Tibet Troubles

China is blaming the current unrest in Tibet on the Dalai Lama. This is an audacious claim to make about a man who has committed his whole life to peaceful regime change in Tibet. It is a staggering claim when you consider that one of the fundamental rules of Buddhism is the commitment to peace, and the refusal to hurt others. It becomes even more of a mind-blowing head fuck when you consider that the claims are coming from the Chinese government - a totalitarian regime with no real concept of what either honesty or basic human rights are.

Needless to say, your humble author is not convinced by the story from the Chinese government. This attempt to paint the Dalai Lama as a cross between a Bond villian and a sub Castro pseudo revolutionary would be funny, if it weren't the backdrop to a story where people are dying.

The Dalai Lama has risen to the claims of the Chinese government by stating he will resign if the violence worsens. Fair play to the guy (and I realise he probably wasn't seeking my approval, but he has it anyway). But this probably won't be the only challenges that China gets this year. That's the problem with hosting the Olympics, see? The eyes of the world tend to turn to you, when you are hosting an endless parade of repetitive athletic events. And, particularly if you are a brutal dictatorship with a reprehensible record in the area of human rights, some of what the world sees ain't going to be positive.

Ghandi changed the world through peaceful protest. The Dalai Lama may not achieve that, but he may yet further show what a mendacious, awful regime currently rules in China. And, for that matter, Tibet.