DHARAMSHALA, March 29: A monk from Mogri Monastery in Luchu in Eastern
Tibet has set himself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s
continuing occupation of Tibet.
“Kunchok Tenzin set himself ablaze at a road intersection near his monastery at 7pm (local time) on Tuesday, March 26,” said Kanyag Tsering of Dharamsala-based Kirti Monastery, who closely monitors self-immolations inside Tibet. Twenty-eight-year-old Tenzin died in his fiery protest. “Following his self-immolation protest, the local Tibetans carried his charred body inside the monastery premises and cremated it on the same night to prevent the body from falling into Chinese security personnel’s hands,” Tsering added. Tenzin, son of Lhakho and Lhamo Tso, became a monk in Morgi Monastery at young age. Last week, David Sweet, a Canadian parliamentarian raised the issue of Tibet in the House of Commons and called upon Xi Jinping to meet with the leaders of the Tibetan Government-in-exile. “I would like to note that the world is now watching how President Jinping's government lives by those words and lives up to those expectations with regard to the situation in Tibet,” said Sweet. There have now been 114 confirmed self-immolations in the occupied Tibet. Sixteen of them took place since the beginning of this year. China’s media blackout and severe security clampdown in Tibet are some of the reasons why the news of Kunchok Tenzin’s self-immolation took two days to get out. |
Friday, 29 March 2013
Breaking: A monk sets self ablaze in Tibet
Thursday, 28 March 2013
TYC Unveiled Jampel Yeshi’s Statue
DHARAMSHALA, March 28: On the first anniversary of Jampel Yeshi’s self-immolation, the Tibetan Youth Congress today unveiled his statue at Lhagyal Ri in Dharamshala.
“As a Tibetan, he thought that his country was taken away from him, and he has no other way to resist except to sacrifice his life,” said former political prisoner Palden Gyatso, who was the chief guest for the occasion.
Yeshi's statue is installed next to Thupten Ngodup’s, who was the first Tibetan to self-immolate in exile, to remember and honour his sacrifice for the Tibetan struggle. Yeshi’s last message is printed on a plaque below the statue.
Jampel Yeshi, 26, self-immolated on 26 March last year to protest against China’s occupation of Tibet a day before the then Chinese President Hu Jintaos’ visit to attend the 4th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
Suffering 98 per cent burn, Yeshi passed away in the morning of March 28.
He became the second person in exile to die from self-immolation after Ngodup died from after he set himself in fire on 27 April 1998.
“Jampel Yeshi and 113 other Tibetans in Tibet have self-immolated for the cause of Tibet and Tibetans. And it is our responsibility to make sure that their sacrifices do not go in vain,” said Tsewang Rinzin, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress.
Hundreds of Tibetans and leaders of various organizations attended the ceremony and offered scarves at Yeshi’s statue. It was an intensely moving occasion for many Tibetans, including Lhasang Tsering, former President of TYC, who choked with emotion.
Yeshi was born in Tibet. In exile, he studied at the Tibetan Transit School and later moved to Delhi.
Self-immolation Toll 113: Exile administration offers prayers
DHARAMSHALA, March 28: Considering different ways of setting themselves on fire in Tibet, the exile Tibetan administration includes Tulku Thupten Nyendak and his niece Atse in the list of self-immolators.
