At 90, Dalai Lama Still Charts An Uncertain Future – Analysis

The Dalai Lama arrives at the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement in the Indian state of Karnataka, Jan. 5, 2025. (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)

 July 5, 2025

By RFA

By Tenzin Pema

The Dalai Lama turns 90 years old on Sunday, a milestone birthday for the spiritual leader who transformed from humble origins in the then-remote, inaccessible “Roof of the World” to global statesman and Buddhist leader helming one of history’s longest non-violent resistance movements.

As he had promised more than a decade ago, the Dalai Lama announced ahead of his 90th birthday that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue on to a successor — one that he said would be selected by his non-profit, not the Chinese government. Beijing, for its part, says the selection must adhere to Chinese law. 

During an event kicking off his birthday celebration, the Dalai Lama reflected on the connections of his life as a leader rather than the tensions. 

“Throughout my life, I have worked for the welfare of the Tibetan people, preservation of the Dharma and for the happiness of all,” he said. “I have engaged in dialogues and discussions with scientists and many representatives of the world, and cultivated deep insightful relationships with individuals across the globe. As a result, I consider my life so far has been a profoundly purposeful and deeply fulfilling one.”

Recognition, invasion, escape

For the man born Lhamo Thondup on July 6, 1935, in the small hamlet of Taktser in northeastern Tibet’s historical Amdo region, the journey to spiritual leadership began at the age of two, when a party of Tibetan monks, following ancient portents and Tibetan Buddhism reincarnation traditions, arrived at his village in search of the 14th Dalai Lama. After the 13th Dalai Lama’s passing in 1933, search teams had fanned across Tibet following reported signs and visions – including the head of the embalmed 13th Dalai Lama turning from southeast to northeast, indicating where his successor would be found.

The precocious boy correctly identified items belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama. Following his recognition, he journeyed with his family to Tibet’s capital Lhasa in 1939, where his formal enthronement ceremony was held a year later on Feb. 22, 1940 – launching a life that would span the Chinese invasion of Tibet, the birth of a global movement of peaceful resistance in exile, and the spread of Tibetan Buddhism worldwide.

The young Dalai Lama’s childhood ended abruptly in 1950 when the Chinese Communist regime’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet. He was only 16 when he assumed full temporal and spiritual leadership of his nation as Chinese troops overwhelmed Tibet’s poorly equipped army. For nearly a decade, he sought to find accommodation with China’s new communist rulers, even traveling to Beijing to meet Chairman Mao Zedong in 1954-55.

But Mao’s chilling comment to him — that “religion is poison” — revealed the impossibility of that hope and foreshadowed the religious and cultural destruction that ensued during the Cultural Revolution. As guerrilla warfare erupted across Tibet and tensions reached a breaking point, the unthinkable became inevitable.

On March 10, 1959, thousands of Tibetans surrounded the Dalai Lama’s summer palace in Lhasa, fearing Chinese plans to abduct their beloved leader. Seven days later, under cover of darkness and disguised as a soldier, the 23-year-old Dalai Lama began his legendary escape across the Himalayas to India. Time Magazine would later headline his flight as “God-King in Exile.”

Traveling only at night to avoid Chinese patrols with a party of 100 including family members, cabinet ministers, and Tibetan guerrillas, the Dalai Lama arrived in India after two harrowing weeks. Tibetan devotees later spoke of mist and clouds that seemed to shield the Dalai Lama’s escape party from being spotted by Chinese planes. Whether divine intervention or fortunate weather, the escape captured the imaginations of people worldwide.

Gift of democracy

Arriving in India as a refugee, the Dalai Lama faced an unprecedented challenge: leading 80,000 displaced Tibetans who had followed him into exile while keeping alive hopes for Tibet’s freedom. 

Rather than establishing a traditional monarchy-in-exile, he chose a revolutionary path: granting the gift of democracy to the Tibetan people.

In February 1960, at the holy Buddhist pilgrimage site of Bodh Gaya in India’s northeastern state of Bihar, the Dalai Lama outlined his vision for democratic governance. 

Later that year, he established the first elected representative body in Tibetan history, with the members — who represented the different sects of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibet’s three historical provinces of Kham, Amdo, and U-Tsang — taking their oath on September 2, a day that has since been celebrated as ‘Tibetan Democracy Day.’ 

The democratic transformation has accelerated over the past five decades, with the adoption of the Charter of Tibetans-in-Exile by the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in 1991, the establishment of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission as the judicial arm of the Tibetan government in 1992, and the first direct elections of the Tibetan political leader by exiled Tibetans in 2001. 

The most significant moment in the Dalai Lama’s democratic reform came in the form of his historic devolution of all political powers in 2011 to the democratically elected leader of the Tibetan exile government, known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). 

