OSLO, Sweden: The Dalai La- ma, exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, was named winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize on October 5.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which announced the award in Oslo, cited the Dalai Lama’s nonviolent struggles to regain autonomy for his homeland from China and his advocacy of “peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people.
”Egil Aarvik, chairman of the Nobel Committee said the award was intended to send a message of support and a plea for non-violence to all those struggling for human rights and national liberation across the globe, including China, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
Senior aides in the Dalai Lama’s exile government based in India declared the prize an important morale boost for the Tibetan cause as well as a slap at China in the after match of the massacre of pro- democracy demonstrators in Bejing in June. Chinese officials’ ex- pressed irritation accusing the Norweign Nobel Committee of meddling in China’s internal affairs.
At a press conference in New- port Beach, where he has been attending a weeklong peace conference, the world’s best known Buddhist leader, revered by his followers as a god-king, shrugged off the award.
“Many friends were overjoyed,” said the Dalai Lama, 54, grinning broadly, “I myself, not so much … I’m still just a Buddhist monk, no more, no less.
”But “from the Tibetan point of view, it’s fantastic,” said Tenzin Geyche Tethong, his personal secretary for 25 years. “Indirectly, it’s a tremendous morale boost and sort of worldwide recognition of the Tibetan tragedy.
”The Dalai Lama, clad in a maroon and saffron robe and plastic sandals, indicated to reporters that he might spend the $469,000 prize on famine relief or peace studies. The prize will be formally awarded Dec 10 in Oslo,
The Dalai Lama and his staff said they hope the prize will help focus attention on the plight of the people living inside Tibet a Himalayan region more than three times the size of Texas that, under the label “Tibet Autonomous Region,” has been occupied by the Chinese since 1950.
According to the Dalai Lama’s aides, 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a result of the Chinese occupations, and more than 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed. In March martial law was imposed.
Perhaps most of all, Tibetans fear “cultural genocide” from the Chinese who have moved into Tibet and threaten to overwhelm the Tibetans, the Dalai Lama said.
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Oslo voiced displeasure over the Nobel Committee’s decision.
“To give the peace prize to the Dalai Lama is a clear interference in the internal affairs of China,” embassy spokesman Wang Guisheng told reporters. “The decision has deeply hurt the Chinese people’s feelings.
“Tibet has been an indivisible part of Chinese territory for years,” Wang said. “Tibetan affairs are entirely the internal affairs of China.
”From his base in Dharamsala, India, the Dalai Lama has functioned as the spiritual and political leader of Tibetans left behind as well as 100,000 Tibetans in exile. He has formed what he calls a democratic constitution of Tibet, a unique blend of constitutional monarchy, popular democracy and Buddhist principles of non-violence and tolerance.
In June, 1988, the Dalai Lama abandoned his demand for the independence of Tibet in favor of demilitarization by China. Speaking to the European Parliament, he called for a self-governing Tibet, with China in charge of defense and foreign affairs.
China rejected the plan as an “attempt to distort history. ”Buddhism in India has had a sad history. The Buddha lived and preached in India. With official patronage the faith spread on the subcontinent and beyond until the Hindus saw it as a threat to them. A very insidious campaign to “swallow” Buddhism was begun. It was quite successful in the Hindu majority areas. A demographic map will show countries to the north and east, Tibet and Burma and Lanka to the south to be still predominately Buddhist.
Though the Dalai Lama has won the coveted Peace prize, he has never condemned the violence in Sri Lanka.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 13, 1989