Forty-five-year-old Thupten Nyendak of Dragkar Monastery in Lhagang in Kham, Eastern Tibet, and Atse, 23, from Serta Tibetan Buddhist Institute set themselves on fire at the former’s residence in Dzogchen Monastery on 6 April 2012. This reportedly happened after they offered butter lamps and prayers for all the Tibetan. “As a Tibetan and Buddhist, we offer prayer for 113 Tibetans who self-immolated in Tibet, out of which we have been saying 83 [took place] in 2012. But now it is [confirmed] 85 in 2012 and 95 have died,” said Dr Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of exile Tibet. The special service was held for Thupten Nyendak, Atse, Kal Kyi (30) and Lhamo Kyab (43) who set themselves on fire in protest against China's continuing occupation of their homeland. Kal Kyi, set herself ablaze protesting near Jonang monastery in Zamthang in Eastern Tibet at 3:30 pm (local time) on March 24. She is survived by her husband and four children, who are all below 15. On March 25, Lhamo Kyab set himself ablaze in a forest in Sangchu County in Amdo, Eastern Tibet. The self-immolation took place around 10 pm (local time). He died in his fiery protest. The number of Tibetan self-immolations since 2009 now stands at 113. |
Tibetans shut China’s “propaganda exhibit”
"There is a lesson here for China. If you want to improve your image abroad, do it by making genuine change on the ground inside Tibet, not by hosting a propaganda show to mislead the global public," said Tenzin Sonam, Regional Coordinator of SFT-Midwest. Prior to the said exhibit, Tibetan organizations, including Students for a Free Tibet, Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women's Association and Tibetan American Foundation-Minnesota, opened a parallel exhibit ‘Tibet Today: Exposing the Truth’ with pictures of independent Tibet, self-immolations and China’s repression in Tibet. The Chinese opened their “propaganda” exhibition with photographs of smiling Tibetans waving the Chinese flag and other items, which Tibetans feel were “clearly aimed at whitewashing China's occupation of Tibet and misleading Western audiences into thinking Tibetans are happy under Chinese rule.” According to the Tibetan organizers some of them and their supporters went the Consulate's exhibit to question them about China's brutalities in Tibet, the Tibetan protests and self-immolations. The questions were met with blank stares and no answers. However, a Chinese student performer reportedly said "I'm very interested in Tibet now. We were taught different [things]. I was at your exhibition. You Tibetans are very nice people" Hours later, the Chinese exhibit cancelled their performances and opening ceremony. The Tibetan exhibit on the hand over a hundred visitors while the Chinese Consulate's exhibit remained all but with no visitors. The Chinese Consulate’s exhibition has reportedly remained closed for the second day. "Armed with truth, information and nonviolence, we were able to shutdown China's expensive propaganda show in our backyard. This is something every Tibetan community and group can do quite easily every time a Chinese propaganda show comes to town," Tenzin Sonam added. |
Tibetans Remember Jampel Yeshi
“We are reminded once more of him in flames, in the hospital and finally his demise and through this experience of grief and anguish, we think of all the self-immolators inside Tibet and their family members, their sorrows and miseries, their pain and suffering,” said Konchok Yangphel of the youth congress. “We take this moment to think and pray for all our Tibetan heroes who have selflessly given up their lives for Tibet.” Hundreds of Tibetans attended the candle light vigil at Jantar Mantar in India’s capital city. Jampel Yeshi, 27, set himself on fire on March 26 last year to protest against China’s occupation of Tibet a day before the then Chinese President Hu Jintaos’ visit to attend the 4th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. In his last hand-written message, Yeshi wrote: 'At a time when we are making our final move toward our goal – if you have money, it is the time to spend it; if you are educated it is the time to produce results; if you have control over your life, I think the day has come to sacrifice your life. The fact that Tibetan people are setting themselves on fire in this 21st century is to let the world know about their suffering, and to tell the world about the denial of basic human rights. If you have any empathy, stand up for the Tibetan people.' Yeshi became the second self-immolate in exile to die after Thupten Ngodup, who died from self-immolation in 1998. Since 2009 as many as 111 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 93 have died. |
Dalai Lama talks about self-immolation
March 25: Speaking about the on-going self-immolation protest in Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that “the ultimate factor is their (self-immolators) individual motivation.”