“Since the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Dalai Lamas have assumed both spiritual and temporal rule over Tibet. As I am the fourteenth in line of that institution, it is most appropriate if I, on my own initiative, happily and with pride, end the dual authority of the Dalai Lama,” the Dalai Lama said in March 2011 when he announced the transition. 

He added that “the rule by kings and religious figures is outdated” and that Tibetans must “follow the trend of the free world which is that of democracy.” 

Lobsang Sangay became the first democratically elected political leader, or Sikyong, of the Central Tibetan Administration in 2011. In 2021, Penpa Tsering, who had previously served as the Speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, won the presidential elections, taking over from Sangay in what was the first transfer of power since the Dalai Lama’s announcement in 2011. 

“The decision to devolve my power is also a part of advancing the democratization process,” the Dalai Lama said.

Beyond democratic reforms, the Dalai Lama has built what is regarded as one of the world’s most successful refugee communities designed to keep alive the Tibetan way of life — spanning the Tibetan settlements in India, Nepal and Bhutan, to a growing diaspora spread across countries in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

From his early days in exile, the Dalai Lama focused on establishing schools for Tibetan children. A comprehensive educational system enabled Tibetan students to learn their history and preserve their language, religion, and culture, while keeping pace with modern advancements and needs. 

He founded the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in 1959; created the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies as the primary university for Tibetans in India in 1967; and supported the establishment of hundreds of monasteries and nunneries in exile to preserve Tibetan religious traditions – the large majority of which can be found in different parts of India.

Middle Way approach

Until 1985, the Dalai Lama rarely traveled outside India. But recognizing that Tibet’s survival depended on international support, he embarked on an unprecedented campaign — 60 international trips between 1986 and 1999, visiting an average of 10 countries annually. He met with world leaders, changemakers, policymakers, scholars, artists and activists to elevate the Tibetan struggle to global consciousness. 

In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect,” cementing his status as an international moral authority. 

Other major honors include the 2007 Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed by the American Congress; the 2012 Templeton Prize for contributions to spiritual understanding; and the 1959 Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership. The 12th General Assembly of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace unanimously bestowed upon him the title “Universal Supreme Leader of the Buddhist World.”

Indeed, the Dalai Lama’s ascension to the world’s most visible and revered ambassador of Buddhism was as remarkable as it was deliberate. 

Yet his impact and appeal transcended religion. With his infectious laughter, warm humor and teachings on how to promote moral values, inner happiness and religious harmony, he made ancient Buddhist wisdom relevant to modern audiences. 

Stadium-sized crowds gathered for his teachings. His books became bestsellers. His meetings with world leaders generated global headlines, even as they drew angry reactions from the Chinese government.

A pivotal moment in the Tibetan struggle came in 1987-88, when he presented his “Five-Point Peace Plan” to the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987. He later elaborated on it at the European Parliament on June 15, 1988 as the “Strasbourg Proposal,” in which he introduced the “Middle Way Approach” that formed the basis of negotiations between the Dalai Lama’s envoys and the Chinese government in several rounds of talks. 

Rather than demanding independence for Tibet, the Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle Way’ approach calls for meaningful autonomy for all Tibetans living in the three traditional provinces of Tibet within the framework of the People’s Republic of China – one that enables the protection and preservation of Tibetan culture, religion and national identity.

Nine rounds of formal talks and one informal meeting between his envoys and Chinese officials occurred between 2002 and 2010, but achieved no breakthrough. Chinese officials rejected proposals by the Tibetan delegation seeking greater autonomy for Tibet within China.

“All my life I’ve advocated for nonviolence. I’ve done my utmost to restrain the understandable impulses of frustrated Tibetans… Especially, ever since our direct conversations after my exile began with Beijing in 1979, I’ve used all my moral authority and leverage with the Tibetan people, persuading them to seek a realistic solution in the form of a genuine autonomy within the framework of the PRC,” the Dalai Lama wrote in a new book published in March 2025.

“I must admit I remain deeply disappointed that Beijing has chosen not to acknowledge this huge accommodation on the part of the Tibetans, and has failed to capitalize on the genuine potential it offered to come to a lasting solution,” he said. 

Several governments, including those of the United States and European countries, have repeatedly urged China to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s representatives for a peaceful resolution to the Tibetan issue. But Beijing continues to call him and the CTA “separatists,” while ruling out any talks on the demand for greater autonomy for Tibet.

“Any contact or talks [with a representative of the Dalai Lama] will only be about the personal future of the 14th Dalai Lama himself, or at most, a handful of people close to him, not the so-called ‘high degree of autonomy for Tibet,’” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said last year when outlining conditions for possible resumption of talks on Tibet.

His comments reflect Beijing’s intensified focus on the issue of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, including exploring all avenues to gain control over the selection of a successor amid efforts to gain legitimacy over its occupation of Tibet and authority over the global Buddhist population. 

