Exploration 11

My favorite passage was #18 from Nelson Mandela’s speech.  “In relation to these matters, we appeal to those who govern Burma that they release our fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, and engage her and those she represents in serious dialogue, for the benefit of all the people of Burma.”  The reason this passage was my favorite was that on a day when he was receiving such a distinguished honor that the Nobel Peace Prize is, he was thinking of others facing similar struggles that he had endured. 

This article was interesting to me because it was a present day take on FW de Klerk’s opinion of Nelson Mandela.  It is only a surface level view, but the article is basically stating that FW de Klerk’s disagrees with the public perception that Nelson Mandela is a saint like figure.  He does not go into great depth as to why he believes this, but nevertheless it is interesting given that these two men shared the Nobel Peace Prize almost 20 years ago.  There is also a link within this article of FW de Klerk trying to justify his position that apartheid was not “completely repugnant”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/nelson-mandela/9194297/FW-de-Klerk-says-Nelson-Mandela-was-brutal-and-unfair.html

Tibet is a region located in China. China became a Communist nation after the end of World War II in 1949. Prior to this transition to Communist Rule, the region acted as an independent country remaining autonomous from The People’s Republic of China despite their proximity. After an invasion of Tibet in 1950 by the Chinese government, the people of Tibet were now considered a part of the rule of the new government of China. The people of Tibet practice Tibetan Buddhism; their Spiritual Leader is named the Dalai Lama. It is the Tibetan Buddhists’ belief that when a current Dalai Lama dies, their spirit is reincarnated into a new body; the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama then becomes the current Spiritual Leader of the people. Based on the standards of their religious culture, the people of Tibet believe the current leader of their country to be the 14^th Dalai Lama – Tenzin Gyatso. It is their religious belief that the process of reincarnation chooses the next Dalai Lama, not political practices. This is a basis for the strife between the people of China and those of formerly independent Tibet - the Tibetan people believe Tenzin Gyatso should rule as decreed by their religious beliefs; however, the people of China believe their current political leader’s rule is ultimate. Needless to say, this has caused much strife and conflict between the two areas. There is currently no resolution to the political power struggle. After a failed Tibetan uprising in 1959, the current Dalai Lama fled to India and has led the Tibetan Government-in-Exile there ever since.

 

The Dalai Lama pictured here in India. He has been

                                         in exile since 1959.