The Dalai Lama spoke to TIMES NOW, a major Indian news channel. “Actually, suicide is basically (a) type of violence but then question of good or bad actually depend on the motivation and goal. I think (as) goal is concern, these (self-immolators) people (are) not drunk, (do) not (have) family problem, this (self-immolation) is for Buddha dharma, for Tibetan National interest but then I think the ultimate factor is their individual motivation,” the 77-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader said. “If motivation (consists) too much anger, hatred, then it is negative (but) if the motivation (is) more compassionate, calm mind then such acts also can be positive. That is strictly speaking from Buddhist view of point. Any action whether violence or non violence, is ultimately depend on motivation.” Since 2009 there have been 111 Tibetans self-immolations against China’s occupation. Overwhelming majority of them demanded freedom and return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Thousands of Tibetans have carried out mass protests even as Chinese authorities have increased their repressive policies and tightened the noose around self-immolations. Responding to the question of China’s blame on the Tibetan spiritual leader for self-immolation and crisis ins Tibet, the Dalai Lama welcomed Chinese officials to “do thorough check” at his exile residence in Dharamshala. “I am very good, please come here and (do) thorough check. Since 2008 crisis, even the former Prime minister Wen Jiabao (who) looks (as a) very nice (and) sensible person, he also accused (me) for the crisis that, it starts from India, I think he also mentioned my name, then immediately I responded, now please some Chinese officials, or international media, please come to Dharamshala (to do) through check,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said. “Come to here instead of saying from distant. Come here, you will be our guest ... most important guest (and) check everything.” On China’s new leadership and hopes to resolve the Tibetan issue with new leadership, the Tibetan Nobel Laureate said, “China is a another totalitarian and closed society. So the system as such, (a) few individuals cannot do much, but overall picture of China is changing. Today’s China, (as) compared to 30 to 40 years ago, much changed." “China can do much more constructive role on global level or (in) Asia, for that trust (and) respect from the rest of the world is highly necessary in order to carry some constructive role. That is lacking now.” On China’s restriction in allowing international and its lack of transparency in politics, the Dalai Lama pointed out that China should carry all political activities transparently, and promote rule of law and freedom for media. “1.3 billions Chinese people have every right to know the reality and once 1.3 billion of Chinese people know the reality, they also have the ability to judge what is right or wrong.” “Therefore censorship is immoral,” the Tibetan spiritual leader added. |
Breaking: Second self-immolation in 24 hours, Toll rises to 111 (Updated)
Forty-three-old Lhamo Kyab set himself ablaze in a forest in Sangchu County in Amdo, Eastern Tibet. The self-immolation took place around 10 pm (local time). He died in his fiery protest. According to our sources in exile, Lhamo Kyab set himself in a forest where he works as a forest guard. “Early morning, he doused himself in kerosene and jumped into a fire which he started with timber wood,” said the same source, who did not want to be named. Following his self-immolation protest, a large number of armed security personnel arrived at the location and the situation in the region is described as tense “under strict surveillance”. Kyab’s self-immolation is the second such case in one a day. Thirty-year-old Kal Kyi, a mother of four has set herself ablaze on 24 March in Eastern Tibet at 3:30 pm (local time). She died at the protest site. |
Tibetans demand action as BRICS summit begins
March 25: The exile Tibetans demand actions for Tibet from Xi Jinping as the Chinese president attends his first BRICS summit in Durban.
