China's justifications of its policies in Tibet are those of a colonial power. This in itself is revelatory. (As a British general reportedly told Ghandi, "India is British.")

Whether ChiCom's supporters like it or not, Tibetans rightly regard Tibet as never having been part of China. If the propaganda about slaves and serfs were true, why do Tibetans after 60 years of beneficient Communist rule support the Dalai Lama? If you think this is not true you don't know Tibet or Tibetans.

Although China could claim sovereignty over Tibet based on conquest (1950) they arrogantly do not - rather claiming that "Tibet has always been part of China." This works for people who don't know history (which sadly includes most citizens of China - who have only been taught propaganda by a censored and government controlled media). As the Dalai Lama said last week, the uprising in Tibet has shattered China's propaganda that, except for a few reactionaries, the people of Tibet are prosperous and happy.

One can ignore this and blame the CIA, slavemasters, the Dalai Clique, George Bush, Iraq, Congo, capitalism, or Global Warming but as the Dalai Lama has said, force can provide peace and stability only temporarily but not long-term. This is the problem that China faces. They have not been able to suppress Tibet. The very policies designed to absorb Tibet are now the cause of the unrest all stemming from the lie that Tibet has always been part of China.