China's Tibet claim based on illegal 1951 agreement: Report

BEIJING: China denies Tibet's ancient individual existence, claiming it to be a part of the mainland, the Tibet Press has claimed, adding that the legitimacy of its claims is based on an illegal agreement in 1951. The Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, also known as the 17 Point Agreement, was signed on May 23, 1951 by a person devoid of legitimate authority to represent Tibet, the Tibet Press has reported.

According to the Tibet Press, China had pledged to keep Tibet's traditional and religious integrity and local ethnic groups' local practices unhindered. The questioned agreement was signed through coercive means and is devoid of any legal legitimacy, the report further reads. Non-compliance with the agreement, however, caused the Tibetan uprising of 1959 which was crushed and also forced the 14th Dalai Lama to flee to India with his followers, it states.

"Although China undermined the pact through which it derives its legitimacy over Tibet but has also manifested to rid clear of any Tibetan aspirations of a liberated future. By introducing Communist policies, enforcing regressive sensitisation measures and by forcefully assimilating its ethnic population in Tibetan regions, the Chinese authorities have attempted to cleanse Tibetan culture from the sacred lands," the Tibet Press states. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has always attempted to declare a successor to the 14th Dalai Lama, as it is a crucial attempt on the part of China to integrate Tibet with itself, the report further states.

Further, according to the Tibet Press, "The Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh signifies great value for Tibet and Buddhism. Tawang has been native to the oldest and second biggest monastery in Asia where the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, was born in 1683. These cultural roots have led many Lamas to believe that the next Dalai Lama would very well emerge out of the Tawang." The alleged mistreatment of Tibetans and other minorities by China has gathered international attention. According to the Tibet Press report, the US, on various occasions, has stated that China has been implementing a genocidal policy against the Uyghurs and other minorities, including Turkic-speaking residents.

The US imposed sanctions against two senior Chinese officials over allegations of their serious violations of human rights in the Tibet region. These allegations were of tortured killings of prisoners and forced sterilisation of masses.