“Tibet is Xi Jinping’s number one challenge and he has to address the legitimate grievances of Tibetans living in occupied Tibet and bring about an end to the tragic wave of self-immolations,” said Dorjee Tseten, National Director of Students For a Free Tibet-India. In their joint press statement the Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) and SFT-India said that the two-day summit will witness Xi’s “historic meeting” with leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa while the self-immolations goes on in Tibet. The toll has reached 110. “In the months since Xi Jinping was elevated to the top of the Chinese Communist Party, there has been an increase in China’s hardline response to dissent in Tibet, with a heightened military presence, mass detentions and a campaign to ‘criminalize’ the family member of self-immolation protestors,” said Tashi Dolma, President of TWA. As a part of the campaign the NGO's held a mock alternative BRICS-Summit wearing masks of Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa; Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil; Vladimir Putin, President of Russia; Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India and Xi Jinping, President of China. The two Tibetan organizations have also submitted an open letter to the embassies of the BRICS nations in India as well one to the Indian Prime Minister appealing them to speak about China’s brutal repression of Tibetans and urge Xi to allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Tibet. A few days ago Rajeev Chandrasekhar, an Indian MP, urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to raise the ongoing self-immolation in Tibet with his Chinese counterpart at the BRICS summit. “I urge you to support the cause of Tibetan freedom by issuing a strong statement in light of current human rights violation and crisis in Tibet and raise this issue with the Chinese President at the upcoming BRICS meeting on 26 and 27 March 2013, in Durban, South Africa” Chandrasekhar said. This is the fifth BRICS summit and the last one was held in India’s capital city. |
Tibet Issue Raised in Canadian & Australian Parliaments
March 25: A Canadian parliamentarian, David Sweet, raised the issue of Tibet in the House of Commons on Thursday and called upon Xi Jinping to meet with the leaders of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.
“I would like to note that the world is now watching how President Jinping's government lives by those words and lives up to those expectations with regard to the situation in Tibet,” said Sweet. He also termed the situation in Tibet as “increasingly violent and desperate”. “Given this urgency, we sincerely encourage President Jinping to meet with the leaders of the Tibetan government in exile to discuss the Dalai Lama's middle-way approach for peace, human rights, stability and a reasonable coexistence between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples,” he added. Sweet is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale and the Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. On same day, Senator Sarah Hanson Young of the Greens Party moved a motion on Tibet in the Upper House of Australian Parliament. In a motion passed in the Senate notes that the Australian Government must urge Chinese authorities to address the underlying causes of tension in Tibetan regions; end the use of harsh policies such as increased surveillance and violent crackdowns; lift restrictions on access to Tibetan regions, including for international media and diplomats; and resume substantive talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives. The continuing crisis in Tibet has a series of self-immolations that has now seen 111 Tibetans set themselves on fire since 2009. |
Breaking: 110th Tibetan Self-immolation
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Sunday, 24 March 2013
Karmapa attends 300th Anniversary of Garcham
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Advertisement “Dismantle this Orwellian ‘grid’ system”: Human Rights Watch
DHARAMSHALA,
March 23: Adding to the already tight security, the Chinese government
is said to expand a new security system throughout the so-called Tibet
Autonomous Region (TAR).
According to Human Rights Watch, the annual TAR work report released on February 7 announced a new system known as the ‘grid’ management that is designed reportedly to improve public access to basic services. This system will increase surveillance and monitoring capacity over “special groups” in the region such as former prisoners and those who have returned from exile among others. HRW said that the expansion of the grid system, alongside the construction across Tibet of over 600 “convenience police-posts” with high-tech equipment will monitor daily lives and increase already active volunteer security groups called ‘Red Armband Patrols’ (Tib: dpung rtags dmar po). “The surveillance is now a pervasive part of life across the region,” HRW added. On February 17, Yu Zhengsheng, Standing Committee member of the Politburo of CPC said that the system should be put into effect throughout the region to form “nets in the sky and traps on the ground.” “Chinese authorities should dismantle this Orwellian ‘grid’ system, which has been imposed while the government continues to avoid addressing popular grievances,” said Sophie Richardson, the China director at HRW. “China’s effort to impose pervasive surveillance on every street is not likely to make Tibet safer, but the increased surveillance will surely increase pressure in an already tense region, even while the Tibetan people are still waiting for Chinese attention to rampant violations of their rights,” Richardson further said. The grid management system grows out of “social stability maintenance”, a China-wide drive to prevent protest and unrest. It is a part of the Communist Party’s objective to carry out “social management” alongside “stability maintenance”, which is usually presented as a way to provide ‘better services’ to residents. |
