After Chinas newly established communist government took over Tibet in 1949- 50, in an invasion of unprovoked aggression a treaty was imposed on the Tibetan government acknowledging sovereignty over Tibet but recognising the Tibetan governments autonomy with respect to Tibets internal affairs. But as the Chinese consolidated their control, they repeatedly violated the treaty, nut since it was signed under duress anyway the agreement was already in violation of international law. In open resistance and with simmering resentment growing it led to the first major popular uprising against Chinses rule.
On 10 March - in Lhasa in 1959, the Dalai Lama was supposed to attend a dance troupe performance, but he was told he could not bring his bodyguards.Fearing his abduction to Beijing soon thousands of Tibetans surrounded the Norbulinka summer palace of their spiritual leader, in order to protect him from being taken away by the Chinese army. From Tibet then aged 23 he reached the safety of India having escaped on foot disguised as a soldier in a 15- day journey over the Himalayan mountains, traveling by night and hiding by day. where he has maintained a government-in-exile in the foothills of the Himalayas ever since.
Tibetan rebels launched an attack on March 19, but Chinese troops captured the city on March 25.The uprising was vastly outnumbered and met with extreme force, and brutal suppression, some 87,000 Tibetans were killed, and some 100,000 fled as refugees.resulting in the beginning of increasingly harsh Chinese rule over Tibet.
The Chinese government dissolved the Tibetan government headed by the Dalai Lama on March 28, 1959, and the Panchen Lama assumed control of the Tibetan government on April , 1959. The Malayan government condemned the Chinese governments use of military force against the Tibetans on March 20, 1959, and Prime Minister Nehru of India expressed support for the Tibetan rebels on March 30, 1959.
Prior to its invasion, Tibet had a theocratic government of which the Dalai Lama was the supreme religious and temporal head. The Chinese media routinely try to illustrate a narrative of oppression being commonplace in Tibet before their invasion and painting the Dalai Lama as a terrorist and dangerous seperatist to justify their occupation, stating they freed the prople of Tibet from "misery" and " slavery" under a feudal serfdom controlled by the Dalai Lama and his followers to try and distract us from the human rights abuses that China committed.Though it was no Shangri-La like paradise not only are their contradictions in this false narrative of serfdom and oppression that China likes to portray, most scholars have soundly rejected it and are moving away from this idea.
Tibetans since the invasion were treated as second-class citizens in their own country. They are routinely kicked out of their homes and sent to townships so the government can ‘develop’ occupied spaces '. Over 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed and those that have survived are not being used by monks, but ironically, are used as spiritual attractions for – mostly Chinese – tourists while they tighten Tibetans’ religious freedom. Areas that were once spiritual spots and pure nature are used as nuclear waste sites. Worst of all, Tibetans do not have freedom of speech, religion or movement. Many passports have been recalled and the borders are closed, trapping Tibetans in the country as their culture and land diminishes.Chines replaced Tibetan as the official language, Despite official pronouncements, there has been no practical change in this policy. Secondary school children are taught all classes in Chinese. Athough English is a requirement for most university courses, Tibetan school children cannot learn English unless they forfeit stdy of their own language. In addition the Dalai Lama says 1.2 million people have been killed under Chinese rule, though China disputes this.
The international community has since reacted with shock to the events that have ocurred in Tibet. The question of Tibet was raised at the U.N General Assembly between 199 and 1967. Three resolutions have been passed by the General Assembly condemning China's iolations of human rights in Tibet andcallung uponChina to resect their rightsincluding their right toself determination.
The following website www.tibetuprising.org is a useful one to view a timeline of Tibetan resistance over the decades. Large scale protests across Tibet took place in the 1980s and in 2008, as Beijing prepared to host the Olympic Games. China's response left 227 dead, over 1,000 injured and 6,810 in prison. Some have since been released. Some are still behind bars. Some didn’t live to tell the tale. A few not only survived until release but then evaded surveillance and managed to escape into exile.Some 150 Tibetans, young and old, monks and nuns, have self immolated aince 2009 calling for the freedom of Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.– Tibetans light themselves on fire as an individual form of non-violent protest against oppression. It is regretable too that the Chinese authorities have placed a ban on foreign travellers from entering Tibet during the 60th anniversary period, restrictions on access to Tibet are not new since Tibet is almost entrely closed to foreign hournalists, diplomats and UN experts, thus adding to its isolation from the outside world.
Recent evidence shows that there has been a significant increase of Tibetan political prisoners since the protests, and torture has become more widespread than ever. In 2015, Tibet Watch put the testimony of seven torture survivors in front of the UN. Voices that China tried to silence now told tales of barbaric cruelty and incredible bravery. They told of the unbreakable spirit of Tibetan resistance.Please see the following link for more details www.tibetwatch.org/blood-on-the-snows
At the moment the citizens of Tibet do not have anything that resembles any form of basic human rights. Children and adults can dissapear at any time. To practice their religion means they will face prison, torture and death. The people are prevented from displaying their banned flag, or in joining mass protests, but Tibetans still assert their desire for freedom in the face of severe repression.
Today this struggle is being carried forward by a generation of Tibetans whose parents and even grandparents do not remember a life free of Chinese rule. Tibetans’ spiritual leader has pleaded with the Chinese government to make Tibet truly autonomous so people can have freedom of speech, religion, and movement. The Tibetan people should be allowed to retain their right to protest and allow their struggle and dscontent with China and its illegal occupation and continued mistreatment of Tibetans to be recognised.Even though the plight of the Tibetans does not seem to garner the media attention it once recieved todays anniversary still marks years of oppression and exploitation.The fact remains that China still occupies Tibet in much the same way that Western empires of the nineteenth and twentieth century occcupied large parts of Africa and Asia. Chinas claims to have ' liberated 'Tibet rings hollow,and the continuing Tibetan resistance represents a legitimate important call for self-determination.
As Tibetans and their supporters look back over the 60 long years since their first uprising,let's remember the bravery and determined spirit of those who fought and gave their lives, and we recommit to securing the promise of human rights and religious freedom for the people of Tibet and support their ongoing struggle, not forgetting the thousands upon thousands of arrests, dissapearances, cases of torture, arbitrary detention and forced political indoctrination, and recommit to securing the promise of human rights and religious freedom for the people of Tibet and support their ongoing struggle. .
