Carry the flame

That China is digging itself into a deeper hole on Tibet was manifest this week when its attempt to choreograph a visit by foreign journalists into Lhasa ended in protests by monks in front of television cameras at one of the holiest shrines of Tibetan Buddhism, the Jokhang temple. The debacle underlines the simple reality that the old communist tricks of managed press coverage have no longer any credibility in Tibet. If the objective of China8217;s communist rulers was to show that things have returned to normal in Lhasa, it proved the exact opposite. The courage of the monks to defy the Chinese authorities in front of an international audience shows the depth of the anger that is pouring out in Tibet. Reports from China indicate that isolated Tibetan protests are continuing in many neighbouring provinces. Beijing is also finding it difficult to re-establish its authority outside the cities in Tibet.

No wonder then that Beijing has become so nervous in its reactions at home and abroad. Its abusive language against the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and a man widely respected for his absolute commitment to non-violence, shows that the Chinese communist leaders are living a world of make-believe. China8217;s incessant talk of 8220;crushing8221; the Tibetan revolt shatters the carefully cultivated image of total self-assurance that it has so successfully projected all these years. That Beijing chooses to wake up India8217;s ambassador in Beijing at 2 am to protest against an incident at its embassy in New Delhi shows how brittle Chinese statecraft could be during crises. With its hardline tactics, China is making inevitable the very outcome it so desperately wants to avoid: the politicisation of the Beijing Olympics.

Beijing8217;s neurosis on Tibet, laid bare by its contemptuous dismissal of the worldwide calls to reopen the talks with the exiled Tibetan leadership, has set the stage for widespread protests against the Olympic torch relay that will travel across the continents. It is the duty of all governments to ensure absolute safety for the torch relay on their soil. It is equally the responsibility of democratic governments to allow peaceful protests on any issue. We hope Home Minister Shivraj Patil has left Beijing in no doubt about how India views its dual responsibilities. Any appeasement of Beijing by New Delhi, or even the political perception of it, will not only generate a new controversy about the nation8217;s foreign policy but also undermine the very foundation of Sino-Indian relations: equality and mutual respect.