[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE 46TH ANNIVERSARY OF TIBETAN NATIONAL UPRISING DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 10, 2005

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, today is the 46th Anniversary of Tibetan 
National Uprising Day. We honor the many brave Tibetans who sacrificed 
their lives fighting for freedom, and we demand that the Chinese 
government release all prisoners of conscience including Tenzin Delek 
Rinpoche and the 11th Panchen Lama. I am proud that my constituents in 
San Francisco organize a peace rally and march commemorating this day 
every year.
  When China's People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet in 1949, Tibet 
was an independent state. The Chinese government imposed an agreement 
on Tibet recognizing Tibet's autonomy over its internal affairs. But, 
as the Chinese government consolidated their control, they repeatedly 
violated the treaty and open resistance to Chinese repression grew.
  On March 10, 1959, the people of Lhasa assembled together and called 
for the Chinese to leave Tibet, thus marking the beginning of the 
uprising. The Chinese crackdown was harsh. An estimated 87,000 Tibetans 
were killed, arrested, or deported to labor camps.
  In the years since the People's Uprising, more than 1 million 
Tibetans have been killed and more than 6,000 monasteries and 
irreplaceable jewels of Tibetan culture have been destroyed. We know 
that Tibetans are routinely imprisoned and tortured for nonviolently 
expressing their views. Beatings, prolonged exposure to extreme heat 
and cold, electroshock, sleep and food deprivation, and forced labor 
are among the techniques used to torture Tibetan political prisoners.
  Last month, the U.S. State Department published its annual ``Country 
Reports on Human Rights.'' The section on Tibet states that ``[Chinese] 
authorities continued to commit serious human rights abuses, including 
extra-judicial killing, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention without 
public trial, and lengthy detention of Tibetans for peacefully 
expressing their political or religious views.''
  The Chinese government has not won the hearts and minds of the 
Tibetan people. Tibetans are as devoted to their traditional beliefs as 
ever, and the bond between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan 
people is fundamental and unbreakable. Attempts to drive a wedge 
between the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people have failed and have been 
counterproductive for the Chinese government.
  His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the key to peace and stability in 
Tibet. Envoys of the Dalai Lama have traveled to China and Tibet three 
times in recent years to continue discussions with Chinese authorities 
on a permanent negotiated settlement. While open dialogue is a positive 
first step, it is time for the Chinese government to follow through 
with substance and not just process. It is time for China to take a 
step forward into a modern, open and free society.
  The survival of the Tibetan identity is an issue of urgent U.S. and 
international concern. If we are not committed to meeting the challenge 
of Tibet then we cannot be consistent when we talk about human rights 
in any other place in the world.
  As we honor the brave and heroic Tibetan people, we must heed the 
guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is a constant reminder that 
the crisis in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world. We 
have not forgotten the people of Tibet in their struggle. Troops can 
crush a protest, but they can never extinguish the flame of freedom 
that burns in every human heart.

                          ____________________