I wrote this piece over twenty years ago for the Tibetan Review. I am re-posting it now to give readers some idea of the origins of our current national debacle, especially the part played by foreign “advisors” and “friends” (and by extension the Chinese Intelligence Service, Guójiā Ānquán Bù,) in persuading us to give up our goal of Rangzen, and shut down the struggle. It is not as complete a study as all Tibetans really need, but that’s as much as I could put together at the time. Readers, even your most iffy scrap of information on the issue is welcome on the comment section. We absolutely need to get to the bottom of this unbelievable sellout. Part II of “Ending to Begin” will be be posted soon. JN
Ending to Begin (Part I)
Grim as all that is, I don’t just mean what is happening inside Tibet but also what is happening outside, particularly in Dharamshala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile has, to all intents and purposes, gone ahead and pulled the plug on itself.
Lobsang Sangay’s wrong Churchill quote
I haven’t been feeling well for the past month and have been unable to contribute anything new. I’ve noticed that some of you have posted comments on a few of the old blogs, so in order that you have something more up-to-date and relevant to chew on I have inserted two excellent opinion pieces by Christophe Besuchet, a long time Tibet activist. He has already posted them on rangzen.net, but they are so well-written and absolutely incisive about our present political dilemma that I think they should be re-read and discussed widely. JN.
Decapitated, then emasculated
The sort of political sentence pronounced on the Tibetan people resembles the terrible “death by a thousand cuts”. This was a form of execution practiced in China until the early twentieth century, in which the condemned person was killed by using a knife to methodically remove portions of the body over an extended period of time. The punishment is said to work on three levels: as a form of public humiliation, as a slow and lingering death, and as a punishment after death.
Resolving the Dalai Lama Resignation Crisis
In a media season dominated by stories of geriatric, lunatic and other sundry leaders-for-life (and family members) ignobly clinging to office like old chewing gum, the Dalai Lama stepping down from his position of (albeit modest) power, over the genuine and ubiquitous appeals by Tibetans for him to continue, was, of course, received favorably by …
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The Dalai Lama’s Letter to John F. Kennedy
I received this fascinating document from a researcher and friend of Tibet, Scott Forrester. On reading this letter I hope those Tibetans and supporters “…engaged in this hard struggle for independence” as His Holiness puts it, will feel vindicated in their stand and know that their commitment to Rangzen reflects a true and selfless devotion …
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Lobsang Sangay and the Issue of Overseas Chinese Visas
Kalon Tripa candidate Lobsang Sangay, when answering a question about whether he had traveled to China on an Overseas Chinese (OC) visa, stated in his defense that I (Jamyang Norbu), and others, had also traveled to Tibet on such a document. I want to make it absolutely clear that I have never traveled to Tibet …
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Not the Buddha’s Middle Way
You might not agree with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s decision to give up the fundamental national goal of Tibetan independence, but you have to admit that whoever was put in charge of branding and marketing this policy did a bang-up job. Just the name “Middle Way” confers on this “approach” a deeply spiritual aura. …
Reply to ICT
Kate Saunders of the International Campaign for Tibet posted this comment on my blog “Seeking the Power of the Powerless” at Huffington Post at 01:16 PM on 1/10/2011. Interesting and thought-provoking, but Jamyang Norbu is wrong (not for the first time) about the International Campaign for Tibet. Yes, the Clinton Administration mounted a campaign for …
Seeking the Power of the Powerless
It’s almost the end of the year now, and nearly two months since Aung San Suu Kyi was released, but I haven’t quite gotten over the dopamine rush of that event. I’ve been waiting a long time to see her a free woman. Not as single-mindedly and passionately, to be sure, as her loyal Burmese …
