10 March 2008
Dalai Lama's 10 March speech
In a speech marking the 49th anniversary of the uprising in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama said that Tibetan culture is under threat and: "The language, customs and traditions of Tibet ... are gradually fading away", and that Tibetans have had to "live in a state of constant fear, intimidation and suspicion under Chinese repression". He said Tibetans have become an "insignificant minority in their own country". He urged the international community to call on China to respect freedom of expression during the Beijing Olympics, and said he has supported Beijing hosting the Games from the very beginning, dismissing an accusation by Zhang Qingli, Secretary of the Communist Party in the TAR, that he was trying to sabotage the event. However, he said: "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 also stressed that his determination "to pursue the middle-way policy and to continue our dialogue with the Chinese government remain unchanged". Nevertheless, the situation remained grave: "In Tibet, repression continues to increase with numerous, unimaginable and gross violations of human rights, denial of religious freedom and the politicisation of religious issues".