Switzerland insists Tibetans are Chinese

By: Ashok Rao

It is high time that the Tibetan leadership stop advertising how bad they think China is. They drone on about how China steps on human rights, how unfair they are, and how China does not give its citizens the religious freedom they deserve.

Whether any of this is true or false is no longer the point. What should be their main concern is how the six million people in Tibet can continue their unique cultural identity, and also somehow connect with and repatriate themselves with the Tibetans around the world, creating a unified culture and people. This is the only logical way that all things ‘Tibetan’ will continue to exist amidst the turbulent seas of the modern world.

More than ever, such efforts are important for the Tibetan leaders, given that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is now in his 80s. Rather than antagonise China, they should be doing their utmost to negotiate and make friends, before they no longer have the worldwide prestige of the Dalai Lama to rely upon. It is clearly obvious in the world of politics that the Tibetan leadership’s legitimacy derives strictly from the very same prestige and fame, and if they had any sense of forethought and care for their people, they would be making full use of it while they have the time.

The 400-year-old institution of the Dalai Lama, god king of Tibet, has always been based on reincarnated succession. So with the current 14th Dalai Lama in his 80s, it is imperative for the Tibetan leadership to make friends with China, lest the worst occurs before the god king returns in his next holy form.

However, one does not become friends with someone by hitting them on the head, or spitting on them at the turn of every corner. If the Tibetan leadership keeps running around, telling people, “Hey, Tibetans are not being treated well in Tibet,” while at the same time screaming for autonomy, does that make sense? Why would you want to be autonomous in a place where you are not treated well? To advocate autonomy yet on the same breath protest being mistreated in Tibet, does not make an ounce of sense.

So, for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his ‘ministers’ to ask for autonomy, which necessarily involves being a part of China, but at the same time gang bashing China at every turn, at every meeting, at every political gathering with every leader of the free world, and in the media, it does not make logical sense.

However, if you are seeking complete independence, it is a different kettle of fish, a completely different story. The reason you would seek independence is because your people are not being treated correctly and you do not foresee them being treated correctly in the future. But then, why does His Holiness advocate meaningful autonomy?

This article therefore, part of a trend, portrays that a county famed for their neutrality when it comes to international politics, war, banks and political views, are now shifting towards the One China policy and enforcing it. A nation such as Switzerland which is considered wealthy, sovereign and developed is now in alignment with China’s new world order.

A simple question to ask would be: what benefit does Switzerland or any other country receive to side with the Tibetans besides a moral feel-good factor, kind of like an instant adrenaline rush? Besides that, there is absolutely no political, financial and economic benefit to side with the Tibetan diaspora. But it would make perfect sense to side with China, from whom they would receive such benefit. So, this is more bad news for the Tibetan government in exile, headquartered in Dharamsala (affectionately called Dhasa).

Switzerland is now enforcing all Tibetans residing in their country to identify themselves as Chinese or originating from China. Previously they were allowed to be identify themselves as citizens of ‘Tibet’ or ‘Stateless’. This is a huge blow to Tibetans who are always declaring that they are the people from a sovereign Tibetan nation. Switzerland’s ‘simple’ act of enforcing Tibetans to identify with originating from China says it all. Clearly the Swiss government does not or will not recognize that Tibet is sovereign but always has been and continues to be a part of China. This should rankle many Tibetan supporters and freedom fighting ‘rangzen’ advocates.

It is a huge blow to the ‘Tibetan government in exile’ or more commonly known as the CTA. This should bring them backwards considerable after years of advocating their stance against China. We can see more and more nations siding with China and not with Tibet’s claim of sovereignty. Switzerland, which houses the largest settlement of Tibetan refugees in Europe is inadvertently setting a trend for the rest of the countries that house Tibetans as well as for the rest of the world. It is very important Tibetan leaders stop antagonizing China, not from a lack of free speech but for practical reasons. Tibetan leaders must stop irritating China and become friends. It is their only hope. They should be humble and reach out before it is too late.

The Tibetan Autonomous Region’s future, the Dalai Lama visiting his homeland again, and the preservation of the Tibetan culture and religion will be factored in by the behavior of the waning reputation of the Tibetan government in exile. If governments can be compared to the cycle of the moon, it is clear, given the current state of affairs, that the Tibetan government in exile is a moon which will never wax again.

Click on image to read the full report. Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/switzerland-revised-tibet-policy-to-boost-tieschinese-media/1/886711.html

 

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  1. The reason for this is because the Switzerland government totally lost confidence in the Tibetan leadership of Dharamsala. They have lost their respect for Tibetan leadership (CTA) otherwise why would they do this after 60 years of campaigning to the world Tibetans are NOT Chinese? Yet Switzerland is insisting Tibetans are Chinese and they make the Tibetans in Switzerland legally declare this. CTA is going downhill and their time is numbered. Their corruption and bad governance is catching up. Too bad.

  2. Our leaders will never think that they have any responsibility for our present predicament. Yes, Swiss is to be blamed for bending to the will of China and only time will tell what kind of friend China will be. In the immediate future though, China now knows they own them. But what made it more attractive for Swiss to give up Tibet in favour of China?

    Our Dalai Lama has been our precious constant for decades, amidst an ever-changing political environment. Swiss, who are clean and neutral and famed for anti-corruption, like him but they will not find it attractive to deal with the current ilk of leaders we have who are more interested in photo ops and mortgage payments than real work.