But in his recent memoir titled “Voice for the Voiceless,” the Dalai Lama wrote that his successor will be born in the free world – which he described as outside of China. 

“Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama — that is, to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people — will continue,” he wrote.

RFA

Radio Free Asia’s mission is to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press. Content used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Spying On Iran: How MI6 Infiltrated The IAEA – OpEd

Iran strikes Iranian regime weapon production sites. Credit: IDF, X

 July 5, 2025  

By Kit Klarenberg

Leaked confidential files indicate the International Atomic Energy Agency was infiltrated by a veteran British spy who has claimed credit for sanctions on Iran. The documents lend weight to the Islamic Republic’s accusation that the nuclear watchdog secretly colluded with its enemies.

A notorious British MI6 agent infiltrated the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on London’s behalf, according to leaked documents reviewed by The Grayzone. The agent, Nicholas Langman, is a veteran intelligence operative who claims credit for helping engineer the West’s economic war on Iran.

Langman’s identity first surfaced in journalistic accounts of his role in deflecting accusations that British intelligence played a role in the death of Princess Diana. He was later accused by Greek authorities of overseeing the abduction and torture of Pakistani migrants in Athens.

In both cases, UK authorities issued censorship orders forbidding the press from publishing his name. But Greek media, which was under no such obligation, confirmed that Langman was one of the MI6 assets withdrawn from Britain’s embassy in Athens.

The Grayzone discovered the résumé of the journeyman British operative in a trove of leaked papers detailing the activities of Torchlight, a prolific British intelligence cutout. The bio of the longtime MI6 officer reveals he “led large, inter-agency teams to identify and defeat the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons technology, including by innovative technical means and sanctions.” 

In particular, the MI6 agent says he “worked to prevent WMD proliferation through… support for the [IAEA] and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [OPCW] and through high level international partnerships.”

Langman’s CV credits him with playing a major role in organizing the sanctions regime on Iran by “[building] highly effective and mutually supportive relations across government and with senior US, European, Middle and Far Eastern colleagues for strategy” between 2010 and 2012. He boasts in his bio that this achievement “enabled [the] major diplomatic success of [the] Iranian nuclear and sanctions agreement.” 

The influence Langman claimed to have exerted on the IAEA adds weight to Iranian allegations that the international nuclear regulation body colluded with the West and Israel to undermine its sovereignty. The Iranian government has alleged that the IAEA supplied the identities of its top nuclear scientists to Israeli intelligence, enabling their assassinations, and provided critical intelligence to the US and Israel on the nuclear facilities they bombed during their military assault this June.

This June 12, under the direction of its Secretary General Rafael Grossi, the IAEA issued a clearly politicized report recycling questionable past allegations to accuse Iran of violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The next day, Israel attacked the country, assassinating nine nuclear scientists as well as numerous top military officials and hundreds of civilians. 

Iranian former Vice President for Strategic Affairs Javad Zarif has since called for the IAEA’s Grossi to be sacked, accusing him of having “abetted the slaughter of innocents in the country.” This June 28, the Iranian government broke ties with the IAEA, refusing to allow its inspectors into the country. 

While Iranian officials may have had no idea about the involvement of a shadowy figure like Langman in IAEA business, it would likely come as little surprise to Tehran that the supposedly multilateral agency had been compromised by a Western intelligence agency.

Langman’s name placed under official UK censorship order

In 2016, Langman was named a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, the same title bestowed on fictional British spy James Bond. By that point, the supposed secret agent held the dubious distinction of being publicly ‘burned’ as an MI6 operative on two separate occasions.

First, in 2001, journalist Stephen Dorril revealed that Langman had arrived in Paris weeks prior to Princess Diana’s fatal car crash in the city on August 31 1997, and was subsequently charged with conducting “information operations” to deflect widespread public speculation British intelligence was responsible for her death. 

Then, in 2005, he was formally accused by Greek authorities of complicity in the abduction and torture of 28 Pakistanis in Athens. The Pakistanis, all migrant workers, were suspected of having had contact with individuals accused of perpetrating the 7/7 bombings in London, July 2005. 

Brutally beaten and threatened with guns in their mouths, the victims “were convinced their interrogators were British.” When Greek media named Langman as the MI6 operative who oversaw the migrants’ torture, British news outlets universally complied with a government D-notice – an official censorship order – and kept his identity under wraps when reporting on the scandal.

London vehemently denied any British involvement in torturing the migrants, with then-Foreign Secretary Jack Straw dismissing the charge as “utter nonsense.” In January 2006 though, London admitted MI6 officers were indeed present during the Pakistanis’ torture, although officials insisted the operatives played no active part in their arrests, questioning or abuse. 

