the street. Our motivation may be sincere though, Chinese leadership must have had a good laugh at this naïve preposterous supposedly act of patriotism from the Tibetans. We need to be united when we are in the street for our common cause. But as far as the use of slogans is concerned, let me share my feeling.

"Free" means: not a salve; having personal rights and social and political rights - Oxford dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2001. Do the people in Tibet have these rights? Chinese people have also raised slogan "Free China", because they feel they are deprived of these rights. So, who is talking about separation and independence here?? We are talking about freedom of speech, religion and culture. Freedom to have Holiness the Dalai Lama in Tibet and follow His teachings.

Now, with "China out of Tibet", our target is not the Chinese people. Our slogan is directed to the brutal repressive communist regime of China. As per the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)'s Middle Approach, "Tibetans are seeking a form of self-governance, which would allow them to meet their basic needs but not challenge the unity and stability of the People's Republic of China." This is very much stipulated under Chinese constitution. We want the brutal repressive communist regime of China out of Tibet. We are not saying "Chinese out of Tibet". We must not send wrong message unnecessarily.

As our scripture says, look not at the surface of the word; look at the essential meaning of the word. [tsig la mi rton don la rton]. We need to be more careful next time. We can't afford to waste our time and energy debating on the surface of a word, and forget implementing the essential meaning of the word. This will not be a proper way to pay our respect and tribute to the martyrs.

Kungo Sikyong's Speech at Paris: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152853993524825&pnref=story

Note: The article is author's sincere effort to share his feeling in our struggle for Free Tibet, and not directed to anyone.