Scandalous falsification of history: China plans celebration of the flight of the Dalai Lama

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) has described as "a scandal” the plans of the Chinese leaders to celebrate the flight of the Dalai Lama and the so-called "liberation” of Tibet 50 years ago. "To celebrate the 10th March means to make a mockery of the 86,000 Tibetans who suffered a violent death in the rising in Tibet 50 years ago ", criticised the GfbV Asia consultant, Ulrich Delius, on Monday. There is no reason to celebrate China’s occupation, which contravened international law. The 10th March 1959 was "a black day” in the history of Tibet and of China, which caused endless suffering.

China’s plans are a new affront to the Tibetan people and to the temporal and religious leader of the Tibetans, the Dalai Lama. "China’s leaders could not make it more clear that they are not interested in a dialogue with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans”, said Delius. The protests of thousands of Tibetans in the year 2008 have shown that the conflict concerning Tibet has still not been resolved.

The memory of the rising is still very much alive in the minds of the majority of Tibetans, said Delius. The occupation of Tibet by Chinese troops – which was a contravention of international law - took place in 1950 (Wiederholung NP) and the resistance against China’s policy of occupation grew in strength towards the end of the fifties. The rising broke out in 1959 since the Tibetan people feared that there was a plan for Chinese troops to abduct the Dalai Lama. 300,000 Tibetans, men and women, gathered round the residence of the Dalai Lama to protect him. On 12th March 5000 Tibetan women marched through the Tibetan capital with banners, on which they demanded "Tibet for the Tibetans”. Barricades were set up in the streets. On 15th March Chinese soldiers began to draw up heavy guns around Lhasa. The Dalai Lama, dressed as a soldier, fled to India on 17th March. For two days there was heavy fighting between Tibetans and Chinese soldiers. Thousands of men and women were killed in the fighting in Lhasa. Valuable monasteries were shelled by Chinese artillery and thousands of monks were abducted to carry out forced labour or shot on the spot.