[Marxism] In Solidarity with the People of Tibet (or why I oppose an international solidarity movement)

[dave.walters@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Fei, a point. One of the arguments put forward by both sides
 (Tibetan vs Chinese) is that the OTHER is the majority. 
Politically this is sort of wierd since usually the agrieved 
national side usually claims majority status so as to lay claim 
to their, or the other's, territory. No so with regards to Tibet. 
Both sides claim the other is the majority. The Tibetans 
because they want to appear to be the victim of reverse ethnic 
cleansing and being swamped by Chinese immigrants and the 
PRC which wants to show that minority rights and autonomy 
are respected.

Part of the issue is what is "Tibet". The Dali Lama's "governemnt 
in exile" consideres historical Tibet to be about 30% bigger than 
it is. The "Tibetean Autonomous Region" established by the 
PRC includes areas hitherto making up about 1/2 of what the 
exile gov't claims. To complicate matters, large areas of north-
eastern India bording Bhutan and Nepal are claimed by the PRC 
as part of Tibet, a claim rejected by the exile gov't (and, of course,
India). These regions have large Tibetan speaking minorities..

David
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