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The Albright Payback : Tibet Burma
- Subject: The Albright Payback : Tibet Burma
- From: cd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 12:40:00
Subject: Re: The Albright Payback : Tibet Burma China & Clinton
dawn star (Euro-Burmanet) wrote:
>
> wtn-editors@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
following this comment on Albright article NY Times, and senior NY
Times columnist AM Rosenthal's "The Secretary Doesnt Sound Tough on
China" ( best read with Suu Kyi's address to American Univeristy this
week), articles on the worsening situation of Tibet, not unrelated to
Burma
> z, FBC and Burmanet,
Indeed what a rude surprise life can be. We now turn to President
Clinton and american foreign policy to China. It may be the underlying
keypin of his second administration.
To orchestrate this policy, Ms. Madeleine K. Albright had published in
the New York Times (republished today in the International Herald
Tribune "Back to Consensus on American Foreign Policy") an astounding
confessional dedication to the great office she now occupies. Clearly
the part of a Secretary of State embodies a role significantly different
from support role banging drums at the UN and although she enjoyed
cabinet status, Ms Albright has jumped out of the shadow of Mr. Warren
Christopher and taken a giant leap among and above her peers. If she
has, as it were, now been rewarded for her steady support of Suu Kyi,
and virulent condemnation of Slorc repression in Burma, it now remains
to be seen how she will prevail on a far different tact in the race for
China. With a Gore visit imminent, and President Chirac of France not
far behind, a return to dollar diplomacy is in the cards, and she lay
those cards on the table. In the Times article, lamenting budget cuts,
she declares, "our diplomatic presence overseas has contracted. As I
present our budget requests to Congress, I recognize my duty to explain
our plans and priorities with a logic that Americans can embrace. And I
will do all I can to see that taxpayers get full value from their
investment." Not better said had it been a Morgan banker. And no better
than old fashion pork barrel politics.
Not a word on Burma. China is virtually passed over "important bilateral
relationships (including those with China,Russia and Ukraine)".
The same edition of today's International Herald Tribune reported on the
front page
Clinton's appeasement re "defense" (my word) of China and his announced
policy of "constructive engagement" (their word) with these
communists "despite a draft State Department report sayinhg that
Beijing has eliminated virtually the entire dissident movement."
This same communist regime was responsible for the deaths of millions of
people of its own population, and genocide of Tibet killing over a
million men women and children. Recently, in a test of Western
indifference, China has intensified its attacks on the Dalai Lama.
Parallels to Burma and Suu Kyi are evident and real. China's military,
political and financial support of SLORC's repression in Burma through
their proxy control goes unchecked.
These days China is sending more than just a casual signal to Burma and
Clinton. Are western economies to be held hostage to Communist China's
blatant attack on the fundamental values which Clinton has claimed to
cherish, values which bond America at home to the free world?
The worst is yet to come. Hey, what can a guy do, even if he is
President of the most powerful country ever in the history of the world.
Given the White House policy tilt to condone and excuse while not
ignoring human rights violations in China, amidst current friendly
Sino-Burmese relations for which the alarming Chinese hardline towards
Tibet is in no sharp divergence to repression in Burma, it looks like
the heat has been turned off, Burma moved to a back burner. This is a
far cry from Burma being the test-case for freedom and democracy in the
South Pacific, and the impression he gave to the media during his
presidential romp after his re-election last year.
Has the US president given China, and Slorc, his green card of
approval? Burma is too closely linked to China to easily separate issues
that effect both countries. If Madeleine Albright desires not to betray
Suu Kyi as Clinton betrayed the Dalai Lama, she will have to back up her
previous statements of support with more than just words, and soon.
Comments are welcome.
Metta,
>
> Dawn Star, Paris
> Euro-Burmanet
> http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Now the comment by Rosenthal
"The Secretary Doesnt Sound Tough on China"
New York -- On Jan. 22 and 23, the world press reported that Beijing was
moving swiftly now in Hong Kong, getting ready to cancel basic freedoms
when Communist China takes over from Britain on July 1.
On Jan.24, a Clinton foreign affairs official said US relations with
China were 'multifaceted' and could not be held hostage to any one
issue.
On Jan.26, The New York Times reported in a front-page story by Patrick
Tyler, its bureau chief in Beijing, that the half-century old Poliburo
crackdown on religion, which had driven millions of Roman Catholic
Chinese to worship underground, had been stepped up as part of a new
wave of repression begun by President Jiang Zemin.
The same day, the Clinton official said relations wih China were
'multifaceted' and could not be held hostage to any one issue.
It was the routine point and counterpoint on China. The press reports
more repression in China, and the Clintonian response is painstakingly
plain: The business of the United States is business.
Human rights issues - torture, forced abortion, religious persecution,
slave labor -- none of that must interfere with business.
