The Mongolians and the Dalai Lama share special relations since the 1578 when the Mongolian ruler Altan Khan conferred the title of the Dalai Lama to Sonam Gyatso; the third reincarnation of Dalai Lama to Tibet and the Gaden Monastery in Ulan Bataar keeps a throne reserved for the Dalai Lama. Recently the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso made his ninth visit to Mongolia since 1979 despite strong opposition from China.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang warned at a press briefing in Beijing just a day before Dalai Lama’s visit to Mongolia: “We strongly urge Mongolia to act by keeping in mind the big picture of maintaining the stable development of bilateral relations and to keep their promises made on this issue. Do not allow the Dalai Lama to visit. Do not support or facilitate the separatist activities of the Dalai clique.”
However, “Just like in the past, Ulaanbaatar ignored the warnings. Befitting a nation where a majority of the population practices a form of Buddhism derived from Tibet, Mongolian officials described the visit as purely religious in nature. The Dalai Lama attracted crowds of thousands during his four-day trip. He visited monasteries, preached to admiring worshippers at a gigantic sports facility (built with Chinese aid), and made a star appearance at an international conference on “Buddhist science.” said a report in ChinaFile.
“He also announced that the next spiritual leader of Mongolia, the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, considered the third most important lama, after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, has been born.” added the report. This is more likely to irk the Beijing government as they have long been trying to assert their power in the recognition of reincarnations of high Buddhist lamas including the Dalai Lama too.
“After the Dalai Lama left on November 23, Beijing indefinitely postponed bilateral meetings between the two nations, casting doubts over Ulaanbaatar’s hopes to obtain badly needed soft loans and economic aid.” which Mongolia would have obviously anticipated from the past history of such stories.
“But Beijing’s efforts—and embarrassing inability—to force Mongolia’s compliance with its political demands expose a more sinister face of China’s friendship.” said the report which criticise the hypocrite approach by the Beijing government.
The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet fled to exile in 1959 after China conquered Tibet. The Dalai Lama, who leads the Tibetans has been asking the Beijing authorities resolve the issue of Tibet through dialogue in a peaceful manner in order to restore basic human rights inside Tibet. The Dalai Lama was conferred the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. However, China claiming Tibet as an integral part of China accuses the Dalai Lama of brewing separatist activities against China.
Leave a Reply