SA Friends of Tibet

15 Jan 2010: BREAKING NEWS: GOOGLE TAKES ON CHINA: Google, the largest Internet search engine and arguably one the world's most influential corporations, announces that it will stop censoring search results in China! To learn more on this epic news, global analysis and background activism, read here.

UBUNTU PEACE CONFERENCE NOW BEING PLANNED DEC 2010 -SUPPORT NEEDED ASAP PLEASE VISIT

6 OCTOBER 2009: OBAMA PILLORIED OVER REFUSING TO MEET DALAI LAMA (INDIAN TIMES)
WASHINGTON: The loud sucking noise you hear? That's President Barack Obama kissing up to the Chinese..(more)

ANC latest position on Dalai Lama. International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane interview, 15 May 2009.
SA's policy on Dalai Lama

15 MAY 2009: MESSAGES OF SUPPORT ON ANC POLICY TURNAROUND ON DALAI LAMA
"We would welcome the ANC government u-turn on the Dalai Lama and we think it needs to be followed up by a Foreign Policy that puts Human Rights at the front and centre and doesn’t hand it over to the interests of the Chinese Government."
-Ryan Coetzee, DA Minister Economic Development (more views below)

14 MAY 2009: ANC RAISES PROSPECT OF DALAI LAMA VISIT TO SA
The South African Friends of Tibet extend their grateful congratulations to International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on her statement today that H.H. Dalai Lama is as welcome in South Africa as any other world citizen. The obvious next step in this process is to invite H.H. Dalai Lama to visit South Africa at his earliest convenience.....We therefore call on the ANC Leadership to issue an.. invitation in the true spirit of ubuntu to this man of peace and long-time friend of our country. (see STATEMENTS for full text below..)

15 May SUPPORT FOR ANC U-TURN ON DALAI LAMA:

"To SAFT, congratulations on your statement on the change of heart on the part of the Zuma government in regard to the Dalai Lama. Let us hope that this is the beginning of a new chapter in which much more consistent policies are going to be put into place in regard to Human rights and dignity instead of political expediency."
Cardinal Napier OFM

"We would welcome the ANC government u-turn on the Dalai Lama and we think it needs to be followed up by a Foreign Policy that puts Human Rights at the front and centre and doesn’t hand it over to the interests of the Chinese Government."
Ryan Coetzee, DA Pealiamentary Opposition Leader

"it is a sign of true statesmanship to recognise where we can change our mind and that this most recent move from the government certainly offers hope for more than just the Dalai Lama in this country. It is a perfect opportunity to rieinstate the Peace Conference with a special invitation to HH Dalai Lama to show good faith"
-Bishop Paul Verreyne, Methodist Church

" We are absolutely delighted twith the governments decision which is in keeping with an ethical policy ".......-
Prince Buthelezi, IFP

"The FW de Klerk Foundation welcomes this latest develpoment and hopes that the Dalai Lama will soon be invited to participate in the type of peace conference that was planned and prevented from happening on the 27th march"
,- Deva Steward, c/o F de Klerk

- "i am delighted at the correct decision taken by the government and believe it ts in line with South Africa's true vision and plan to uphold Human Rights everywhere"
Ela Gandhi:

"The SA Communist Party fully appreciates and accepts the decision by the South African government not to grant a visa for the Dalai Lama visit at this time" (See SAFT 13 April Response below) -SACP Official Statement

"We've had the dotcom bubble burst and the sub-prime loan bubble burst. The rumpus around the government’s refusal of a visa to the Dalai Lama should serve to burst another bubble..." (SAFT response below)
-Jeremy Cronin, deputy general secretary of the SA Communist Party

"I'vee been made to understand that government only came to know about this (Dalai Lama visit) too late, and because government has to deal with relations with other countries it had to take a specific decision."
-ANC President Jacob Zuma

"The reason why the Dalai Lama wants to be here... is to make a big global political statement about the secession of Tibet from China and he wants to make it on the free soil of South Africa...."
-Trevor Manuel, ANC Finance Minister

"I also want to say that, like you, who remembers the years of the 1980s when South Africa was so fortunate to have friends all over the world assisting our human rights struggle, that it is a matter of dismay that human rights does not seem to enter into the picture of some foreign affairs decisions that are made,"
-Kate O'Regan, Consitutional Court Judge 'Wades into debate'

"The refusal of a visa to the Dalai Lama to attend a peace conference in Johannesburg is a disgrace. Our Constitution and all human rigths are in grave danger. We call for a clear, unequivocal answer from government regarding human rights in South Africa and globally..."
-Dr JJ Gerber,General Secretary: Dutch Reformed Church

"Just the very fact that this government has refused entry to the Dalai Lama is an example of a government who is dismissive of human rights," said Hogan.I believe [the government] needs to apologise to the citizens of this country, because it is in your name that this great man who has struggled for the rights of his country...has been denied access."
-Barbara Hogan, ANC Health Minister

"COPE supports the call for a just, lasting and peaceful settlement of the Tibetan issue. COPE supports all international and diplomatic initiatives to realise these goals......"
-COPE presidential Candidate Dr Mvume Dandala"

