Reportage – 2006

Never give up: Samdhong Rinpoche

Prof Samdhong Rinpoche meeting the press on the first day of his second term as the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile after taking oath from the Dalai Lama earlier in the day. [ click here for print size   3.3M ]

DHARAMSHALA, India, 15 August 2006 — The Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche insisted that the "Middle Way Approach" of an autonomous status for Tibet is the most mutually beneficial solution for the peoples of both Tibet and China.

Despite the Chinese accusations to the Dalai Lama and his "Middle Way Approach" recently, Samdhong Rinpoche is determined to hold on to the old policy.

"There is no change whatsoever in our determination to continue and improve the Sino-Tibetan contacts."

Rinpoche (an honorific title for reincarnated lamas) was speaking to the press on the first day of his second term as the Prime Minister of the exile government after taking oath from the Dalai Lama earlier in the day.

His oath-taking day coincided with the Indian Independence Day. "The day is symbolic because the Indian Independence and the Free Tibet movement are interrelated," he said.

He was reelected with a landslide majority of 90% in the elections held in June in the Tibetan Diaspora at more than 50 polling stations in Tibetan clusters in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Europe, the US, Canada and Taiwan.

He is held in high esteem by Tibetans as a reincarnated Lama and as a steadfast aide of the Dalai Lama, and follows the policies and approaches of the Dalai Lama.

Samdhong Rinpoche was born on 5 November 1939 in Jol, Eastern Tibet, a region known for its warrior traditions. At the age of five, he was recognised as the reincarnation of 4th Samdhong Rinpoche. When he was 12 he left his home to go to Drepung Monastery in Lhasa for higher education. He fled to exile in the year 1959 after the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

He has served the exiled Tibetan community for over four decades as an educationist, philosopher, and lately as a politician. After serving as the Chairman of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile for a decade from 1991, he aspired to a reclusive life in order to begin his efforts for the cause of non-violence. However, he had to relinquish this desire after receiving overwhelming requests from the exile Tibetans to accept the post of Prime Minister in 2001.

He appointed three men to run seven departments of the exile government in the first term. He didn't have any particular plans to induct any woman minister in his new government, which will be formed after a clearance by the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile in September. "Gender has never been an issue in the Tibetan society. There is equality between man and woman. Gender talk is a Western thing."

He describes the adoption of a new education policy, organic farming in Tibetan settlements and the opening up a process of dialogue with China as his achievements in his first term in the office. Apart from the continuation of the old policies and programmes, he will adopt an IT policy for the exile government, which recently launched a web TV to catch up with the need for reaching the Tibetan populace in Diaspora and the rest of the world through the super-info-highway.

However, his education policy remained unpopular among the Tibetans. The lack of internet access in Tibetan settlements is marring the web TV project, and the new Chinese assault on the Dalai Lama's "Middle Way Approach" is saying that the policy is fighting for an independent Tibet in disguise. Many Tibetans are beginning to feel sceptical about the sincerity of the Chinese and the success of the current Sino-Tibetan dialogue process.

The Dalai Lama and his government are no longer seeking an independent Tibet, but autonomy for Tibetan inhabited areas of U-tsang, Amdo and Kham. But China accuse him of being a "Separatist" and demand that he declare Tibet and Taiwan as inseparable parts of China as a condition for any dialogue to take place.

Rinpoche said that he is making necessary preparations to dispatch the two Envoys of the Dalai Lama - Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen - for their sixth round of talks. The direct contact between the two sides was reestablished in 2002 after it collapsed in 1994.

"Each visit of the Envoys has furthered the understanding between the two sides," Rinpoche said.

Critics say China is waiting for the Dalai Lama to pass away, hoping that with his absence, the Tibetan issue will disappear.

Dismissing that notion as a myth, he said, "The issue of Tibet is not that of one person — the Dalai Lama. It is about a nation — Tibet and Tibetan people. Even after his death, the Tibetan struggle will continue until it is resolved."

Whether or not there are signs of a light coming through, Rinpoche is showing no sign of giving up but seems to be determined to cling on hope.