"[serene instrumental music playing]" "[crowd cheering]" "Tibetans are showing an example to the rest of the world, that a difficult struggle can be carried out, in accordance with non-violent principles." "[Loten] We Tibetans, have been trying to get freedom for the last 50 years." "[shouting and clamoring]" "And because it is so bad in Tibet, in the last one year, more than 35 young Tibetans, they have set their bodies on fire." "[crowd shouting]" "[singing in Tibetan]" "[Loten] Free Tibet!" "[crowd] Free Tibet!" "[Loten] Free Tibet!" "[crowd] Free Tibet!" "Free Tibet!" "Free Tibet!" "[Loten] Austria, thanks for welcoming us... [soft instrumental music playing]" "[birds chirping]" "[Loten] Sometimes I think that I am a perfect specimen for a Tibetan." "Because I am born in exile, grew up 25 years in India." "And now I am 50, so 25 years I am living in Switzerland, in the west." "So I am combining them together, my experiences in both cultures." "[speaking in foreign language]" "He hit the goal post!" "Then kicked again." "And goal!" "Did you see that?" "Onto the crossbar, then into the goal." "[TV playing]" "[Loten] Let's offer the meal prayer." "[all chanting] I take refuge in Guru, I take refuge in Buddha," "I take refuge in Dharma..." "[Loten] My kids, they live with the mother, but they come to my place two to three times in the week." "And I cook for them." "They say to me, "Pala, your momo is the best momo."" "[foreign language] In Tibet, China is... [boy] Dad, I know." "I know, but I want to remind you." "I won't be seeing you for the next two months." "So, I have to tell you why I'm making this march." "It's something I must do." "Many Tibetans in Tibet are going through immense suffering in prison." "While here we are free and happy." "I ask myself, how can we be so indifferent when Tibetans inside Tibet are going through so much?" "So it's good for you to know what your Dad is doing." "Give me a big hug." "We'll soon see each other again." "Take care." "Wait a minute..." "[Loten chanting]" "Dad, give me two francs." "Wait, I will give you more." "Take care of this chain." "Here you are, 20 francs." "Thank you." "Buy some sweets." "Give me a kiss." "Be good, okay?" "Nyima, give me a kiss!" "Okay?" "Thank you." "[Tibetan instrument playing]" "[Loten] Twenty-five years ago, when I first came to Switzerland," "I was thinking, what can I do for my country?" "And then I realized, that the best thing that I have, is that I can sing." "[singing folk song]" "I had to decide, If I sing, I cannot work." "And if I work, I cannot sing." "And then I made a pledge to myself that, even if I have just bread to eat and water to drink, I will just sing." "And so basically I try to make my living with singing, and at the same time, I am trying to dedicate my life for the cause of Tibet." "But now, now I cannot go on living as a musician or as a father, with all these pictures of self-immolations deep in my heart." "Dear friends, I have decided to do this walk from Bern to Geneva." "Bern being the heart of the Swiss politics, and Geneva being the head office of the United Nations for human rights." "I have this coffin, and this coffin symbolizes the slow dying of my country." "In the last one year, 35 Tibetans, they have set fire on their bodies." "Actually, I feel today that I am just a messenger of these 35 brave Tibetans." "They are craving for freedom, and they want His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, to come back to Tibet and sit on his throne and in Potala Palace." "[crickets chirping]" "[Tibetan song playing]" "[Loten praying]" "[Tibetan song playing]" "[Tibetan song playing]" " I go to Geneva." " [woman] Walking?" "Yeah, walk." "The situation in Tibet is very, very bad." "Yes, yes." "So that's why on the way, I meet people like you, and then I go to Geneva." "And then in Geneva, in front of the United Nations, I bring this coffin." "And then, very good musicians, from all over the world they come and sing for Tibet." "Say, Free Tibet!" "Free Tibet, man." "Yes, yes." "[laughing] [church bell ringing] [sighs]" "[exhales]" "[children chanting]" "[Loten] At that time, when my mother was dying," "I wanted to go to India but I was refused visa." "[children singing]" "So now after seven years I got a visa, and I am back to the place where I grew up." "[children singing]" "[children shouting]" "This is home number two, and here I grew up." "And I think I lived in this place almost for 15 years." "All my childhood life I lived here." "My parents are still here, although I believe that they are reincarnated." "But I feel the spirit, you know, the kindness in each of these trees and flowers here." "[birds chirping]" "My mother and my father were foster parents." "Because most of the children I lived with together, during those days, they were all orphans." "We were like 30 to 40 children." "And my mother and my father looked to everyone equally." "Even though if I was their child, they really treated us all equal." "Unfortunately, my father and mother, their wish was to die in Tibet." "In their own country, where they were born." "But