"As a Department of Peace in government we would certainly have not stood by and let this international faux pax occur... Our country, its people and the very event that seeks to unite us as a nation and globally, FIFA Soccer World Cup 2010, may be at stake..."
-Karen Barensché, Director , South African Peace Alliance

" It is with this tradition in mind that we view the exclusion of the Dalai Lama from our shores with grave misgivings. This betrayal of a key constitutional value provides a clear window into the fragility of the democracy we are trying to sustain..."
-Prof. Loyiso Nongxa, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Wits University, 25 March 2009

Below are parties that have responded on the 15th May 2009 with SAFT congratulating and calling on the ANC government to take appropriate next steps in light of its policy turnaround on the Dalai Lama:

"We would welcome the ANC government u-turn on the Dalai Lama and we think it needs to be followed up by a Foreign Policy that puts Human Rights at the front and centre and doesn’t hand it over to the interests of the Chinese Government."
-Ryan Coetzee, DA Minister Economic Development

"it is a sign of true statesmanship to recognise where we can change our mind and that this most recent move from the government certainly offers hope for more than just the Dalai Lama in this country. It is a perfect opportunity to rieinstate the Peace Conference with a special invitation to HH Dalai Lama to show good faith"
-Bishop Paul Verreyne, Methodist Church

" We are absolutely delighted twith the governments decision which is in keeping with an ethical policy"
-Prince Buthelezi, Head of Inkatha Freedom Party

"The FW de Klerk Foundation welcomes this latest develpoment and hopes that the Dalai Lama will soon be invited to participate in the type of peace conference that was planned and prevented from happening on the 27th march"
- Deva Steward, c/o F de Klerk

- "i am delighted at the correct decision taken by the government and believe it ts in line with South Africa's true vision and plan to uphold Human Rights everywhere"
-Ela Gandhi, Grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi

"To SAFT, congratulations on your statement on the change of heart on the part of the Zuma government in regard to the Dalai Lama. Let us hope that this is the beginning of a new chapter in which much more consistent policies are going to be put into place in regard to Human rights and dignity instead of political expediency."
Cardinal Napier OFM

BREAKING NEWS: 14 MAY 2009; PRESS RELEASE; SA FRIENDS OF TIBET CONGRATULATES MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION.

The South African Friends of Tibet extend their grateful congratulations to Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on her statement today that H.H. Dalai Lama is as welcome in South Africa as any other world citizen. With regard specifically to its policies on human rights and local and international inclusivity, her statement bodes well for the new ANC Government.

While we are not opposed to mutually beneficial bilateral relations between South Africa and the People’s Republic of China, we continue to insist that the PRC respect our sovereignty and constitutional rights and pledge not to interfere in arrangements concerning visits by the H.H. Dalai Lama at any time in the future.

We emphasise the well-known fact that H.H. Dalai Lama has never abused the hospitality of any host country by raising the Tibet Issue in an inciteful manner, but has always promoted the ideals of non-violence and reasonableness in dealing with the question of Tibetan human rights under the regime of the PRC.

We believe that the outrage expressed by the majority of South Africans at the barring of H.H. Dalai Lama has been noted by government and we are encouraged by this positive response coming so soon after the appoinment of the Minister for International Relations and Cooperation.

The obvious next step in this process is to invite H.H. Dalai Lama to visit South Africa at his earliest convenience, an act that would restore public confidence in governments commitment to our democratic rights and to human rights everywhere.

We therefore call on the ANC Leadership to issue an immediate open invitation in the true spirit of ubuntu to this man of peace and long-time friend of our country.

17 APRIL 2009: South African Friends of Tibet Statement to the Conference of Regional Experts on the Human Right to Peace.

The Conference was convened on April 17 under the auspices of the Spanish Society for International Human Rights Law, the International Centre for Transitional Justice, UNESCO EXTEA, the Human Rights Office of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the SA Human Rights Commission. The South African Friends of Tibet participated in the Conference along the lines indicated by our statement below:

SA Friends of Tibet Statement follows:

Dear friends, in late March we saw H.H. Dalai Lama refused an entry visa by the South African ANC Government, under heavy pressure by the People’s Republic of China. The purpose of the Dalai Lama’s visit was to attend an important Peace Conference on invitation from his fellow South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. The terrible irony of this event is clear.

It raises important questions about the human right to peace. When an internationally honoured spokesman for peace, non-violence and justice is debarred, for merely political reasons, from attending a conference dealing with ways and means for attaining peace, we are forced to ask whether the human right to peace has been denied to South Africans by the nature of the relationship between our government and that of the PRC. In fact, China’s stated intention to isolate the Dalai Lama worldwide, brings into question whether one nation, however powerful and influential, may, in terms of existing international law and various conventions governing human rights, assume to itself the right make this demand on the people of the world. To put the matter another way: does the PRC enjoy the right to coerce the people of the world into agreeing with its propagandised misinterpretation of the meaning and value for world peace embodied in H.H. Dalai Lama. And when governments accede to this demand (for whatever political and economic reasons), are they not violating a number of fundamental rights of the people they govern?

