BY LYDIA MULVANY
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- Ngawang Sangdrol was jailed and tortured when she was 14 years old for staging a protest in Lhasa for Tibet's freedom. She said during the worst of her 11 years in prison - when she suffered in solitary confinement from fear, hunger and the cold - she imagined the Dalai Lama at the top of her head.
"This was the only thing that gave me some strength to live," said Sangdrol, who now lives in Boston.
The Dalai Lama renounced his political authority as head of the Tibetan government in exile in March; however, he retains a powerful influence on the Tibetan people that isn't likely to diminish despite his reduced political role, panelists at a congressional roundtable on Tibet concluded Wednesday.
When the Dalai Lama stepped down, he cited his belief in democracy and in the separation of religion and government. He also said he would focus on spiritual matters. In May, Tibetans around the world elected a new Prime Minister, Lobsang Sangay, a former fellow at Harvard Law School, to head the government in exile currently located in India. Tibet has been under China's rule since 1951.
Bhuchung Tsering, vice president of the International Campaign for Tibet, said the centuries-old historical bond between the Dalai Lama and Tibetans wouldn't change. He cited the protests against Chinese rule that erupted in 2008.
"One of the words we heard there was a reference to His Holiness," Tsering said. "That will continue even now and into the future."
Still, the elected government, Tsering said, would have to assume more responsibility, and not be seen as relying on the Dalai Lama. Sangay "will have to mold himself to be the Tibetan political leader, separate from the Dalai Lama."
Moreover, Tibetans in exile will have to adapt to this new political reality and learn to see elected officials as their political leaders.
Sangdrol also said peaceful protests with truth as their central tenet - in line with the Dalai Lama's teaching - would continue to inspire Tibetans.
The Chinese government named its own successor to the Dalai Lama in 1995, making the Dalai Lama's resignation a challenge to their aim of installing future Lamas and securing control over Tibet, which had major uprisings in 2008. The Chinese government and the Tibetan government in exile have not had talks since January of 2010.
Tsering said he was hopeful, however, as there is common ground: Both governments are working on a solution for Tibet within the Chinese constitution.
According to Jamie Metzl, executive vice president of the Asia Society, Sangay is "deeply committed" to dialogue between China and Tibet. Metzl went to Harvard Law School with Sangay and currently works with him through the Asia Society's program for young leaders.
The Chinese government has said in its newspapers that "no matter who heads the exiled Tibetan government, its illegal nature will not be altered." Chinese officials in Tibet called the Dali Lama's resignation a farce.
The erosion of Tibetan religion, culture and language is getting worse, said Arjia Rinpoche, director of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center. Rinpoche hoped foreign governments like the United States would continue pressuring the Chinese government to talk to the newly elected Tibetan government in exile.
Borders or other political issues aren't important to Rinpoche, but dialogue, he said, has the potential to save the disappearing culture. Tibetans are educated in Chinese rather than Tibetan, and the Chinese tightly control religion.
"Tibetans really want their own language in Tibet," Rinpoche said. "If there's a dialogue, the Tibetan exiled government always says we need genuine autonomy so they can use their own language and get an education and jobs."
The Obama administration remains "extremely concerned" about the deterioration of human rights in China and Tibet, said Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Mario Otero.
Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who chaired Wednesday's session of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said the Dalai Lama remains the best hope for restoring stability and autonomy to Tibet. He called the attack on Tibetan culture as well as the human rights abuses against Tibetans "harsh and brutal."
The commission has a political prisoner database listing hundreds of Tibetans jailed by the Chinese government.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/13/2313258/even-after-resignation-dali-lama.html#ixzz1S2U0UTCl
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