“Thousands of people from Kham and Amdo fled to Lhasa and set up their camps in the valley outside the city.
They told such horrific stories that I couldn't believe them for years.
I fully believed what I heard only in 1959 when I read the report
International Commission of Jurists: crucifixion, ripping open
abdomen and amputation of limbs. Decapitation and digging were also used.
alive, burned and beaten to death. People were tied to horse tails,
hung upside down and thrown into the icy water with hands and feet tied.
And so that they do not shout: “Long live the Dalai Lama!” on the way to execution, they were pierced
tongues with butcher hooks ... "
March 10, 2009 is a kind of anniversary: the 50th anniversary of the largest uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule. Why did it happen? How was it suppressed? How did they make a country that had never been part of China before part of China? On the Chinese Internet sites devoted to the history of Tibet, there is a gap here. I'll try to fill it up.
On September 2, 1949, the Xinhua News Agency announced that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) would liberate all Chinese territory, including Tibet. But it has never been a part of China (1)… On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed. And immediately began preparations for a military invasion (2). It was scheduled for the spring of 1950. Actually, it was not the whole country that was to be "liberated". Almost half (Kam and Amdo regions) had been annexed long before. Now the main Chinese forces have moved from here. They had an overwhelming superiority over the Tibetan army in manpower and weapons. Tibetan troops retreated and surrendered. On October 19, 1950, the Chinese occupied the city of Chamdo.
To the north of it, fighting unfolded. The Tibetans were defeated. On October 25, a statement appeared that the PLA units were ordered to move deep into Tibet in order to liberate it from imperialist oppression and strengthen the defense of China's borders (3). In response, the leaders of Tibet issued a manifesto. It said that this was the capture and occupation of the country of free people under the pretext of liberation. On November 7, Tibet sent an appeal to the UN calling for an end to the aggression. But the discussion was postponed. The Dalai Lama had to send a delegation to China for negotiations. Their outcome was the Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, known as the 17-Point Agreement (4). It was signed on May 23, 1951 in Beijing. And under what circumstances.
The Tibetan delegates were under pressure, they did not have with them the government seals necessary for the conclusion of the treaty by Tibet (5). They had personal seals, but in front of the Chinese they denied it to express their disagreement. Then the seals with their names were made in Beijing and they attached them to the document (6). The Agreement did not specify the boundaries of the territory to which it applied. The Tibetans understood it as all their lands, including Kam and Amdo, and the Chinese understood only that which was not included in their provinces. The Tibetans were ordered to help the PLA move through their territory. According to the instructions, the Tibetan delegates were to consult the Tibetan government and the Dalai Lama on all important issues (7). They were not given such an opportunity, in fact, by presenting an ultimatum. There was only one choice left: sign the Agreement or be responsible for the immediate start of a military operation against Lhasa. The Tibetans warned that they were only signing the document in their own name, without authority from the Dalai Lama or the government.
On September 9, 1951, advanced units of the PLA entered Lhasa. The main forces were on the way. To avoid the worst, the Tibetans could only hope for the implementation of the Agreement. On October 24, the Chinese representative, General Zhang Jinwu, on behalf of the Dalai Lama, sent a telegram to Mao Zedong supporting the Agreement (8). This document is available online (9). It is not certified by the seal of the Dalai Lama - and in those days in Tibet, not a single document, even in the outback, could do without a seal! This telegram cannot be considered an act of ratification. Later, the Dalai Lama, having the opportunity to freely express his will, did not recognize the 17-point Agreement.
In Lhasa, Chinese troops occupied a lot of space, demanding food and equipment (2). At first they paid, then they began to demand a loan. Stocks dried up, prices skyrocketed, and inflation set in. Since 1956, the Chinese began to form the Preparatory Committee for the Education of the TAR. Its structures appeared on the ground. The committee became a façade for the representation of Tibetans under the de facto power of the Chinese. All this violated the 17-point Agreement. But the democratic reform here has been postponed for the time being.
