Out of Zion
'The Tibetans love us and the lamas were slave-traders'
A delegation from Tibet now visiting Israel has only praise for Chinese rule in its country. But friends of Tibet in Israel say it's just propaganda.
By Nitzan Horowitz
The Chinese Ambassador to Israel, Pan Zhalin, is adamant: "The Tibetan lamas, the so-called religious leaders, were slave-traders," he claims. "They were only 5 percent of the population, they controlled all the resources and they did not want their slaves to be freed and that is why they opposed the policy of the central government of China. Today, too, three are isolationists, abroad, like the Dalai Lama. But the inhabitants of Tibet do not support this man." To prove this irrefutably, the Chinese have taken action and have brought a delegation from Tibet to Israel, straight from Lhasa the capital, where there is only praise for Tibet's development under Chinese rule. The delegation is agricultural, but it is hard to think of a context any more political than the occasion of the visit, which, as defined by the Chinese, is to mark the 50th anniversary of "the liberation of Tibet by peaceful means." On May 23, 1951, the Beijing Agreement was signed: Tibet won Chinese recognition, but in effect the agreement put the country in China's hands.
"Liberation is a really nice name for mass murder and the destruction of a culture," says Yaki Platt from the IFTP, the Israel Friends of the Tibetan People. "We have nothing against delegations that come to Israel for agricultural reasons, but China is using this to promote a political end. Their propaganda is all lies and borders on the style of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." They even perform forced sterilization of Tibetan women." The Tibetan visitors strongly deny this. "Most of the inhabitants of Tibet support the Chinese central government," says Professor Zhimol, a Tibetan expert on vegetables, as the Chinese ambassador listens attentively to his remarks. "We now have stability and development in Tibet, and we do not want this to be destroyed for political reasons by all kinds of clerics. The inhabitants of Tibet will not allow this."
The body in charge of hosting the delegation is Matat, an organization that deals with international cooperation projects, particularly in the area of agriculture and particularly with China. Matat was established in 1993 with the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and until 1996 it was fully funded by the state. Since then it has received its budget from Israeli companies that want to promote their ties and their business. Its activities focus on sending Israeli experts abroad for short periods. "The state of Israel does not invest a cent in this," says Yossi Marek, "but the connection to the state is very strong. We work with all the institutions: the department for international cooperation at the Foreign Ministry, the Vulcani Institute and more."
Of course he picks up the way the Chinese present this. "No one here is naive," he says during the pool-side reception for the delegation at the Chinese ambassador's house in Herzliya. Opposite, a stand for information pamphlets has been set up: "The Tibetans Enjoy Greater Rights in All Areas," "The Dalai Lama: Leading Tibet to heaven or to Hell?" "China's Tibet: Gifts from the Dalai and the Panchen to the Central Government."
"They asked us to organize an agricultural tour for a professional delegation, and we did," explains Marek. "If their embassy wants to spread a certain message. It's none of our business." Later, he sought to clarify: "We decided that anything that is acceptable to the state is acceptable to us, and anything that isn't acceptable to the state isn't acceptable to us. For example, three years ago we were approached by Cuba, but the Foreign Ministry was against it, and the matter was dropped. Everyone can have his own opinions, but the reality is that the State of Israel has strong ties with China, and as far as we are concerned, this is what counts."
This dilemma is not peculiar to Israel. A whole list of states and organizations are agonizing over relations with China, against a background of human rights violations. "Israel has extensive ties with China and this is a problem," acknowledges Yaki Platt from the IFTP, "but China has the largest number of executions in the world. It is important to understand that no one here is coming out against the people of China, but rather against its government. We are not against ties with China, but this can be done in a completely different way. For example, if in Israel they chose to mark the 50th anniversary of "the liberation of Tibet by peaceful means," on that very same day The Dalai Lama walked straight into U.S. President George Bush's arms in the White House.
Japanese hit
The Washington visit angered Beijing. "Who does Bush think he's trying to impress?" a senior Chinese researcher asked Ha'aretz. "He couldn't care less about the state of human rights in China or the fate of Tibet. He received the Dalai Lama as part of his aggressive campaign against China. The Chinese are sensitive to these things. Beijing keeps its accounts scrupulously, especially concerning its national honor. China, which had continuity of government for thousands of years, feels that its painful history during the 20th century - the colonial exploitation, the Japanese occupation, the Civil War and the upheavals of the Revolution - is not gaining adequate recognition. Now, as a power, China is not hesitating to use its diplomatic strength to put things right.
In Japan, for example: The big hit this week in the bookstores of Tokyo is an innocent-looking history book for seventh and eighth grades. The book will become part of the curriculum only next year, but its publisher has already begun to distribute it to the shops. The book, which was written by nationalist historians, is problematic, to put it mildly. The Japanese occupation in Asia is presented in quite a forgiving way, and is sometimes completely skewed. The Chinese are furious about annoying excisions regarding the slaughter of Nanking or the horrors in Manchuria. The Koreans are complaining about sections that claim that Korea came out ahead from the Japanese occupation because it had acquired a railway network and an industrial infrastructure. The government of Japan is embarrassed. While the book does not represent the official version of the past, the government has so far rebuffed all the pressures to amend it. In China's eyes this yet more proof that Japan is still not dealing correctly with its problematic history. Now it is threatening to cancel Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Beijing if he carries out his plan to visit the Shinto shrine to the Japanese war victims. The Yasukuni Temple is a striking symbol of the empire's nationalist past. It honors the memory of the 2.6 million Japanese war dead since the 19th century, including war criminals like Hideki Tojo, the Japanese prime minister and war minister during World War II.
The issue of the Yasukuni Shrine is weighing heavily on the new Japan's relations with its neighbors and former victims ever since former prime minister Nakasone paid an official visit there in 1985. Koizumi, one of the most popular leaders Japan has had for years, is planning to hold the visit on a symbolic date - August 15, the day World War II ended. The Chinese see this as an explicit provocation. "What do they want from us?" they reply in Tokyo. "After all, even Francois Mitterand laid a wreath on the grave of Marechal Petain.
© copyright 2001 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
|
|
|
|
President George Bush hosting the Dalai Lama.(Photo: Reuters)
A super-Orthodox but normal school/By Tamar Rotem
|
