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"These talks may work more in terms of helping the crisis in Tibet that is happening right now, and in terms of releasing the people who have been detained and imprisoned," said Yungdrung Gyaltsen, a 41-year-old monk and a member of the Tibetan government-in-exile, who lives with fellow Tibetans in a monastery in Kathmandu.
Momentum is growing for high-level figures to stay away from the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said he would not attend unless Beijing engaged in dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
"The reason China is seeking dialogue with His Holiness now is they don't want people to boycott the Olympics," said Gyaltsen.
Originally Tibetans were very hopeful that the Beijing Olympics might be a watershed for them. "The Olympics symbolizes peace and human rights and equality, therefore, at the beginning there was a lot of hope that there would be a review of their policy towards Tibet. But if you look at how China is behaving right now, it seems as if that hope is not so much anymore," Gyaltsen lamented.
The Dalai Lama and his supporters in India and elsewhere have called for autonomy for Tibet, and the right of its people to freely practice their religion and retain their culture. The Dalai Lama called China's policies in Tibet "cultural genocide."
When Tibetans in Kathmandu began demonstrating in March in support of the monks in Tibet, the Chinese government protested vociferously, and the Nepalese police were brutal in putting down the peaceful protests. "Initially, the Nepalese police took quite strong measures against us. Protesters, including monks and nuns, were severely beaten. One young boy of 24 years had both his ankles broken," said Gyaltsen, who has been a monk for 21 years.
Near-daily protests over the last six weeks have met with daily arrests by police. An exception was made on April 28, however, when a Tibetan funeral march was allowed to proceed without police interference. Tibetans were mourning those killed in the violent clashes in Tibet. At the end of the march they handed over a letter of protest to the U.N. mission here.
The international community and media have been an important ally in helping to check police abuses. The United Nations and diplomatic missions, as well as NGO groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, complained to the Nepal government to put a check on police brutality. This did help to tone down the ferocity of the police response.
"However," Gyaltsen stressed, "when the media was not around, again the police would use excessive force, kicking our people."
On Wednesday, Tibetan activists took a new approach, launching a "China Get Well Soon Campaign," led by the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of Kathmandu. Hundreds of young people delivered white roses and Get Well cards to the Chinese Consulate, urging China to "recover" from violating human rights. The cards also said, "We are pro-Tibet, not anti-China."
On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Nancy Powell urged the prime minister to ensure that the right to peaceful protest was maintained and the human rights of Tibetans in Nepal respected. She welcomed the respect accorded to Tibetans during their April 28 protest.
Some observers have expressed concern that ethnic and religious rights in Nepal may deteriorate under the new communist-dominated government, especially if China seeks to increase its influence through political pressure and economic incentives. The largest single party in Nepal's new parliament will be the Communist Party Nepal-Maoists, lead by Comrade Prachanda.
Although the party takes its name from Chinese leader Mao Zedong, China did not support its 10-year insurgency. Prachanda has said the government will maintain equidistant relations with India and China.
Tibetans see little change in their plight with respect to the change in government, and don't expect a crackdown to follow. "We have been living in Nepal for the past 50 years as refugees," the Tibetan spiritual leader pointed out. "This is how the government of Nepal recognizes us and we don't expect a lot will change."
There are about 20,000 Tibetan refugees living in Nepal, and they are grateful for the hospitality from the government and people here. "We would never expect the Nepalese government to say to us, 'You're not welcome here,'" Gyaltsen said. "Our protests have always been in a peaceful way, and they know us and know what we are saying is true."
In Kathmandu, Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people are on a 24-hour relay fast to show solidarity with the people of Tibet. It is uncertain how long the fasting and protests will continue. The India-based Tibetan Solidarity Committee claims that 203 Tibetans have been killed in China, over 1,000 injured and 5,715 detained.
Beijing's view is starkly different. The government says only 22 people died as a result of the Tibetan unrest, most of them Han Chinese killed by rioting Tibetans in Lhasa. The Communist Party mouthpiece, People's Daily, carried an article this week entitled "The 'Tibet Issue' has nothing to do with human rights." This and other articles in state media have claimed that unrest in Tibet, and demonstrations around the world, have been instigated by the "Dalai clique" in an attempt to win support from the West for his aim of gaining independence for Tibet.
The Chinese government claims it has brought development to Tibet and that its 1951 invasion liberated the people there from a feudal system in which most people were enslaved by a small noble class. Most Han Chinese citizens appear to accept this view.
