When I was asked to speak, I gladly accepted because I do feel that even though my role has been one that is not of great importance, I certainly have been one of those who have been pioneers among the Tibetan community and this political field for which we are gathered here. But to be very candid, the task has not been very difficult because we have been very fortunate to have in his Holiness the Dalai Lama a leader who himself is so very keen to make tremendous changes in our system of governance and adopt democratic systems. So, therefore, unlike many of you who have had difficult struggles, ours has been much easier. But nevertheless, it has been a difficult experience. And it has been groundbreaking for many of us.
What I want to share with you is that even though we have had a very tragic situation, and it unfortunately continues, one of the good things that have happened to us is that we have learned by this tragic situation that we have come to meet democracy. Not only that we have come to know her, but that we have adopted her, or she has adopted us. So that ultimately when we go back to our homeland, we will not go back empty handed. We go back with this precious gift, the gift of democracy to our people who so much deserve it.
We have also been very fortunate because as a result of the tragic situation that has happened in our country we chose India as our second home—one of the greatest democracies. Had we chosen any other place as our second home, we may not have had this wonderful opportunity. But having chosen India as our second home, as a matter of fact at the moment for his Holiness the Dalai Lama and for about over 100,000 of us, India is our home in the absence of our real home. So when we go back home, just as 7,000 years ago our forefathers came to India and took from India the precious teachings of Gautam Buddha, our commitment—and it is a commitment of our leader—we will go home with this precious gift of democracy.
I also gladly accepted to speak here in South Africa because it would be an opportunity for me to be here personally and to be able to share experiences with our South African brothers and sisters. We have watched South Africa’s transition from a distance; in fact, for some of us too much distance, but we have given our moral support. I myself, as an activist many, many years before in Delhi, worked very closely with South African colleagues who were then in India seeking support from Indians and from us. So it is my hope that this great nation, these great people of South Africa, having succeeded will also take a leadership role and not shy away from taking responsibility. Because all that sacrifice that they went through must in the end be more than just for themselves. Because after all, the world has become so small—we are so much more interdependent. Just as your problem here was not far from us, the fact that your struggle succeeded was because there were others who also spoke for you. There were hundreds of millions in the world who not only identified with you in their minds but took active action. I believe it was a joined global effort, a coalition that made it possible. So similarly the problem of my people, though very far away from you and remote, is not just our problem. It is also your problem. At the same time, I think what Tibetans find similar to your struggle is that towards the end of your great struggle you also opted for dialogue in a very non-violent way. After long years of difficult experiences, ultimately, I think, it is wise to opt for non-violent negotiations and dialogue. And not only have we been committed, but our movement, and particularly our leader, have definitely shown leadership. If there is one movement that has from beginning till end remained non-violent, has been committed to dialogue, it certainly is the movement of the Tibetan people. So I can therefore see much similarity between our movements and the need to help and back each other.
At the same time, with regard to Tibet, as you all know, our struggle is not just for our people. If you really examine it very carefully it has a much bigger effect even for the people of China. I always tell my Chinese colleagues that let us not lose this great opportunity that we all have—the presence of the Dalai Lama amongst us. In his absence it would be difficult not only for us, but even for the Chinese, to be able to find a solution through dialogue. I have been to China several times in the last few decades, but on these past two visits I came back “cautiously optimistic.” I say cautiously because we have had many ups and downs in our relationship. But optimistic because I found a sense of confidence in the leaders in Beijing, and I also believe that new leaders who have been elected in the last two years are also themselves willing to bring about changes in China.
So we live in a time, I think, of great opportunity, not only for Tibetans but for all of us. In fact, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said the 20th Century was a century of violence—we fought many world wars, there were so many conflicts, there was so much suffering, so much death—but his hope in the 21st Century is that it will be a century of dialogue. But dialogue can only happen if there is democracy, if for everyone involved in conflicts, whether they are different nations or peoples, there is freedom and democracy. Therefore, for us Tibetans, democracy is so very important because we have chosen a path of non-violence and also a path of dialogue that can only happen if there is a strong and viable foundation of democracy. That is why democracy is so important for us.
Personally, I would like to say that it has been a great experience but we just cannot remain isolated in our own struggle. We must be willing to share and we must be willing to reach out to others. And that is precisely what we have been doing in the past many years, and we will continue to do that. I just want to say briefly that today, within our society in exile, although unfortunately not inside Tibet itself, we have a complete democratic system of government. We have a prime minister who is directly elected by the people; we have a parliament which is many times more powerful than when I was the president of the parliament. In fact, among the delegates here today, is the vice-speaker of the Tibetan parliament, who is also my younger sister, and she is a far more capable parliamentarian. . . . So those of us who did pioneering work feel satisfied that what we have done would not have succeeded without your help, without your support. So I am so very happy to be here and I will not speak further because this conference is not about passing resolutions or listening to speeches; this is about really getting down to the substance, to have over the next few days workshops where we will be able to meet in small groups and really discuss issues of substance and not just listen to speeches or pass resolutions. So I wanted to greet you all and once again thank you for inviting me, and I look forward to meeting with many of you, sharing our thoughts, learning from you, and once again thank you very much.
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