A solitary cycle rally across Europe
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China sentences Tibetans up to six years
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Thursday, 21 March 2013
Tibetans protest against China’s shift in blame of self-immolation protest
The protesters paraded Xi Jinping’s bigheaded oaf holding a million Yuan in Mcleod Ganj and displayed placards saying Accept the Lie or Die! Two option: Either Accept the Bribe or Face the Punishment! I Will Never Accept the Lie! etc. The protest was jointly organized by regional chapters of Tibetan Youth Congress and Tibetan Women’s Association and Students For a Free Tibet, India. “The continuous self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet is one of the strongest political statements that highlights the height of oppression under which Tibetans have been suffering for a long time,” said Dorjee Tseten, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “Chinese government’s attempt to conceal the reality by deploying heavy military and punishing innocent Tibetans or offering bribe will only further deteriorate the situation. Tibetans will not stop resisting until and unless China addresses the real issue of the Tibetan people.” On 13 March, Kunchok Wangmo, 31, set herself on fire protesting China’s rule over her homeland around midnight in the Dzoge region of Ngaba, Northeastern Tibet. She died from injuries. Following her self-immolation protest, the local Chinese authorities arrested Wangmo’s husband Dolma Kyab when he refused to comply with their orders to declare internal family feuds as the reason for her self-immolation. According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, Dolma Kyab allegedly choked his wife to death after a quarrel and then transferred her body to the residential community where it was set alight on 12 March. Currently, Kyab’s condition and whereabouts of Kyab are not known. Similarly, in November last year, by Chinese security personnel secretly detained the husband of self-immolator, Dolkar Tso, when he refused to accept bribes offered by local authorities to state that his wife set herself on fire due to to family disputes and not in protest against China’s rule. |
Dalai Lama leaves Dharamshala for Northeast India Tour
DHARAMSHALA, March 21: The Tibetan Spiritual leader His Holiness the
Dalai Lama today left Dharamshala for visits to Ravangla, Sikkim and
Salugara in Northeast India.
The Sikkim Government has requested the five-day tour to the state. The Tibetan Nobel Laureate is scheduled to begin his visit from Ravangla in Sikkim where he will perform the Vajrakilaya (Dorjee Phurba) consecration ceremony of the Buddha Statue followed by a teaching on Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattva (Gyasay Laklen Sodunma). On second day in Ravangla, His Holiness will confer White Tara Long Life Empowerment (Dolker Jenang Tsewang) and the State Government of Sikkim and Tibetan Communities in Ravangla will offer the long-life prayer ceremony (Tenshug) to His Holiness. On the final day of the visit, the seventy-seven-year-old Tibetan leader will visit to Salugura, Siliguri, where he is scheduled to teach on Tsong Khapa’s Concise Stages for the Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Dudon) and Longchen Rabjam's Relaxing the Mind Itself (Sem-nyid Nyesol). His Holiness will return to Dharamshala on March 30. The Tibetan leader visited Sikkim in 2010, during which he toured Ravangla in the south of the state, where he addressed a congregation of people at the Tibetan settlement. He also visited the Ralong Monastery, arguably the oldest monastery in Sikkim built during the late 1600’s. |
Karmapa to Grace Khampa Gar Tsechu Festival
DHARAMSHALA, March 20: His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen
Trinley Dorjee will be the Chief Guest at the Annual Traditional Tsechu
Chenmo Cham in Khampa Gar at Tashijong, a Tibetan refugee camp in the
Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
The weeklong festival (March 22-27) begins on the 10th day of the 2nd Tibetan lunar month and will ends on 15th. Jagat Singh Negi, Deputy Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, Ravi Thakur, Member of Legislative Assembly from Lahaul Spiti and Kishori Lal, Member of State Legislative Assembly, will also attend the festival. According to Roshan Lal Negi, over a thousand of disciples from Ladakh, Kullu, Manali, Lahaul and other areas will come for the religious festival, and about four hundred foreign disciples are also expected to attend the ceremony. This year’s annual Tsechu Cham or religious dance marks the 300th years since this Khampa Gar traditional sacred dance began in 1712. The sacred dance or cham will depict the manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava, the great Indian Buddhist teacher who taught Buddhism in Tibet, and his deeds. As a part of the weeklong festival, the Government of Himachal Pradesh will facilitate Tashi Jong Tibetan Settlement and some of the people involved in its initiative to make it the only tobacco-free camp in the state. Khampa Gar Monastery has around 400 monks and was founded by the Eighth Khamtrul Rinpoche Dongyu Nyima (1931-1980) in the late 1950s after his coming into exile. Tashi Jong, where the monastery is located, is about 40 km from Dharamshala |
Harsher regulations won't ease tension in Tibet: US Congressional panel
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Prayers for the Dalai Lama on a rock earn China’s resentment
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Saturday, 16 March 2013
Breaking: Kirti monk marks March 16 with self-immolation, Toll rises to 108
March 16: A Tibetan monk in Ngaba region of eastern Tibet
has become the 108th Tibetan living under China’s rule to self-immolate,
marking five years since the 2008 peaceful protests in the region.