But in the past week the official got special attention. This was the
new secretary of state talking, Madeleine Albright.
Nobody expected her to say anything startlingly different from what
President Bill Clinton had been saying the past three years since he
broke his human rights promises to the Chinese and Tibetan people. But
because of her reputation for toughness, there was some thought that she
might move a smidgeon from the Clinton party line on China.
She did not.
She did not corss the line from toughly carrying out the boss's orders
to being tough where it was dangerous -- courageous tough, tough enough
to signal that on human rights for Chinese she had some thoughts, some
misgivings.
Maybe she will cross ovr another day; too early to give up hope, but
burning with a brillant light it is not.
While we ait, let's at least unspin the hostage story. America is
already hostage -- not to an American human rights policy, for there is
none, but to China's. We cannot rescue ourselves unless we acknowledge
that.
Beijing blackmails American companies in the China trade into silence
about political and religious persecution that is played out under their
own noses.
China sells missile and nuclear technology to dictatorships that hate
America. China knows that its threats of economic reprisal count in
Washington, enough to make the United Stats slither away from legal
sanctions -- or discussion with the American public.
On Jan.23, answering a written question from Senator Bob Bennett,
Republican of Utah, Secretary Albright said the United States had
received 'reporting' about 'transfers' from China to Iran of material
that could be used in biological warefare. No sanctions were planned,
she said. But she did offer the senator a 'classified' briefing.
That's nice -- unless you think the American public should know, since
the Chinese and Iranian dictators already do.
For irony collectors: Andrew J Nathan of Columbia University writes that
it was when the United States did talk of economic penalties for human
rights horros like the Tiananmen slaughter that Beijing made business
concessions to America.
Mr. Nathan makes the critical point about why human rights in China are
of national interest to the United States. Countries that respect the
rights of their citizens are less likely to star wars, export drugs,
harbor terrorists, produce refugees. The greater the power of a country
without human rights, the greater the danger to the United States.
The dreadful, unexpected reality of America's desertion of Chinese human
rights is known to prisoners in the torture cells; count on it.
Wei Jingsheng knows because briefly he was free. He had been sentenced
for writing his mind. When they found that the first 14-year term had
not broken him, the Communist leaders with whom Mr. Clinton and Mrs.
Albright will meet to talk multifacets ordered 14 more years: same Nanpu
New Life Salt Works Prison, same guards, same isolation cells.
Well, some people must suffer for freedom; tough world. We who lie in
freedom already, what we have to do is speak up for them. Sometimes we
do. Only thing is,sometimes we just have other business.
end
> >
> > ------------------------ World Tibet Network News ----------------------
> > Published by: The Canada-Tibet Committee
> > Editorial Board: Brian Given <bgiven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Nima Dorjee <tibet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Conrad Richter <conradr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Tseten Samdup <tibetlondon@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > Thubten Samdup <cantibet@xxxxxxx>
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> > WTN News is archived at http://www.omtanken.se/sve_tib/wtnn.htm
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Issue ID: 97/01/28 23:00 GMT Compiled by Thubten (Sam) Samdup
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Tuesday, January 28, 1997
> >
> > Contents
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > 1. China Urges Drive to Shatter Dalai Lama Influence (Reuter)
> > 2. Dalai Lama could visit Taiwan after all: spokesman (AFP)
> > 3. Voice of Tibet starts a half an hour programme on new frequency
> > 4. Entire Tibetan Parliament in exile Supports the Wei Jingsheng's
> > Candidacy for the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize (TRP)
> > 5. U.S. Officials Discussing Rights in China (Reuter)
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > 1. China Urges Drive to Shatter Dalai Lama Influence (Reuter)
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > BEIJING, Jan 27, 1997 (Reuter) - China has issued a call to crack
> > down on independence activities in the restive region of Tibet by exposing
> > the exiled Dalai Lama as a ``fake'' religious leader and pushing ahead with
> > a cleanup of monasteries.
> >
> > ``The splittist activities of the Dalai Lama clique are not only a
> > major reason in damaging social stability but also are the biggest impediment
> > to the development and reform of our region,'' the Tibet Daily quoted a
> > senior regional party official as telling a meeting on legal work in the
> > Himalayan region.
> >
> > Regional Deputy Communist Party secretary Gui Jinlong told the
> > meeting that officials should step up their work to eliminate the influence
> > of the Dalai Lama in the Buddhist region, the newspaper reported in an
> > edition available in Beijing Monday.
> >
> > Officials had gained many victories in their crackdown on crime and
> > unrest in Tibet last year, but police needed to strike harder at those in the
> > region who wanted independence, he said.
> >
> > Guo stressed three main tasks for 1997 to ensure stability in the
> > region, which has been rocked by several anti-Chinese riots in recent years.