These are questions that we intend to test in the SA Constitutional Court. In doing so we hope to set a precedent for other peoples in the world who may from time to time be confronted with the same situation.

Besides this action, we are working to convene a Restitutive Peace Conference, to which a high-level Tibetan representative shall be invited. Nothing less than the successful convening of this conference will make adequate restoration for the ongoing violation of the constitutional rights of all South Africans.

Peace without justice is a contradiction in terms. Our hope is to see justice prevail in this matter, and to alleviate by an act of visible justice the pervasive sense of anxiety that has entered our society as a result of this manifestly unjust demand made on our government and people by the Government of the PRC.

Your guidance and support in these endeavours will be highly appreciated.

Thank you.

Pointers for Discussion:

-         The Tibetan human rights struggle is of universal importance in a pre-eminent way because
-         It is just
-         It is based on the need for real peace inTibetan society
-         It is, and has been for 60 years, the only consistently non-violent liberation struggle in the world
-         Instead of ignoring it because it does not impose on the world by violent means, it should be held up as a unique example of fighting ongoing injustice by unswervingly peaceful means
-         A study of the non-violent methodology of the Tibetan human rights struggle provides lessons of global importance
-         These are lessons that involve the key factors in establishing peaceful societies: a strictly non-violent approach, an insistence on human rights, an untiring search for justice, a democratic vision, a concern for cultural integrity, a refusal to accept compromises that endanger future prospects of peace, willingness to engage in sincere negotiations.
-         By silencing H.H. Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Exile Administration, and by forcing on the world their own one-sided interpretation of this struggle for a decent human existence, the PRC should be identified as a major obstacle to the development of an international order in which the human right to peace can be established and sustained

The SACP fully appreciates and accepts the decision by the South African government not to grant a visa for the Dalai Lama visit at this time. We stand by our government on this matter. It is a well known fact that the month of March is a particularly sensitive period as it is associated with the Dalai Lama's putsch for cession of Tibet from China. This is fact is generally accepted and appreciated in diplomatic circles including in all major Western Countries. These countries themselves would have been extremely cautious to allow a visit by the Dalai Lama to their own capitals in this period.

SAFT Responses: (1.) If it is a ‘well-known fact that the month of March is a particularly sensitive period etc’, why were our govt websites advertising the Peace Conference, with the Dalai Lama as the chief guest, on their embassy websites, in glowing terms, from early February? (2.) ‘…the Dalai Lama’s Putsch for cession etc’; we strongly object to the nazification of the Dalai Lama implied in this choice of terms. Furthermore, the SACP is in error in imputing that the Dalai Lama was reponsible for the Lhasa uprising. Historical facts show that the Tibetan people, fearing an assassination attempt on the Dalai Lama, began to surround his summer residence in order to protect him from the Chinese military who had invited him to a ‘dance’ with the instruction to ‘come unattended.’ The Dalai Lama was then 23 years old. (3.) ‘…This fact is generally accepted etc’; sheer nonsense. The generally accepted facts are those put forth in the ICJ report of 1997 q.v. (4.) ‘…These countries would have been extremely cautious etc’; this caution was completely absent in India, for example, where, during March 2009, the Dalai Lama attended a very visible ‘Thank you, India’ event. The fact is that a directive from Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jienchi went out on March 4, 2009, demanding that China’s trading partners no longer host the Dalai Lama AT ANY TIME. Our govt simply acceded to that demand on its own sovereign policy.

It is therefore hypocritical for anyone including western leaders to condemn South Africa's stance during this period.

SAFT Response: (1.)It is unaccaptable that the govt of any sovereign nation should take a stance, during any period, that represents an encroachment by a foreign power on its sovereignty. (2.) We await proof that this sacrifice of South African sovereignty is only for ‘this period.’

The SACP has noted some veiled attempts, exploiting the fact that South Africa is in an election period, to politicize the South African government stance on the issue of the Dalai Lama and compel the use of the 2010 World Cup Peace Conference to opportunistically support an anti-Chinese Tibetan separatist agenda.

SAFT Response: (1.) ‘…The SACP has noted some veiled attempts…to politicize the South African govt stance…’; Since the stance is itself a political stance, why should there be ‘veiled attempts’ to politicize it? To argue against a political stance is a constitutional right afforded to all South Africans, and cannot absurdly represent ‘attempts to politicize’ an inherently political decision. (2.) ‘…compel the use of the 2010 World Cup Peace Conference etc’; In fact, the South African govt compelled the use of the Peace Conference to support its decision to debar the Dalai Lama, on the basis that his presence would distract attention from the 2010 event. This initial deception as to its true reasons brought 2010 into the frame of the whole debacle. SAFT immdiately issued a statement appealing to govt not to allow 2010 to become the focal point of its betrayal of the Dalai Lama, but to state its true reasons. In due course, some days later, govt admitted that it had acted under heavy pressure from the Chinese. (3.) ‘…to opportunistically support an anti-Chinese Tibetan separatist agenda.’; Let us be clear on this: the Dalai Lama has never supported any anti-Chinese agenda, nor does his call for Tibetan autonomy within a Greater China represent a separatist agenda. In fact, the autonomy envisaged by the Dalai Lama for the Tibetan people is in complete accord with the principles of autonomy promised to the Tibetans by the Chinese at the time of the brutal PLA ‘peaceful liberation’ of Tibet during 1948-49. Documentary proof of both the autonomy promised by China (and never subsequently given to the Tibetan people) and the Dalai Lama’s proposals for autonomy reflect the similarity, and are available to any one wishing to inform themselves adequately on this matter. [Curiously enough, in the article preceding this statement (Debunking the Dalai Lama, by Jeremy Cronin), the SACP seems to berate the Dalai Lama for failing to assert a claim for Tibetan independence from China. (Umsebenzi Online, Volume 8, No.6, April 1, 2009) ]

