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![]() ![]() Preface The United Nations declared 1990 as the start of the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. Colonialism in its many forms has plagued the world for centuries. Much progress was made this century in securing the freedom of peoples who suffered under colonialism. In many cases the outcome of the decolonisation process was the creation of independent states, in a few cases the establishment of associations between the former colonies and the former colonial powers. But in some regions colonialism persists, and it appears certain that despite the call for the acceleration of decolonisation, we shall enter the 21st century without having rid the world of colonialism. The largest territory to have lost its sovereignty since the Second World War is Tibet, which came under Chinese Communist rule in 1951, following a military invasion of the country. Resistance to Chinese rule has been considerable and continues to this day. The Chinese government characterises this resistance as a conspiracy of splittist Tibetans, headed by the Dalai clique, to split the Chinese Motherland : Maintaining stability is one of the two major tasks of our region. ...In the past decades, since the Dalai clique betrayed the Motherland and fled away, their sabotage activities of the conspiracy to separate the motherland have never stopped.1 But Tibetans view their movement as a liberation struggle. The government of Tibet, which went into exile in 1959, following a massive but unsuccessful revolt against China, strives to free Tibet from occupation. The 14th Dalai Lama, the political as well as spiritual leader of Tibet, stated in a speech at the European Parliament in 1996: The problem of Tibet is...fundamentally of a political nature. It is a problem of colonial domination: the oppression of Tibet by the People's Republic of China and the resistance to that domination by the Tibetans.2 This observation by the exiled Tibetan Head of State, is not the only reference to Tibet as a 'colony' of the People's Republic of China. The current situation in Tibet is described increasingly often as 'colonial'. These descriptions are based on the assumption that colonialism is a well-defined concept which needs no further explanation. Yet, it is by no means clear what it actually means and how it can be defined. Research on colonialism has mainly focused on concrete examples of European rule in Africa and Asia. Most people would agree, however, that the term colonial has a much wider meaning: it refers to a political system, to a set of beliefs, to an attitude of one people towards another. Little research has been done on the mechanics of colonial systems and their ideological underpinnings. In the present report, the situation in Tibet is examined in terms of its relationship to China. The question is posed: is Tibet a colony of China? Stated differently: is China's rule over Tibet since 1951 a form of colonial rule? In order to answer this question, which can have far reaching implications, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, in association with the Tibet Support Group Netherlands and with the help of the International Campaign for Tibet, commissioned an independent study on colonialism and sent a mission to Tibet, Nepal and India, composed of three eminent and independent persons: two members of Parliament, one each from Ireland and the Netherlands (a former colony and a former colonial power, respectively) and a professor of International Law of Maastricht University, with extensive United Nations experience, who headed the mission. Their findings are contained in the Tibet Mission Report, which is the first part of this publication. The second part of this publication. is an Independent Study on Colonialism and Tibet, which consists of a study, made up of two distinct parts: Part I is a study of colonialism. The author analyses the concept of colonialism and identifies the principal characteristics of or criteria for colonialism. The members of the mission to Tibet read this part of the study before starting on their journey, and adopted these criteria as the framework for their investigation. Part II of this study, which was written independently of the mission's work, is a study of the situation of Tibet in relation to the concept of colonialism analysed in Part I. The observations of the mission members (contained in the mission report) and the conclusions reached by the independent. researcher compliment each other very well. What emerges from this body of work is astounding: the PRC, a state which has been on the forefront of the struggle against colonialism and which has been a champion of colonised peoples, is today undeniably a colonial power itself. China's rule over Tibet since 1951 has all the characteristics of colonialism in the real sense of the word. This is evident not only from the manner in which Chinese authority was established and is maintained in Tibet. It is clear from the way in which the Chinese authorities decide on and implement economic and other development policies and exploit natural resources, and from the population transfer of million of Chinese into Tibet. It is clear also from the policies implemented by China regarding the Tibetan language, culture and religion. Mostly revealing is the attitude of the Chinese authorities and of the Tibetan people, whose perceptions of each other are typical of those of the colonial power and the colonised people. This report is the first in-depth analysis of the de facto colonial status of Tibet. The implications of the findings contained in this report could be very significant. International law and practice, including especially the practice of the United Nations, condemns colonialism in all its forms and recognised the full right to self-determination of colonial peoples and territories. It prescribes decolonisation as the means for exercising this right and requires of the administering power (usually the colonial power) to undertake all measures to facilitate its realisation. It is hoped that this report may contribute to efforts by the UN and others to accelerate the eradication of colonialism as we approach the end of the Decade.
1 Speech by Chinese Communist Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Chen Kuiyan during the
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