The activities of the Dalai Lama from exile in India are as always of interest to Buddhists here in Syracuse and Buddhists elsewhere. The Tibet Sun, http://tibetsun.com, has now reported "Dalai Lama, Advani opens 6th Tibet Support Groups conference".
LK Advani who is India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former deputy prime minister has termed China’s “aggressive and expansionist intentions” as well as its “tacit support to Pakistan in the latter’s hostile approach towards India” as detrimental in improving bilateral ties between the two Asian nations. As he inaugurated the sixth International Conference of Tibet Support Groups in Haryana, India he said “The bilateral relationship between India and China will be one of the key determinants of the course of world history in the 21st century. There is no alternative to peaceful co-existence between India and China.”
Than in reference to the need for a peaceful resolution of border disputes, he said. “However, this is not possible if China makes hostile statements, giving expression to its aggressive and expansionist intentions. For example, its claim on Arunachal Pradesh is wholly baseless. What has further complicated India-China relations is China’s tacit support to Pakistan in the latter’s hostile approach towards India.”
He went on to say that Indian political parties are in agreement when it comes to maintaining territorial integrity of the nation and, “I hope that good sense prevails among the leaders in China.” Than pledging support to the cause of Tibet, Advani said, “It seems to me that the biggest hurdle in resolving the issue of Tibet is the ideology of communism and the communist regime in Beijing. A democratic China would surely be good for both Tibet and for the Chinese people.”
The BJP leader than spoke of the Dalai Lama and said “The fact that he, the Dalai Lama, has been waging a non-violent struggle, in which his ‘weapons’ are perseverance, propagation and his own moral personality, for the past over half-century speaks of his greatness.” And seeking to dispel China’s view that India was ‘interfering’ in its internal matters concerning Tibet, Advani maintained that Tibet had historically served as the bridge between the two oldest civilizations. He noted “The survival of Tibet, which is culturally and politically autonomous, is in fact beneficial to post-communist China. We respect the choice made by the Tibetan people, and as declared by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, that Tibet is an autonomous region of People’s Republic of China, and that he seeks true autonomy rather than actual independence."
Advani went on to say “I believe that Beijing should reach out to His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the intention of sincere and genuine dialogue, and with a recognition of the legitimate aspirations of the Tibetan people. Beijing cannot have a more reasonable and peace-loving interlocutor than this living embodiment of the teachings of the Buddha. As far as India is concerned, our support to the aspirations of the people of Tibet is independent of our unresolved border dispute with China.”
The words of Advani in support of the legitimate aspirations of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people are encouraging for Buddhists here in Syracuse and across the world. India has been the strongest and most consistent supporter of the Dalai Lama and of the Tibetan cause in the world.
Mandel News Service: http://www.mandelnews.com
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