We are opposed to this political sleight of hand to pressure our government into active interference in China's internal affairs and polarize millions of 2010 World Cup supporters along political lines, majority of whom, in more than 100 nations, support China's sovereignty over Tibet. The whole scheme smacks of hypocrisy and must be denounced.

SAFT Response (1.) ‘…sleight of hand to pressure our govt into active interference in China’s internal affairs..’; Hosting the Dalai Lama is not an act of interference in China’s internal affairs. All free peoples in free societies should enjoy the democratic right to hear both sides of any political or human rights debate. No one is compelled to accept the Dalai Lama’s view, but all have the right to hear it expressed. This right has been taken from the South African people by our govt’s succumbing to Chinese curtailment of our democratic principles. It is, in fact, a case of China interfering in our internal affairs. (2.) ‘…majority of whom…support China’s sovereignty over Tibet…’; Besides being an untested assumption, this statement again implies that the Dalai Lama does not accept Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. The truth is that the Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated his acceptance of that basic principle, together with the principle of Tibetan autonomy within a Greater China. What is to be denounced as hypocrisy here is the ‘whole scheme’ of Han Chinese chauvinism which has failed to honour its own undertakings to the Tibetan people, and continues to rule Tibet along imperialist line.

We congratulate our government's vigilance and asserting the full responsibility to articulate an independent and sovereign position on foreign policy matters including reaffirming its complete support of the One-China-two systems policy.

SAFT Response: (1.) A vigilance that took several days to admit its kow-towing to Chinese intervention in its sovereignty, rather than speaking out honestly from the outset. (2.) The One China Two Systems Policy refers to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. It has never had anything to do with the Tibet Issue. It has subsequently become linked to the Tibet Issue by a confusion of ideas, and is now used as a slogan to justify our betrayal of the Dalai Lama’s friendship. Taking refuge behind the ‘One China Policy’ either displays ignorance of that policy’s terms, or else is a means of covering over the embarrassment of being coerced to comply with a new Chinese demand not incorporated into any previously agreed protocols.

We reiterate our principled support of and the need for the 2010 World Cup Peace Conference to proceed as planned, without succumbing to dangerous political experiments, tied to the interests of imperialism and its aggression, especially toward developing countries.

SAFT Response: (1.)The Peace Conference could not proceed as planned because China interfered in those plans. A major part of the plan was to host the Dalai Lama, one of the world’s most eminent spokesmen for peace and universal responsibility, together with other Nobel Laureates. The ‘dangerous political experiment’ was carried out by the Chinese, in their direct and unacceptable intervention into South African sovereignty, democratic principles and constitutional rights. (2.) ‘…tied to the interests of imperialism…’; If this stock slogan is being applied to the Dalai Lama and his efforts on behalf of the human rights of the Tibetan people, it is being misapplied to a ridiculous degree. If it is being applied to the ‘imperialist aggression’ evident in China’s treatment of South African sovereignty and democratic freedoms, then we are certainly in agreement that it is a ‘dangerous political experiment…especially toward developing countries.’

TO: ALL INTERESTED PARTIES.

Dear Friends,

In the light of the recent denial of a visa to H.H. Dalai Lama by the SA government, and the internal and international consequences of our government’s implied dismissal of the dire human rights situation in Tibet, the trampling on an important peace initiative and the subsequent lost opportunity to celebrate the sense of Universal Responsibility, as well as the consequences of this action with regard to the constitutional rights of all South Africans, we appeal to all interested parties to urgently convene a Restitutive Peace Conference.