“I asked for advice from the state oracle. To my surprise,
he exclaimed, “Go away! Tonight!" The medium, continuing to be in a trance,
staggered forward and, seizing paper and pen, wrote quite clearly and distinctly
the way I must go from Norbulingka to the last Tibetan city
on the Indian border. The direction was unexpected. Having done this, the young monk
named Lobsang Jigme lost consciousness, which was a sign of the departure of the deity
George Drakden from his body. Looking back on this event over the years,
I feel confident: Dorje Drakden always knew that I should leave
Lhasa on the 17th, but did not say this so that the prediction would not become known to others.
From the Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
But in Kama and Amdo it was launched at full speed. The basis of this reform is in the words of a famous character: "Take everything and share." The reform did not meet with the sympathy of the people - neither the "top" nor the "bottom". Coercion began, in response - resistance. Most Tibetans have remained true to their traditions. Then they began to gather rallies, where people were divided into "serfs" and "slave owners", on the one hand, "serfs" and "slaves" - on the other (10). They tried to force the latter to "fight" the former. It did not work out, then the Chinese themselves carried out the reform, repressions and executions. Large estates were confiscated, wealthy peasants were driven out of their homes, land was redistributed, new taxes were introduced, religious organizations were dispersed, monasteries were closed, monks were forced to marry, a nomadic lifestyle was declared barbaric, and so on. Marxists are mistaken that "the resistance had a very narrow base in Tibet" (11). In fact, the "narrow foothold" was with the Maoists.
In August 1954, the Tibetans rebelled in southern Kama. The uprising expanded. Fierce fighting began. The Chinese began shelling and aerial bombardment of settlements and monasteries, mass repressions. For example, in 1956, during the celebration of the Tibetan New Year in Batang, a large monastery was bombed from the air. More than 2 thousand monks and pilgrims died (12). In August 1956, the uprising also spread among the Tibetans of Amdo. The PLA made progress, but not immediately. In the "liberated" areas, leaders and lamas were arrested, tortured and killed, then reform was carried out. The Chinese drove the inhabitants to watch the reprisals against their fellow countrymen, and the most respected ones. Meanwhile, Maoist propaganda lied to the world about the general love of Tibetans for the Central Government of the PRC, their demands for reform, and so on. This still finds support among some writers on the left (11). But then, seeing the failure of the reform in Kama and Amdo, the Chinese leaders themselves declared that there was no need to hurry with its implementation in central Tibet ...
Meanwhile, the rebels have set up a base in southern Tibet. By the summer of 1958, several tens of thousands of partisans had already united and began to operate ever closer to Lhasa (5). They were mostly armed with light weapons. Some were seized from the Chinese, some from a raid on a Tibetan government warehouse. We got some obsolete weapons from the CIA. Partisans were trained in the CIA camp. The goal was to put pressure on the PRC: America was not going to make Tibet independent. The Tibetans accepted this help not because they supported the US plans, but because no one else helped. It should not be forgotten that the CCP also came to power thanks to foreign (Soviet) assistance.
More and more refugees appeared in central Tibet. The Dalai Lama and his government found themselves in a difficult position: they sympathized with the rebels, but were forced to advise laying down their arms and returning, due to the clear superiority of the PLA. The rebels used the help of fellow countrymen in Lhasa. The Chinese authorities demanded that the Government of Tibet put down the uprising with military force. But it did not fulfill this requirement, nor could it. By the end of 1958, the rebel army of 80 thousand people. already controlled all the districts of southern Tibet and part of the eastern one. And by March 1959, its number may have reached 100-200 thousand people. (10).
“I am not afraid of death, and I was not afraid to be one of the victims of the Chinese attack.
We cannot count how many births and deaths we experience in this ocean of samsara.
Missing, because of the obscurations of the mind, this high understanding and believing in the exclusivity of death,
immature people experience tragedy when there is a need to give their lives
for the sake of the motherland is a non-Buddhist attitude. However, I understood that neither the people,
no officials can share my feelings. For them, the identity of the Dalai Lama was
the highest value. The Dalai Lama symbolized Tibet, the Tibetan way of life,
most precious to them. They were convinced that if this body ceased to exist
in the hands of the Chinese, the life of Tibet will end."