they died here." "[speaking in foreign language] Was it difficult, when my mother died?" "Not at all." "Was she able to say her prayers?" "Yes, she was." " And the morning prayers?" " Yes." "It was around 2 o' clock in the afternoon." "When she died?" " Do you still have her remains?" " I do." "Can I see them?" "Are these the last remains of my mother?" " Are these her ashes?" " Yes, they are." "And this is the clay sculpture." "The clay sculpture made from my mother's ashes?" "Yes." "And the rest of the ashes?" "We scattered them in the river." "Which river?" "The Ganges." "Are you taking that back to Switzerland?" "The little clay sculpture I will take back to Switzerland." "The rest I will scatter in the river." "In the Ganges?" "Maybe the Ganges." "Or another river." "Perhaps another river nearby." "The Ganges may be a very holy river, but these days it's very dirty." "Everyone knows that." "So it would be better to take them to the mountains instead." "[cars honking]" "[knocking on the door]" "Hello." "[talking in foreign language] Hello, auntie." "[Auntie]Who are you?" "I don't know you." "You don't know me?" "I don't think so." "My mother was Sodon, your sister." "You are my aunt." "Oh, so I am your aunt." "Yes, yes." " Now do you know who I am?" " Yes, I do." "I am your nephew, Lobsang Tenzin." "It's a pleasure to meet you." "Thank you very much." "Please have a seat." "You cannot know me, because we never met before." "Didn't you call me once in Lhasa?" "Yes, I did." "Yes, when I was in Lhasa, you called." "You were in Tibet at that time?" " Yes." " But we didn't talk much." "Then I told you who I was, and you said," ""Aunt, we will meet one day."" "Please have a seat." "Here, have some biscuits." "You look very well." "Doesn't she resemble my mother?" "Everyone in Tibet was facing problems." "Were you humiliated by the Chinese?" "Thanks to people who worked for us," "I was not beaten at that time." "But they forced me to kneel in front of 4000 people, me, along with my mother and another lady." "We were all made to kneel down." "Many of our elders were killed." "Really!" "Yes, the Tibetans suffered so much." "How were they killed?" "Were they shot?" "No, they were beaten to death." "All the aristocrats were arrested." "We witnessed hell with our own yes." "Was your husband killed by the Chinese?" "Yes, he was beaten to death when he was 40." "[ambient music playing]" "Many people, especially those people in the West, have an illusion that Tibet used to be a holy land, is a pure land, for everybody has freedom of speech." "What kind of a institution is there?" "Actually it is not a pure land or this kind of very holy land." "It has not existing at that time." "Because this is a society, a social system event hough this is old." "But there is a social system, this is he feudal serfdom system." "[narrator] For centuries, Tibetan serfs were tied to their owners land and enslaved." "Day in and day out, they endured terrible conditions and extremely heavy toil." "The seemingly endless dark days came to an end, 51 years ago, on March 28th." "On that day, the central government announced, it would dissolve the aristocratic, local government and begin the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region." "Later, in October of the same year, the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet and were welcomed by local government officials, monks and locals." "[speaking in foreign language]" "I was told you were in prison for many years." "Yes, I was in prison for 21 years." "Every other day they summoned me for interrogation, in handcuffs." "Sometimes handcuffed behind my back." "We also had to sleep wearing handcuffs." "In the morning it was difficult to move my hands." "Then they put electric shocks in my mouth, they put in my head, they put everywhere." "They used metal sticks to beat me." "I had broken two ribs." "I had a broken liver or kidney." "Sometimes, with no shoes and no socks," "I had to stand almost four hours in ice." "The skin of my feet all came off." "There was blood all over my feet." "[marching] [epic instrumental music playing]" "[serene instrumental music playing]" "[melancholic instrumental music playing]" "[speaking in Tibetan] Through our direct connection to Tibet we heard about the unrest in 2008." "In two hours, 20 people were killed." "We got the news and pictures." "In 2012, in all three provinces of Tibet, large demonstrations took place." "A lot of people were killed in Lhasa." "And many were arrested in other places." "None of this information appeared in the international media." "[music building up]" "[men shouting]" "[music continues]" "The first self-immolation took place in February 2009." "His name was Tapey." "He was a monk from the Kirti Monastery." "We belong to the same monastery." "At the time, I was overcome." "And I was not prepared for all the self-immolations that were to follow." "[people clamoring]" "We made aware of this situation to China and to the world." "But the response was poor." "And very frustrating." "[man screaming] [bells ringing]" "[melancholic instrumental