Past presents problems for Tibet

Sporadic negotiations between Beijing and representatives of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, over the past 30 years have stalled repeatedly. The latest invitation from Beijing came amid trouble in Tibet and the public relations nightmare surrounding the route of the Olympic torch as it made its way to Beijing. Cynical appraisals of these talks could be both expected and forgivable. Nevertheless, the possibility that the stakes and positions of the actors in these talks have changed recently should not be ruled out. “Almost every year, almost 500 [Tibetan refugees] at school age are coming, then there must be 1,000 or 1,500 older people,” Samdhong Rinpoche told us. These numbers are consistent with the annual statistics published by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy. The sheer volume of refugees leaving Tibet every year has left UN refugee centers in Nepal overwhelmed for some years now. Such high numbers speak volumes about conditions in Tibet. Read Article

By Karine Gagne, Francois Pesant, and Denis Burke