The heavy presence of China’s military in Tibet constitutes a threat to India’s sovereignty and economy. Beijing’s policies vis-à-vis minorities are “wrong and disastrous”.

Dharamsala (AsiaNews) – The celebration by the People’s Republic of China’s of 60 years of Communist Party rule celebrates “60 years of violence, lies and oppression against the people of Tibet, East Turkistan and China,” the leaders of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) said. The TYC is an exile group fighting for the rights of the Tibetan people. In New Delhi, thousands of Indians and Tibetan rallied against Beijing’s violent protest.

Just like the Beijing Olympics, this new show put forth by the Communist Party is another attempt to improve China’s image in the world and win recognition for China as a world leader in global affairs.

China will showcase its finest and most advanced military weapons in its televised National Day parade. Its constant race to acquire and build its military hardware is not only alarming; it is a warning to the world of China’s so-called “peaceful rise”.

Today Beijing is celebrating China’s might, economic miracle, military prowess and space programmes. But in New Delhi, thousands of Indians and Tibetans have organised a protest against the Chinese Communist regime.

For TYC leaders, the heavy presence of China’s military in Tibet, represents “a direct threat to India on security, economy and environment.” For them, the “continuing and ever-increasing Chinese infiltrations and incursions on Indian soil” are motive for deep concern.

For the youth group, not only has the Chinese government “illegally occupied and colonised Tibet, East Turkistan and Southern (Inner) Mongolia; it has carried out many wrong and disastrous policies that have resulted in the death of over 30 million Chinese people.”

The Communist Party has held onto political power through the “use of brute force”, and lost “the respect of its own people.” The Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 and the ongoing human rights violation in Tibet, Xinjiang, Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are cases in point, which often come close to resembling a “policy of genocide conducted with impunity”.

According to the TYC, the rapid transfer of millions of Han Chinese to Tibet marginalises the indigenous population, turning Tibetans into a minority in their own country.

More than 500,000 troops and a network of railways, roads, bridges and tunnels support a vast military infrastructure built in Tibet to clamp down, among other things, on any form of dissent.

The “Chinese government lacks legitimacy in Tibet and exercises control over Tibet through military force,” the TYC said. For the group, this belies China’s commitment to a harmonious society, so dear to President Hu Jintao.

“China voted to adopt the Universal Declaration in 1948, and pledged to uphold human rights [. . .]. However, it continues to ignore and violate all the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other Covenants it has signed,” the TYC noted. Unless the voice of “Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Chinese [. . .] is respected and not silenced, China’s celebrations will only be in vain.” NC)

• china
• tibet
• india
• religious
• freedom
• 60
• communist
• party
• uyghurs
• east
• turkestan
• xinjian
• repression
• violence
• human
• rights