music playing]" "[water flowing]" "[Loten] These people have set their body's on fire, to give light to the darkness of the situation in Tibet, so that the world will also see what is really happening." "But in many of the newspapers, very few has been said about Tibet." ""So I'm just thinking," What can I do trying to bring this message of my brothers and sisters which has been blocked by China's might?"" "Actually I want to put oil on my body and set on fire, really." "But I am really not courageous enough." "I have no courage." "That immense altruistic compassion, that courage I don't have." "[upbeat music playing]" "[man singing]" "[music continues]" "[camera clicking]" "[Loten] Hello!" "Bonjour!" "Is anyone here?" "Hello!" "Not one soul." "[birds chirping]" "Hello, Monsieur." "[man in foreign language] I want to see how you pack all this into the coffin." " All this has to go in?" " Yes." "[man] The coffin should be larger." "[laughing]" "Did you weigh everything?" "Beg you pardon?" "Did you scale the weight of everything you're dragging?" "Uh..." "It is almost sixty kilos." "All this for freedom." "Yes." "Freedom." "It's all about freedom." "I am an owner." "I am the owner of a very small piece of the earth, for a very short moment in time." "That all belongs to you?" "Up to where?" "Down here and up there and over there..." "Like a normal farm." "Like a normal farmer here." "I am owning this for about 70 years." "Since when does the earth exist?" "You know, I never owned anything since I was born." "[chuckles] [wheels dragging]" "[exhales]" "[traffic going past]" "[sighs]" "[rain falling]" "[traffic rushing past]" "[man talking in foreign language] [translator] Self immolation is neither advocated nor permitted by Tibetan Buddhist teaching." "Self immolation is a sin." "So I wonder how they learned to do it." "The Dalai Clique taught them, for sure." "Is there any evidence that there is a political drive or a political campaign by the Dalai Clique to incite people to do this?" "Sure, that is very clear." "Because the essential doctrine of Buddhism is compassion." "Compassion in every facet of life." "And the fist and foremost commandment of the religion, is against destroying life." "Including the life of insects." "Not to mention the life of human beings." "Well, now the Dalai Clique duped innocent people into self immolation." "What does that mean?" "It means, they are after the so-called Tibetan independence." "That's the ultimate aim." "But their wishful thinking cannot come true." "Tibet has been with China for hundreds of years." "Hello." "Something to eat?" " Do you speak English?" " Yes." "I come from Xizang, and I go to Geneva." "Because the communist government, uh, China, they kill my brothers and sisters." "[Loten] So I go and say, "Free Tibet!"" "Can we eat something?" "[man] We are closing right now." "Sorry it's too late." "Come on!" "Before, you said there is food." "And now because I said, "Free Tibet," you kick me out!" " No, no, no." " Oh, yes." "Anyway, it doesn't matter." "I want to say to you one thing," "I have no problem with Chinese people." "Chinese people, I have no problem." "It is the Chinese government who kills my brothers and sisters." "So I go as a protest." "But I want to come and eat with you in your place, because I am not against common Chinese people." "[man] Yeah, I understand." "But tell him that." "Anyway, bye-bye." "See you." "[chuckling]" "I say free free Tibet." "Free Xizang." "[man talking in foreign language]" "Ha, ha." "Hello, Franz!" "On behalf of six million Tibetans, I can say thank you, I think." "Thank you very much." "Thank you." "So, how are you?" "I'm fine." "Hello." "I am Stephane, journalist de Lausanne." "Hello." "[chucking] How are you?" "[Franz] Have you seen the article on La Liberte?" "There you go." "Oh, wonderful." "Oh wow, that's a real good picture." "It's really good, really." "I started sending your file to people, to musicians to see if I can gather all the people for when you arrive in Geneva." "Let me know a little bit, how do you think it should be done?" "The most wonderful thing would be, just you, and your friends, and my musician friends, we just play music." "I don't want too many politicians to say, "Blah, blah..."" "Yes." "I think, like the Woodstock style." "Yeah, yeah." "I always think that there is the sense of freedom." "[playing guitar]" " After you." " Okay, okay." "[playing guitar]" "♪ The flames are high ♪" "♪ The sorrows are deep ♪" "♪ The snow is melting ♪" "♪ The line is deep ♪" "♪ In the valleys ♪" "♪ Of... ♪" "♪ Where mothers cry ♪" "♪ Their fathers mourn ♪" "♪ May we rise ♪" "♪ From the ashes ♪" "♪ To free our brothers ♪" "♪ To free our sisters ♪ [speaking in foreign language] I was touched, when he told me about his march pulling the coffin to the United Nations." "With this coffin which represents the situation in Tibet." "And I told him, quite spontaneously, that I would like to help in any way I can." "Yeah, it's wonderful." "Especially in the French part of Switzerland, people have this very revolutionary, very supportive kind of