Howrah News Service -  Latest news and headlines on Howrah,West Bengal and World: Karat compares Tibet to separatist demands in India

Karat compares Tibet to separatist demands in India
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SPECIALCORRESPONDENT on 01 April, 2008 02:05:00
 
Talking to reporters on the second day of the 19th CPI(M) party congress in the
city, Karat said that the Indian government's 'One China policy' was the
"correct position" vis-à-vis Tibet. "Those who want to join this chorus
for an independent Tibet in India will be doing a great disservice to our own
country. Are we going to support a free Nagaland? Or a free Jammu and Kashmir?
Or those other secessionist demands?" Karat asked.
The CPI (M) leader's comments follow violent disturbances in Tibet in March
against Chinese rule that have led to, according to Beijing, the death of around
20 people. Tibetan sources say over 140 people have been killed.
Pointing out that there had been many demands for breaking up big nation
states, Karat said, "There are views not only in China, around the world and
even in Western parts that national sovereignty can be amended in the name of
human rights and in the name of ethnic minority rights. There are forces who say
that big states, which are multi-national states, they can be broken up." He
said that the US and some European countries were prepared to break up other
states.
The senior CPI(M) leader also claimed, "Our party does not support any of such
demands whether, it is in China or in Europe or in India." "It is amazing that
in our country there are politicians toeing the line of certain Western powers
which say recognise separate ethnic and region identities leading to the break
up of existing nation states."
Karat went on, "It is a different matter altogether that in all parts of the
world there are legitimate grievances (regarding) the rights of minorities, and
democratic solutions should be found to that."
Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) attack on the United Progressive
Alliance?s stance on Tibet, the leader said, "Are the BJP interested in spoiling
India-China relations? It was the Vajpayee government that signed the
declaration that Tibet Autonomous Region is a part of People's Republic of
China."
However, Karat added that the Chinese government and the representatives of the
Dalai Lama, who lives in India, should discuss Tibet to resolve the issue.
Representatives of the Communist Party of China are among those attending the
CPI(M) congress in this Tamil Nadu town. (IANS)