Tibetan Independence Movement - Development and Influence

Development and Influence

Organisations which support the Tibetan independence movement include:

• Free Tibet Campaign - Located in London, United Kingdom, formed in 1987, stands for the right of Tibetans to determine their own future and for the future of their own country.
• Tibetan Independence Movement - A movement started within Tibet that started in 1957 and has continued today. Chinese crackdown on dissent led to 10 monks that formed the movement being jailed, with three (as of 2004) still jailed.
• Tibetan Youth Congress - Located at Dharamsala, the seat of the Government of Tibet in Exile in India, claims 30,000 members.
• International Tibet Independence Movement - Located in Indiana, United States. It was formed in 1995 as an official organization and focus for the various international activities.
• International Tibetan Aid Organization - Located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, this organization was formed in 2004 to provide a European counterpart to the International Tibetan Independence Movement.
• International Tibet Support Network - Located in London, United Kingdom, established in 2000, umbrella organization for Tibet related organization worldwide.

However, Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, is no longer calling for independence. He has spoken in many international venues, including the United States Congress, and the European Parliament. In 1987, he has also started campaigning for a peaceful resolution to the issue of the status of Tibet, and has since then advocated that Tibet should not become independent, but that it should be given meaningful autonomy within the People's Republic of China. This approach is known as the "Middle Way". A third position examines "self-determination' as a way of avoiding the polarities of independence/Middle Way. This perspective does not need to legitimate itself through historical precidence. It simply views Tibetans, as all peoples, as having inherent rights to determine their own forms of association.