spirit, and wherever I go, they say bon courage." "[narrator] Last year alone 35 Tibetans set fire to themselves to draw international attention to the situation." "This achieved little success." "So Loten's weapon against the Chinese is his music." "[shouting] [shouting]" "[birds chirping]" "Do you speak German or English?" " English." " English?" "Eat this." "This is very good." " Try, try!" " No, thank you." " No?" " Thank you." "Oh, come on!" "[laughs]" "If you like it, just try this." "Okay." "Don't worry, there is no poison." "Yes, I think so." "This is, uh..." "In German they call this, "Getreide Gerste."" " Gerste." " Come, eat it, eat it." "You will like it." "Okay, thank you." "Just eat it." "Do you like it?" "It's called tsampa." "It's a little dry." "Yeah, of course it's dry." "This istsampa," "I put sugar, this is Tibetan cheese..." "This is from Tibet." "This is from the female yak." "We call it dee." "This the dried cheese." "Eat it, eat it." "Don't worry, you won't have any diarrhea." "It's Swiss water." "[laughing] [water splashing]" "[birds chirping]" "[water splashing]" "How beautiful." "[speaking in Tibetan] [laughs]" "How amazing." "Ha, ha." "[speaking in Tibetan]" "[serene instrumental music playing]" "[tapping on mic] [people clapping]" "[serene instrumental music playing]" "[sitar playing] [people clapping]" "Oh, David!" "Thank you for coming." "Pesche!" "[laughing]" "Hello, Franz!" "[laughing]" "Thank you so much for everything!" "Today, we have the 42 self immolations." "There is a big building behind us, who's supposed to help all people." "But for the last 54 years, there is a tragic in Tibet, genocide, but the building behind said nothing." "And today we are here, all the musicians, good people of this world and all of you here, we say, "We all want freedom and peace."" "Equality for every people on this earth." ""Free Tibet!"" "[crowd cheering] [upbeat music playing]" "We are sending today a message to the Tibetans inside Tibet, that the outside world has not forgotten them." "That the outside world knows of their difficult situation." "[singing] ♪ Sometimes I feel ♪" "♪ Like a motherless child ♪" "♪ A long ♪" "♪ Way from my home, yeah ♪" "♪ Freedom, freedom ♪" "♪ Freedom, freedom ♪" "♪ Sometimes I feel ♪" "♪ Like I'm almost gone ♪" "♪ A long way ♪" "♪ From my home, yeah ♪" "♪ Clap your hands Clap your hands ♪" "♪ Clap your hands Clap your hands for freedom ♪" "♪ Clap your hands Clap your hands... ♪" "[soft instrumental music playing]" "[music continues]" "[sighs]" ""People tell me that," Loten, you have done a good job, you have dragged this coffin for Tibet,"" "and they applaud me." "But, for what?" "I think the problem of Tibet is still not solved." "People are still self-immolating." "And it almost seems that, what they were doing, their sacrifice, is almost insignificant to the ears of the world." "[praying]" "The situation in Tibet is very serious." "If in the next years, the situation in Tibet doesn't change, then there is the danger that the Tibetan culture, the Tibetan tradition, the Tibetan way of life, will come to an end." "When I was young, His Holiness, The Dalai Lama used to tell us children, "You are the future seed of Tibet."" "And now after this coffin-journey I'm at a lost." "And I am not sure what to do." "And I would love to meet His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and ask for his advice, about how I can continue." "[Tibetan song playing]" "[people singing]" "Due to the brutality of the Chinese government," "His Holiness, through his wisdom, has come up with a policy of non-violence, called the middle path." "[music continues]" "In one way, the middle path is a very kind of a sad solution." "Because it is almost like we are helpless." "The middle way is the official policy of the Tibetan administration." "As the term "middle way" means middle of repression and separation." "We are willing to compromise and not seek separation, if genuine autonomy is given to Tibetan people." "[Loten] Swiss democracy and moral values are highly regarded all over the world." "Here, people have rights." "The right to express their own opinion." "And it's good that, even under such a pressure from the Chinese government, not to invite His Holiness, The Dalai Lama in the parliament in the end, he's invited by the parliamentarians." "And that's good." "[indistinct chatter] [people cheering]" "[people chanting]" "[speaking in Tibetan] Take care." "What kind of jacket is this?" "Looks like it's been pecked at by some crows." "[woman] Long live Dalai Lama!" "[crowd] Long live Dalai Lama!" "[man] Long live... [crowd] Dalai Lama." "Long live..." "Dalai Lama." "We are trying to educate people, and also Chinese people the importance of Tibetan Buddhist culture and ecology." "Once this Chinese government deals realistically, then resentment automatically reduces." "Then the human rights violation automatically reduces." "Now, I think new leaders are coming." "And many of my Chinese friends, they say, that there is a real opportunity, a real possibility some positive change will happen." "So we have to