From the Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
By March 1959, up to 100,000 refugees and pilgrims had accumulated in Lhasa. A rumor has spread (probably not unfounded) that the Chinese want to detain the Dalai Lama during a theatrical performance to which he was invited to the Chinese headquarters. On March 9, a crowd began to gather around the summer palace of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama and the ministers tried to peacefully resolve the conflict, negotiated with the Chinese command and the rebels. Unsuccessfully. Those assembled on March 10 elected the Freedom Committee, which declared the 17-Point Agreement null and void. The Chinese, meanwhile, had drawn large forces to the city, including tanks and artillery. An assault was being prepared. On the night of March 17, 1959, the Dalai Lama and his entourage secretly left Lhasa and headed for India.
Meanwhile, the rebels called for a fight for freedom: "Since the Communist Party wants to destroy our religion and nation, all the people of our snowy land who eat tsampa and recite mani (i.e. Tibetans - author) should unite, take up arms and fight for independence" (13). They mobilized men aged 18–60. On the night of March 19, the rebels attacked the headquarters and other Chinese organs. And on the night of March 20, the PLA began shelling the capital. By March 22, the Chinese had taken control of all of Lhasa. 10-15 thousand Tibetans died. On March 28, an order was issued by the State Council of the People's Republic of China in connection with the uprising in Tibet (14). The Tibetan government was dissolved, blamed for what happened was unreasonably blamed, and power was transferred to the Preparatory Committee for the Establishment of the TAR. The Chinese side terminated the 17-point Agreement.
Suppressing the uprising, the Chinese used different types of execution, and not only to the partisans. Tibetans were beheaded, beaten to death, limbs cut off, crucified, drowned, burned, cut into pieces, buried, hung, boiled, and so on. (five). Family members were forced to watch torture and executions, children were forced to shoot their parents. The monks were killed in special ways, before being tortured they tried to humiliate them. There were no such scales of torture and executions under the feudal system. According to a secret PLA report captured by partisans, from March to October 1959 alone, 87,000 Tibetans were killed in Lhasa and its environs (15). Another 25,000 were arrested (5). There were many times more prisoners than under feudalism. Their excess caused difficulties in maintenance (16). Still: 10–15% of the population of Tibet ended up in prisons and concentration camps (17). Most of them died of starvation and deprivation.
At the same time, the Maoists destroyed the feudal-theocratic system, religion, redistributed the land, and destroyed the very civilization of the Tibetans. The party leadership finally achieved its goal: in Tibetan society, they managed to organize a split and create a layer of activists from the darkest sections of the population. Since 1960, the shock collectivization of the peasantry began. Naturally, it led to the collapse of agriculture. In 1961–1964 Unprecedented famine gripped Tibet. But under the feudal lords, there never was a famine there. Collectivization had to be stopped.
In 2009, there was an uproar in the PRC over two antique items that were put up for auction in France (18). These items were stolen by Europeans in the 19th century. from a palace in Beijing. But what did the Maoists do in the twentieth century.
According to Chinese data, in the early 1960s. in the future TAR there were 2469 monasteries with 110 thousand monks and novices (19). All in all, there were over 6,000 monasteries in Greater Tibet. After the democratic reform, about 70 monasteries with about 7,000 monks remained. In just a few years! The destruction of religious buildings was carried out according to the following scheme (20). Special teams of Chinese mineralogists came to identify and seize precious stones. Then metallurgists came for the same purpose, then everything of value was taken out by trucks. The walls were blown up, wooden beams and supports were taken away. Clay sculptures were destroyed in the hope of finding precious stones. Hundreds of tons of valuable statues, thangka icons, metal products and other treasures were taken to China. There were whole caravans of military trucks with metal statues (21).
This looting was called the redistribution of wealth during the period of democratic reform. The most valuable items were transferred to Chinese museums, sold at international auctions, stolen by Chinese officials. Such items from time to time pop up at auctions and now. For foreigners, the authorities issue export permits (21). But most of the art was destroyed. Thangkas were burned, metal products were melted down. Only one foundry near Beijing purchased approx. 600 tons of Tibetan metal "in the form of handicrafts". And in total there were at least five such foundries ... Since then, old works of Tibetan art have been a rarity in their homeland.
“A pitiful sight must have been revealed to a group of Indian border guards who
met us at the border: eighty travelers who had passed the ordeal and
exhausted in body and soul. … None of us had any idea that information
about our escape were on the front pages of newspapers around the world, and that in distant Europe
and America, people have been waiting with interest, and, I hope, with sympathy, when
know if I have escaped."