  3. If CTA is passionate about securing autonomy for Tibet it does not jell with throwing bad eggs on the Great Wall. What can CTA gain from such illogical act? If CTA is wise CTA should befriend China and begin talks before the time fades.

    It is not surprisingly for Tibetans in Switzerland to be called Chinese. This is inevitable as Switzerland wants to be aligned with China for economic reasons. And this is the same for the rest of the world. For this reasons Tibetans will eventually be integrated to Chinese whether they like it or not.

  4. Switzerland’s immigration policy of asking the Tibetan refugees to change their nationality to Chinese does not in any way change the benefits which the Tibetans will receive from the Swiss government. In fact, it’s a wise move for everyone. Being Chinese or even Swiss has more material benefits. It will help to propel the status of the Tibetans in the world. It will also be more secure for the Tibetans, especially if the Dalai Lama is not around anymore. Spiritually, Tibetans can continue to share the Buddha’s teachings to everyone. In essence Tibetans will always be Tibetans if they so wish to be and if they work hard to keep all the culture and traditions; stating a different nationality is just another label. When an Indian takes up the British nationality, they will always be an Indian, a British Indian.
    So “Chinese Tibetan” sounds perfectly legitimate in my humble opinion.
    There are more battles in life to fight then this obviously losing battle set up by the CTA – the battle of EGO !!

  5. By siding with the Dalai Lama and Tibetans, what does anyone get? Of course Switzerland will not side with Tibetans any more. Switzerland gave over 4,000 Tibetan refugees a home in Switzerland and that is more than enough. What does Tibetans give Switzerland? Switzerland owes Tibetans nothing. Better to side with China.

  6. Tibetans always make trouble wherever they live. They will not live quietly and appreciate the bigger economic goals of their host country. Many countries have a economic need to be friends with China as the cold war with China is thawing out. But Tibetans will never understand this. The needs of the 6 million Tibetans to them outweigh the needs of the rest of the 7 billion persons on this planet.

    I think Switzerland just got tired of the Tibetans but they are stuck with them.

  7. absolutely spot on. these tibetans create problems where ever they are. they r extremely manupulstives by nature and hv converted buddism into a big big business…

  8. The mentality of a leadership is very important for organizing in an association. Good qualification of leaderships including understanding, reassessment, cooperative, supportive and motivate others. But it’s too bad there aren’t any of these qualities seen in CTA. How could Tibet be autonomous with such great potential of humiliation?

    It is beneficial too for Tibetan refugees in Switzerland to change their citizenship to obtain a better and more secure life. Therefore they may have their religious freedom and live in peace and harmonious life. After all, it’s all about FREEDOM.

  9. Take a look at this clear video of His Holiness the Dalai Lama telling the monasteries to expel monks that practice Dorje Shugden. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTgYWidYw3U

  10. Nechung is ZUMA 👎 before I m think he is one of d best when I m watch dis video By Geshe Dorjee la but now I m think is not d truth n he is lie to Tibet people we r not back to Tibet yt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIDZLzXIgW8 Chithue Tenpa Yarphel la tq for talk about truth of Nechung . I m watch to this video many time la https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if2dFMKIr_8 n after I hear you talk I m not belief to Nechung

  11. An increasing number of countries in the world are choosing to align themselves with China and establish good relationships, with the latest being the Central American country of Panama. With the promise of Chinese business, investments and infrastructure projects, world leaders will not be hesitant when it comes to starting positive relationships with China. The choice is obvious when the benefits are so many.

    Panama shift to China

  12. In Nepal, the former Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba may soon be ousted as party chief and one of the reasons being cited is his sharing of the stage with Lobsang Sangay i.e. he supports the CTA and Tibetans. This follows the recent example of India, whose Foreign Secretary issued a directive stating all Indian officials should not attend CTA-hosted events in conjunction with their “Thank You India” campaign. After the Dalai Lama’s most recent trip to Mongolia, the backlash against the Mongolian President was so strong, he was forced to ban the Dalai Lama from Mongolia.

    Never mind China sanctioning them, or expressing displeasure on an international level. What these politicians are facing even domestically are internal sanctions for expressing support for the CTA. The message is clear and that is, it is bad news to be seen with the CTA.

    If politicians are being discouraged on all levels from supporting the CTA, it is only a matter of time before the Tibetans find themselves on the very lonely, losing end of their fight against China.

