While I'm looking for some books in one of the book shops in Dharamsala I see a monk sitting on a chair and talking friendly with the shop owner. The monk has some books spread on the table and many more in a card box on the floor. I'm curious to find out more about the monk so I say hello to them. 'Hi!'

'Hi, Do you want to buy my book?' he says to me as a response. I see the the book is called 'A hell on earth' and that the monk happens to be the author. He is an ex-political prisoner who decided to let the world know about Tibet situation by writing this book, and this action had led him to become a well known Tibetan activist travelling around the world talking about his book.

'Would you like to meet tomorrow for a chat about Tibet?' I say. He smiles and agrees, willing to tell his story to anyone who wants to listen.

Next morning we meet in the same book shop, and I follow him down Temple rd. We take a small path which goes all the way around the Dalai Lama Temple. After a twenty minutes walk we stop at the back side of the temple and sit down under a tree, nearby some monks and villagers are sitting on benches enjoying the fresh Himalayan morning.

I read briefly his book the night before and so I already know his story in Chinese prisons. Because I'm not really interested in asking about that part of his life – after all, is always painful to remember such things –, I began the conversation asking about the current political situation in Tibet and the Olympic Games in China.

'Olympic Games in China are not good news for Tibetan people. Only Hun Chinese are happy with such event. The other Chinese communities like the Mongolians, the muslim Chinese, the Tibetan, etc. are not that happy. Olympic Games are connected with human rights, they mean human respect, but how can this Chinese government who is against human rights host an Olympic Games?
The sport men and world leaders who are going to the Olympic Games should know there is blood, human blood, in this Games. All these people going to the Olympic Games should know that China does not respect human rights, but only business. To the International Leaders who are going to Beijing, I tell them please stop going. And if they go, please do pressure for dialogue and negotiation on Tibet'.

- 'Do you believe in politicians?'

'No, I don't. Politicians are going to Beijing and probably nothing will change for Tibet. You see this is very important time for Tibet. Our culture is being killed very quickly. Some people say Tibet is not lost, that there is still hope, but the truth is that at this moment inside Lhasa there are 200,000 Chinese people, more than double than Tibetan, and more than 6,000 are moving inside Tibet – mainly Chinese tourist the Chinese government says, but it is not truth, they come to stay. And in the meanwhile every month while Tibetan community decreases because there is no job or life for them. Chinese government is building an extra city around Lhasa, where there are shops everywhere, restaurants, and the train station.'

- 'Protesting is the only way?'

'There has been already 49 years of Chinese occupation in Tibet and the situation is getting worse day by day. Why was people protesting against the Chinese rule on last 10th of March? If the Chinese Government really would support education, environment, religion rights, etc. of course we would love the Chinese rule. But what they support is destruction, killing, lack of freedom; then Tibetan people protest because they have not other choice.
Nowadays there are 6,000 Tibetans in prisons, more than 1,000 are missing, and who knows how many have been killed? Tibet is like a Chinese prison, I see Tibet today like a 'nazi' territory, people are not allowed to move freely, they must carry special identity cards, the Ganden monastery in Lhasa now is like a big working camp. Some monks during the 10th of March had stopped eating killing themselves. It is like war time – people outside Tibet doesn't realize how bad it is for us - there is military everywhere, cameras in the rooftop, etc.'

- 'How do you envision the future of Tibet?'

'Now there has been some direct contacts at least, a Tibetan delegation has gone to Beijing. But I doubt there has been really any dialogue from the Chinese. China becoming a democratic country is a good solution for Tibet, so we could keep our autonomy. But some people see this as an impossible future, convincing the Chinese government to embrace democracy is a very long journey.'

- 'Do you think that in a democratic China would it be possible a really autonomous Tibetan region?'

'It is like the situation in Quebec and Montreal in Canada. Although they speak French and feel independent from their country, they live together because they were asked what they wanted. Canada Government respects human rights, is not a communist government but a democratic one. It is not like China.
You see, we love our religion, and Chinese don't allow us to practice it, The Dalai Lama speaks of peace, of non violence and compassion, but the Chinese government does not understand these terms. How is dialogue possible when one par is talking about democracy and love and the other part is talking about communist and killing.
China must become a democratic country, that is the only way, otherwise I see no solution.

-'Democracy, is this what Tibetan refugees seek in India?'

'I came here thanks to some Tibetan people who made donations and said you should go to India and met the Dalai Lama and also tell all the people you can about the situation of Tobet. I walked through the Himalayas for three months with two broken ribs, arrived to Dharamsala and started travelling and tell the world. And then I wrote four books with my stories during these years.

'- Now, what do you think is going to happen when the Dalai Lama will pass away?'

'When he will pass away there will be big problems. Problems not only in Tibet but also here in India, we would loose support because everybody loves the Dalai Lama. Many western countries support us also because of him. Dalai Lama is very powerful, but he is only one man and one day he will pass away. And there will not only political problems but also religious problems. Ideally the Tibet situation should be resolved during this Dalai Lama lifetime.
There will also be some internal problems among the Tibetans itself. Now the Dalai Lama is a piece of union between different parties. Take for example the TYC (Tibetan Youth Congress), a very important Tibetan organisation, they do not want Chinese autonomy like the Dalai Lama but the full independence from China. They start a hunger strike this month on 8th August due to the Olympic Games ceremony. And they organized also a big demonstration in Delhi that I will join. They are very powerful and Chinese government is scared of them. They say the TYC are terrorists and asked the Dalai Lama to close the organisation, which of course he didn't because all the TYC does is peaceful actions like demonstration with Tibetan flags and hunger strikes.'

---

Further reading:
Victims of the Genocide in Tibet will testify in Spain's High Court as the Olympic Games approach
A contemporary play: 20 Years of struggle