Letter: Will history repeat itself?

Fri, 04/11/2008 12:32 PM | Reader's Forum

At the end of 1903, Col. F. Younghusband with more than 3,000 soldiers entered Tibetan territories.

To avoid bloodshed, Tibetan Gen. Yetung pledged that if the Tibetans make no attack, the British should also not make any attack against Tibetans. Younghusband replied that "unless we are ourselves attacked, we shall not attack the Tibetans".

Despite the agreement, in March 1904 the British took the lives of a few thousand soldiers and civilians near a village called Guru.

According to Younghusband's account of killed and wounded, Tibetan casualties numbered 500. Others claim it was as high as 1,300.

According to the British, the fighting was triggered by the Tibetans firing, but according to other witnesses, the British were killing Tibetans with machine guns as they were running away.

The day after the massacre Younghusband telegraphed his superiors: "I trust the tremendous punishment they have received will prevent further fighting and induce them to at last to negotiate."

Will history repeat itself or will the Chinese government refrain from violence and be open to a dialogue and can the Dalai Lama convince his people to stop the violence on their side too, to enable a peaceful solution?

After all, when one humiliates one's boss in public, the chance of a getting a promotion will become substantially slimmer compared to that of getting fired.
YANTI
Jakarta

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