The Case Concerning Tibet

THE CASE CONCERNING TIBET TIBET’S SOVEREIGNTY AND THE TIBETAN PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION by Tibet Justice Center (Andrew G. Dulaney and Dennis M. Cusack) and Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (Dr. Michael van Walt van Praag) for The Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre June 1, 1998 Update added by Tibet Justice Center February 13, 2013 09292\5RTP01!.DOC:269341 In 1994 and 1996, the Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre organized and held two conferences on Tibetan self-determination. Summaries of these proceedings are available from the TPPRC. The concrete action plan that emerged from the the 1996 conference included a recommendation to request that Dr. Michael van Walt van Praag, then General Secretary of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, assist in the preparation of a report on the legal aspects of the Tibetan people's right to self-determination. At Dr. van Walt's request, this report was prepared by Tibet Justice Center with Dr. van Walt. In February 2013, to mark the centenary of the 1913 Proclamation of Tibetan Independence, Tibet Justice Center prepared a short update to the original report, highlighting the 1913 Proclamation, and new evidence regarding Tibet’s sovereignty and the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination. 09292\5RTP01!.DOC:269341 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. UPDATE TO THE CASE CONCERNING TIBET: 1913 INDEPENDENCE PROCLAMATION CENTENARY AND NEW INFORMATION ……………………...1 A. The 1913 Proclamation……………………………………………………………1 B. New information since 1998……………………………………………………....2 1. Original Tibetan text of Tibet-Mongolia treaty discovered…………………….2 2. Tibetan Passport rediscovered………………………………………………….3 3. UK Government Changes Position on Tibet…………………………………...4 4. Dalai Lama No Longer Head of State………………………………………….5 II. SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .......................................................................................... 6 A. Tibet Was Fully Independent Prior To 1951 .......................................................... 6 B. The Tibetan People Are Entitled To Self-Determination ....................................... 8 III. TIBET IS RIGHTFULLY AN INDEPENDENT STATE ................................................ 10 A. When The People’s Liberation Army Entered Tibet, Tibet Was Functioning As A Fully Independent State ............................................................................... 10 1. A Distinctively Tibetan Population Inhabited Tibet ................................. 10 2. The PLA Entered Distinctively Tibetan Territory .................................... 11 3. The Government Of Tibet Was Exercising Effective Control Over The Tibetan Population In The Tibetan Territory ..................................... 13 4. The Government Of Tibet Was Capable Of Entering Into International Relations And Had Entered Into Such Relations Repeatedly ................... 14 5. Conclusions Regarding The Status Of Tibet In 1950 ............................... 20 B. The Seventeen-Point Agreement Of 1951 Is Absolutely Void Under International Law .................................................................................................. 21 C. Historically, Tibet Never Became Part Of China ................................................. 24 1. Tibet Was Indisputably Independent Before The Thirteenth Century ...... 25 2. Tibet Did Not Become Part of China During The Mongol Yuan Dynasty27 3. Tibet Was Not Part Of China During Tibet’s “Second Kingdom” ........... 30 4. Relations Between The Dalai Lamas Of Tibet And The Manchu Qing Dynasty Do Not Show That Tibet Was Part Of China .................... 32 5. Tibet Was Not Part Of China During China’s Nationalist Period ............ 40 D. The Tibetan Government In Exile Is The Only Legitimate Government Of Tibet ................................................................................................................. 46 E. Conclusions Regarding The Legal Status of Tibet ............................................... 50 IV. THE TIBETANS ARE ENTITLED TO SELF-DETERMINATION .............................. 52 A. The Tibetans Are A People With The Right Of Self-Determination .................... 53 1. International Law Recognizes The Right To Self-Determination ............ 53 2. Independence Is Only One Manifestation Of Self-Determination ........... 54 3. The Tibetans Are A People With The Right Of Self-Determination ........ 56 i 09292\5RTP01!.DOC:269341 B. The Tibetans Are Entitled To Exercise Their Right Of Self-Determination Because The PRC Has Not Acted As The Legitimate Government Of The Tibetan People ...................................................................................................... 59 1. Territorial Integrity Is A Right Only Of Legitimate Governments “Conducting Themselves In Compliance With The Principle Of Equal Rights And Self-Determination Of Peoples” ............................................ 59 2. The PRC Does Not Respect The Human Rights And Fundamental Freedoms Of The Tibetan People ............................................................. 65 a. The PRC unlawfully suppresses religion in Tibet ........................ 66 b. State-sanctioned population transfer violates the Tibetans’ fundamental rights ........................................................................ 73 c. The PRC denies Tibetan women their right to reproductive freedom ......................................................................................... 79 d. Tibetans are subject to discrimination on the basis of their race ................................................................................................ 83 e. The PRC’s exploitation of Tibet’s natural resources and abuse of the environment violate the Tibetans’ human rights ...... 83 f. The PRC has violated the Tibetans’ right to housing ................... 91 g. Tibetans are subject to enforced and involuntary disappearances .............................................................................. 93 h. Tibetans are subject to arbitrary arrest and detention ................... 96 i. PRC officials torture Tibetan prisoners of conscience ..................................................................................... 99 j. The PRC subjects Tibetans to extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions ..................................................................... 102 C. Enforcing The Tibetans’ Right To Self-Determination Will Enhance International Values Of Peace And Security And Promote Human Rights And Fundamental Freedoms ............................................................................... 103 1. The Right Of Self-Determination Should Be Enforced As Against A Claim Of Territorial Integrity When Doing So Will Advance The Fundamental Values Of The International Community .......................... 103 2. Affording the Tibetans the Broadest Latitude in Exercising Their Right of Self-Determination Would Effectuate the Fundamental Values of the International Community .................................................. 104 a. Affording the Tibetans the broadest latitude in exercising their right of self-determination would enhance international peace and security ....................................................................... 105 b. Affording the Tibetans the broadest latitude in exercising their right of self-determination would promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms .............................. 109 D. The Tibetans’ Demand For “Genuine Self-Rule” Does Not Conflict With The PRC’s Claim Of Territorial Integrity ........................................................... 112 V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 113 ii 09292\5RTP01!.DOC:269341 I. UPDATE TO THE CASE CONCERNING TIBET: 1913 Independence Proclamation Centenary and New Information February 13, 2013 marks the centenary of the Tibetan proclamation of independence, issued by the XIII Dalai Lama. It is a fitting anniversary on which to re-release Tibet Justice Center’s report The Case Concerning Tibet, which clearly lays out the case for Tibet’s sovereignty and the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination – issues just as pertinent now as they were at the time of the report’s release in 1998. It is also an opportunity to present new evidence - which only strengthens Tibet’s case - that has since come to light. A. The 1913 Proclamation While Tibet had enjoyed de facto independence for centuries prior, the Dalai Lama formally proclaimed Tibet’s independence in 1913, two years after the Manchu Qing Dynasty had been overthrown by the Chinese nationalist revolution of 1911. At that time, Tibet expelled the last garrisoned troops of the Qing Emperor and repatriated them to China in 1912. The new Kuomintang Government then invited Tibet to join the Nationalist Republic, but the XIII Dalai Lama declined. When the Kuomintang Government sent a delegation to try and convince the Tibetans, the Tibetan Government barred them from entering Tibet. In the wake of these political shifts, the XIII Dalai Lama’s proclamation reaffirmed Tibet’s independence, emphasizing that Tibetans had “once again achieved for ourselves a period of happiness and peace” now that the “Chinese intention of colonizing Tibet under the patron-priest relationship has faded like a rainbow in the sky.”1 This period of both de facto and de jure independence would last for the 1 Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History (New Haven, 1967), pp. 246-248.

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