    Singh, Sitaula seek early convention
    congress cwc meeting
    - Post Report, Kathmandu
    Mar 24, 2018-Raising serious questions over Sher Bahadur Deuba’s leadership as the party president, Nepali Congress senior leaders Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Prakash Man Singh have demanded a general convention at the earliest to decide on leadership change.
    Speaking at the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting that began in the Capital on Friday, both the leaders said the party convention should be held as soon as possible by amending the party statute through a Mahasamiti meeting. The duo also urged Deuba either to amend his working style or step down as the party chief. Deuba was elected the party president in March 2016 and has two years of his tenure remaining.
    Both the leaders heavily criticised several decisions taken by Deuba as party president and as prime minister, stating that he had complete monopoly over decision-making and that his decisions were “unpopular and controversial”.
    Both Singh and Sitaula, who represent two rival factions of the party, blamed then-PM Deuba’s “weak leadership” for the party’s humiliating defeat in the federal and provincial elections held in November-December last year. Singh not only asked Deuba to resign after the poll debacle but also stood against him in the Parliamentary Party election.
    Presenting a written document at the meeting, Singh attributed a weak organisation, ideological and policy ambiguities and inefficient leadership as the major reasons behind the NC’s worst electoral showing ever. He also demanded a meeting of the Mahasamiti to take decisions on the party ideology, policies and programmes and organisational issues.
    With Deuba preparing to appoint office bearers, Singh argued that there was no need for such appointments any more. “The appointments and formation of party departments should have taken place within two months of the general convention,” he said. In his political document, Singh said Deuba committed mistakes on the foreign policy front too.
    Deuba’s participation as the NC president in a programme organised by India Foundation, a think tank close to India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, in Goa in 2016 where Deuba reportedly shared the stage with Lobsang Sangay, chief of the Dalai Lama’s government in exile, was detrimental to cordial relations with Nepal’s neighbours, according to Singh.
    Senior leader Sitaula also pressed for the general convention to take decisions on leadership change while criticising both Deuba and senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel for failing to lead the party effectively.
    Arbitrary distribution of election tickets and the lack of financial transparency were other reasons behind the party’s defeat, according to Sitaula. Hinting at Deuba, Sitaula said, “You could capture the party but communist forces are capturing state power.”
    CWC member Narayan Khadka said factional politics must end for the party to get a fresh impetus. “Factional politics must end today if we want to rebuild the party,” he remarked.
    The CWC, called four months after the elections, is expected to set the date for Mahasamiti meeting having reviewed the election results.
    Published: 24-03-2018 07:46
    http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-03-24/singh-sitaula-seek-early-convention.html

    Singh-Sitaula-seek-early-convention1

  13. It pays to make good relations with China. After the Dalai Lama cancelled his visit to Botswana, China responded immediately with encouraging news that bilateral relations with Botswana will progress.

    There is no way to deny China’s economic prowess, and many countries, including India, the host of the exiled Tibetans for the past 60 years know that it is not worth to risk bilateral ties with China for the Tibetan cause. After snubbing the Tibetan leadership and cancellation of key Tibetan events in Delhi recently, India receive the quid pro quo from China of signed commercial deals worth nearly $2.36 billion. Mongolia, who has banned the Dalai Lama from entering the country is now welcomed to carry out cross-border trade with China’s Bohai Commodity Exchange to help Mongolian agricultural products enter the Chinese market. Switzerland was the top recipient of Chinese investment in 2017 with a combined value of US$44.6bn, who since 2015 has automatically reassigned the nationality of Tibetan refugees as Chinese nationals in their residence permits.

    More and more countries have jumped on the bandwagon to reject the Tibetan leadership, including Australia, Bhutan, The Czech Republic, Italy, Norway, Sweden, with the Central American country of Panama being the latest addition, and the list is expected to grow. Why would any country want to risk their economic prosperity for a lost cause like that of the Tibetan cause?

    China says ties with Botswana to progress after Dalai Lama cancels visit to African nation
    World IANS Aug 14, 2017 17:45:08 IST
    Beijing: Days after the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama cancelled his visit to Botswana, China said its ties with the African country will progress smoothly.
    Beijing said it “attaches great importance” to Botswana where state-run Chinese companies are engaged in infrastructure building.
    Botswana had invited the Dalai Lama to speak at the three-day human rights conference in the capital Gaborone, to which he had confirmed his presence. The event begins on 17 August.
    However, China was angry and warned Botswana against hosting the Dalai Lama, who has been demanding greater autonomy in China’s Tibet.
    On Saturday, the Dalai Lama said he was cancelling his Botswana visit due to “exhaustion”.
    “His Holiness has reluctantly had to concede that his 82-year-old body was telling him to rest,” a statement said.
    Reacting to the development, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said: “China firmly opposes the Dalai Lama to go to any country to engage in anti-China activities in any capacity or name.
    “China attaches great importance to its friendly cooperation with Botswana. We hope the bilateral relations will move forward steady and sound way,” she said.
    China slams any country that invites or maintains contact with the Dalai Lama who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising in Tibet. He has lived in India since then.
    Published Date: Aug 14, 2017 17:42 PM | Updated Date: Aug 14, 2017 17:45 PM
    https://www.firstpost.com/world/china-says-ties-with-botswana-to-progress-after-dalai-lama-cancels-visit-to-african-nation-3930425.html

    China says ties with Botswana to progress after Dalai Lama cancels visit to African nation

  14. What will the all the people around the world and in Tibet do now? Dalai Lama says he is happy that Tibet is a part of China and should remain a part of China. So many Tibetans self-immolated for Tibet to be independent and now Dalai Lama did a 360 degree turn and says he wants to go back to Tibet and China and Tibet should be a part of China. So unbelievable. So many are angry and disappointed.

    Tibetans ready to be part of China: Dalai Lama
    Organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the event was a part of “Thank You India – 2018″ held by the Tibetan community across India to mark 60 years of its exile in the country.
    Indo-Asian News Service
    Bengaluru
    Tibetans are ready to be a part of China if guaranteed full rights to preserve their culture, the Dalai Lama said on Friday.
    “Tibetans are not asking for independence. We are okay with remaining with the People’s Republic of China, provided we have full rights to preserve our culture,” the 83-year-old spiritual leader said at “Thank You Karnataka” event here in the city.
    Organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the event was a part of “Thank You India – 2018″ held by the Tibetan community across India to mark 60 years of its exile in the country.
    “Several of Chinese citizens practicing Buddhism are keen on Tibetan Buddhism as it is considered scientific,” the Nobel laureate said.
    Born in Taktser hamlet in northeastern Tibet, the Dalai Lama was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. He fled to India from Tibet after a failed uprising against the Chinese rule in 1959.
    China annexed Tibet in 1950, forcing thousands of Tibetans, including monks, to flee the mountain country and settle in India as refugees.
    Since then, India has been home to over 100,000 Tibetans majorly settled in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh among other states.
    https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/india/tibetans-ready-to-be-part-of-china-dalai-lama/293109.html

    d

  15. Dear Dalai Lama,

    Since you started the cruel ban against the 350 year Dorje Shugden practice, how has it benefit your Tibetan society and Buddhism in the world? Things have become worse and most educated Tibetans can see this. They don’t speak out not because they don’t see your ban as wrong, but you instill fear in them and not respect. It is like fear of a dictator. I am sorry to say so. Everyone is divided. There is no harmony. Before your ban there was more harmony and unity.

