Lecture addresses Tibetan Freedom

A lecture on Tibetan dissidents garnered an audience of more than 30 people in Woodburn Hall Wednesday night.\nStudents for a Free Tibet invited author and photographer Mikel Dunham to speak on the nature of Tibetan resistance to Chinese invasion in 1950 and the CIA's involvement in training resistance fighters. Among the attendees was the director of the Tibetan Cultural Center, whose presence was welcomed by audience members who rose to their feet upon his entrance. \nStudents for a Free Tibet member Mary-Kathryn Oreovicz said in an e-mail interview that Dunham is a respected author. \n"Dunham has been a witness to the effects of the invasion by Communist China and the ultimate decline of Tibet as a \ncountry," she said.\nDunham opened his lecture by pointing out Western ignorance of Tibetan culture. He said to this day many see it as a "Shangri-La," or a fantastical paradise. He said this misperception, combined with conflicting reports of the invasion from both China and the Dalai Lama make the history of the Tibetan resistance politicized and confusing.\nCentral Eurasian Studies major Chay Tidwell said he learned quite a bit from the lecture. \n"I don't know much about Tibet, so anything I learn is useful," he said.\nDunham said in 1950, China's leader, Mao ZeDong, set out to liberate the Tibetan people from what he called oppression from lamas. Mao claimed the Tibetans had begged for China's help, and he strongly discouraged foreign opposition to his liberation plans.\nDunham then pointed out the untapped resources of gold, uranium and boron in Tibet, all of which were desperately needed by post-World War II China.\n"China's raping of Tibet's natural resources continues to this day," he said.\nFrom several interviews of Tibetans in Indian and Nepalese refugee camps, Dunham said he learned the nature of the Chinese invasion. Chinese soldiers from the People's Liberation Army would provide medical assistance, clothes and money during the initial stages of the take-over, he said. \nHowever, it was clear by 1954 that Tibetans would not give up Buddhism in accordance with Chinese wishes, he said. Dunham said Mao planned to obliterate Tibet's monastic system, send peasants to labor camps and ban the religion. Tibetan freedom fighters then sprung up.\n"PLA reaction to freedom fighters was as swift as it was atrocious," Dunham said.\n1.2 million Tibetans died as a result of the occupation. Monks and citizens alike were crucified, dismembered and thrown from airplanes, and traumatized children were forced to shoot their parents, he said. Chinese soldiers would ask Tibetans, "Where's your Buddha now?"\n"The monks took off their robes and picked up guns," Dunham said.\nDue to diplomatic and bureaucratic barriers, the United States did not get involved with the conflict until 1957, when CIA officer Roger McCarthy trained Tibetan freedom fighters in Saipan. However, in 1974 the U.S. agreed to cease funding the dissidents in order to improve diplomatic relations with China.\nDunham said by this time, Americans involved in training Tibetans to fight against the Chinese were very attached to the members of the resistance. Dunham said his interviews with the Dalai Lama revealed that while he was grateful for American assistance, he did not believe their concern came from genuine concern.