wait." "[Loten] Every time when I went to hear His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, he always said that within the next five years, Tibet will get better." "And this has been going on since my childhood." "And I know he said this, because he wants to keep the hope of Tibet alive." "But unfortunately, it looks like that this is a hope, which will never be fulfilled." "And we will fail by hoping that." "[sipping]" "[upbeat music playing] [reporter in foreign language] treaty with China." "The duties on 90% of Swiss products will be reduced." "Six treaties have been signed in Bern between Switzerland and China." "The most important document is the Declaration of Intent for the Free Trade Agreement." "This should be ratified next July, when the Swiss Economics Minister." "Johann Schneider-Ammann visits Beijing." "[Loten] I think it's very important that the western governments do business with China, but at the same time take responsibility about the human rights situation." "And therefore I would like to meet the minister of economics," "Mister Schneider-Ammann, and talk to him about the situation in Tibet, from the point of view as a human being." "I feel good." "[translator] It feels good, to meet close friends in such locations as today." "I feel good because this Free Trade Agreement will mark a very important, new stepping stone in the Swiss-Chinese bilateral relations." "[presenter speaking in foreign language] The Swiss government and business leaders already are in high spirits." "But the treaty still has to pass through parliament." "How much resistance will there be?" "In the left-green camp, there are concerns about Chinese human rights and labor laws... [people talking]" "[Loten] First time when I heard about Swiss democracy" "I was in school, and I was a little boy at the time." "And today I am here to experience this direct democracy which I have always looked up." "[foreign language] The Swiss position is very important." "Because this trade agreement could serve as a kind of prototype from China's point of view, for its negotiations with the European Union." "We commence with the next issue, the Free Trade Agreement with China." "Thank you very much, Mr. President." "Minister, dear colleagues the Free Trade Agreement with China aims to expand the network of agreements" "Switzerland has established since the early 1990s with countries outside the European Union." "The term "human rights" is not mentioned once in the 1,000-page-agreement." "How much value are we giving to human rights, freedom and democracy, when the counterweight is money and profit?" "Switzerland is gaining preferential access to the Chinese market and therefore a head start over competitors in Europe." "And the bigger that head start, the longer the advantage will last, the better it will be for Switzerland's competitive position." "We expect better access to the Chinese market with lower import duties and increased competitiveness, so that we can reverse our negative trade balance." "[talking in foreign language]" "Can I say something, Sir?" "I am Tibetan." "Very nice to meet you, Sir." "Very nice to meet you." "Well, I am Tibetan and I am very concerned about my country and the Tibetan people in Tibet." "And I look up, and the whole world looks up to the moral values of Switzerland." "And now with this free trade agreement, the most saddest thing is that you are handshaking with a murderer." "Because my brothers and sisters are killed in Tibet." "So, for your own country, for your own children, is it not important to care about human rights?" "Sir, we... take very, very seriously the Tibetan issue." "Yes." "And we know that we Swiss live outstanding values." "Yes." "And we go with our values, with our understandings, with our demands as well, to the table of the two partners in the context of this free trade agreement." "And I guess... and I am sure, that we will have the chance to support," "the Peoples Republic of China and their minorities, to improve their living conditions step-by-step." "And we will through the..." "But why is it not mentioned in the agreement?" " Because it was not..." " It is not important?" " Because it's not important!" " No, no." "Because it's not important!" "No, you know, If you negotiate at table, you need to find a compromise." "It was not possible to find a compromise..." "So you compromise in the name of Tibetans?" "In front of the cameras and of the medias." "Once again, the Tibetan issue is well known and is taken very seriously..." "But I hope this happens in the next few years." "Because Tibet is literally been exhausted." "Tibetan people are killed..." "Now it's your turn." "Excuse me." "We have to leave..." "Yeah, yeah, I understand." "But thank you so much for giving me this valuable chance and this honor." "I have sympathy for your ambitions." "Thank you." "Next time we meet I wanna listen to your song." "Yes, I will sing." "I will sing you a song!" "[singing in Tibetan]" "That's a Tibetan warrior song." "Good evening." "Considering the initial situation, the outcome of the negotiations went