BY MUNIM DEEN

The Chinese government is currently moving truckloads of troop reinforcements into what it calls the Tibet Autonomous Region to combat widespread rioting against Beijing.

China's claim to Tibet comes from Tibet being a part of several old Chinese kingdoms as a result of temporary defeats in border conflicts of previous centuries. Most recently, Tibet was invaded and made part of modern China by Chairman Mao's forces in 1951. Tibet's most definitive claim as a sovereign nation stem from treaties signed with the British in the early 1900s.

The Chinese presence was never welcome, evidenced by the 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. That uprising was brutally quashed. The Dalai Lama, spiritual and political leader of Tibet, was forced to flee to India.

The primary advocate of the Tibetan cause has been His Holiness The Dalai Lama. As befitting his office and personal beliefs, he has supported non-violent resistance as the means to alleviate Tibet's sorrow. He has been compared to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi in shunning violence over his 50-year struggle.

As revered as he is, his methods are not without detractors. These are mainly the younger generation, who never knew life before Chinese occupation. While careful to not insult His Holiness, many voice frustration at the lack of measurable progress of his methods. They support - and engage in - direct confrontation. They are the ones leading and spreading the current protests inside Tibet, which mark the 49th anniversary of the 1959 uprising.

In their actions and philosophy, the younger protesters are more akin to Stokely Carmichael than the MLK-esque Dalai Lama. Much as King sought peaceful and just coexistence of all Americans, His Holiness seeks an autonomous - not independent - Tibet coexisting with the rest of China. Many believe his long and largely fruitless struggle against the Chinese monolith has caused him to soften his stance and seek instead a more easily achievable goal. Regardless, Tibetans living within its borders and many expatriates decry this as an abandonment of Tibet's national birthright.

As events have shown, his Holiness is not in control of the massive protests currently going on within Tibet. This is the first time that the acknowledged leader of the Tibetan rights movement has been powerless to stop or temper such protests. He has admitted so publicly, after the Chinese government accused him of fanning the flames of violence. It seems that the cause of Tibetan independence now has two distinct and somewhat disjointed groups trying to carry its banner.

It is still too early to see if the confrontational protests will work. They have, however, succeeded in refocusing global attention on one of the world's great injustices. His Holiness' methods, while never letting us forget about Tibet, never quite grabbed the world's attention in the same way as the new protests. Without any authorization, aid or allies, the ragtag Tibetans have managed to greatly tie up Chinese resources. They have also handed China a major public-relations nightmare when it can ill afford it.

One of the most crucial aspects of any movement or revolution is unity and communication among its perpetrators. This is absolutely necessary, at least in general terms. This unity and agreement between different figures and ideas was the main reason that the Civil Rights Movement was ultimately successful. All other successful such movements, like Poland's Solidarity or the African National Congress in South Africa, had these above attributes. Every failed movement, like the 1857 Indian Sepoy Rebellion or the 1936 Arab Revolt, failed largely because unity and communication were lacking.

By choosing to confront the Chinese head-on without the Dalai Lama's direction, the Tibetan protesters tread dangerous ground. His Holiness' dissociating himself from the violence, while understandable on religious grounds, further highlights this nascent disconnect. Neither he nor the protesters gain anything from this situation.

Instead, it seems China has another weapon to yield in its quest to keep Tibet subjugated forever - newfound Tibetan disunity.

Munim Deen is a columnist for the University of Oklahoma's The Hub.

Copyright Brigham Young University 25 Mar 2008