> >
> > The first was to deepen criticism of the Dalai Lama, he said,
> > referring to the region's exiled god-king who has won the Nobel Peace Prize
> > for his peaceful campaign for more autonomy for his homeland but who is
> > vilified by Beijing.
> >
> > ``(We must) thoroughly expose his pretense of being a 'religious
> > leader' so that all the masses and monks and nuns in the region are clear
> > that the Dalai (Lama) is a political subversive and a religious sham,'' Guo
> > was quoted as saying.
> >
> > ``(They) should be clear that the Dalai is a traitor to the
> > motherland, the scum of the people, the chief criminal of religion, and then
> > they will voluntarily oppose splittism and uphold stability,'' Guo said.
> >
> > China blames pro-independence unrest in Tibet on the Dalai Lama, who
> > is revered by most Tibetans as their spiritual and temporal leader and who
> > fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising aginst Communist
> > rule.
> >
> > Guo called on legal officials in Tibet to beef up their struggle
> > against infiltration, in a hint that anti-Chinese feelings among Tibetans had
> > spread among officials appointed by Beijing.
> >
> > Thirdly, he called for an intensification of instruction about
> > patriotism in Tibet's monasteries and temples.
> >
> > He urged legal workers in the region to take part in rectification
> > work and cleanups of monasteries to raise vigilance in the region against the
> > ``splittists'' -- Beijing's codeword for people it says are trying to divide
> > Tibet from China.
> >
> > Anti-Chinese unrest has erupted sporadically in Tibet since
> > communist troops marched into the region in 1950, with monks and nuns at the
> > forefront of the pro-independence movement.
> >
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > 2. Dalai Lama could visit Taiwan after all: spokesman
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > New Delhi, Jan 23 (AFP) - The Dalai Lama may visit Taiwan after all, the
> > Tibetan spiritual leader's bureau announced in an apparent u-turn on
> > Wednesday.
> >
> > "In the future the Dalai Lama may visit Taiwan," spokesman Jampel Chasang
> > told AFP. "No dates have been fixed at the moment."
> >
> > Chasang said Tuesday the Dalai Lama, who heads a government -in-exile in
> > Dharamsala, northrn India would not go to Taiwan unless it stopped
> > regarding Tibet as a part of China.
> >
> > He added Wednesday that the Taiwan government had promised "there will not
> > be any interference ... in the event of his holiness' visit."
> >
> > A Taiwan Buddhist group has invited the Dalai Lama for 10 days in March.
> > The Tibetan leader has never been to Taiwan, where Chiense nationalists
> > fled after their defeat by the communist in a civil war in 1949.
> >
> > The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed anti-Chinese uprising
> > in his homeland. His govenrment-inexile is not recognised byt any
> > country.
> >
> > India is also home to more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles.
> >
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > 3. Voice of Tibet starts a half an hour programme on new frequency
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > DHARAMSALA, 28 January 1997 - According to the project manager of Voice of
> > Tibet (VOT), an independent radio station focusing on the situation in
> > Chinese-occupied Tibet, VOT has developed from a daily 15-minute programme to
> > 30 minutes.
> >
> > The new programme of the VOT aired on 27 January. The pogramme starts at
> > 12:30 UTC (6 PM Indian time) and will last for 30 minutes. The programme is
> > aired seven days a week, on the old frequency and timing.
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > 4. Entire Tibetan Parliament in exile Supports the Wei Jingsheng's
> > Candidacy for the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > DEMOCRACY FOR CHINA: THE OBJECTIVE OF 1,000 SIGNATURES FOR THE NOMINATION
> > OF WEI JINGSHENG'S CANDIDACY FOR THE 1997 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE HAS BEEN REACHED.
> >
> > 713 PARLIAMENTARIANS, 284 UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS, 3 NOBEL LAUREATES, AND 2
> > MEMBERS OF GOVERNMENT SEND A MESSAGE IN THIS WAY TO THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES
> > SO THAT CONCRETE DEMOCRATIC REFORMS BEGIN IN THE DICTATORSHIP OF PEKING.
> >
> > New York, January 28, 1997, (TRP) -- Transnational Radical Party's campaign,
> > in collaboration with Human Rights in China and the Federation for Democracy
> > in China, has reached its first objective. On January 31st the secretary of
> > the Transnational Radical Party, Olivier Dupuis, will deliver the more than
> > one thousand signatures of support for Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng,
> > leader of the "Wall of Democracy" movement, to the Nobel Committee in Oslo.
> > Wei Jingsheng is currently incarcerated in a concentration camp in Tangshan,
> > China, and is suffering from serious health problems.
> >
> > The campaign has collected the signatures of Parliamentarians from all over
> > the world, from the Parliament of Taiwan to the entire Tibetan Parliament in
> > exile, as well as the representative groups of the European Parliament,
> > Eastern European Parliaments, and even the Congress of the United States.