    By enacting the ban, you split the monasteries, split so many families, split regions in Tibet apart, split your disciples from you, split your own gurus from you, split Tibetan Buddhism apart. You have created so much disharmony.

    It is not democratic what you have done to ban a religion within your community. You always talk of tolerance and acceptance and democracy and yet you do not accept and tolerate something different from your beliefs. When people practice Dorje Shugden you ostracize them, ban them from seeing you, ban them from using Tibetan facilities. You know you have done that. There are videos that capture your speech and prove this point. You even had people expelled from monasteries just because they practice Dorje Shugden. Some of the monks you expelled have been in the monastery for over 40 years. Many older monks shed tears because of this.

    Many young educated Tibetans lost confidence in you as they saw the damage the Dorje Shugden ban created and they lose hope. Many have become free thinkers. They reject what you have done. So many people in the west left Buddhism because of the confusion you created with this ban against Dorje Shugden which is immoral.

    You could of had millions of people who practice Dorje Shugden to support, love and follow you, but you scared them away. They are hurt and very disappointed. They loved you and respected you deeply before the ban. It has been 60 years and you have failed to get Tibet back. Your biggest failure is not getting Tibet back after 57 years in exile. Now you are begging China to allow you to return to Tibet to the disappointment of thousands of people who fought for a free Tibet believing in you. So many self-immolated for a free Tibet and now you want Tibet to be a part of China with no referendum from Tibetans. Just like a dictator, you decide on your own. It was your government and you that lost Tibet in the first place. Your policies and style of doing things do not benefit Tibet and Buddhism. You have been the sole ruler of Tibet your whole life and you still have not gotten our country of Tibet back for us. Our families and us are separated. Yet you create more pain by creating a ban to further divide people. Please have compassion.

    No other Buddhist leader has banned or condemned any religion except for you. It looks very bad. You are a Nobel laureate and this is not fitting of a laureate. You should unite people and not separate them by religious differences.

    You said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not do right to the Rohingya people in Myanmar due to religious differences, but you are doing the same thing to the Shugden Buddhists within your own society. There is a parallel in this. You separate the Shugden Buddhists from the others in Tibetan society.

    You have lost so many people who would have loved and supported you. You have lost so much support around the world. The Shugden Buddhists who love you number in the millions. When you are fast losing support from governments and private people, it will not do you well to lose more.

    After you are passed away in the future, the rift you created between the Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden people will remain for a while and that will be your legacy. Disharmony. You will be remembered for this. Not as a hero but a disharmony creator.

    Dorje Shugden will spread and further grow, but you will be no more as you are a human. No one wishes you bad and in fact we hope you have a long and healthy life, but we have lost so much hope and have so much despair because of you. All the hundreds of Dorje Shugden lamas, tulkus and geshes are maturing and there are hundreds of Dorje Shugden monasteries in Tibet who will not give up Dorje Shugden. You have made a mistake. These hundreds of teachers and teachers to be will spread Dorje Shugden further in the future.

    The gurus that gave us Dorje Shugden as a spiritual practice and you have called these holy gurus wrong and they are mistaken in giving us Dorje Shugden. How can you insult our gurus whom we respect so much? If they can be wrong, then you can be wrong. Then all gurus can be wrong. So no one needs to listen to any guru? You have created this trend. It is not healthy. Your own gurus practiced Dorje Shugden their whole lives. Your own gurus were exemplary and highly learned.

    Dalai Lama you have created so much pain with this ban against so many people due to religion. You are ageing fast. Are you going to do anything about it or stay stubborn, hard and un-moving. You show a smile and preach peace and harmony wherever you go. But will you do the same to your own people? Please rectify the wrong you have done. Please before it is too late. You can create harmony again or you can pass away in the future with this legacy of peace. May you live long and think carefully and admit what was a mistake in having this unethical ban against Dorje Shugden religion.

  16. Why doesn’t the United States and its allies end Refugee Status for the useless Tibetans? They have been refugees for 60 years now and don’t tell me they still cannot get their lives back in order?

    Tibetans really know how to put on a good show and use people, take their money and do nothing in return.