The Johannesburg Peace Conference having collapsed as a result of peremptory government intervention (without due consultation and, as we now know, under strong pressure from the People’s Republic of China), we strongly urge that a Restitutive Peace Conference should be convened. The envisaged conference would accomplish the following aims:

It would make restitution to the people of South Africa for the arbitrary cancellation of the Constitution Hill Peace Conference to which, among other eminent spokespersons for peace, H.H. Dalai Lama was invited, and it would act to counter the anxieties which many South Africans are experiencing in this period of peremptory govt action under the heavy influence of the People’s Republic of China.
By inviting a high-level exiled Tibetan representative, it would make restitution for the betrayal of the friendship which H.H. Dalai Lama has repeatedly demonstrated to the people of South africa. If we were not entirely convinced of our govt’s intransigence in this matter, we would suggest that H.H. Dalai Lama should be invited, but we believe that option no longer to be viable.
By inviting other eminent spokespersons for peace from around the world, it would demonstrate the unwillingness of the South African people to follow our govt in its headlong rush into a new period of interntational suspicion, condemnation and isolation.
By offering as its chief theme the human duty of Universal Responsibility it would call on all South Africans not to abandon the many victims of human rights violations everywhere in the world, and especially in Zimbabwe, Darfur, Burma and Tibet, the countries whose people have been singled out by our govt’s association with China for betrayal as to their right to a decent human existence.

The cancellation of the Johannesburg Peace Conference in the wake of peremptory government rejection of H.H. Dalai Lama has brought a new and clear division between South Africans, and has roused many anxieties with regard to our sense of democratic freedoms. It has harshly disregarded the yearning for peace and righteousness in our society experienced by South Africans of good will. The rejection of H.H. Dalai Lama by the SA government has roused many grave anxieties with regard to the essential morality of our nation.

A Restitutive Peace Conference, committed to resisting unrighteousness and healing these anxieties through a skilful process of reconciliation, and inspired by the humane and globally relevant African philosophy of Ubuntu, would, in our view, restore our faith in ourselves as a nation committed to personal and social harmony, and pledged by the lessons of our own history to strong awareness of and resistance to human rights violations everywhere.

Our intention is to convene a preliminary meeting as soon as possible, with the hope of convening the Peace Conference itself before the end of 2009. The preliminary meeting, to be held over a period of 3 days, would deal with:

1.The drawing up of a Charter of Universal Responsibility and Peace, to be signed by those present.
2.The Restitutive Peace Conference agenda.
3.The list of invitees.
4.Proposals for a venue.
5.Fixing a budget
6.Proposals for funding.
7.Date and duration of the Conference.
8.Other relevant questions.

The Conference we are proposing need not be a very large, loud and prestigious event. It should reflect a sense of public humility and earnestness. At best it should be intimate enough to allow personal interaction of a reconciliatory nature, while being expansive enough to allow broad representation. It should result in a Peace Coalition of as many parties as wish to partake in the agenda. It should address the question of universal responsibility and human rights from both a religious and secular point of view. It should have some international representation. It should be visible enough to attract public notice.

We ask for your urgent attention to this appeal.

With thanks,
Ian Macfarlane, Donovan Roebert
And members of the South African Friends of Tibet.

We, the South African Friends of Tibet, have consistently argued that an understanding of China's human rights crimes in Tibet is essential to an understanding of China's activities worldwide. Knowing what happened in Tibet, and what continues to happen in Tibet today, helps us to know what the People's Republic of China is by seeing behind the mask of Chinese propaganda.

Right now we are seeing how Chinese relationships with states that see themselves as weaker than China, become invasive. All over Africa we see the invasive and exploitative nature of Chinese activities. In South Africa in recent days we have seen the tyranny of Chinese policies foisted onto our own government, and we have seen our government willingly succumbing.

One of China's strategies in Africa is to create legitimate-looking puppet governments, which will uphold Chinese interests at the expense of their own people. That trend has just been introduced into South Africa. To see it operating in the matter of the Dalai lama visa has been a shock to all South Africans. In one move, we have seen elements of our sovereignty and constitutional freedoms invaded by Chinese intervention. And we are seeing our goverment being a willing partner to this invasion of our international and national rights.

And we need to ask: Is South Africa slowly and slyly being made into a Chinese puppet-state, and is the Dalai Lama visa denial the first major act of surrender by our government.We would answer that it is. And this should be a matter of the most grave concern to all South Africans...
Long live Dalai Lama, Viva Dalai Lama, Viva Our democracy VIva, VIva Ubuntu Viva,
This tibetan singing bowl that was given last December on a trip to Dharamsala by Tashi, a 25 year Tibetan who was born in a freezing Himalayan cave as his parents fled chinese oppression:........iets hear its simple song of freedom.
Thank you/Enkos

URGENT APPLICATION TO GRANT THE DALAI LAMA A VISA TURNED DOWN BY THE CAPE HIGH COURT.

Cape High Court judge Rosheni Allie has dismissed Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s urgent application to grant the Dalai Lama a visa. In the judge’s view, counsel for the applicant failed to show either that there was an urgent need for the Dalai Lama to visit South Africa or that the restriction of constitutional freedoms manifest in the visa denial is a matter requiring urgent redress.

We disagree, and regard this ruling as a further sign of judicial apathy in the face of govt encroachment on our hard-won democratic liberties. The ruling, based narrowly on court technicalities, completely fails to take into account the outrage felt by the majority of the South African people and the numerous condemnations of the visa denial by eminent South African individuals and institutions concerned with social justice, human rights and the protection of our constitution. Surely the urgency of public sentiment over these issues should count for something.

