Sir, - On Wednesday, May 23rd, the government of the People's Republic of China will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the forcible signing of the "17-Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet". Every guarantee that the PRC undertook to respect and protect the Tibetans, their culture, religion and political structures has been broken. For 50 years Tibet has languished under the oppressive yoke of colonial exploitation.
This process is not over. Indeed, at the very moment that China celebrates this anniversary, plans are underway to strengthen China's lethal grip on Tibet by the building of the Golmud-Lhasa railway. This will open up Tibet for a terminal influx of Chinese immigrants, adventurers, more military personnel, and facilitate the increased exploitation of Tibet's vast mineral wealth for China's benefit. In a very few years, Tibet, already fading as a culture under the massive influx of Chinese colonialists, will become as Sinocised as Inner Mongolia and Manchuria. China's "final solution" to the Tibetan problem is almost complete. Yours, etc.,
Anthony O'Brien, Tibet Support Group Ireland, Ailesbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.