Alliance against Beijing

Attract Public Attention

The "Tibet Discussion Group in the German Bundestag" announced its plan to enhance its activities following this year's elections. It will table a "motion" in the Bundestag on the issue of Tibet, seek "more synergism with Tibet organizations" and explore ways to "involve" parliamentarians "in high-profile projects and activities."[1] Along with organizing "flagship projects" on the issue of Tibet, the discussion group is contemplating closer networking of NGOs to "attract more public attention." The group, which had attentively followed last year's anti-Chinese Tibet campaign [2], was formed in 1995 and is today comprised of 53 parliamentarians from four parties in the Bundestag. It is closely cooperating with German Tibet organizations, particularly the International Campaign for Tibet [3] and the Tibet Initiative Germany, as well as the Tibetan "Exile Government" with headquarters in Dharamsala (India).

PR Tasks

The Tibetan "Exile Government" is supported by several German foreign policy organizations including the FDP affiliated Friedrich Naumann Foundation.[4] The foundation was a key supporter of last year's anti-Chinese Tibet campaign.[5] In March, at the 50th anniversary of the 1959 anti-Chinese Tibet insurgency, the foundation announced that it would continue its "long cooperation with exile Tibetans."[6] The foundation has trained exile Tibetans in its "International Leadership Academy" cadre school [7] and financed regular international meetings of Tibet activists as well as an "Exile Government" think tank, the "Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre (TPPRC)," located in New Delhi. Recent TPPRC activities included a youth congress to prepare selected young exile Tibetans for leading positions in the "Exile Government". Primary objectives of the Centre, which for years has been supported by the Naumann Foundation, include "promoting the political agenda of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile" and "promoting the political image of the Tibetan Government in-exile."[8]

Radicalization

The German Green Party affiliated Heinrich Boell Foundation, which is also supporting the headquarters of the exile government, had noted already last year tendencies of radicalization among particularly the younger exile Tibetans, which should not be taken lightly. "Particularly among the young exile Tibetans, who grew up in India" reported the foundation, one sees the tendency "of leaning toward protest actions." "Since 2008, young leaders in the exile Tibetan community" have been developing "a new rhetoric as well as new political tactics." As overseas Tibetans violently attacked the Olympic torch relay, the foundation explained the evolution that had taken place over the past few years: "they are placing, to a growing degree, the unconditional commitment to non-violence into question and searching for new approaches to resistance."[9] In a pogrom in the spring, Tibetans in China also reverted to violence, attacking numerous Han Chinese, killing several.[10]

Struggling United

The parallel tendencies of radicalization are evident in Tibet and in Xinjiang, where in early July 140 Han Chinese fell victim to a Uyghur pogrom. Berlin is promoting this through incessant support for both the Tibetan and Uyghur exiles. The main organization of the World Uyghur Congress, with headquarters in Munich, receives the full support of the German administration, even though it openly calls for the break-up of China. A map of China presented on its web page shows both the Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions as independent states with their own flags.[11] The World Uyghur Congress calls on the Tibetan secessionists to join the rebellion. In an appeal to the Dalai Lama, the organization wrote that both the Tibetan and the Uyghur are "victims of Chinese imperialist colonization." "United we will win, independently we lose."[12] (This picture documents the World Uyghur Congress' map.)

Struggle for Hegemony

As evident by statements made by the Dalai Lama, the exile Tibetan organizations are becoming more receptive to the question of an alliance with the Uyghur. The Dalai Lama will be visiting Germany at the end of July for a few days. Among the reasons for his visit, he will to receive the honorary doctorate of the Philipps University in Marburg August 3. A talk with the prime minister of the German land of Hesse, Roland Koch (CDU) is also scheduled. Koch is a long-time friend of the Dalai Lama. In relation to the recent Uyghur pogrom in early July, the Tibetan "god-king" called on Beijing to "exercise restraint" in regards to the Uyghur.[13] His demand corresponds to those of the large Tibetan organizations in Germany working closely with the "Tibet Discussion Group in the German Bundestag." This demand is aimed at weakening the Chinese state in its strategically important western regions. If it were fulfilled, it would lead to an evident radicalization of the secessionist movements escalating the secessionist conflict. (The Germans had not appealed for restraint during their pogroms, but spurred them on.) Those primarily benefiting would be Washington and Berlin. Only if China could be seriously weakened domestically, will they be able to win the struggle for global hegemony.[14]

Please read also Metamorphoses, The Future of "East-Turkestan" and Fear of Demotion.

[1] Der Tibet Gesprächskreis im Deutschen Bundestag - 16. WP; www.tibet-gespraechskreis.de 01.07.2009
[2] see also The Olympic Lever
[3] see also Mobilize at Any Time
[4] see also Operations against China
[5] see also The Olympic Torch Relay Campaign
[6] 50. Jahrestag des Tibet-Aufstands - Stiftung hält an ihrer Unterstützung des Dalai Lama fest; Presse-Info der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, 10.03.2009
[7] zur IAF s. Die Naumann-Netze
[8] About Us; www.tpprc.org/about-us.html
[9] Heinrich Böll Stiftung India: Politischer Jahresbericht Indien 2007/2008, August 2008. See also Smash China
[10] see also The Olympic Torch Relay Campaign and Augenzeuge
[11] www.uyghurcongress.org
[12] Brief an Dalai Lama: Uiguren bitten um Hilfe; n-tv.de 14.07.2009
[13] Statement From His Holiness the Dalai Lama; www.dalailama.com 10.07.2009
[14] see also Fear of Demotion