Other approaches, including taking this matter to the Constitutional Court, are now being considered. SAFT will continue to act as friends of the court, providing insights into the substance of the case that might otherwise not be taken into account.

The Minister of Home Affairs, reflecting an ongoing govt trend in dealing with the visa denial, began her arguments by lying to the court, claiming that the Dalai Lama had not applied for a visa.

Through intense networking with the Office of Tibet and the Office of H.H. Dalai Lama in New Delhi, SA Friends of Tibet was able to obtain, by 5.30 am on Thursday morning, proof that the Office of H.H. Dalai Lama had several times approached the SA High Commissioner in New Delhi to submit the visa application. On the date and time agreed for submitting the visa, High Commissioner Moloi refused to accept the visa application forms for the Dalai Lama and his entourage. A copy of the Dalai Lama’s visa application is in our possession, together with signed affidavits. We consider that the High Commissioner’s refusal to accept the visa applications for due processing was an unlawful act, steeped in the most immoral and brazen kind of political cunning.

We urge the South African people to consider the consequences of standing idly by while the govt continues to lie to us and the court in this matter.

In her statement to the press, the Home Affairs minister insisted that ‘the issue of a visa is a privilege, not a right.’ We are forced to conclude that it is a privilege over which China has the final say in this country.

We are indeed in deep trouble.

Thank you Social Justice Alliance, for your conscious work for human rights in SA and for offering this platform for us to share our latest statement. The SA Friends of Tibet (SAFT) are currently engaged in a legal action beginning today arising from the denial of a visa to the Dalai Lama.

We believe that we have entered this process on behalf of the majority of South Africans, who would wish the court to be as fully informed as possible in drawing its conclusions. Our role as a Support Group concerned with the dire human rights violations occurring in Tibet demands that we insist on the right to inform the public at large. We ask ourselves: if the Dalai Lama is kept silent by the expedient of barring him from South Africa, how should we view ourselves as citizens dedicated to speaking up on behalf of the Tibetan people? What if the Chinese demand that we and other Tibet support groups should be silenced in our own country as implied in the Pretoria Agreement of 2005, in order to keep good relations between our govt and its Chinese friends?

Fundamental freedoms, guaranteed by our constitution, are being tampered with by a foreign power whose 60 year-long role in Tibet does not encourage us to view it as a friend with benign intentions. Friends do not dictate to friends.Or, if realpolitik means that nations put interest before friendship; how is it in the interests of the South African people to exchange their democratic freedoms for the sake of a pattern of Chinese investment that is frequently being described in terms of a re-colonization of Africa?

In barring the Dalai Lama from our shores we have made a statement about our fundamental disregard for human rights in parts of the world that seem not to concern us directly. But human rights everywhere in the world do and should concern us because we are part of the world. Our own history should teach us that lesson, the ubuntu lesson of interconnectedness that is often paid lip service to.

For us the barring of the Dalai Lama should stand as a symbol for the dangerous era we are now entering in South Africa; an era in which many of the grave mistakes of the past might be repeated. Welcoming the Dalai Lama, who has visited us three times in the last decade, back into our country, would symbolize our collective return to the sanity which keeps a just balance between gain and righteousness.

Re: Court Case #6445-09: In the matter of the Dalai Lama Visa

The South African Friends of Tibet are playing an important and positive role in the Dalai Lama Visa court action initiated by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader of the IFP. SAFT will appear as Friends of the Court, providing information on various aspects of the IFP application, specifically with regard to the issue of Tibet, the status and person of the Dalai Lama, and matters relating to curtailment of constitutional freedoms.

SAFT, who were the first to break the news of the visa denial, have, through their networks, been able to supply crucial evidence for the hearing scheduled for 12 noon, Thursday April 2.

We continue to hope, on grounds of our belief in the ultimate triumph of right over might, that the matter will be resolved in favour of the applicant. Such an outcome would restore our faith in ourselves as a society committed to human rights values everywhere, and enable the people of South Africa, the vast majority of whom have responded with dismay at the denial of the visa, once again to welcome H.H. Dalai Lama into our society to spread his message of peace, righteousness and reconciliation.

The Committee and Friends of the South African Friends of Tibet.

Jeremy Cronin’s attempt at ‘debunking the Dalai Lama’ in his Article of 30 March makes use of some of the tools of classic Chinese propaganda. For one thing, his scant and skewed relation of the historical facts will not stand up under scrutiny. Of particular note is his assertion that the Dalai Lama fled Tibet before the brutally suppressed Tibetan Uprising of March 10. In fact, the Dalai Lama left Tibet on the night of 17 March, after thousands of Tibetans had surrounded his summer residence to protect him from a Chinese assassination plot. By this time Chinese artillery bombardment was being directed at the residence.

