Sympathy turns toward China, away from Tibet

As the Dalai Lama toured European capitals this week, the British prime minister closed the door to 10 Downing St. and agreed to meet him only as part of an "interfaith dialogue." In Germany, most government officials declined to talk with him at all.

It was a precipitous comedown from just a few weeks ago, when Tibetans and their supporters upstaged the Beijing's elaborate global Olympic torch relay and catapulted Tibet's cause to the forefront of the world's human-rights agenda. The German and British leaders said they would skip the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

The shift is, partly, tectonic. An earthquake in China's Sichuan province killed tens of thousands of Chinese, evoking an outpouring of global sympathy and turning it from victimizer to victim.

Tibetan opponents of Beijing, like advocates of several other leading human-rights causes, have been consigned once again to play David to China's Goliath, struggling to compete with its growing diplomatic and economic clout.

But the Tibetan movement has also struggled to stay in the limelight because it remains a fractious and informal hodgepodge of cultural, religious and political groups. It is united by deep emotional sympathy rather than by organization or cash. Increasingly, there are even differences over how closely to hew to the Dalai Lama's vision of nonviolent diplomacy seeking something short of an independent Tibet.

"State of mourning"

"The protests this spring put Tibet at the forefront of human-rights issue — they accomplished a lot — but I think the interest can't go further right now," said John Kamm, a leading human-rights advocate whose San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation has helped free prominent Chinese political prisoners.

"Now the Chinese people are in a state of mourning," he said. "I'm not suggesting that we stop putting pressure on China, but we should use judgment in where and when to direct the fire."

That leaves Tibetan exiles and their Western supporters in a quandary. The Olympic torch, now back on Chinese soil, is to arrive in Tibet in just three weeks, an act that Tibetan activists once considered a potential rallying point against Chinese rule.

Instead, Tibetan groups have been forced to lobby quietly. They are asking board members of the International Olympic Committee as well as of corporate Olympic sponsors such as Coca-Cola to consider withdrawing support for the torch relay unless China cancels the Tibet segment, a campaign that shows few signs of success.

Eager for allies, some Tibetan groups have joined hands with Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual and exercise movement that Beijing outlawed as a cult. Though Falun Gong does not enjoy the cachet among politicians and celebrities that Tibet does, it has money and a tight, if secret, organization. Tibetan groups have joined in a number of events sponsored by Falun Gong this year as part of its human-rights torch relay.

Public face

At one time, overseas Tibetans were notable for attracting more high-profile supporters, like actor Richard Gere, as well as for the widespread appeal of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader in exile, has been an outgoing public face and spokesman.

The outbreak of riots in Tibet in March — Tibetans say they were spontaneous and Beijing says were carefully orchestrated — prompted a heavy Chinese crackdown and sparked sympathy demonstrations in London, Paris and San Francisco. At times, the Tibetans appeared to hijack the Olympics for their own cause.

Pro-Tibet groups have become more emboldened, forming new alliances and finding themselves deluged with volunteers and donations. About 200 new chapters of Students for a Free Tibet have been started in the past six months, in places like Estonia, the Czech Republic and the state of Montana.

But sustaining that momentum has been difficult. "It is a challenge to keep people engaged," said Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet. "There's no substitute for China bringing the Olympic torch into your neighborhood."