Gaurav Saigal
gaurav.saigal@hindustantimes.
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India is seen by the Tibetan community as a part of China's 'threat-n-appease' policy which is unlikely to improve bilateral relations in near future.
Even the Tibetan prime minister Prof Samdongh Rinpoche, who hailed the development feels so.
In his views "It is due to India's tough opposition to China on all fronts in past few years that Wen is coming. The fact is China needs India more than India does, but I do not foresee much change in the relationship."
The Tibetan prime minister (Kalon Tripa) doesn't find the trip, happening in the 60th year of China-India diplomatic relationship, advantageous for the Tibet issue too.
This in the backdrop of several inconvenient happenings such as issuing of stapled visa by Chinese embassy to applicants from Jammu and Kashmir, denial of visa to Lieutenant General B S Jaswal and media reports about Chinese intervention in huge infrastructure development in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to name a few.
While India plans to put forth for discussion strategic issued such as China's policy on Kashmir and nuclear relationship Prof Rinpoche who came to Lucknow en route from Bodhgaya to Dharamshala feels, "Trade might get some impetus since China needs trade with India."
Asked whether India will be able to raise the issue of Human Rights with its neighbouring country particularly when India rejected the call by China to abstain from Nobel peace prize ceremony for the Chinese dissident leader Liu Xiaobo in Oslo, Prof Rinpoche was apprehensive.
"I don't think China's Human Right policy could be changed for now as many countries have failed in the past on this issue. However China continues with its threat-n-appease policy where it first threatens countries to fall in line but if they strongly oppose then China appeases them. Several European countries have already faced this policy of China," Prof Rinpoche said.
Myanmar, he said, is another country in India's neighbourhood where the call for democratization has not been given heed by India due to its strategic needs. "Human rights are not internal but international issues to be addressed by all. Myanmar is under a greater influence of piercing policy but change is not apparent in near future," he said.
Recently India was criticized by the US President Barack Obama for not speaking against human rights violation in Myanmar.
Commenting on the expected outcome of the Chinese Premier's visit Prof Rinpoche said, "I don't se a dramatic change in the total scenario. But if understanding is built upon certain issued it should not be on the cost of suppression on one side, specially India."
