60 years of Chinese rule

Tibetans living in exile call it a truce by force. China, on the other hand, marked the day with a flag-raising ceremony at the Potala Palace Square in Lhasa and claimed their rule emancipated more than one million slaves promoting all-round development in Tibet.

On May 23, 1951, the 14th Dalai Lama signed a seventeen point agreement which accepted Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. For its part, China agreed not to alter the existing political system. But in 1959, a revolt erupted in Tibet's capital Lhasa. The Dalai Lama and 80,000 Tibetans had to flee Tibet.

Tsering Tsomo from the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains his view: "For the last 60 years what it (China) has been doing is violating all the terms that have been enshrined in the agreement. What they have been doing so far is to celebrate a farce actually. So, we are here to say that this is not a celebration or liberation but an occupation of a people and a nation."

Time of change

The 60th anniversary of the agreement comes at the end of a turbulent time for Tibet. In March this year, Chinese authorities closed Tibet to foreign visitors. The ban came into effect around the March 10 anniversary and the March 14 anniversary of anti-government protests in Lhasa in 2008.

Last month, Tibetans-in-exile elected Lobsang Sangay as their prime minister. It was the first election since the Dalai Lama's announcement he would step down as Tibet's political leader.

Tenzin Lekshay of the India-Tibet coordination office says there is a chance that the Tibetan issue will be resolved in the future if the Chinese government demonstrates political will. "Both the Tibetan government in exile and the Chinese government have to be serious about this issue. (But) As of now, the Chinese government is not ready for that. They are lacking the political will."

Elements of autonomy

The agreement granted Tibetans elements of autonomy that were subsequently repealed by the Chinese, much of which the Dalai Lama is seeking to negotiate today. These include decision-making by the local government without compulsion by central authorities, and respect for religious freedom and the Tibetan language in education.

Dalip Mehta, a former ambassador to Bhutan and the Central Asian Republics, says the 17-point agreement could be beneficial for the Tibetans because it lays down certain clauses "which are in fact quite favourable for the Tibetans." He says "It assures them of regional autonomy and the preservation of their culture, religious beliefs, customs and habits. So from that point of view it is something beneficial for the Tibetans and also in a sense it is similar to what the Dalai Lama, His Holiness, has been asking."

Tibetans say the Dalai Lama made efforts to uphold the Agreement despite the fact that Tibetans were coerced to sign it. The Chinese government, they allege, violated it by using brute force to bring about the systematic eradication of every sign of the Tibetan people’s identity.

India is home to at least 100,000 Tibetan exiles, many of whom live in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, where the Dalai Lama and Tibet's government-in-exile are based.

Author: Murali Krishnan
Editor: Sarah Berning