beyond our expectations." "The regulations in the Free Trade Agreement with China with respect to concerns over, sustainability and human rights, are in essence comparable to our other trade treaties." "The treaty with China is therefore on track concerning human rights and sustainability." "[serene instrumental music playing]" "[people chattering]" "[Loten praying]" "[Loten] This is not going to happen." "The only chance is, I just go in." "I just go in and tell them, that this is not right." "I come with folded hands to you all and ask you," "not to sign this treaty." "Because if you sign this treaty, then you are handshaking with a murderer." "[speaking in foreign language] We come to the vote." ""Yes", denotes approval of the treaty,."" ""No", means rejection." "[Loten] Thousands of Tibetans are being murdered." "Our ecology is being destroyed." "I beg you not to sign this." "[people chattering] [foreign language] I think they are voting." "[speaker] The treaty is approved by 120 votes to 46." "[announcement] [speaker] The session is closed." "The session is closed?" "[woman chuckling] [serene instrumental music playing]" "[Loten] If the world really believes in non-violence, then they should stop the Chinese from treating Tibetan people like this." "But no one government has come up with a resolution to stop China." "I don't agree at all with the terrorists." "But the world seems to listen only to violence." "So then there is a situation how did terrorism start?" "Some Tibetans are pointing to the Mujahideen, as a method of attracting more publicity, and as a more effective way." "So they suggest to me, we should involve some violence." "Then I respond to such people who have that kind of a view," "Uh..." "Firstly, the violent method always bring disaster." "[Loten] No matter what positive goal you might have, the way of the weapon damages your entire reasonable goal." "[soft instrumental music playing]" "[muttering]" "[muttering]" "[praying]" "[shouting]" "This is the place where my father used to bring me up often." "Then we used just to sit here." "It was like, although I have never been to Tibet, we both used to imagine that we were in Tibet here." "[crows cawing] [praying]" "[praying]" "[breathes]" "[Loten] So what should we do now?" "We must go further until the Chinese stop to destroy our country." "I just wanted to talk to you." "You know, we were very much aware of your campaign to drag the coffin through Switzerland." "Now the reality of the situation is that China is today financially, militarily, diplomatically a very powerful nation." "The only thing they lack is moral power." "And to seek a solution to the Tibetan issue, there is no other way than having dialog with the Chinese leadership." "Then only change can come true." "That's always..." "I grew up with "China will change one day,"" "China is changing, but worse for the Tibetan people." "Shouldn't we be doing something more aggressive?" "I call it "Peaceful aggressive."" "I think that we should be more aggressive." "The fact that..." "Proactive pacifists. [Chuckles]" "Whatever you may call it." "Don't you think that we are doing not much?" "No, we fully understand the sense of frustration." "But then..." "No, I am not frustrated." "But I feel..." "In a way, because..." "Frustration is negative." "I am not negative about our cause." "Positively frustrated. [Laughs]" "I feel we must do something." "You still have that fire in you." "That's what keeps the Tibet issue alive." "This is a movement, the Tibetan struggle is a movement." "It's a long term movement." "It's not just a single campaign, that we can achieve our aims." "Because ultimately, the solution to Tibet rests with the Chinese leadership." "Our job right now, under the present circumstances, is to keep the Tibet fire burning." "[talking in Tibetan] I do not view the middle way approach as an option, even if we gain something," "I don't need that." "What I need is independence." "If you ask me, what means we have to achieve independence," "I have no answer." "Independence is my right." "And I know I have the right to fight for it." "But if I say, I would use military force, that's not realistic." "I don't have military power." "Even so, I tell the younger generation that independence is our right." "And to achieve independence, you have the right to use military force." "To go even further, in order to gain independence," "Tibetans would have the right to use nuclear weapons." "Several countries have nuclear weapons, countries such as the USA, India, China, etc." "So why shouldn't we have them?" "When we talk about a country and its defense, we are talking about an important issue." "We shouldn't let ourselves be influenced by philosophies like Gandhi's." "They're from the Regional Dharamsala Tibetan Youth Congress." "I was President of the Delhi Regional TYC." "[Loten] he young kids are boiling the blood." "It is nice to hear that they want to go for complete independence." "Even those kids who want to go and fight." "I really appreciate them." "Our objectives and our goal it's complete independence for all three provinces of Tibet." "It's what we are fighting for, and that's our belief, our aims and objectives." "Do you face problems?" "Yes, we face, not problems, but criticisms." "Because there is the notion that fighting or independence of Tibet is going against the wishes of His Holiness The Dalai Lama." "So that kind of misconception is there in the community." "When some people try to dismantle and to..." "To destroy..." "To destroy TYC, it is almost like now we Tibetans are doing the job, what the Chinese are trying for the last many years." "This is so unfortunate." "[playing guitar]" "[singing in Tibetan]" "[song continues]" "[singing and playing the guitar] [crowd cheering]" "♪" "[crowd cheering]" "[Loten] Many of us have never even seen Tibet." "The Tibet issue has become desperate." "And it's getting worse and worse." "It's not that the Tibetans are weak." "The international community is backing China, because countries crave for economic gain." "This weakens our situation." "A total of 121 Tibetans have self immolated, a situation unprecedented in the world." "So we have to stay united." "It doesn't matter what political stand you take, the Chinese are our enemy!" "So if we have China as an enemy, we have to stay united." "Free Tibet!" "[crowd cheering]" "Excuse me, it is pretty dry, 'cause where are all your Miss Tibets?" "They should be lining up in their Tibetan dresses." "I know, you come here at a short notice." "It's not so, I mean you should be receiving me with all your Miss Tibets." "I know, I know..." "Can I see that?" "Loten Namling receives the Free Spirit Award 2012 for raising awareness of self immolations in Tibet from Berne to Geneva, Switzerland." "Thank you very much!" "You did a good job and we all should respect that, honor that, appreciate that you are doing." "Thank you." "Our small committee is presenting you here with the free spirit award." "What we are saying is, that we want Tibetans to take care of their own show." "This is what we are demanding." "This is our fight, you know." "This is what the middle-pathers, people following the middle way, say." "Because it is a win-win situation for both." "You just want to wait until those people with arms and bombs go away?" "Exactly." "We have to educate them." "Is that your policy?" "Yes, exactly." "So how you are going to educate them?" "This is the fight!" "We have to negotiate, we have to tell them." "Negotiate, yeah." "See, that is there, you are not, you know, like a..." "You know, negotiate takes place when both sides are equally powerful." "Yes, but..." "That's when a negotiation takes place." "The reason why China is not listening to us is because we are not on an equal level." "So, somehow you have to try, to reach that equal level or you fight to get it." "If you say that, "Oh, they have guns and everything", and we cannot fight," that's what I disagree." "We can fight!" "One hundred and twenty people have self immolated." "For them it would be much better and easier to take a bomb and blow up in front of a Chinese market." "Why not?" "It is possible." "But still because of his Holiness the Dalai Lama, because of Buddha Dharma, people don't resort to such things." "The thing is that, it is a nice idea of living together and sharing, and all these things these are wonderful." "But the reality is, that China is killing, destroying everything, even today after 25 years of this great noble idea." "So, I just cannot sit here, with the word of compassion, and then my people are being killed there." "And I still say, "I am compassionate to the Chinese."" "This I just cannot say it." "I would rather say, "I want to fight,"" "I want to fight for my country." "I want to really take the gun and go and kill these Chinese" ""who kill my brothers and sisters than just sit..."" "Because I am not His Holiness The Dalai Lama." "Of course!" "How can you get independence, unless and until you wedge a full fledged war with China, a winning war, there is no way you are going to win independence in your lifetime." "You know, these Palestinians, they give hard times to the Israelis." " Fighting, yes." " Yes." "Yes." "But at least..." "Only hard time, yeah." "Emotional talk only doesn't help." "We have to be practical, we have to be technical also." "Technically like according to international law." "There are many laws." "After a few generations you cannot kick out people from your land." "That is what I am saying..." "So, those people have same rights as you." "No, No, No..." "Not that you have more rights, they have less rights." "They can go back to China." "This is that's why the fear, the danger is there." "Technically in Tibet, the way you want to go back to Tibet, technically it also use the same thing." "Technically we will run the show of Tibet." "No!" "That's the point!" "That's the point!" "You will be never able to show your show, as long as Chinese rule Tibet, as long as Chinese they rule your home..." "That's why you have to study Scotland." "That's why you have to get rid of the Chinese." "Scotland is our model." "It's like that, you know." "One country, two systems in a way." "The only way for you is to get rid of the Chinese." "I don't know." "Get rid of these Chinese." "You will never receive your freedom." "[music increasing in tempo]" "♪" "[car horns blaring]" "[engine running]" "[Loten] Maybe we are so limited in our thoughts, but we love our country so much, that we are forced to think what we should not be thinking." "I mean, I think it is so unfortunate to even think about taking a gun and fight." "It is the most unfortunate thing." "I mean, the whole world should be without any guns." "But sometimes things are so bad in this world, that we have to behave like the bad people, to stop the bad people." "[fire crackling]" "[wind rustling]" "[cloth fluttering in the wind]" "How can I pick up a gun or a bomb and kill other people?" "I've never killed an ant or a fly." "My parents were 150% Buddhist, and they passed on to me everything." "[cloth fluttering]" "[muttering]" "[indistinct chattering]" "[praying]" "[claps]" "[indistinct chattering]" "[whispering]" "[speaking in Tibetan] Sit down there." "Here is okay." "Last year the situation inside Tibet became very urgent." "Especially in regard to self immolations, they were not reported in the media, if at all maybe a line or two." "Tibetans are very concerned." "I gave a lot of thought over what I can do." "Personally, I have no courage to immolate myself." "Those who did in Tibet are great." "So many years have passed, and I still don't see any sign of Tibetan issue getting resolved." "This is just the opinion of a humble person." "So I am wondering what could be done?" "How can we keep on our struggle?" "And I would like to ask Your Holiness for advice." "Over 50 years have passed now." "And it has been over 60 years, since things began to change in Tibet." "Firstly, China is a most powerful, and populated country." "With the rising economic might of China in recent years, even the powerful countries have to rely, and work closely with China." "This is a reality." "But the truth is on our side and ours is a struggle for truth." "Secondly, we do not seek victory for us and defeat of others, but a mutually beneficial solution." "So, this is how things are." "Looking at the problem of Tibet fills us with deep concern." "But realistically, there is not so much that we can do." "In spite of this, Tibet is not a forgotten issue and there are people concerned about it." "Efforts like yours, dragging the coffin, create impact in your area." "These are also means." "We have to keep going like this." "We cannot expect swift results like miracles." "Look at Syria." "The whole world is raising the voice but nothing is happening." "Sometimes our young people get too passionate." "But that only angers China." "Treating China as enemy is not helpful." "Isn't it?" "Turning against China is meaningful only, if we can defeat them, which we cannot." "So we have to be cautious." "I will try to fulfill your wishes." "Do your best." "Thank you very much." "May you live long!" "[indistinct chatter] [soft instrumental music playing]" "[muttering]" "♪" "[Loten] I felt this deep sadness in him, that in his lifetime, he has not been able to achieve, what he wanted to achieve, to bring freedom to the people of Tibet." "This struck me very deep inside me." "[water splashing]" "[water splashing]" "[speaking in Tibetan] Dear Mother," "I pray that you would be reborn as human being and as a Tibetan, to serve His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and Tibetan people." "Be it your rebirth as a boy or as a girl." "You and father provided me with great love, care and education since my childhood," "I am very grateful to both of you." "I am performing this river burial, for you here in Dharamsala today." "And I pray that I meet you soon." "[praying]" "[praying]" "[traffic rushing past]" "Ah, ha ha." "It is my palace!" "[panting]" "[grunting with effort]" "[praying]" "After I met His Holiness The Dalai Lama in his office, he said to me, "Loten, we should not anger the Chinese!"" "And it was not just what he said, but it was how he said it." "That kind of generated in me, kind of, so much compassion for Him." "Which is normally not possible, because he should have compassion for me." "And this moved me so much, that something changed in me, deep in my perspective." "Until today, I have fought for total independence." "But now after this incident, I have in a way decided to follow His Holiness The Dalai Lama's proposal, which is the middle path, which is non-violent in nature." "And I think that only through this soft power, that the Tibetans and the Chinese can live together peacefully." "[water splashing]" "[exhales] [knocks]" "Hello." "[speaking in foreign language] How are you?" "Hello." "[speaking in foreign language] [sighs]" "The kids are fine?" "[exclaims] [talking]" "[Tibetan folk music playing]" "[singing in Tibetan]" "♪" "♪" "Woohoo!" "[laughing] [laughs]" "[piano playing]" "[speaking in foreign language] Where is it?" "Starting from here?" "I will sing like this... [singing]" " Give me a F sharp." " [plays piano] [singing]" "♪" "♪" "[song continues]"