Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

Tibetan events held throughout weekend

Teach-in, movies held on day Dalai Lama was scheduled to visit town

At a Tibetan teach-in held Sunday, Larry Gerstein, a psychology professor at Ball State University and the president and co-founder of the International Tibet Independence Movement, began by asking his audience to whisper the words "free Tibet" repetitiously. He then explained that even whispering those words in the Tibetan region would prompt an arrest by the Chinese police and a prison sentence. Possession of a photo of the Dalai Lama, the religious and political leader of Tibet, or participation in a political demonstration would warrant the same punishment. \nThe teach-in was one of several events sponsored by the ITIM, Students for a Free Tibet and the Tibetan Cultural Center to mark what would have been a visit by the Dalai Lama. He canceled his visit to Bloomington in February, citing illness brought on by exhaustion.\nGerstein explained the history of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the reasons it is important to the Chinese government to maintain control of the territory. He said Chinese officials claimed Tibet belonged to China due to an ancient marriage between Tibetan and Chinese royalty, and they claimed they were freeing Tibet from a theocratic government. \n"If the marriage argument was a valid reason for an invasion, then all of Europe would be owned by other countries," he said. "Also, at the time China took over Tibet, the Dalai Lama was trying to change the government so it would not be a theocracy. He realized it would not be beneficial to the average Tibetan."\nGerstein said the Chinese are motivated not to withdraw from Tibet because overpopulation is causing China to run out of land to accommodate its people, and Tibet is a useful buffer zone between China and India. \n"There are about one million Chinese military troops on that border," he said. "There are a lot of unreported skirmishes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in that area."\nHe said from 1959 until the late 1980s, Chinese troops destroyed 6,000 Tibetan monasteries, and in doing so, they also sabotaged Tibetan culture.\n"In Tibet, monasteries are not just religious centers," he said. "They are all-purpose community centers for Tibetans."\nGerstein said the Buddhist religion of Tibet is seen as a threat to communism by the Chinese government, and since 1959, 1.2 million Tibetans have died or committed suicide as a result of the Chinese occupation. He said many Chinese citizens do not know what is really going on in Tibet because of the country's educational curriculum.\n"The Chinese are very sophisticated as far as controlling what is taught in their schools," he said. "They've been able to lead people into believing these myths the same way many of us grew up reading things in our textbooks about the Native Americans and Christopher Columbus."\nHe also explained that Tibet has a high supply of untapped uranium, and the Chinese mine Tibetan uranium to build weapons.\nGerstein said Tibet has a right to the independence it had before 1949, and it is difficult for the United Nations to put pressure on China because the country is one of five permanent members of the organization. \n"Tibetans have a legal right to control everything," he said. "They had their own flag, their own government, their own currency and their own treaties with other countries before the Chinese came in."\nGerstein said the U.S. government supports the Tibetan cause, but cannot be too vocal due to economic ties with China.\n"The bottom line is money," he said. "There is a lot of money for corporations in goods that are made in China. The U.S. is hoping that its economic partnership with China will eventually lead to the destabilization of the Chinese government, but the Chinese government knows what our motivation is."\nGerstein also advocated for the release of the Panchen Lama, the second highest Tibetan religious leader, from Chinese custody. At age six, the Panchen Lama, who will turn 13 on April 25, was taken by the Chinese government to Beijing several days after being recognized by the Dalai Lama. He has not been seen since.\nSenior Natalie Baker, a Students for a Free Tibet leader, said one hypothesis states that Chinese officials are keeping the Panchen Lama as a political prisoner and teaching him to support China. After the Dalai Lama's death, Baker said the Chinese might release the Panchen Lama so he can rule Tibet as a leader who is behind China's policies.\nNamgyal Shallung, a research associate at the IU Law School Center for Human Rights in Indianapolis, was born in Tibet and escaped to India at age six. He said the causes for Tibetan and Taiwanese independence from China are connected.\n"I spoke with someone from China recently, and he said that Taiwan is like someone's teeth and Tibet is like the lips that protect the teeth," he said. "If Tibetan independence can be achieved peacefully, then independence can likely be achieved peacefully for Taiwan."\nBesides the teach-in, several other Tibetan educational events were held throughout the weekend. Students for a Free Tibet held three screenings of the Tibetan foreign language film "Himalaya," which received an Oscar nomination in 2000 for best foreign film. The movie chronicles the struggle for tribal leadership in a village in Nepal, and that tribe's annual journey to the holy salt lakes in northern Tibet.\n"We felt it would be a good introductory film for people to learn about Tibetan culture," Baker said. "Tibet is unique in that its struggle is not just about human rights, but it is also political, environmental and cultural."\nIn addition, a picnic was held at the Tibetan Cultural Center, 3655 Snoddy Rd., Saturday afternoon. Tuesday, Students for a Free Tibet will hold a screening of "The Search for the Panchen Lama: The World's Youngest Political Prisoner" at 7 p.m. in Woodburn Hall 005.\nFor more information, visit the ITIM Web site (http://www.rangzen.com) or the Tibetan Cultural Center site (http://www.tibetancc.com).

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe