As the Chinese government went about protesting the Dalai Lama's meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama last month, THUBTEN SAMDUP, the spiritual leader's representative for Northern Europe, explained how Tibet has its own unique culture, tradition and language that need to be preserved. He also stresses to Shyam Bhatia of asianaffairs that 99 per cent of Tibetans would support any future agreement reached between the Dalai Lama and Beijing.

AA: What is the significance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's recent visit to Washington and his meeting with President Barack Obama?
TS: The most important aspect of this meeting is that it sends a message to Tibetans in Tibet that they are not forgotten. That is very important because the Chinese government always plays it down every time there is an event of some significance. The Chinese newspapers never mention anything and Tibetans in Tibet usually get news from their relatives who have gone to India, for example. Only that way. This time the message went out loud and many Tibetans have been celebrating just the fact that the meeting happened and I think that's most important.

AA: Does the meeting represent a change of U.S. policy on Tibet?
TS: That I don't think so. As you know, former president George W. Bush has met, Clinton has met, George senior has met — all the presidents have met His Holiness. So I don't see any change in U.S. government policy. But this time round there was tremendous pressure from the Chinese government to cancel the meeting.

AA: How is U.S. policy on Tibet different from that of other Western governments like the UK?
TS: The U.S. has been more forthright when it comes to showing support for His Holiness and the people of Tibet. They never really shied away, as opposed to the British and other governments. They have been very forthright about it. That's a big difference. In the UK there has been a change of policy because in 2008 the UK came out, stating that they recognised Tibet as part of China. Previously the UK recognised Chinese suzerainty, but not sovereignty over Tibet. The fact of the matter is that realities change all the time and China has become so much more important today than they were 10 to 15 years ago. So they are using their economic muscle to squeeze every government.

AA: Did previous UK policy recognise Tibet's independence?
TS: Tibet's independence? I wouldn't say that, but suzerainty yes. And most other governments for a very long time have not come out openly and said: 'We recognise Tibet as part of China.' It's over the years that it has been developing and unfortunately these days the Chinese government is very aggressively going after each government. As I've said before, they tried to put that pressure. One of the problems of the Chinese government has always been the legitimacy of their presence in Tibet. This is a big question mark.

AA: Other U.S. presidents have received the Dalai Lama, so why were the Chinese so upset about this particular meeting. Was Beijing testing Barack Obama?
TS: One thing I am sure you know is that the Chinese government is very unpredictable. Sometimes one wonders where they are coming from. It was almost impossible for President Obama not to meet with His Holiness this time around because there was so much support in the Congress, and the U.S. public expects their president to meet with the Dalai Lama. Last October when His Holiness visited the U.S. and the White House meeting got postponed, President Obama got a lot of flak on that. I don't see any big deal this time around. Why is this time any different from when he met George W. Bush and when he was presented the Congressional gold medal? That was a lot more in the open. But this time perhaps they are testing Obama because of the way he was received in China and also in Copenhagen?

AA: Do Tibetans seek independence for their country?
TS: That's what the Chinese claim and as you know His Holiness travels the world — and although many Tibetans don't want to hear it — he keeps reciting like mantra, 'I'm not seeking independence, all I'm seeking is meaningful, genuine autonomy for my people.'

AA: What does that mean in practical terms, what are the nuts and bolts of that aspiration?
TS: Well basically, the way I see it and the way I have been telling parliamentarians is some sort of Chinese government representation that Tibet is very different, Tibetans have a completely different language, written and spoken, and a unique culture. And the Tibetans are very different as a people from the Chinese. That needs to be recognised. For the Tibetans and the Dalai Lama, the preservation of the unique culture is very, very important.

AA: Are there any international parallels for what the Tibetans seek?
TS: There are so many examples. But the one I always say is that I'm from Canada, I've lived in Canada for 30 years, we have Quebec, the province of Quebec under Canada. And I've said it very openly, before I became the representative of His Holiness, that if I as a Tibetan had the same deal as Quebec under Canada, I'd be quite content. Quebec has its own Ministry of Education and they even have the immigration department, they also preserve the French language. The Quebec government has that right and therefore the Canadian government gave them the Ministry of Education, so nobody can enter Quebec just like that.

AA: How do ordinary Tibetans view the Chinese?
TS: I think most Tibetans do feel there is a foreign occupation of their country and they do see Chinese as foreigners. I think they just see them as people from the outside who have invaded their country and are occupying it, and they feel they are second class citizens in their own country.

AA: What do the majority Han Chinese think of the Tibetans, do they regard Tibetans as in some way inferior?
TS: That I think yes. The Han Chinese have always looked at far away Tibet as backward and barbaric and that they have come in and peacefully liberated Tibetans from serfdom in 1951 and that Tibetans are very happy.

AA: Isn't that an imperialist, colonial perspective?
TS: Absolutely. The fact remains that so many well educated Chinese I have met don't even know that Tibetans have their own language, written and spoken, and culture. Many Chinese as soon as they find out I'm Tibetan, they start talking to me in Chinese. When I tell them I'm sorry, I don't speak their language, they respond, 'What do you mean, you don't speak, you're Chinese.' I tell them no, I'm Tibetan, I speak the Tibetan language. Then they ask me to say something in Tibetan and when I do, they don't understand. For example the Chinese will say, 'Nee how ma?' (How are you?). Tibetans will say, 'Kherang kusug depo yinpe', which also means how are you?

AA: Are the roots of the two languages completely different?
TS: Written Tibetan comes from Sanskrit, Chinese is totally, completely different.

AA: Hence the unique bond between Tibet and India?
TS: Yes, that's why His Holiness keeps saying, 'We are the chela and you are the guru'. We are so much closer to India than to China, Buddhism comes from India, our language comes from India.

AA: Does China covet Tibet's natural resources?
TS: Yes, very much. China has discovered oil, uranium, gold, copper, all sorts of things, this is all documented. Previously, Tibet was never explored. It's very religious and it left nature as is. By the way Tibet is also strategically very important for China; it borders India, Russia and Afghanistan. China also carries out its nuclear tests in Tibet. Some of the world's major rivers are in Tibet. Right now there is tension between India and China because of water diversion projects that will divert water from the south to the north.

AA: Do you believe the Dalai Lama will ever return to Lhasa.
TS: All Tibetans want that, but the way it is now, it is unlikely. It's a huge tragedy, but I would like to add something important. China has it easy. If they wanted to accommodate the aspirations of the Tibetan people, we have a leader that has a huge following and 99 per cent of Tibetans would go along with whatever agreement is reached between His Holiness and the Chinese government. If they fail to seize that opportunity, once the Dalai Lama is gone — even if the Chinese government wants to talk — they may not find a partner. There could be different factions and total chaos and the unfortunate thing is that Tibetans under the Dalai Lama have been following the pattern of non-violence. His Holiness believes that we must find an alternative to violence and that Tibetans can set that example to the world. If the world community fails to support His Holiness in that non-violent struggle, the day His Holiness passes would send a very wrong sort of message to the future generations that non-violence is not relevant. We can't afford something like this.

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