Incomparable Warriors [antikvár]

Prefaceby John AckerlyTibetans have a long history of resistance - long before they fought against the British invasion in 1904, the Chinese invasion in 1949-50 and the uprising against the Chinese authorities on 10 March 1959, which led to the Dalai Lama's flight to India. As this exceptional collection of writings reveals, in the last 50 years, there have been signs of resistance to the Chinese presence in Tibet and the assertion of Tibetan identity everywhere from the secret shrines to the Dalai Lama and bold display of the banned Tibetan national flag to the impassioned speeches of the 10th Panchen Lama in support of Tibetan language and culture before his death in 1989.In September 1987 I happened to be in Lhasa with a friend at the time of a pro-independence demonstration, marking the beginning of three years of protest activity that culminated in the imposition of martial law in 1989. I managed to capture historic photos of thousands of Tibetans bravely demonstrating in the streets, some of which are included in this book. Hundreds of Tibetans were arrested, and I vividly remember the fear in the faces of those in the back of military jeeps as they were taken off to be interrogated. Then our turn came. We were pushed into the back of a jeep. During our three days of interrogation, the officials were not so interested in why we carried 'subversive' literature, such as a book by the Dalai Lama, or why we had taken pictures of the demonstration. They were more practical; they wanted names of Tibetans who we had met and talked to so that they could be arrested. They also demanded to know if we believed Tibet had been an independent country and if we were willing to defend our position. Because 1 was a Western tourist, I was one of the lucky few who was not tortured. It is humbling to think of the many Tibetans who stood up to their interrogators while being tortured, and stuck to their beliefs.While the heart and soul of Tibetan resistance lies in the hundreds of thousands of Tibetans who risk their lives every year inside Tibet, its leader, the Dalai Lama lives on the southern side of the Himalayas, in India, a great democracy. Thousands of Tibetans have gone to prison because they believe in the Dalai Lama, respect his authority and would not renounce him. But for his part, the Dalai Lama has told Tibetans not to sacrifice themselves in the daily loyalty charades imposed by the Communist Party. Denounce me, he says, if that is what they require you to do. What is important is in your heart.When the International Campaign for Tibet was established in 1988, virtually no Presidents and Prime Ministers would meet the Dalai Lama, who was living in northern India, isolated by China's growing influence. But by the late 1980s, he had begun to attract attention for his unflinching dedication to non-violence and his ability to reach out across religious, political and ethnic boundaries. He was becoming a leading international voice not only for his people, but also for global human rights, the environment and an end to the deadly arms trade. For this, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, catapulting himself and the Tibetan resistance movement to international attention.