Turmoil in Tibet

Once again the ongoing inhumane treatment of the citizens of Tibet by the Peoples Republic of China has made the news. My question is a simple one. The country of Tibet was free and independent until the Communist takeover in the 1950s. Since that time people of Tibet along with a large part of its political and religious leaders have been in exile in various parts of the world. In the 1950s when the Communists threatened South Korea we fought a fierce battle to keep those people free.

In the 1960s when Cuba was taken over by Castro and his Communist regime we uttered an outrage that was heard around the world. When South Vietnam was threatened we again fought a long and bloody war to keep the people free. In the 1970s and the 1980s we have declared public outrage over Afghanistan and the continuous threats of Communist intervention in Central and South America. Why have we not even made a whimper over the forceful occupation of the peaceful land and people of Tibet?

Tibet is a vast repository of philosophical and religious doctrine and has been for countless centuries. Its impact on the rest of the world, although subtle, is still a well acknowledged fact by the intellectual and religious communities of the world.

The ongoing bloody massacres of its people, who only wish to be free to live their lives as any decent people have the right, is also a matter of public record and is reported in the newspapers and on television regularly.

The silence on this matter in Washington is rather ominous. Why do we refuse to acknowledge this outrage? Isn’t there anything we can do to help those people?

JAMES A. KROMWALL

Beaumont