[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 30 (Thursday, March 8, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DON'T FORGET THE MUSTANG FREEDOM FIGHTERS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 8, 2001

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, March 10th is the 42nd anniversary of the 
Tibetan Uprising Day and the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Every year we 
appropriately celebrate this solemn day by recognizing and remembering 
the thousands of Tibetan people who gave their lives on March 10th 
struggling for their freedom. This past year the brutality of the 
Chinese occupation government has been exceptionably cruel to Tibetan 
Buddhist religious practitioners. Many monks and nuns have been 
executed and tortured to death for their beliefs while the Panchen Lama 
still remains under detention. Accordingly, it is fitting that this 
month the Bush administration will introduce a resolution in Geneva at 
the United Nations Human Rights Commission condemning the Chinese 
government's contemptible lack of concern for the rights of the Tibetan 
and Chinese people.
  We welcome the Bush administration's open-eyed approach to dealing 
with the Chinese government on human rights issues and its signals that 
it is willing to assist our friends on Taiwan. We are therefore hopeful 
that our government's policy toward Tibet will be brought in line with 
this refreshing pragmatism. A good start would be by remembering and 
recognizing the people of Kham who began their resistance against 
Chinese expansionism almost 51 years ago when the Communists launched 
their invasion of eastern Tibet in 1950. The brave Khampas and people 
from Amdo being intensely loyal to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and 
willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their religious beliefs and 
institutions, bore the brunt of the PLA's brutal effort to conquer 
Tibet. Years before Mao's hardened shock troops marched into Lhasa, the 
people of Kham and Amdo struggled against all odds to turn back the 
atheist Communist invaders. To this day they still pay dearly for their 
religious beliefs and struggle for their rights. Their lands and their 
monasteries have yet to be completely returned to them and the Chinese 
government has yet to pay reparations.
  During the 1950's and up until the early 1970's our government 
supported the Tibetan cause by training and equipping their fighters 
and by drawing attention in the international community to the Tibetan 
plight. When our government ended our assistance to the Tibetan 
fighters in the early 70's who were then operating out of Mustang, a 
remote area of northern Nepal, many of them stayed in Nepal. To this 
day, a number of these men and women still struggle for their survival 
while some have passed on.
  Fourteen years ago, the Congress passed a resolution condemning 
China's occupation of Tibet. When President Reagan signed it, Lodi 
Gyaltsen Gyari, a great Khampa, a good friend and His Holiness the 
Dalai Lama's Special Envoy urged Congressman Charlie Rose and myself to 
send two of our staff assistants to travel to India and Nepal to learn 
more about the Tibetan issue. Towards the end of that visit, they met 
with a number of the Mustang fighters in a small camp in Pokara, Nepal. 
Our congressional staff reported back to us that these Khampas were 
still prepared to give their lives for their nation and remained 
intensely loyal to the United States. They continued to believe that we 
would never abandon them although it appeared to the outside world that 
that was exactly what we had done. The camp leader remarked to our 
staff, ``friends don't abandon friends and America stands up for what 
is right.''
  When the Congress heard about these brave, earnest Khampas, we 
committed ourselves to renewing our Nation's contact with the Tibetan 
people. We passed the historic sense of the Congress resolution stating 
that Tibet is an occupied country and His Holiness the Dalai Lamia and 
the Tibetan Government-in-Exile are the true representatives of the 
Tibetan people. In addition, we directed the Voice of America to 
transmit into Tibet, thus giving the Tibetan people their first clear 
window to the outside world. Moreover, we ensured that various forms of 
political and material assistance began to flow to the Tibetan 
diaspora.
  Accordingly, on this March 10th anniversary, may the Khampa fighters 
and all the elderly men and women of Tibet who continue their struggle 
inspire us today by their courage and enduring devotion to the cause of 
Tibetan freedom. As America--who offered them hope and then withdrew 
its promise--is especially indebted to the freedom fighters, I will 
look into how we might offer them more than just our sincere thanks. I 
have learned that many Tibetan elders are living in destitute 
conditions in Nepal and India. Let us all bear in mind the Mustang 
freedom fighters on this occasion and begin to consider how we can 
demonstrate in real terms that their cause remains our own.

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