.
The transition marked the end of a three –day session of Tibetan Parliament from May 26 to 28 near Dharmasala. The session amended the Tibetan Charter (Constitution) to fulfil the wish of 75-year-old Dalai Lama. And he signed the amendments when presented to him on Sunday, May 30, Tenzin Norbu, Tibetan Parliament Spokesperson, said.
Undoubtedly, the Dalai Lama’s move defies conventional logic which seeks to concentrate power in the leader rather than create new and multiple centres of power. But then, the Dalai Lama is not a conventional leader. He considers as his mission to meet the world leaders, and speak to them on behalf of the Tibetans, and to sensitise the world opinion to the concerns and grievances of the Tibetans at home and in exile alike. By relinquishing the political authority, the Dalai Lama is paving the way for the emergence of a leadership which is close to the generation that is born outside Tibet and to whom Tibet is a fairy tale.
Even after the ‘change over’, the Dalai Lama will remain the ‘Protector and Symbol of Tibet and Tibetan People’. And under Article 1 of the Charter, it will be his duty to provide ‘advice and encouragement with respect to protection and promotion of physical, spiritual, ethical and cultural well-being of the Tibetan people’, to remain engaged in efforts to reach a satisfactory solution to the question of Tibet and to accomplish the cherished goals of the Tibetan people’. The Parliament also changed the title of ‘Tibetan Government-in-Exile’ to ‘Tibetan Administration’.
How China will react to the ‘political succession plan’ remains unclear. Going by the reaction articulated in March when the Dalai Lama spoke of his wish, Beijing may not take kindly to the ‘watershed’ in Tibet’s history. Lingering doubts are set at rest by the pressure the Chinese consulate is putting on Western Australian law makers to avoid the Dalai Lama on his visit to Perth next month. He has been invited to speak about `Spirituality in the Modern World’ at a conference. Meetings are also scheduled with Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam and federal Labour backbencher Melissa Parke.
Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett decided not to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader. The organisers of the Dalai Lama’s visit invited Mr Barnett to meet with the Nobel Peace Prize winner but a spokeswoman for the premier said he had no plans to meet with him. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard also has no plans to meet with the Dalai Lama during his visit from June 11 to 19.
Local Media reports said the Chinese consulate-general in Perth has told WA government MPs they "would appreciate if you didn’t hear him speak". This is not something unusual, because according to the Australian Tibet Council, it is common for the Chinese consulate and embassy to advice politicians not to meet with the Dalai Lama when he visited Australia.
The Council spokesman, Paul Bourke, said China makes a lot of comment about not interfering in other countries, not interfering in their internal issues, which includes human rights. But it seems on occasions like this, they’re quite happy to send the message that they would be unhappy with an Australian premier meeting with the Dalai Lama."
Bourke said he believed Premier Barnett had "succumbed to the pressure" from China and his decision was without doubt influenced by the Chinese government.
WA accounts for 60 per cent of Australia’s exports to China, while about 80 per cent of Chinese total investment in the country is in this state.
