Pressure on Sarkozy over Olympic ceremonies (News Feature)

Asia-Pacific News

By Andreas Landwehr Jul 4, 2008, 12:10 GMT

Beijing - Now the pressure is mounting on French President Nikolas Sarkozy: with US President George W Bush's announcement that he will attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, the Paris leader finds himself caught in a bind. Sarkozy, in the wake of the Tibetan protests against Chinese rule this past spring, had made his attendance conditional on progress in talks between Beijing and representatives of the Dalai Lama. The second round of such talks ended this week, without any movement by China to abandon its hardline stance. But now even more is at stake. As the newly-installed president of the European Union, Sarkozy now bears responsibility for the 27-member group - where there is no unified stance regarding an opening ceremonies boycott. Sarkozy's well-intentioned move meant to help the Tibetans only produced angry protests from the Chinese and a boycott of French goods. The ongoing chicanery against France is serving as a warning to European industry that a Sarkozy absence from the opening ceremonies could also damage overall ties between China and Europe. By contrast, Bush himself had made it clear in the wake of the quashing of the Tibetan protests that he would still make the trip to Beijing, even though up until Thursday it was still open as to whether it would be for the opening ceremonies. It appears that Sarkozy, in his latest comments, has signalled how he might try to escape his quandary. He said the road to Beijing would be open to him if the spiritual head of the Tibetans would give a positive picture of the second round of talks with Beijing. In fact, the Dalai Lama has hardly any other choice if he does not want to jeopardize the talks. At the start of next week, at the Group of Eight summit in Japan, Sarkozy plans to announce his decision. Just what that will be might already be discerned from his warning that 1.3 billion Chinese should not be pressured into a 'forced nationalism.' At the same time, reports are making the rounds that Sarkozy is considering meeting the Dalai Lama - albeit only within a framework of religion - in France. In this way he could avert any talk of a collapse in his position. But for many Chinese, such a turn is seen as coming too late: Sarkozy should stay away, is the message from China's state media, basing this view on an Internet opinion survey. In it, 88 per cent of the respondents said Sarkozy is 'not welcome' in China. It was with coolness that Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao responded to a question about the French head of state: 'We reject a foreign leader meeting with the Dalai Lama, no matter in what form, (or) that Tibetan issues are linked to the Olympic Games and that the Olympics are politicized.' In any event, many Chinese simply do not understand the sympathy shown abroad to the Dalai Lama. And the Tibetan protests are seen as a sign of ingratitude, in view of the major support which China has provided for Tibet's development. As a result, it is easy for the propandists not even to allow any discussion to start up regarding the deeper roots of resistance by religious-minded Tibetans against the Chinese foreigners or about errors in Beijing's policies towards minorities. By showing a readiness for dialogue, China has adeptly defused the dispute abroad regarding the Tibet issue. And Beijing needs only to be steady in throwing its strategic and economic weight onto the scales in order to persuade diplomats and foreign governments once again to reduce the Tibetans to a peripheral aspect in relations. This was already seen in the torch relay in Tibet, with Beijing now making a new round of talks by the end of the year conditional on whether Tibetans try to disrupt the Olympic Games or not. In this case, the Dalai Lama - from whom a 'positive signal' is expected - would then be held responsible.

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eastmanJul 4th, 2008 - 23:55:29

For all the foot-soliders on the bandwagon of West' geopolitical agenda, aa full text of the Dalai's 1951 telegram to Mao:

'Chairman Mao of the Central People's Government:

This year the local government of Tibet sent five delegates with full authority headed by Kaloon Ngapoi to Beijing in late April 1951 to conduct peace talks with delegates with full authority appointed by the Central People's Government.
On the basis of friendship, delegates on both sides concluded the Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet on May 23,1951.
The local government of Tibet as well as the Tibetan monks and laymen unanimously support this agreement, and under the leadership of Chairman Mao and the Central People's Government, will actively assist the People's Liberation Army in Tibet to consolidate national defence, drive imperialist influences out of Tibet and safeguard the unification of the territory and the sovereignty of the motherland. I hereby send this cable to inform you of this. ¡°

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