From the Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Clinging to power, Mao Zedong launched in 1966 the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The goal was to eliminate the old party cadres, and the real content was the destruction of cultural heritage, traditions, and the creation of a generational conflict. In Tibet, this was to perpetuate Chinese domination. The army and officials were supposed to ensure the success of the Hongweipings (red guards) and zaofans (rebels). In May 1966, the first group of Red Guards was brought from Beijing to Lhasa. Began zombification of youth. The Red Guards declared war on the "four old": ideas, culture, habits and customs (10). They made a program of 20 points for the destruction of religion - they banned almost everything, even sorting out the rosary. Tibetans were forced to change their national clothes for "Mao Tse Dunovka" semi-prison style, they were forbidden to wear braids, bow, use traditional greetings, etc. In fact, everything Tibetan was to be destroyed. Educational institutions did not work: students were introduced to the "rebellion".
Gangs of Red Guards and Zaofans terrorized the population, broke into houses, broke everything that they saw as local traditions. Former aristocrats, lamas and anyone suspected of disloyalty were subjected to sessions of "tamzing" - "criticism". It consisted in the public beating of a person, accompanied by bullying. Sessions of "criticism" could be daily or more rare, on the stage or on the street. They were repeated regularly, sometimes for many months in a row. Victims often became crippled or died.
During the Cultural Revolution, almost all the remaining monasteries were destroyed. As a result, either 7 or 13 monasteries remained in Greater Tibet (23). They tried to destroy it with the hands of the locals: those who refused to participate were subjected to "criticism". Among the destroyed were the greatest shrines and monuments of world culture: the first Tibetan monastery - Samye (VII century AD), the main monasteries of Tibet confessions: Ganden (the main monastery of the Gelug school), Sakya (Sakya schools), Tsurphu (Kagyu schools), Mindroling (Nyingma schools), Menri (Bon religions), etc. The main temple of Tibet, the Jokhang, was destroyed. The shrines located there, the masterpieces of religious art, were mostly broken. A "headquarters" of the Red Guards and a pigsty were made in the temple. The shrines of local Muslims were defiled and destroyed. To our time, only half of what was destroyed in Tibet has been restored ... But modern "leftists" extol the Cultural Revolution and justify its crimes (24).
Destroying religion and culture, the "rebels" did not forget about the liquidation of the old party cadres. But they fought back: they organized their own bands of zaofan (10). Skirmishes began, turning into multi-day battles with the use of weapons. They killed thousands of people. In 1968, Beijing recognized that the events in Tibet were tantamount to a civil war. Power was handed over to the army, revolutionary committees began to be created everywhere. It was not immediately possible to take the "rebels" under control, many more people died.
And so the communists returned to their age-old dream - the collectivization of agriculture. A mass campaign to create communes unfolded in 1968-1969. (10). Everything was collectivized up to teapots, people were obliged to eat in a common dining room, etc. The main function of the communes was to serve and feed the troops. "Freed from the feudal lords" labor could last day and night. The "help" of the military in harvesting often amounted to its confiscation, and the peasants were forced to eat what the meager nature of the highlands gave - for example, wild roots. In 1968–1973 Tibet was struck by a new famine from the replacement of traditional grains with winter wheat (unsuitable under the given conditions), food requisitions for the PLA, the transfer of nomads to settled life and collectivization.
“After I left the country, about 60,000 refugees followed me into exile,
despite the difficulties that awaited them when crossing the Himalayas, and the danger of falling
into the hands of Chinese guards. Many of them left by routes much more difficult
and dangerous than mine. Among them were lamas, very famous in our country, erudite scholars,
about five thousand monks, government officials, merchants, soldiers and a great many
simple peasants, nomads and artisans. Some brought with them their families, children
others died while crossing the mountains. These refugees are now scattered throughout the settlements in India,
Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal.