Nor did the Dalai Lama make any decisions without consultation. Throughout this period the Kashag (a collective of regional representation) was consulted. The decision to abandon any attempt at a struggle for independence was forced on the Kashag by two overriding conditions: the Tibetans had no military to speak of, and the western governments to which the Tibetans had appealed for help failed to provide any. When CIA assistance was finally given in early 1960, its aim was to irritate China rather than to effect Tibetan independence. In the interim, the Dalai Lama had openly announced a policy of non-violent resistance, to which the Tibetan Govt in Exile has steadfastly adhered through 60 years of Chinese brutalization of the Tibetan people. For this last fact alone, the Dalai Lama has proven adequately deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Chinese-generated propagandistic myth that the Dalai Lama has striven to return Tibet to its pre-invasion socio-political system of hieratic rule, a falsehood that both Cronin and Trevor Manuel have repeated in the last week, is easily exposed. Anyone can access the website of the Tibetan Govt in Exile to study their proposals for democratic governance in an autonomous Tibet within a Greater China. The majority of Tibetans are, moreover, in agreement with these proposals for genuine autonomy, recognizing the hopelessness of a quest for outright independence in the face of Chinese military and economic power and international apathy.

A number of further misrepresentations occur in Cronin’s article. The historical facts can be found in such authoritative documents as those issued by the International Commission of Jurists and the Conference of International Lawyers on Issues Concerning Tibetan Self-Determination.

Any collection of the Dalai Lama’s speeches, articles and interviews would show his unbroken record of adherence to the principles of non-violence, reconciliation and sincerity in his efforts to achieve a just and practicable resolution to the dire situation of the Tibetan people under Chinese domination.

Cronin’s reference to ‘serious unresolved cultural and developmental challenges in Tibet’ begs to be read as a conscious downplaying of the real horrors of the ongoing human rights violations perpetrated on the Tibetan people by their Chinese oppressors. Cronin is mouthing the Chinese version exclusively; one may wonder to what end. In the period March 2008 to date, more than 6000 Tibetans have been arrested for political reasons, over 200 have been killed. Access to Tibet is denied to all Human Rights NGO’s and other impartial parties wishing to ascertain the facts.

What seems to be emerging from the ANC and SACP side is an effort to assist their Chinese friends by all and any means to maintain silence in this country over the real situation obtaining in Tibet. Clearly, efforts at ‘de-bunking’ the Dalai Lama would help to serve that purpose. In the tradition of all ideological propaganda, such de-bunking will not scruple to incorporate any and all falsehoods and distortions.

We are sorry to see representatives of our nation descending even to these means for justifying the governments’ outrageous and servile decision to ban the Dalai Lama from our shores.
The Committee and Members of the South African Friends of Tibet.

29 MARCH 2009: SA FRIENDS OF TIBET RESPONSE TO THE ‘TIMES’ ARTICLE: ‘FOREIGN MINISTER SLAMS DALAI FANS.’

1. We do not agree with the Foreign Minister that foreign policy is the exclusive province of govt in cases, such as the case of the Dalai Lama, where policy is formulated under coercion from the PRC or any other foreign power, to the extent that our constitutional and democratic rights are placed in jeopardy.
2. In such cases it is proper that a Constitutional Court judge should comment on the dangers of the situation, and we commend Judge Kate O’Regan for doing so. We are disappointed that other judges have not followed her example.
3. The minister has stated that it is in the national interest to accept the Chinese-dictated ‘One China Policy’ without explaining the implications of that policy with regard to the human rights violations perpetrated on some 6 million Tibetans living under Chinese domination.
4. In effect, what is being foisted by the Chinese on SA foreign policy is the demand that the dire situation in Tibet be ignored by our govt.
5. This demand is in contravention to the Preamble of our national Constitution, and is offensive to the human rights sensibilities of the majority of South Africans in whose struggle for liberation and reconciliation the Tibet situation is clearly mirrored.
6. We expect of our govt that it at least understand the full implications of the ‘One China’ policy with regard to Tibetan human rights and take the matter up with the Chinese, rather than simply agreeing to accept and foster Chinese propaganda (as Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has done) about the current situation in Tibet.
7. While we agree with the Foreign Minister’s argument that human rights include the rights of South Africans to employment and shelter, we are not at all sure that economic participation with China will provide these. Many sectors of our national industry and aspects of national commerce have suffered under excessive importation of cheap Chinese goods and services. Our import-export trade with China reflects a disturbing imbalance. Chinese resource exploitation in and export of Chinese labour to several African countries are worrisome to many analysts. Our govt would do well to study impartially the post-invasion history of Tibet to discern there the pattern of exploitation which is a central feature of Chinese dealings with Africa as a whole.
8. We are concerned about the rights and freedoms of South African parties who, like ourselves, disagree with the ‘One China Policy’, and are actively engaged in supporting the Tibetan people existing under Chinese domination. How will the Chinese-dictated SA Govt policy affect us and our work?
9. We have repeatedly been assured by govt that the Dalai Lama will be welcome in South Africa at a future date. We seek clarification as to when the ban on the Dalai Lama’s visits will be lifted, and how future visits by the Dalai Lama will be affected by the ‘One China Policy’ embraced by our govt.
10. We must point out that the statement in the above article to the effect that French President Sarkozy was forced to apologise to China for meeting with the Dalai Lama is false. Mr Sarkozy apologised for injuries caused to a Chinese athlete during pro-Tibet protests in France. No apology has been made for the Dalai Lama meeting.