Following his withdrawal from Athens, Langman returned to London to head the UK Foreign Office’s Iran Department, a shift which highlights his importance to MI6 and suggests the British government had no qualms about his allegedly brutal evidence gathering methods.

Britain’s Foreign Office collaborates closely with MI6, whose agents use it as cover just as the CIA does with State Department diplomatic postings.

MI6’s man on Iran takes credit for “maximum pressure” strategy

While leading the Foreign Office’s Iran Department from 2006 – 2008, Langman oversaw a team seeking to “develop understanding” of the Iranian government’s “nuclear program.” 

It’s unclear exactly what that “understanding” entailed. But the document makes clear that Langman then “generated confidence” in that assessment among “European, US and Middle Eastern agencies” in order to “delay programme [sic] and pressurise Iran to negotiate.” The reference to “Middle Eastern agencies” strongly implied MI6 cooperation with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.

In April 2006, Tehran announced it had successfully enriched uranium for the first time, although officials denied any intention to do so for military purposes. This development may have triggered Langman’s intervention.

The Islamic Republic has rejected any suggestion it harbors ambitions to possess nuclear weapons. Its denials were corroborated by a November 2007 US National Intelligence Estimate expressing “high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted” any and all research into nuclear weapons. This assessment remained unchanged for several years, and was reportedly shared by the Mossad, despite Benjamin Netanyhau’s constant declarations that Iran was on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon.

Langman’s IAEA support work overlaps with Iran sanctions blitz

International governmental attitudes towards Iran changed abruptly between 2010 and ‘12. During this period, Western states and intergovernmental institutions initiated an array of harshly punitive measures against the country, while Israel ramped up its deadly covert operations against Iran’s nuclear scientists. 

This period precisely overlapped with Langman’s tenure at the Counter-Proliferation Centre of the UK Foreign Office. His bio implies he used this position to influence the IAEA and other UN-affiliated organizations to foment a campaign of global hostility towards Iran.

In June 2010, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1929, which froze the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ assets, and banned overseas financial institutions from opening offices in Tehran. A month later, the Obama administration adopted the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act. This set off a global chain of copycat sanctions by Washington’s vassals, who often imposed even more stringent measures than those levied by the UN and US. 

In March 2012, the EU voted unanimously to cut Iranian banks out of the SWIFT international banking network. That October, the bloc imposed the harshest sanctions to date, restricting trade, financial services, energy and technology, along with bans on the provision of insurance to Iranian companies by European firms. 

BBC reporting on the sanctions acknowledged European officials merely suspected Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but lacked concrete proof. And behind the scenes, the MI6 operative Langman was claiming credit for helping legitimize the allegations against Iran.

Nuclear agreement lays foundations for war

Following the Western-led campaign isolation of Iran from 2010 – 2012, over its purported nuclear weapon program, the Obama administration negotiated a July 2015 agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the JCPOA’s terms, the Islamic Republic agreed to limit its nuclear research activities in return for sanctions relief. In the years that followed, the IAEA was granted virtually unlimited access to Tehran’s nuclear complexes, ostensibly to ensure the facilities were not used to develop nuclear weapons. 

Along the way, IAEA inspectors collected vast amounts of information on the sites, including surveillance camera photos, measurement data, and documents. The Iranian government has since accused the Agency of furnishing the top secret profiles of its nuclear scientists to Israel. These include the godfather of Iran’s nuclear program, Mohsen Fakrizadeh, who was first publicly named in a menacing 2019 powerpoint presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The following year, the Mossad assassinated Fakrizadeh in broad daylight with a remote-controlled machine gun. 

Internal IAEA documents leaked this June indicated that IAEA Secretary General Rafael Grossi has enjoyed a much closer relationship with Israeli officials than was previously known, and suggested he leveraged his cozy ties with Tel Aviv to secure his current position. 

During a June 24 interview with Fox News’ war-crazed anchor Martha MacCallum, Grossi did not deny making the inflammatory claim that “900 pounds of potentially enriched uranium was taken to an ancient site near Isfahan.” Instead the IAEA director asserted, “We do not have any information on the whereabouts of this material.”

Well before Grossi rose to the top of the IAEA with Western and Israeli backing, the agency appears to have been penetrated by a British intelligence agent who took responsibility in his bio for engineering the West’s economic attack on Iran.

The IAEA has not responded to an email from The Grayzone seeking clarification on its relationship with Langman and the MI6.

• This article appeared at Ron Paul Institute and reprinted with permission from The Grayzone, subscribe and support here.

Kit Klarenberg

Kit Klarenberg is an investigative journalist exploring the role of intelligence services in shaping politics and perceptions. His work has previously appeared in The Cradle, Declassified UK, and Grayzone. Follow him on Twitter @KitKlarenberg.