Dalai Lama

Re “Tibet’s Plight Must Be Remembered,” April 23: The U.S. has no genuine concern about Tibet. In the U.S. government’s grand scheme of things, Tibet is but a dot on the map in a land far, far away, which has nothing of value that the U.S. can use. And so the decision has been made to start up relations with China. On April 23, the Dalai Lama got to see Vice President Al Gore, and President Clinton “dropped by” in a totally phony and two-faced gesture.

In the 1950s, the Chinese Communists marched into Tibet, forcing the Dalai Lama and many of his followers into exile. Since then, more than 1.2 million Tibetans have lost their lives and 99% of Tibet’s 6,000 monasteries and temples have been destroyed. Despite this, the Dalai Lama has remained a steadfast follower of the doctrine of nonviolence, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

To know the truth about what really happened in Tibet is to realize how morally wrong it is for the U.S. to begin any kind of relations with China until Tibet is free, the Dalai Lama is allowed to return to his religious and political position in Tibet and China is completely out of Tibet. This is the recommitment the U.S. needs to make if it truly wants to remember Tibet’s plight!

ERIN NICHOLL

Murrieta