How does Dorje Shugden harm the Tibetan cause for independence?
Tibetan independence for one millenium is an impossibility. Its corrupt, greedy, unscrupulous, feudal theocrats so much degraded the country, delivering it into the hands of foreign powers, and the people, subjecting it to an abject serfdom and slavery, that Tibet cannot stand on its own feet.
A comparison comes to mind with another central, mountainous, much smaller country, Switzerland, which for centuries upheld its territory, languages, customs, traditions, independence, and sovereignty against much more powerful empires such as Austria, France, and what became Germany and Italy.
While there were strong religious disagreements within Switzerland, specially between Catholic and Reformed cantons, when it came to defend their common national borders, Swiss people and cantons always united against the common enemy, and thus invariably managed to preserve the integrity of their country, and the republican liberties of the people.
Not so with Tibet, where for centuries political leaders have shamelessly resorted to foreign support, such as different Mongolian tribes, in order to assert their own local power, at the expense of the unity of the country, and of the dignity of the people. As such Tibet, as opposed to Switzerland, became a mockery of a country, a brutal, foreign-controlled theocracy.
The current evil dalie, just like the evil 13th before him, is just following the same tradition, relying on a foreign power, such as the US, in order internally to assert his own absolute power, using religious sectarianism as a convenient tool, while wanting to make of the country just another Western-controlled vassal state. Therefore, he is just another traitor of the Tibetan people.
As such, Tibet's current realistic choices are either to be a peaceful, prosperous, dynamic autonomous region within China, enjoying full religious freedom, or a Western-controlled kleptocracy, a failed state divided against itself, following the recent example of US-controlled Ukraine, while haunted by the dalaite anti-Shugden religious persecution.
Therefore, while Dorje Shugden has little to do with a currently unfeasible Tibetan independence, his widespread cult has been used as a scapegoat for the frustrations of disgruntled theocrats, and thus it is no wonder that the evil dalie and his minions hysterically blame Dorje Shugden for their own failure to place Tibet within the greedy hands of Western neocolonialists.