Connie Mack: “the Tibetan people are suffering today in the name of freedom, and I am pleased to rise with Senator Moynihan to submit…”

“the Tibetan people are suffering today in the name of freedom, and I am pleased to rise with Senator Moynihan to submit a resolution in solemn commemoration of this day, March 10, in Tibetan history. It was on March 10, 1959 that the Tibetan people said, ``enough is enough.'' The city of Lhasa organized into what later became known as the ``Lhasa revolt'' on this day forty years ago, to protect their beloved leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, and to reject the impositions of Beijing. Let me provide some details. The new communist government in Beijing sent an army to invade Tibet in 1949. The People's Liberation Army quickly overwhelmed Tibetan defenses. In 1951, a Tibetan delegation went to Beijing to negotiate a peace agreement. But negotiation is too kind of a word. The Tibetan delegation was forced to sign a PRC-written document known as the ``17 Point Agreement.'' Even though it was forced upon the Tibetan government, it promised to preserve Tibetan political, cultural, and religious institutions, and so was warily accepted by the Tibetan government. Mr. President, going back to the early days of the PRC, we can see a pattern. The terms on paper protected the Tibetan way of life. But the promises proved empty. I suggest this is a lesson our President today would be wise to learn.”