    Trump and Allies Seek End to Refugee Status for Millions of Palestinians
    In internal emails, Jared Kushner advocated a “sincere effort to disrupt” the U.N.’s relief agency for Palestinians.
    BY COLUM LYNCH, ROBBIE GRAMER | AUGUST 3, 2018, 2:12 PM
    Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, has quietly been trying to do away with the U.N. relief agency that has provided food and essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees for decades, according to internal emails obtained by Foreign Policy.
    His initiative is part of a broader push by the Trump administration and its allies in Congress to strip these Palestinians of their refugee status in the region and take their issue off the table in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to both American and Palestinian officials. At least two bills now making their way through Congress address the issue.
    Kushner, whom Trump has charged with solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been reluctant to speak publicly about any aspect of his Middle East diplomacy. A peace plan he’s been working on with other U.S. officials for some 18 months has been one of Washington’s most closely held documents.
    But his position on the refugee issue and his animus toward the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is evident in internal emails written by Kushner and others earlier this year.
    “It is important to have an honest and sincere effort to disrupt UNRWA,” Kushner wrote about the agency in one of those emails, dated Jan. 11 and addressed to several other senior officials, including Trump’s Middle East peace envoy, Jason Greenblatt.
    “This [agency] perpetuates a status quo, is corrupt, inefficient and doesn’t help peace,” he wrote.
    The United States has helped fund UNRWA since it was formed in 1949 to provide relief for Palestinians displaced from their homes following the establishment of the State of Israel and ensuing international war. Previous administrations have viewed the agency as a critical contributor to stability in the region.
    But many Israel supporters in the United States today see UNRWA as part of an international infrastructure that has artificially kept the refugee issue alive and kindled hopes among the exiled Palestinians that they might someday return home—a possibility Israel flatly rules out.
    Critics of the agency point in particular to its policy of granting refugee status not just to those who fled Mandatory Palestine 70 years ago but to their descendants as well—accounting that puts the refugee population at around 5 million, nearly one-third of whom live in camps across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza.
    By trying to unwind UNRWA, the Trump administration appears ready to reset the terms of the Palestinian refugee issue in Israel’s favor—as it did on another key issue in December, when Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
    In the same January email, Kushner wrote: “Our goal can’t be to keep things stable and as they are. … Sometimes you have to strategically risk breaking things in order to get there.”
    Kushner raised the refugee issue with officials in Jordan during a visit to the region in June, along with Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt. According to Palestinian officials, he pressed the Jordan to strip its more than 2 million registered Palestinians of their refugee status so that UNRWA would no longer need to operate there.
    “[Kushner said] the resettlement has to take place in the host countries and these governments can do the job that UNRWA was doing,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
    She said the Trump administration wanted rich Arab Gulf states to cover the costs Jordan might incur in the process.
    “They want to take a really irresponsible, dangerous decision and the whole region will suffer,” Ashrawi said.
    Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, told reporters in June that Kushner’s delegation had said it was ready to stop funding UNRWA altogether and instead direct the money—$300 million annually—to Jordan and other countries that host Palestinian refugees.
    “All this is actually aimed at liquidating the issue of the Palestinian refugees,” hesaid.
    The White House declined to comment on the record for this story. A senior executive branch official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. policy regarding the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee program “has been under frequent evaluation and internal discussion. The administration will announce its policy in due course.”
    Jordanian officials in New York and Washington did not respond to queries about the initiative.
    Kushner and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, both proposed ending funding for UNRWA back in January. But the State Department, the Pentagon, and the U.S. intelligence community all opposed the idea, fearing in part that it could fuel violence in the region.
    The following week, the State Department announced that that United States would cut the first $125 million installment of its annual payment to UNRWA by more than half, to $60 million.
    “UNRWA has been threatening us for six months that if they don’t get a check they will close schools. Nothing has happened,” Kushner wrote in the same email.
    State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said at the time that the U.S. had no intention of eliminating funding for Palestinian refugees, and that it was taking time to explore ways to reform UNRWA and to convince other countries to help Washington shoulder the financial burden of aiding the Palestinians.
    But the following day, Victoria Coates, a senior advisor to Greenblatt, sent an email to the White House’s national security staff indicating that the White House was mulling a way to eliminate the U.N.’s agency for Palestinian refugees.
    “UNRWA should come up with a plan to unwind itself and become part of the UNHCR by the time its charter comes up again in 2019,” Coates wrote.
    She noted that the proposal was one of a number of “spitball ideas that I’ve had that are also informed by some thoughts I’ve picked up from Jared, Jason and Nikki.”
    Other ideas included a suggestion that the U.N. relief agency be asked to operate on a month-to-month budget and devise “a plan to remove all anti-Semitism from educational materials.”
    The ideas seemed to track closely with proposals Israel has been making for some time.
    “We believe that UNRWA needs to pass from the world as it is an organization that advocates politically against Israel and perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem,” said Elad Strohmayer, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
    Strohmayer said that Palestinians are the only population that is able to transfer its refugee status down through generations.
    The claim, though long advanced by Israel, is not entirely true.
    In an internal report from 2015, the State Department noted that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees “recognizes descendants of refugees as refugees for purposes of their operations.” The report, which was recently declassified, said the descendants of Afghan, Bhutanese, Burmese, Somali, and Tibetan refugees are all recognized by the U.N. as refugees themselves.
    Of the roughly 700,000 original Palestinian refugees, only a few tens of thousands are still alive, according to estimates.
    The push to deny the status to most Palestinians refugees is also gaining traction in Congress.
    Last week, Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado, introduced a bill that would limit the United States to assisting only the original refugees. Most savings in U.N. contributions would be directed to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United States’ principal international development agency. But USAID is currently constrained by the Taylor Force Act, which restricts the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it ends a policy of providing aid to families of fallen terrorists.
    “Instead of resettling Palestinian refugees displaced as a result of the Arab-Israeli Conflict of 1948, UNRWA provides aid to those they define as Palestinian refugees until there is a solution they deem acceptable to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Lamborn’s bill states.
    “This policy does not help resettle the refugees from 1948 but instead maintains a refugee population in perpetuity.”
    A congressional aide familiar with the legislation said its intent isn’t to gut UNRWA funding, but redirect assistance to descendants through USAID.
    “The people that are suffering should still get assistance, but through appropriately defined humanitarian channels and aid programs,” the aide said.
    Similarly, Sen. James Lankford, (R-Okla.), has drafted legislation that would redirect U.S. funding away from UNRWA and to other local and international agencies.
    The bill, which has not yet officially been introduced, would require the U.S. secretary of state certify by 2020 that the United Nations has ended its recognition of Palestinian descendants as refugees.
    “The United Nations should provide assistance to the Palestinians in a way that makes clear that the United Nations does not recognize the vast majority of Palestinians currently registered by UNRWA as refugees deserving refugee status,” reads a draft obtained by Foreign Policy.
    Previous U.S. administrations have maintained that the vast majority of Palestinian refugees will ultimately have to be absorbed in a new Palestinian state or naturalized in the countries that have hosted them for generations.
    But the fate of the refugee issue was expected to be agreed to as part of a comprehensive peace pact that resulted in the establishment of a Palestinian state.
    “It’s very clear that the overarching goal here is to eliminate the Palestinian refugees as an issue by defining them out of existence,” said Lara Friedman, the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace.
    “This isn’t going to make peace any easier. It’s going to make it harder.”
    https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/03/trump-palestinians-israel-refugees-unrwaand-allies-seek-end-to-refugee-status-for-millions-of-palestinians-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-unrwa-israel-palestine-peace-plan-jared-kushner-greenb/

