India buckling under Chinese pressure
NEW DELHI, April 5: Indias Tibet policy came in for sharp criticism on
Saturday, with former diplomats and experts pulling up the Government for
compromising on principles in a bid to placate China over the issue.
China has claimed Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory and offended our
sensibilities. We shouldnt give the impression that we are buckling under the
Chinese pressure, former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said at a seminar on
the situation in Tibet here. We should make it plain to the Chinese how our
system works. Tibetans can hold peaceful demonstrations in India. The symbolism
of the Olympic torch is incompatible with what is happening in Tibet, Sibal
said.
We must create space for ourselves. Its regrettable we are not thinking
ahead, Sibal said. We should have a more vigorous Tibet policy. It is at the
core of our nationhood and our relations with China, Sibal underlined.
G Parthasarathy, a former Indian envoy to Pakistan, charged that the Indian
Government was bending over backwards to please China over the Tibetan issue.
He strongly objected to the summoning of the Indian Ambassador by Beijing past
midnight to express concerns over Tibetan protests in India.
Why should we keep blindly repeating that Tibet is part of China? As long as
China claims Arunachal to be part of the Chinese territory, we should not
concede Tibet is part of China, Parthasarathy asserted.
Indias Ambassador is summoned at 2 am in the morning, and we dont protest,
he said while alluding to New Delhis diplomatic silence over Beijings
summoning of Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao by the Chinese Foreign Office
recently. Stop being apologetic and work in the international community under
international law, he Sibal the Government asking it to show spine by
speaking out on gross human rights violations in Tibet. Its shocking that we
have asked the Dalai Lama to resist from political activities. Lets not forget
that the Dalai Lama fled from the Chinese persecution when he came to India in
1959. How can we expect him to keep his mouth shut? he asked.
Parthasarathy was referring to a recent statement by External Affairs Minister
Pranab Mukherjee saying that while the Dalai Lama was an honoured guest in
India, he and his followers should not indulge in anti-China activities or any
other activity on Indian territory that can hurt Indias ties with other
countries.
Soli Sorabjee, a former Attorney General, criticized the Governments response
to the crackdown on Tibetan protesters as a sign of capitulation to Beijing and
asked Beijing to stop brutal repression in Tibet. India granted asylum to the
Dalai Lama in 1959 in the northern hill town of Dharamsala the seat of the
Tibetan government-in-exile on an understanding that he and his nearly
100,000 followers in India will not indulge in political activities. IANS
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