Then and Now
The Thai government’s decision of not allowing the Dalai Lama to attend the recent Magsaysay Award ceremony makes one doubt the credibility of such prizes. In fact, it is a somewhat farcical situation. In 1959 the Dalai Lama was deemed worthy of the award because of his handling of the Tibetan problem. In 1987 he is a persona non grata in Thailand for the same reason! In the intervening 28 years the Dalai Lama has remained the same man – albeit more mature and more familiar with the worldly goings-on. Tibet is still under Chinese occupation and the Dalai Lama continues to speak for its cause. In the 1950’s he believed only peaceful negotiations will achieve a lasting solution to the problem, and that earned him the Magsaysay Award. His view is unchanged in 1987 and for this he is barred from the 30th Anniversary celebration of the same award.
The aims of the award, the man who received it in 1999, and the work for which he was granted this recognition remains the same. So what has changed? International political scene, of course. In 1959 China and its then ally, the Soviet Union, were seen as a giant threat to the free world led by the United States. Since then the People’s Republic has left the Soviet camp and is being actively wooed by the same free world still led by the United States. Not only that, China has grown into a formidable military power in its own right and nobody, especially nobody in the neighbourhood, is too keen on ending up in its black book. The PRC’s proclivity toward teaching lessons – successfully or otherwise – to what it considers naughty boys is all too well-known.
This being the situation, one can’t help suspecting the purpose of awards like Magsaysay. If there has to be international awards why shroud their purpose in hypocritical humanitarian terms? Why not just name it something like the Most Politically Desirable Man of the Year?
It is small wonder that the Nobel Prize keeps eluding the Dalai Lama. What in fact is surprising under the circumstances is that the Nobel Committee has so far resisted the temptation of awarding the prize to Teng Hsiao-p’ing for his contribution in ‘improving the lot of one billion people.’
The Thai government’s decision of not allowing the Dalai Lama to attend the recent Magsaysay Award ceremony makes one doubt the credibility of such prizes. In fact, it is a somewhat farcical situation. In 1959 the Dalai Lama was deemed worthy of the award because of his handling of the Tibetan problem. In 1987 he is a persona non grata in Thailand for the same reason! In the intervening 28 years the Dalai Lama has remained the same man – albeit more mature and more familiar with the worldly goings-on. Tibet is still under Chinese occupation and the Dalai Lama continues to speak for its cause. In the 1950’s he believed only peaceful negotiations will achieve a lasting solution to the problem, and that earned him the Magsaysay Award. His view is unchanged in 1987 and for this he is barred from the 30th Anniversary celebration of the same award.
The aims of the award, the man who received it in 1999, and the work for which he was granted this recognition remains the same. So what has changed? International political scene, of course. In 1959 China and its then ally, the Soviet Union, were seen as a giant threat to the free world led by the United States. Since then the People’s Republic has left the Soviet camp and is being actively wooed by the same free world still led by the United States. Not only that, China has grown into a formidable military power in its own right and nobody, especially nobody in the neighbourhood, is too keen on ending up in its black book. The PRC’s proclivity toward teaching lessons – successfully or otherwise – to what it considers naughty boys is all too well-known.
This being the situation, one can’t help suspecting the purpose of awards like Magsaysay. If there has to be international awards why shroud their purpose in hypocritical humanitarian terms? Why not just name it something like the Most Politically Desirable Man of the Year?
It is small wonder that the Nobel Prize keeps eluding the Dalai Lama. What in fact is surprising under the circumstances is that the Nobel Committee has so far resisted the temptation of awarding the prize to Teng Hsiao-p’ing for his contribution in ‘improving the lot of one billion people.’
posted by editorla at
9:06 PM
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