Le Tibet survivra-t-il? Entretien avec Sa Saintete la Dalai-Lama

In: Politique internationale: pi, Heft 126, S. 9-19

Abstract

In this special interview granted to Politique Internationale & Radio France Internationale, broadcast on RFI, the 14th Dalai Lama directly addresses the Chinese public for the first time. What is the right response to the Tibetan people's demand for independence & liberty? How can China -- economically developed but politically backward -- be helped down the road to democracy? According to the Tibetan spiritual leader, these two questions are closely related. To save Tibetan culture in general, the government in exile asked the authorities in Beijing to re-divide the territory, to include all regions inhabited by Tibetans in the autonomous region of Tibet. This suggestion spurred a virulent reaction from the Chinese government, for whom this attempt to reconstitute a "Grand Tibet" is only a veiled claim for independence -- an accusation that the Dalai Lama denies. Adapted from the source document.