BBtv: Tibetan Sovereignty Supporters Hold Historic Meeting in India to Plan Future.
In this special episode of Boing Boing tv (Direct MP4 link for download), Xeni interviews Tibetan sovereignty activists Lhadon Tethong and Tenzin "Tendor" Dorjee from Students for a Free Tibet, over a Skype video chat.
They're in Dharamsala, India, the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government In Exile, and they're attending an historic week-long meeting taking place this week to determine the future of the Tibetan independence movement.
Snip from a New York Times story by Edward Wong about the "Special Meeting":
The conclave is the first of its kind since 1991. The Dalai Lama has called for hundreds of Tibetans to gather in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, to help decide on a new strategy for Tibet.Lhadon and Tendor are updating the SFT blog here, and they suggest that people interested in following the story check Phayul.com, and the High Peaks Pure Earth blog, with commentary from Tibetans inside Tibet and China. Here is a statement on the "Special Meeting" from the Dalai Lama, who is not personally attending. The Tibetan Government in Exile is producing video reports from the Special Meeting here. Tibetan poet Woeser has published her thoughts on the meeting here. (Special thanks to Laird Brown, and Phuntsok Dorjee)In a statement released Monday, the government in exile sought to play down speculation that a significant shift in its approach to the issue of Tibetan independence might be near.
“A change in policy need not come from this meeting,†the statement said, according to Reuters. “If a change in basic policy is considered necessary, there is a way that is democratic and which has the mandate of the Tibetan people.â€
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1 & 2: pah!
Something historic is happening here. Youth and hope in the face of overwhelming force that in a half century has not been able to crush them.
China best pay attention to the lesson of Tibet today. There is revolution pending and Tibet will be a very minor part of it. Beijing must learn to trust her own people and behave in a way that earns that trust. Watching this interview shows me the Dalai Lama has already succeeded. He always said he was not important. His task is done, the ideas have firm root.
Any group that suggests otherwise, and encourages young people to risk their lives to agitate for independence, is doing them a disservice.
Yeah, acceptance of second class status is a wonderful aspiration. You should be ashamed of yourself for typing that garbage.
This was a great interview Xeni. It really disappointed me that the issue of Tibet was rarely, if at all, mentioned as a foreign policy initiative during this past election; Disappointing but not at all surprising. I'm hoping to see more of these on BB in the future, great post.
i definitely agree with tendor and lhadon la -we Tibetans must accept the fact that we can have a differing political view from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and still have as much respect and faith as the other person.
It is undeniable we Tibetans love and respect His Holiness and we are grateful for his gift of democracy and free expression- i only hope our community as a whole would better utilize it and be more accepting of different views and strategies... in the end, our goal is the same, freedom & happiness for the Tibetan people.
this historic meeting, the uprisings throughout Tibet, the Olympics campaign against China, the Tibetan mass movement and the determination and passion of the Tibetan people are testament that the Tibetan struggle for freedom will not cease until Tibet is free!! i believe Tibet will be free..
thankssss boing boing tv for this interview with two of our freedom fighters.