Gompo Tashi’s Letter to Eisenhower, 1959
March 10, 2011
CLICK HERE to download the 9-page letter, a list of gifts also given, and the US memo that acknowledges the delivery to the Embassy.
The term "Do-med" is used often in the letter, so I asked Jamyang Norbu, noted author and activist for Tibetan independence, for clarification. He explained that the term refers to the Eastern Tibetan province of Kham, where many of the fighters in the Chushi Gangdruk were from. Along with the letter -- delivered to the US Embassy in New Delhi, India on December 13, 1959 while Eisenhower was visiting India -- Gompo Tashi also offered a few gifts to the president which included a full traditional Khampa outfit; the exact one he's wearing in the photo above. (Tashi himself was from the Lithang region of Kham.)
According to Norbu -- who had briefly been a member of the resistance forces based in Mustang and knew some of the Chushi Gangdruk leaders close to Gompo Tashi -- the above picture was taken in a photo studio in Kalimpong, India to document the outfit just before he and others left for New Delhi to give it to Eisenhower. Norbu added, "The spectacles were a studio accessory meant to make the subject look more educated or refined". The photograph is printed in Gompo Tashi's memoirs Four Rivers, Six Ranges: Reminiscences of the Resistence Movement in Tibet, published posthumously in 1973 by the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Unfortunately the gifts weren't found at the Eisenhower Library. If anyone out there has any information regarding their whereabouts, please let me know through the "contact me" link in the right column.
Jamyang Norbu recently posted another significant archival letter on his blog, this one from the Dalai Lama to President Kennedy sent the following year.
Revolt & Propaganda in “Unconquerable Tibet”
February 25, 2011
As revolution fever whips through North Africa and the Middle East, I thought I’d post an archival film called "Unconquerable Tibet". It's also timely as we approach the 52nd anniversary of March 10th, a day the Tibetan exile community commemorates as Tibetan National Uprising Day. That landmark revolt against the People's Republic of China wasn't the first or the last display of Tibetan rebellion by far; protests continue today (albeit unarmed since the 70s) within Tibet and the worldwide diaspora.
Looking through some US government documents from the ‘50s, I came across an interesting memo titled, “Peking Publicity for Tibetan Rebellion and Unrest”. I’ll post it in full next month, but for now here’s the final passage, dated just a few months before the March 1959 revolt began: (Note: the opening paragraph is the US intro.)
January 1, 1959 – The Tibetans persisted in their opposition to Communist reforms and in their desire for independence; a New Year’s statement by a leading official of the Chinese Communist Party control committee for Tibet admitted continued Tibetan resistance which, as usual, he attributed to imperialist influence.
An energetic effort should be made to struggle against the enemy and to expose the schemes and subversive activities carried out by all the reactionaries and imperialists. This must be done for the defense of our country. Under the guidance of imperialism and some special service agents of the Chiang [then the leader of the Republic of China/Taiwan] clique, a small number of reactionaries are carrying out a series of subversive activities to deceive the Tibetan people under the flag of nationalism and emancipation. For this reason, we must heighten our vigilance against imperialism and all reactionaries and be prepared to deal a fatal blow to them.
While that has a familiar ring to it these days, the difference for Tibetans in 1959 is there was no world watching. There was no press allowed in Tibet then (and very little now, for that matter). Few Tibetans had cameras then to document what was happening. So no one was there, that I have record of, to film what sounds like a massacre from first-hand accounts. The men I interviewed who were there all tell the same story: the rebels were crushed with overwhelming force. By March 28, 1959, the PRC had claimed the Dalai Lama a fugitive and Tibet officially under China’s rule. The party line claimed they were liberating the Tibetans from imperialist influence. Their tune changed in 2009 when China began touting March 28 as “Serf’s Emancipation Day”.
Propaganda was also, of course, a significant part of the CIA’s Tibetan Task Force (as with all US operations). Today’s video is a good example of US anti-Communist propaganda, made in 1959 following the March revolt in Lhasa. Produced by the United States Information Agency (USIA), here is “Unconquerable Tibet”.
March 10 Montage
March 20, 2010On March 10th, Tibetan support groups staged protests, rallies, marches, and candlelight vigils across the world. Here's a montage of four of those events: New York City, London, Dharamsala, India, and Washington DC.
Thanks to all who generously helped on a shoestring budget: NYC-John Marton, London-Duncan Shears, Dharamsala-Legdup Tsering & Tenzin Norkyi, DC-Jeff Krulik, and music by Joel Langley, Green Goose Music
Ratu Ngawang: We Must Never Forget March 10
March 10, 2010Ratu Ngawang is respected among many Tibetans as a former commander in the Chushi Gangdruk, the Tibetan resistance army that fought the Chinese PLA from the 50s through the early 70s. He was also the head of security in the escape of the Dalai Lama, which began one week after the Tibetan uprising began on March 10, 1959.
Here's a clip from my interview with him in November, 2009.
Mikel Dunham Remembers March 10th
March 10, 2010Mikel Dunham spent 7 years collecting first hand stories from the Tibetan fighters in the resistance against the Chinese, as well as former CIA officers who worked on the Tibetan Task Force. His book "Buddha's Warriors" was the first one I read while researching the CIA's operation in Tibet, and he was one of the first people I interviewed. In acknowledgment of the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, here's a clip from my interview with Mikel that gives a vivid retrospective of March 10, 1959, and sets the tone of the times leading up to it.
Unfortunately my archival footage is non-existent when it come to photographs and film that depict the actual day. I used film of the Dalai Lama, from the CIA collection at the National Archives. The library's notes don't say who shot the film, but it's most likely Tibetan CIA trainees who were taught to shoot film to gather intelligence for the CIA.
March 10, 2009: Dharamsala, India
March 8, 2010Continuing with stories of March 10 as we near the 51st anniversary of Tibet's National Uprising Day, here's another short documentary from one of last year's observations of this special day in Tibetan history. As the home of the Tibetan government in exile, Dharamsala's events continued throughout the day, beginning with the annual ceremony and speech from the Dalai Lama.
March 9, 2009: Washington DC
March 7, 2010March 10th has been commemorated by Tibetans every year since 1959 as the National Uprising Day, when the Tibetan people united in revolt against the Chinese occupation of their country, and to protect their spiritual and political leader, the Dalai Lama. As the 51st anniversary approaches, I'll be posting videos that tell the story of that day in one way or another. Today I'm revisiting a short I made last year of a rally in DC, one of many events around the world in honor of 2009's 50th anniversary.
To document March 10th this year, I'm planning a montage of various events from as many cities as I can gather footage from. If anyone will be shooting video or stills this Wednesday, and would like to share with this blog, please email me at lisa@kefiworks.com. Credit will be given to anyone who's work is shown, and will be much appreciated.
