Tibetan leader calls for independent Tibet as key to Sino-Indian border resolution

Dolma Gyari (Picture credit: Central Tibetan administration)

DHARAMSHALA : No Sino-Indian talks on peaceful resolution of the border issues will achieve its intended goal unless the two sides first decides to resolve the ‘ Akhand Tibet ’ matter, restoring freedom of life and liberty to millions of Tibetans, said Dolma Gyari , the acting Sikyong (president) of Tibetan govt in exile here on Tuesday.Gyari, who is also the minister for department of security (defence minister) of the central Tibetan administration , says for a permanent peace with China, the only option is recognition of a unified Tibet as an independent state.“In the 1914 Shimla accord , it was Tibet which had signed the pact with India where it acknowledged Arunachal as part of India. For a permanent resolution of the border conflict, China must recognize Tibet as an independent state,” she said.The Tibetan acting president’s comments came during an exclusive interaction with a media delegation where she emphasised that the Tibet issue was central to all dialogues between India and China on the disputed borders.On Tuesday, she also hosted a delegation of MPs from New Zealand and Fiji, celebrating the35th anniversary of conferment of Nobel Peace prize to HH Dalai Lama . Former union minister Suresh Prabhu was a special guest on the occasion where the foreign delegation expressed solidarity with the Tibetan cause and also criticized human rights violations by China in the occupied territory.“The Central Tibetan Administration believes that Arunachal Pradesh and any other territories disputed by China are inseparable and integral parts of India,” said Gyari.Expressing her confidence of resolution of Tibet issue under PM Modi, the minister observed that “India is going in the right direction. Today’s South Block (MEA) understands better than what they did 10 years ago.”Dharamshala is also preparing for the celebrations next year of Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday as the ‘global year of compassion’.