27 MARCH 2009; SA FRIENDS OF TIBET: RESPONSE TO STATEMENTS BY ANC PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA ON THE DENIAL OF A VISA TO H.H. DALAI LAMA.

We express our amazement at ANC President Zuma’s statement that government should have consulted with all parties but was informed too late of the proposed visit by the Dalai Lama. The fact is that advertisements, speaking in glowing terms of the Peace Conference to be attended by the Dalai Lama, have been hosted on govermentt websites since February 26, and can still be found at the time of this writing.

link: PROOF OF PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF ANC REGARDING DALAI LAMA VISIT

The letter from the Dalai Lama to the SA Nobel Laureates, explaining that the issue of the visa had been ‘postponed’, was sent from the Office of the Dalai Lama on March 16. We would therefore have to conclude that, throughout the period Feb.26 to March 16, the government was unaware of what it was hosting on its own embassy websites.

Our feeling, in the light of what has emerged since, is that the party which goverment actually failed to consult was the People’s Republic of China, and that the Chinese were in the end forced to do the consulting. The result is the unfortunate situation we are now witnessing, in which a staunch defender of South African liberation and reconciliation has been rejected, together with the most important factor in the whole debacle: the continuimg dire human rights violations affecting some 6 million Tibetans in their occupied homeland.

The Committee and Members of the South African Friends of Tibet.

24 MARCH 2009/ AFTERNOON: STATEMENT BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN FRIENDS OF TIBET ON THE SA GOVERNMENT’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT H.H. DALAI LAMA WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ENTRY INTO SOUTH AFRICA UNTIL AFTER THE 2010 WORLD CUP EVENT.

Having been apprised of the SA government’s decision not to allow H.H. Dalai Lama to visit South Africa until after the 2010 World Cup, the South African Friends of Tibet notes the following:

We appeal to the South African government to recognize that, in barring H.H. Dalai Lama from visiting South Africa in a manner which directly associates this globally unpopular action with the 2010 World Cup, a vast opportunity for using the World Cup as a stage for international Tibet support, including worldwide boycotts and other forms of protest is unnecessarily created.
We, as a South African Tibet support group, have assiduously avoided any reference to using the FIFA World Cup as a platform for Tibet-related support and demonstrations, and would prefer that these issues be kept separate. We do not want to see the World Cup hosted by South Africa compromised by human rights issues, as happened with the Beijing Olympics. In this regard we have already rejected two proposals to align ourselves with a campaign of this nature.
We therefore appeal to government to modify its stance, and to issue an open ubuntu invitation to H.H. Dalai Lama to visit this country at his earliest convenience.
We remind government of the strong international support for Tibet and the person of H.H. Dalai Lama, a support base which includes numbers of effective Tibet Support Groups, as well as other powerful human rights NGO’s concerned from time to time with the Tibet Issue.
We have no doubt that creating any connection between the 2010 World Cup event and an adverse stance by the SA Government towards H.H. Dalai Lama will result in demonstrations, boycotts and other negative publicity for the 2010 event from numberless international lobbyists.
As we are extremely reluctant to see this premier soccer event becoming the negative focal point of Tibet-related support worldwide, we feel duty-bound to issue this timely statement

The Committee and Members of the South African Friends of Tibet.

24 MARCH: SAFT STATEMENT

The South African Friends of Tibet wishes to congratulate the PSL on its appropriate decision to call off the Johannesburg Peace Conference from which H.H. Dalai Lama was debarred by peremptory government intervention.
We thank all those who have supported our call to postpone the conference. All statements of support, including from COPE, DA, ID, IFP , Catholic, Methodist, NGO’s and others can be viewed on our website; www.saft.org.za
Having received word from the Office of the President that H.H. Dalai Lama would be allowed to visit South Africa at a future date, we are now seeking clarity as to when an invitation will be extended. We hope that the Peace Conference may be re-convened at that time.
We call on the South African government to confirm its supp

6 OCTOBER 2009: OBAMA PILLORIED OVER REFUSING TO MEET DALAI LAMA (INDIAN TIMES)
WASHINGTON: The loud sucking noise you hear? That's President Barack Obama kissing up to the Chinese..(more)

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"To meet the challenge of the next century, human beings will have to develop
a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not
just for his or her own self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind"

6 OCTOBER 2009: OBAMA PILLORIED OVER REFUSING TO MEET DALAI LAMA (INDIAN TIMES) WASHINGTON: The loud sucking noise you hear? That's President Barack Obama kissing up to the Chinese..(more)

Please fill in your email address and we will send you details of news and events for the Tibetan cause

"To meet the challenge of the next century, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for his or her own self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind"

6 OCTOBER 2009: OBAMA PILLORIED OVER REFUSING TO MEET DALAI LAMA (INDIAN TIMES)
WASHINGTON: The loud sucking noise you hear? That's President Barack Obama kissing up to the Chinese..(more)

"To meet the challenge of the next century, human beings will have to develop
a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not
just for his or her own self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind"