By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, July 16: The 7th International Rangzen (Independence) Conference, dedicated to the cause of Tibetan independence, was held from July 13-15 in Toronto, Canada, garnering over 250 delegates from Canada, the US, Australia, Europe, and India.
The conference was honoured by the presence of Bradd Redekopp, a Canadian Member of Parliament, who served as the chief guest. Other distinguished attendees included members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Geshe Monlam Tharchin, Geshe Lharampa Gowo Lobsang Phende, Tenpa Yarphel, Tenzin Jigdal, Juchen Kunchok Chodon, Phurba Dorje Gyalthong, and Lhagyari Namgyal Dolkar. Additionally, the event featured special guests such as Tibetan writers, artists, and researchers besides other members of the public.
The conference organisers passed four resolutions reaffirming their stance. They reiterated their belief to never trust the Chinese government due to the ongoing repression, torture and murder of the Tibetan people. They condemned the recent forced closure of a highly successful Tibetan school in Golog, expressing solidarity with its students and teachers. They expressed deep gratitude to the Court of Citizens of the World for issuing an arrest warrant against Xi Jinping for crimes against humanity in Tibet. They also voiced concerns over “selective and biased reporting by Tibetan mainstream media,” urging these outlets to “prioritise fair and objective reporting.”
In his speech, Geshe Monlam Tharchin emphasised, “When advocating for people’s cause, we must prioritise on their capabilities. While many countries offer support and enact legislation in our favour, they often prioritise their national interests and consider all circumstances first. Although we should be grateful for their support, it is essential to recognise and leverage our own strengths.”
“We have received support and condolences, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and had the opportunity to propose the Five-Point Peace Plan in Congress. However, we must carefully consider whether the current legislation genuinely benefits us. Various individuals and organisations have actively lobbied for the bill’s passage, so they must reflect on whether the law is truly intended to benefit Tibetans or if it is using Tibet’s issue on an international platform,” he further emphasised.
During the question and answer session with the public, Tibetan filmmaker and activist Shenpenn Khymsar stated, “Rangzen (Independence) is not a policy but our birth right. When we speak of Rangzen, we must be clear about from whom we seek it—whether it is from those who bully us, torture us, killed our parents, or stole our land. The moment we speak of Rangzen, we should automatically think of China. However, when we speak of Rangzen, we often overlook China, leading to internal disputes within the community. Ideally, China should be the focus of our pursuit of Rangzen, but instead, Umaylam (Middle Way Approach) enters the discussion, which is unnecessary.”
“We Tibetans should prepare to counter China not just by vocalising our demands or organising protests, but by understanding the political landscape within China and its relations with other countries. Personally, I believe it is not our role to host debates between supporters of Rangzen and Umaylam. In parliamentary sessions, I hope to see discussions on how to resolve the Tibet conflict, counter China’s narrative, and unite Tibetans spread across the globe. I do not wish to hear debates on Umaylam, Rangzen, Sikyong Penpa Tsering, and Sisur Lobsang Sangay,” he further remarked.
The inaugural Rangzen Conference took place in Dharamsala on June 27, 2012. Subsequent editions were held in New Delhi (2015), New York (2016), and Paris (2017). The fifth conference returned to Dharamsala in 2018, where participants were honoured with an audience by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The sixth conference convened in New Delhi in 2023. During the seventh International Rangzen Conference in Toronto, Canada, it was decided that the eighth International Rangzen Conference would be held in Australia in 2025.
One Response
The father of Tibetan independence is HH 13th The Dalai Lama Thubtan Gyatso. Needless to say that Tibet has always been an independent country ruled by Tibetans themselves since the inception of the Tibetan nation in 127 AD but owing Manchu machinations, TIBET REASSERTED ITS INDEPENDENCE DURING HH THE 13th DALAI LAMA! Tibet was invaded by the Mongols, Manchus and Gurkhas of Nepal at different times of its history, but none of them were able to occupy and rule Tibet! In fact Tibet fended off all it’s invaders remarkably well. The country lacked modern weapons but not courage and determination to defend itself. Tibetans are proud of our emperors who carved out a vast empire that spanned parts of China, India and Nepal. It is therefore only fitting that most Tibetans want independence despite many years of suppressing Tibetan independence movement by the highest authority of the Exile Government better known as CTA. The older generation beginning from the present Dalai Lama himself have dwelt on an idealistic policy of remaining with communist China as long as Tibet’s precious culture, religion, language and identity are respected. Many initially thought that was perhaps the best bargain that Tibetans could get since Tibetans cannot dislodge the Chinese occupiers from our country. In pursuit of such a policy Tibetan independence advocates were admonished and vilified by elected leader S Rinpoche! Many patriotic Tibetans were disheartened by such harsh crackdown for their Rangzen advocacy. One of the Tibetan independence’s advocate parliamentarian, Karma Choephel died a heart broken man. Even though, it has been hushed up in exile, Taktser Rinpoche’s elder son committed suicide after he received a letter from some pro-China Tibetans protesting against him for leading a PEACE MARCH in Indiana. His father Taktser Rinpoche was a staunch independence advocate and when he passed away, his two sons carried on his legacy of organising Peace Marches across the US! The organisation Taktser Rinpoche found was called TIBETAN INDEPENDRNCE MOVEMENT (TIM). When his elder son was confronted by such unpatriotic and callous disregard for his patriotism, he allowed himself to be run over by a car! In order to prevent a scandal, it was treated as an accident! Many Welknown Rangzen advocates have suffered the same fate of being disowned, crucified as anti-Dalai Lsma and ostracised. The Tibetan Youth Congress was fractured and splintered into groups by infiltrating their ranks by anti-Rangzen and pro-China collaborators. These were supported by Beijing friendly Tibetan elected leader in Dharamsala. The anti-Rangzen- pro- China collaborators have lost steam as Chinese dictator set on a rampage to stamp out Tibetan language, religion, culture and identity by sinicizing Tibet including the very name of TIBET! They found it hard to reconcile with blanket Chinese suppression of Tibet’s unique language and culture and the purported peaceful co-existence with the Chinese occupier! On the Rangzen front, it enraged the Rangzen advocates and started criticising the policy of appeasement. This opened a window for Rangzen advocates to be more vociferous of their attack on the appeasement policy which was hard to ignore for the Tibetan leadership. So, they came around with a willingness to accomodate the Rangzen advocates. It is heartening to see that Rangzen is no more a dirty word and that Rangzen advocates are no more treated as lepers. It is crystal clear that without Tibetan independence, TIBETANS ARE NOTHING BUT SLAVES OF COMMUNIST CHINA! There will be NO RIGHTS WHATSOEVER for the Tibetans and we will remain perpetual SLAVES OF CHINA! Therefore, INDEPENDENCE IS THE GOAL OF EVERY TIBETAN JUST AS LIBERATION (ཐར་པ་) is the goal of every Buddhist. Nobody knows when we will achieve ཐར་པ་ liberation but that is no good reason to discard ཐར་པ་ liberation because as long as we are in samsara, there is happiness. In the same way, no matter how long it may take, we must seek independence because without independence, there will be no happiness for the Tibetan people! The need of the hour is to install a Rangzen Party and run candidates during the Tibetan elections. In Taiwan, nothing was happening while the Kuomingtang was ruling but whenever the DPP was in power, the CCP was instantly irked by the independent forces gaining momentum in Taiwan and then they started cultivating the pro- China Kuomintang leader Ma Yinjuo and even met him two times by dictator Xi! This shows that the CCP reacts when it feels threatened and ignores when there is no threat to their hegemonic intentions! Therefore, if we have a Tibetan Independence Party, this could lead not only to CCP’s attention but most importantly, there is hope of gaining legitimacy like Taiwan has done since 2014 under the leadership of President Tsai Ing-wen! This how we have to gain international recognition and legetimacy!