> > Dozens of professors from the most prestigious faculty departments in the
> > world supported the campaign, as did Nobel Peace Prize recipients Desmond
> > TUTU, Mairead MAGUIRE CORRIGAN, and Adolfo PEREZ ESQUIVEL.
> >
> > This great time for the nonviolent struggle for democracy in China will not
> > cease with the formal presentation of the signatures to the Nobel Committee.
> > There are already numerous procedures being activated in many European city
> > councils for the announcement of support for Wei's Nobel candidacy, and on
> > March 9th and 10th the TRP, together with the Tibet Support Groups of Europe
> > and the Tibetan Community in Europe will hold large manifestations before the
> > United Nations in Geneva. The demonstrations will be for the freedom of
> > occupied Tibet and the respect of human and civil rights in all of the
> > territories governed by the People's Republic of China.
> >
> > Transnational Radical Party
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > 5. U.S. Officials Discussing Rights in China
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Tuesday January 28 2:09 PM EST
> >
> > WASHINGTON (Reuter) - A U.S. delegation is in Beijing seeking concessions on
> > human rights that could make it unnecessary for the United States to sponsor
> > again this year a U.N. resolution faulting China's policy, U.S. officials
> > said Tuesday.
> >
> > The talks, set for Wednesday and Thursday, occur just as the United States is
> > preparing to release -- on Thursday -- its annual report on human rights
> > worldwide that as usual hits Beijing hard for rights abuses, the officials
> > said.
> >
> > This year's China report states that by the end of 1996, there were no active
> > dissidents left in China who had not been jailed or exiled, officials and
> > other sources told Reuters.
> >
> > Human rights is one of the most sensitive issues between China and the United
> > States. Over the past year the two governments have worked hard to stabilize
> > bilateral ties and manage their serious differences in a constructive way.
> >
> > Issuance of the human rights report and the looming decision on whether to
> > pursue a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Commission criticizing Chinese
> > practices pose an early challenge for new Secretary of State Madeleine
> > Albright, who has said China will be a priority.
> >
> > The commission meeting runs from March 10 to April 18.
> >
> > Internal adminstration debate on how to balance rights with other issues on
> > the U.S.-China agenda -- including Taiwan, trade and arms sales -- has been
> > intense.
> >
> > Albright has vowed to "tell it like it is" to China on human rights but also
> > said relations will not be held hostage to any one issue. She has said she
> > would go forward with the annual U.N. resolution if there is no progress in
> > Beijing's record.
> >
> > Although she espouses the adminstration goal of wanting to integrate, not
> > isolate Beijing, her more forward-leaning public statements on human rights
> > has raised hopes among rights advocates that she will promote a more
> > aggressive U.S. approach toward China.
> >
> > During his last trip to Beijing in November, former Secretary of State Warren
> > Christopher took great pains to play down human rights. Albright may stop in
> > Beijing on an around the world trip of major capitals being planned for next
> > month.
> >
> > The U.S. team now in Beijing is led by Sandra Kristoff, the National Security
> > Council's chief Asia expert. The team is seeking a significant gesture from
> > China on human rights.
> >
> > In a memo sent to the European Union recently and obtained by Reuters,
> > the adminstration said it was continuing to talk with the Chinese "about what
> > meaningful, concrete steps they might take to avoid confrontation in Geneva."
> >
> > These steps are releasing political prisoners needing medical attention,
> > signing and submitting for ratification two international human rights
> > covenants and resuming talks with the International Red Cross on allowing
> > prison visits.
> >
> > The administration urged the Europeans to "press these specific issues in
> > your contacts with the Chinese" and stressed the importance of joint action,
> > the memo said.
> >
> > Experts said if China does not offer some credible gesture on human rights
> > this week, the administration would seem to have little choice but to sponsor
> > the U.N. resolution.
> >
> > Rights advocates fear if the administration delays action much longer, it
> > will not have the time to generate political support for the resolution's
> > adoption. Unified action with Europe is seen as essential to success.
> >
> > Last week China suddenly offered to resume -- on Feb 14 in Singapore -- a
> > long-stalled dialogue with the European Union on human rights. That has
> > effectively delayed a European Union decision on the issue until foreign
> > ministers meet Feb 24.
> >
> > Mike Jendrzejczyk of Human Rights Watch/Asia said that in 1996 "China used
> > trade and aid deals all over world to keep the (human rights) resolution from
> > coming up for debate and a vote and they are already beginning to lobby
> > intensively" this year to again keep the resolution from moving forward.
> >
> > He stressed that if the United States and Europe continue to delay making a
> > decision on whether to pursue the resolution, "this is a recipe for disaster.
> > By delaying, Europe and the United States are playing into China's hands."
> >
> > ===========================================================================
> > end of WTN 97/01/28 23:00 GMT