Tibet
Tibet's History
Tibet is located on a plateau at one of the highest elevations in the world. The Tibetan civilization, a nomadic culture with its own language has a recorded history of over 2,100 years.
A formal peace treaty was concluded between China and Tibet in 821/823 AD. This treaty established official borders between Tibet and China and concluded the "the Tibetans will be happy in the great land of Tibet and the Chinese in the great land of China." The Tibetan government conducted its own foreign relations and concluded a number of treaties with its neighbors. The McMohan Line demarcating the borders between Tibet and India was the result of a treaty, known as the Simla Convention, signed between Tibet and British India in 1914.
Over 6,000 monasteries were established, they served not only as places for worship but also as cultural hubs for the towns and villages. They became centers for the study of philosophy, logic, medicine, music and many other advanced disciplines. It was considered an honor for each family in Tibet to have one son or daughter enter monastic life. Until 1940, one-quarter of the male population lived in monasteries.
Genocide in Tibet
The People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet in 1949. More than 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed by the Chinese, over 10% of the population, and the systematic destruction of nearly all of Tibet's 1,300 major monasteries and 5,000 branches. (This is comparable to nearly every church, library, university and museum in the United States being reduced to rubble.) More than 100,000 Tibetans succeeded in the escaping from Tibet. Today they still live in exile in India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. In 1959, the Dalai Lama was forced into exile and China completed its occupation of Tibet, continuing the perpetration of one of the worst atrocities in the history of human civilization.
Tibet Today
China has established ICBM bases in Kongpo Nyintri and Poso Tramo in southern Tibet, near Indian borders. The hinterland of Tibet today is reported to be used as a testing site for Chinese nuclear weapons and a dumping grounds for nuclear and other toxic wastes. In the 1980s the Chinese authorities allegedly received large sums of money from western governments for offering nuclear waste disposal facilities to them. China's own nuclear wastes are suspected to be stored at several places in Amdo (northeastern Tibet) and Nagchu-kha (northern Tibet). As late as 1991, GreenPeace exposed plans to ship toxic sewage sludge from the USA to China for disposal in Tibet.
China is also fleecing Tibet of its ancient forest covers. Official Chinese statistics revealed that through 1985 Tibet had provided them with $54 billion worth of timber. The deforestation of Tibet has led to the silting of Tibet's rivers, causing floods in neighboring countries, including China iteslf. In 1987-88, floods in the Brahmaputra River basin, which originates in Tibet, constituted 35 percent or more of total flooding in India.
"We are now entering another new century. I believe humanity during this century has experienced some surprising and great achievements in the fields of technology and science... [But] other experiences have been awful. During this century, the greatest number of humanity have been killed through violence, including war and other forms of violence, than in any previous century. And I think the ecological damage has been very serious. But through these experiences, humanity is becoming more mature. I think one indication of that maturity is the evident concern for peace, nonviolence and human rights. ...Peace is now becoming more mainstream." - H.H. the Dalai Lama
"We are at the dawn of an age in which extreme political
concepts and dogmas may cease to dominate human affairs. We must use this historic
opportunity to replace them with universal human and spiritual values. And ensure
that these values become the fiber of the global family which is emerging."
- H.H. the Dalai Lama