    DS.com Trump and Allies Seek End to Refugee Status for Millions of Palestinians (1)

  17. Supreme Court of India JUSTICE Mr. MARKANDEY KATJU (RETD) writes that Tibet is much better under the Chinese than it was under the lamas who only wanted to make the populace slaves. It was feudal and it will never return to the backwardness again.

    Time has come to acknowledge that Tibet has vastly improved under Chinese rule
    JUSTICE MARKANDEY KATJU (RETD) | 12 August, 2018
    From a terribly poor state hinged on a feudal system, Tibet has modernised and grows faster than the rest of China
    This article has been prompted by Jyoti Malhotra’s article in ThePrint ‘Tibetan government quietly changed its PM’s designation. India won’t be unhappy about it‘.
    China’s annexation of Tibet in 1959, ousting the Dalai Lama, had attracted it worldwide criticism. The Dalai Lama fled and was granted asylum in India, where he set up a government-in-exile with its headquarters in Dharamshala.
    The Chinese claim Tibet on the grounds that it has been part of the country since the Yuan dynasty of the 13th century, which is disputed by the government-in-exile. But let us leave this that matter aside.
    The more important question is whether Chinese rule has benefited Tibet.
    The answer is that it undoubtedly has. As the Reuters’ Ben Blanchard writes: “Today Tibet is richer and more developed than it has ever been, its people healthier, more literate, better dressed and fed”.
    Although Ben goes on to argue that this development masks “a deep sense of unhappiness among many Tibetans”, I will disagree. How can anyone be unhappy if s/he is healthier, better fed and better clothed?
    Under the rule of the Dalai Lamas (Buddhist priests), the people of Tibet were terribly poor, almost entirely illiterate, and lived like feudal serfs.
    Today, Tibet presents a totally different picture. The illiteracy rate in Tibet has gone down from 95 per cent in the 1950s to 42 per cent in 2000. It has modern schools, universities, engineering and medical colleges, modern hospitals, freeways, supermarkets, fast food restaurants, mobile stores and apartment buildings. The capital Lhasa is like any other modern city.
    While the economic growth in the rest of China has slowed down to about 7 per cent, Tibet has had a 10 per cent growth rate in the last two decades.
    Tibet has huge mineral wealth, which was only awaiting Chinese technology to be tapped. Nowadays, it has numerous hydro and solar power plants and industries running with Chinese help.
    Tibetan literature is flourishing, contrary to claims that the Chinese want to crush Tibetan culture.
    Of course, now the lamas cannot treat their people as slaves.
    The so-called ‘government-in-exile’, of which Lobsang Sangay claims to be the President, is a fake organisation, funded by foreign countries. They only want to restore the feudal Tibet, ruled by the reactionary lamas, something which will never happen.
    The writer is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India
    https://theprint.in/opinion/time-has-come-to-acknowledge-that-tibet-has-vastly-improved-under-chinese-rule/97172/

  18. While the government of Nepal has framed a policy to tighten the noose around non-governmental organisations, they have welcomed 30 Chinese NGOs to enter the country. These NGOs will penetrate the country’s social sector at the grassroots level. This is the first time such a large number of Chinese NGOs have entered Nepal at one time. Nepal is increasingly open to Chinese influence, a sign that ties between both countries are strengthening, while India’s influence is being reduced. The time has passed for India’s monopoly to remain uninterrupted in Nepal as opportunities to engage with China are being welcomed.

    30 Chinese NGOs all set to work in Nepal
    REWATI SAPKOTA
    Kathmandu, July 30
    At a time when the government has framed a policy to tighten the noose around non-governmental organisations, 30 Chinese NGOs have entered Nepal to penetrate the country’s social sector and the grassroots.
    The Social Welfare Council Nepal and China NGO Network for International Exchanges, an umbrella body of Chinese NGOs, have signed a memorandum of understanding to enable Chinese NGOs to work in Nepal. The agreement was signed yesterday between SWCN Member Secretary Dilli Prasad Bhatt and CNIE General Secretary Zhu Rui in the presence of Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizen Tham Maya Thapa and Chinese Deputy Minister of External Affairs Wang Yajun.
    The agreement has paved the way for the first batch of 30 Chinese NGOs to work in Nepal for a period of three years. Their contract will be extended based on the consent of SWCN and CNIE. Representatives of these 30 Chinese NGOs were also present during yesterday’s signing ceremony. They have agreed to work in partnership with local NGOs to implement their programmes and projects.
    The Chinese NGOs are eyeing areas such as livelihood, healthcare, education, skill-based training, community development and disaster management. This is the first time such a large number of Chinese NGOs has entered Nepal at one time. The Chinese assistance so far in Nepal has largely been limited to development of infrastructure projects. But the entry of these NGOs indicates China is keen on making its presence felt in Nepal’s social sector and the grassroots, which, till date, have remained domains of the West and countries such as Japan and India.
    The MoU signed between SWCN and CNIE states that Chinese NGOs will be mobilised for ‘the benefit of needy Nepalis and to enhance ties between China and Nepal through people-to-people support programmes’.
    “The Chinese NGOs will abide by the law of Nepal in its entirety while carrying out development cooperation in Nepal,” says the MoU, adding, “Chinese NGOs will submit programmes to the SWCN to carry out development activities in partnership with Nepali NGOs and SWCN in line with plans and policies of the government of Nepal.”
    The MoU was signed at a time when the government has drafted the National Integrity Policy to limit activities of NGOs and INGOs, as some of them were found ‘trying to break communal harmony and proselytising Nepalis’. There were also concerns that high administrative cost of many NGOs and INGOs was preventing money from reaching the real beneficiaries. The policy clearly states that NGOs and INGOs cannot spend more than specified amount under administrative and consultant headings. They will also be barred from working against Nepal’s interests, culture and communal harmony and conducting activities to promote their religious, social or other agenda, adds the policy.
    Around 48,000 NGOs are currently registered in Nepal, of which only 1,600 have been receiving funds from INGOs, as per SWCN. The SWCN has directed INGOs and NGOs to spend 60 per cent of the budget to generate tangible results, while the remaining can be used to cover administrative costs and organise training, meetings and seminars.
    https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/30-chinese-ngos-all-set-to-work-in-nepal/

  19. The cracks in Tibetan society are starting to show, and it is now coming to the attention of local Indians who have all but identified the Tibetan leadership as the source of the divisions. According to this author, disunity amongst the Tibetans is now creating problems for Indian law enforcement agencies, and this disunity may culminate in young Tibetans holding silent grudges against their host country. It is incredible that after six decades of generosity from India, Indians are now facing the very real possibility Tibetans can be ungrateful towards India. The Tibetan leadership totally failed to impart positive values upon their exiled community, like gratitude for those kindest to them and the need to repay these kindnesses with real, tangible results. It’s also very unlikely that the Tibetan leadership will now start to do this, after six decades of failing to do so. Indians need to realise this, and see that there is no benefit for their nation to align themselves with the Tibetan leadership, and there never will be.
    Tibetan disunity not in India’s interest
    John S. Shilshi
    Updated: August 7, 2018, 11:00 AM
    India is home to the Dalai Lama and an estimated 120,000 Tibetan refugees. Though this humanitarian gesture on India’s part comes at the cost of risking New Delhi’s relations with China, India has never wavered in ensuring that Tibetans live with dignity and respect. Notified settlements across the country were made available so that they can live as independently as possible and practice Tibetan religion and culture. They are also allowed to establish centres of higher learning in Tibetan Buddhism. As a result, several reputed Buddhist institutes came up in Karnataka, and in the Indian Himalayan belt. In what may be termed as a gesture well reciprocated, and because of the respect and influence His Holiness the Dalai Lama commands, the Tibetan diaspora also lived as a peaceful community, rarely creating problems for India’s law enforcement agencies.
    The situation, however, changed from 2000 onwards when unity amongst Tibetans suffered some setback due to developments like the Karmapa succession controversy and the controversy over worshiping of Dorje Shugden. In a unique case of politics getting the better of religion, two senior monks of the Karma kargyue sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Tai Situ Rinpoche and late Shamar Rinpoche, developed serious differences after the demise of Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa, in 1981. This animosity ultimately led to emergence of two 17th Karmapa candidates in the early nineties. While Tai Situ Rinpoche identified and recognised UghyanThinley Dorje, late Shamar Rinpoche anointed Thinley Thaye Dorje as his Karmapa candidate. Enthronement of their respective protégés at the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, the supreme seat of the Karma Kargue linage, being their primary objective, both started indulging in activities monks normally are expected to, and bitterness spewed against each other.
    The bitter rivalry assumed a new dimension when UghyenThinley Dorje suddenly appeared in India in January 2000. The competition became fiercer and hectic political lobbying, never known in the history of Tibetan Buddhism on Indian soil, became common place. Apart from pulling strings at their disposal in Sikkim as well as in the power corridors of New Delhi, these senior monks spat against each other with allegations and counter allegations, widening the gaps between their supporters. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, choosing to favour one of the candidates—a decision many Tibet watchers felt was ill-timed—had also limited possible scope of rapprochement. Hence, the Karma Kargyue followers are now vertically divided, while the camps are dragged into a long drawn legal battle.
    Another development that unfortunately split the Tibetans is the controversy over Shugden worshipping, which again is an internal matter of the Gelugpa sect, to which the Dalai Lama belongs. It erupted as a result of the Dalai Lama urging Tibetans to refrain from worshiping Dorje Shugden, a deity believed to be a protector, according to Tibetan legend. Shugden practitioners, who felt offended by the call, describe it as an attack on freedom of religion, a right, which Dalai Lama himself tirelessly fought for. On the other hand, die hard Dalai Lama followers perceived the questioning of the decision as one challenging the wisdom of the Dalai Lama and mounted massive pressure on Dorje Shugden practitioners to relent, with some even demolishing the statues of the deity. The rivalry ultimately led to split in two Gelug monasteries in Karnataka, and Serpom and Shar Garden monasteries in Bylakupe and Mundgod respectively came under the control of Shugden followers. The bitterness associated with the split is exemplified by the fact that till today, members of these monasteries are treated as some sort of outcasts by the others. Thus, for the first time, the Tibetan diaspora in India gave birth to sections opposed to the Dalai Lama, with spillover effects in Tibet and elsewhere.
    For India, with a fragile internal security profile, a divided Tibetan population on its soil is not good news. It has several long-term implications. It is common knowledge that China considers Dalai Lama as a secessionist, one plotting to divide their country. The latter’s claim of “all that Tibetans were asking for, was a status of genuine autonomy within the Constitution of the Peoples’ Republic of China”, had fallen into deaf ears. China also considers him as someone who plays to the Indian tune to tickle China. Therefore, at a time when China has successfully shrunk the Dalai Lama’s space internationally, India continuing to extend the usual space for him is viewed as complicity. Sharp reaction from China when he was allowed to visit Arunachal Pradesh in April 2017, is a recent example. Such being the delicate nature of India-China relations on matters and issues concerning Tibetans, India can hardly afford to ignore the division within the diaspora. Past experience of dubious elements from Tibet having succeeded in infiltrating the Central Tibetan Administration, including the security wing, should be a warning.
    It is also time India understands the reason behind Tibetans seeking Indian passports, despite an existing arrangement for issue of Identity Certificates, which is passport equivalent. Some had even successfully taken recourse to legal remedy on the issue, and left the government of India red-faced. These changing moods should not be viewed as desires by Tibetans to become Indian citizens. They are triggered by the pathetic state of affairs associated with issuing of Identity Certificates, where delays in most cases are anything between six months to one year. Early streamlining of the process will drastically reduce their desire to hold Indian passport. It will also remove the wrongly perceived notion among some educated Tibetan youth, that the cumbersome process was a ploy by India to confine them in this country. While India should not shy from requesting the Dalai Lama to use his good offices to end all differences within the community in the interest of India’s internal security, it will also be necessary to ensure that young Tibetans do not nurse a silent grudge against the very country they called their second home.
    https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/tibetan-disunity-not-indias-interest

  20. Although the Dalai Lama has offered an apology, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) still expressed their disappointment over his controversial comment on Nehru, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). Dalai Lama called Nehru self-centred.

    The Congress said Dalai Lama being a foreigner should shun and refrain from interfering in the internal as well as external affairs of India.

    Dalai Lama should abstain from imparting controversial information to students: Arunachal Congress
    Dalai Lama should know that a spiritual leader like him is shouldering great expectation: APCC
    | DAMIEN LEPCHA | ITANAGAR | August 12, 2018 9:58 pm
    disappointment over the recent statement made by Tibetan Spiritual Leader the 14th Dalai Lama in which he called Jawaharlal Nehru, the former Prime Minister of India as “self-centered” and the one responsible for parting India and Pakistan.
    “Although Dalai Lama expressed regret over his controversial comment, the APCC is extremely thwarted by it. A Tibetan spiritual leader calling names to an Indian leader who sweated most to keep him and his followers safe from Chinese aggression is simply not acceptable. Today, India is home to lakhs of Tibetan refugees who are living in 37 settlements and 70 scattered communities across different states of India,” APCC vice-president Minkir Lollen said in a statement on Sunday.
    “Dalai Lama may have forgotten that India provided a beam of light and hope to Tibetans remaining in Chinese-dominated Tibet and in the neighbouring Chinese provinces politically cut off from the Tibetan heart land. All these happened only because India has great leaders like Gandhi and Nehru who took the responsibility of social burden to shelter thousands of persecuted Tibetans then in 1959,” Lollen added.
    Minkir said Dalai Lama should know that a spiritual leader like him is shouldering great expectation, hope and trust of millions on record and the same are watching his contribution towards the mankind.
    “In such circumstances, Dalai Lama should abstain from imparting partial and controversial information to the students who are the torch bearer of the nation,” the Congress said.
    Further stating that the statement of the spiritual leader could be a politically motivated one and made with an effort to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi for survival of his continuation in the country, the Congress said Dalai Lama being a foreigner should shun and refrain from interfering in the internal as well as external affairs of India.
    https://nenow.in/north-east-news/dalai-lama-should-abstain-from-imparting-controversial-information.html

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.…Instead of turning away people who practise Dorje Shugden, we should be kind to them. Give them logic and wisdom without fear, then in time they give up the ‘wrong’ practice. Actually Shugden practitioners are not doing anything wrong. But hypothetically, if they are, wouldn’t it be more Buddhistic to be accepting? So those who have views against Dorje Shugden should contemplate this. Those practicing Dorje Shugden should forbear with extreme patience, fortitude and keep your commitments. The time will come as predicted that Dorje Shugden’s practice and it’s terrific quick benefits will be embraced by the world and it will be a practice of many beings.

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