We express our deep sorrow at the horrible deaths of
the innocent, including Chinese as well as Tibetans. Life has been altered
for the worse in places with which we are well acquainted; tragedy has
entered the lives of a people we know well. At the time this statement is
being written, continued arrests and shootings are being reported even of
those involved in peaceful protest, the accused are being subjected to
summary justice without due process and basic rights and countless others
are being forced to repeat political slogans and denunciations of their
religious leader.
Silence in the face of what is happening in Tibet is no
longer an option. At this moment the suppression of political dissent
appears to be the primary goal of authorities across all the Tibetan areas
within China, which have been isolated from the rest of China and the
outside world. But such actions will not eliminate the underlying sense of
grievance to which Tibetans are giving voice. As scholars we have a vested
interest in freedom of expression. The violation of that basic freedom and
the criminalisation of those sentiments that the Chinese government finds
difficult to hear are counterproductive. They will contribute to
instability and tension, not lessen them.
It cannot be that the problem lies in the refusal of
Tibetans to live within restrictions on speech and expression that none of
us would accept in our own lives. It is not a question of what Tibetans
are saying: it is a question of how they are being heard and answered. The
attribution of the current unrest to the Dalai Lama represents a
reluctance on the part of the Chinese government to acknowledge and engage
with policy failures that are surely the true cause of popular discontent.
The government’s continuing demonisation of the Dalai Lama, which falls
far below any standard of discourse accepted by the international
community, serves only to fuel Tibetan anger and alienation.
A situation has been created which can only meet with
the strongest protest from those of us who have dedicated our professional
lives to understanding Tibet’s past and its present; its culture and its
society. Indeed the situation has generated widespread shock among peoples
inside and outside China as well and we write in full sympathy with the
12-point petition submitted by a group of Chinese writers and
intellectuals on March 22.
Therefore we call for an immediate end to the use of
force against Tibetans within China. We call for an end to the suppression
of Tibetan opinion, whatever form that suppression takes. And we call for
the clear recognition that Tibetans, together with all citizens of China,
are entitled to the full rights to free speech and expression guaranteed
by international agreements and accepted human rights norms.