HIS HOLINESS GRADUALLY ESCALATING THE RHETORIC

Visiting Tokyo recently, His Holiness increased the level of his rhetoric directed against the Chinese by asserting bluntly that the Chinese occupation of Tibet was tantamount to a "death sentence" for all Tibetans. 

"This ancient nation," he continued, "with an ancient cultural heritage is dying."  As Americans who deprived our own indigenous population of their history and culture, we have to feel the deep sadness behind his statement as we watch this cultural crisis deepen on a daily basis:  the steady population transfer of Han Chinese into Tibet alone imperils all Tibetans both in Lhasa and across the plateau.  Most disturbingly the Chinese would seem to have adopted the long view of the Tibetan demise--year by year, more Han Chinese arrive, more Tibetans leave, more of the land is given over to mining, more of the rivers are dammed . . . more of Tibet and greater numbers of Tibetans are changed utterly.

This latest statement by His Holiness points up the importance of the meeting in Dharamsala on November 17.  "We will listen to the people's suggestions," His Holiness said, "and then I think things will become clear."  A strong contingency of the Tibetan people have been recently voicing their differences with His Holiness's support of autonomy for Tibet and asserting that independence is the only acceptable goal for the Tibetan people.  Most of the Tibetans with whom I spoke this summer have a free and independent Tibet firmly fixed in their hearts and minds, and I suspect this will emerge as a consensus in November. 

By expressing frustration with China's intractability in the negotiations and by supporting fully the democratic initiatives of a self-governing Tibetan people, His Holiness has set the stage for an historic meeting in Dharamsala in November.  His role in this unfolding drama remains central, and as events develop, we will watch a statesman of unparalleled abilities working at the height of his powers. 

Or so it seems to me.  Keep him and the Tibetan people in your own hearts and minds over the next few weeks.  Historians may well look back on November, 2008, as a crucial moment in the history of Tibet.