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La langue, les coutumes, les traditions du Tibet sont en train de disparaître et les Tibétains vivent dans la peur de devenir une minorité dans leur propre patrie, déclare le dalaï lama dans un discours attendu lundi.
Dans ce texte, dont Reuters s’est procuré une copie, le chef spirituel en exil des Tibétains appelle la communauté internationale à faire pression sur la Chine pour que la liberté d’expression soit respectée lors des Jeux olympiques de Pékin.
Lundi marquera le 49e anniversaire du soulèvement de 1959 matée par l’Armée populaire qui précipita l’exil en Inde du dalaï lama, aujourd’hui âgé de 72 ans.
“La langue, les coutumes et les traditions du Tibet s’effacent graduellement”, dit-il dans ce discours qu’il prononcera à Dharamsala, la ville du nord de l’Inde où il vit.
Les Tibétains, poursuit-il, “sont amenés à vivre dans un état de peur permanente, d’intimidation et de suspicion sous la répression chinoise (…) La répression continue de croître avec des violations nombreuses, inimaginables et massives des droits de l’homme, le déni de la liberté religieuse et la politisation des questions religieuses”.
Conséquence de la politique de transfert de populations orchestrée par le pouvoir central, le nombre de non-Tibétains vivant dans le territoire himalayen ne cesse d’augmenter, réduisant les Tibétains à “une minorité insignifiante dans leur propre pays”, continue-t-il.
“J’exhorte le gouvernement chinois à cesser immédiatement cette politique”, poursuit le lauréat du prix Nobel de la Paix.
Evoquant les Jeux de Pékin, le dalaï lama rappelle avoir soutenu la candidature chinoise dès le début, niant les projets de sabotage et de troubles dont l’a accusé le principal responsable de l’administration chinoise au Tibet, Zhang Qingli.
Il attend néanmoins de ces olympiades qu’elles permettent une amélioration de la situation de la liberté d’expression, pendant et après la manifestation sportive.
“Le monde devrait explorer les moyens d’investir son énergie collective dans un changement positif continu en Chine lorsque les Jeux seront terminés”, dit-il.
(Source: Yahoo!)
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Tibet’s language, customs and traditions are fading away and Tibetans live in fear as they become an insignificant minority in their Himalayan homeland, the Dalai Lama will say in a speech on Monday.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, will urge the international community to call on China to respect freedom of expression during the Beijing Olympics, according to an advance copy of his statement obtained by Reuters.
Monday marks the 49th anniversary of an uprising crushed by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, driving the Dalai Lama, now 72, into exile in India.
“The language, customs and traditions of Tibet … are gradually fading away,” the Dalai Lama will say in the speech from Dharamsala, the north Indian hill station where he lives.
Tibetans “have had to live in a state of constant fear, intimidation and suspicion under Chinese repression”, he will say.
“Repression continues to increase with numerous, unimaginable and gross violations of human rights, denial of religious freedom and the politicization of religious issues.”
As a result of China’s policy of population transfer, the non-Tibetan population has increased many times, reducing Tibetans to an “insignificant minority in their own country … I urge the Chinese government to bring an immediate halt to such policies,” the Dalai Lama will say.
The atheist Communist Party has competed against the Dalai Lama for the loyalty of his people but the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner remains the single most important figure in Tibetan life.
China has defended itself saying it ended centuries of serfdom and has poured billions of dollars to develop Tibet and raise the living standards of the impoverished, predominantly Buddhist region.
Turning to the Olympics, the Dalai Lama will say he has supported Beijing hosting the Games from the very beginning, dismissing an accusation by China’s top official in Tibet, Zhang Qingli, that he was trying to “sabotage and cause trouble.”
The Dalai Lama will urge the international community to urge China to prove itself a good host by respecting freedom of expression during the Games.
“The world should … explore ways of investing their collective energies in producing a continuous positive change inside China after the Olympics have come to an end,” he will say.
The Dalai Lama will have no harsh words for Chinese President Hu Jintao, who said last week stability in occasionally restive Tibet had a bearing on the stability of China as a whole.
The Dalai Lama will welcome China’s emergence as a powerful country thanks to its economic progress, but he will prod China to improve observance of the rule of law, transparency, the right to information and freedom of speech.
Despite “no concrete result” in talks between China and the Dalai Lama’s envoys, the Dalai Lama will say his “determination to pursue the middle-way policy and to continue our dialogue with the Chinese government remain unchanged.”
(Source: Phayul)
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