From the Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Having removed the Tibetans from governing their country, the Maoists transformed it at their own discretion: they developed industry, led party building, carried out militarization, and so on. But the "liberated" people continued to fight. The Tibetans were disunited and poorly armed. And yet, until 1960, they held part of Amdo and western Tibet, then moved to central and southern. In 1962–1976 there were 44 open uprisings (7). The CIA assisted the guerrillas, but most of the groups operated independently. There was no coordination. Before the Cultural Revolution between the river. Tsangpo and the Nepalese border operated 30-40 thousand Tibetan partisans, and after collectivization the struggle intensified. Not all groups were formed and supplied from abroad. Independent detachments of thousands of people were formed. They prevented collectivization, attacked Chinese soldiers, government officials, destroyed communications, military installations, etc. More than a thousand soldiers and personnel were killed and wounded. In response, there were raids, show trials and executions. The United States stopped helping the Tibetan guerrillas after establishing ties with the PRC. Mao, who had accused the USSR of "revisionism" for improving relations with the US and easing tensions, now made contacts with the "stronghold of imperialism" himself. The guerrilla warfare in Tibet came to naught. Nothing else threatened the power of the PRC.
The period of Mao's rule is the purposeful destruction of the Tibetan religion, culture and way of life, the extermination or "re-education" of their carriers, the forced sinicization of the people. According to various estimates, from 5 to 30% of Tibetans died in Greater Tibet, and more than 100,000 became refugees. This falls under the UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide (25). This assessment was given by the Committee on the Rule of Law of the International Commission of Jurists associated with the UN (20). But it must be emphasized that the blame for these excesses cannot be placed on any people as a whole, including the Chinese. As I.V. Stalin, "Hitlers come and go, but the German people remain."
So, in the 1950s. Tibet became part of China for the first time in its history. But the question of the legality of this is not closed. The agreement on the "peaceful liberation" of Tibet was signed under the threat of force, the members of the delegation did not have the proper authority, the seals were forged, the Chinese side first violated the Agreement, and then completely tore it up. That's why Mao said: "They gave me a pretext to start a war... The more powerful the rebellion, the better" (26). Finally, the Agreement itself has not been officially ratified by the Tibetan side, and no documents replacing it have appeared. According to experts in international law, this Agreement was illegitimate from the very beginning, the military invasion of the PRC contradicted the UN Charter and a number of other international documents, and the subsequent possession of the territory did not legitimize the seizure (7). Therefore, Tibet is an occupied country.
Semyon Kitaev
Details
(1)
(2) Goldstein M.C. 2007. A history of modern Tibet. Vol. 2. The calm before the storm: 1951-1955. Berkeley-Los Angeles: Univ. of California Press.
(3) Shakabpa V.D. 2003. Tibet: A Political History. St. Petersburg: Nartang.
(4) Text
(5) Dalai Lama. 1992. Freedom in exile. St. Petersburg: Nartang; Dalai Lama. 2000. My land and my people. St. Petersburg: Nartang - Corvus.
(6) Promises and lies: "The 17-point Agreement". The full story as revealed by the Tibetans and Chinese who were involved. 2001. - Tibetan Bulletin, March–June, p.24-30.
(7) Van Walt van Praag M.C. 1987. The status of Tibet: History, rights, and prospects in international law. Boulder, Colorado; Westview Press.
(8) Promises and lies…
(9) news.xinhuanet.com ..
(10) Bogoslovsky V.A. 1978. Tibet region of the PRC (1949–1976). M.: Science.
(11) M. Parenti.
(12) blackrotbook.narod.ru.
(13)www.asiafinest.com
(14) For text, see: On the Tibetan Question. 1959. Beijing: ed. lit. to foreign lang., pp.1-3.
(15) Tibet under Communist China: 50 years. 2001. Dharamsala: Dep. inform. and international rel.
(16) www.asiafinest.com
(17) www.friends-of-tibet.org.nz.
(18) www.russian.xinhuanet.com.
(19) Kychanov E.I., Melnichenko B.N. 2005. History of Tibet from ancient times to the present day. M.: Vost. lit.
(20) .
(21) http://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/cambodia_cullumoped-04042008160706.html/tibet_smith-04042008160846.html.
.html
(23) Tsering B.K. 1985. Religion in Tibet today. – Tibetan Bulletin, v. 16, no. 1, p. 14-15.
(24) For example, rwor.org.
(25) http://www.un.org/russian/documen/convents/genocide.htm.
(26) Yun Zhang, Holliday J. 2007. Unknown Mao. M.: Tsentrpoligraf, p.481.