Lobsang Thokmey, 28, a monk at the Kirti Monastety set himself on fire today at around 2:40 pm (local time). He passed away in his protest. According to the Dharamshala based Kirti Monastery, Lobsang Thokmey doused his body with kerosene in front of his monastic quarters in the west of the Kirti Monastery and started running towards the east. “Lobsang Thokmey was in flames as he began running with the Buddhist flag in his hands,” the Kirti Monastery said in a release. “Before he could reach the main gate, he fell on the ground.” Monks and people gathered at the scene of the protest carried Lobsang Thokmey to the local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. “A large number of Chinese security personnel arrived at the hospital soon after Lobsang Thokmey was admitted and later forcibly took away the deceased’s body to the regional headquarters of Barkham,” the same source said. It is not yet known what slogans Lobsang Thokmey raised during his self-immolation protest. He is survived by his parents Rogtrug and Depo and one sister and three brothers. Lobsang Thokmey became a monk at the Kirti Monastery at a young age and was currently enrolled in the pharchin class. “His conduct was excellent and he was very diligent in his studies,” the Kirti Monastery recalled contacts as saying. On March 16, 2008, around 28 Tibetans were shot dead on a single day by Chinese security forces during the peaceful protest in Ngaba as part of the wider uprisings that engulfed the entire Tibetan plateau. On the third anniversary of the 2008 killings, Kirti monk Lobsang Phuntsok set himself on fire at a busy market place in Ngaba on March 16, 2011, triggering in earnest the continuing wave of self-immolations. A year later on March 16, 2012, another Kirti monk Lobsang Tsultrim torched his body, marking the anniversary of the March 16 killings and protests in the Ngaba region. Since Kirti monk Tabey’s self-immolation protest in 2009, as many as 108 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. The exile Tibetan administration earlier called the unprecedented number of self-immolations “ultimate acts of civil disobedience against China’s failed rule in Tibet.” “Concrete steps that the leaders of the world need to take immediately are to send Ms Navi Pillay of UNHCR on a visit to Tibet and investigate the real causes of self immolations, and convene a meeting to discuss and address the crisis in Tibet,” Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people said last month. |
150 UK MPs urged to raise Tibet with PM Cameron
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Indian MPs vouch their support for Tibet
March 16: A ‘Tibet Advocacy Campaign’ held in New Delhi from March
13-15, coinciding with the budget session of the Indian Parliament,
lobbied with several senior Indian leaders and received support from
across party lines.
The three-day campaign aimed to “gather Government support and diplomatic intervention to redress the grim situation inside Tibet” was jointly organised by the Tibetan Women’s Association and Students for a Free Tibet, India and coordinated by the International Tibet Network. The advocacy team met with over 20 members from both houses of the Indian Parliament, including Mani Shankar Aiyar, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Dr Karan Singh, Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Inder Singh, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ram Vilas Paswan, Agata Sangma, Smriti Irani, Joseph Toppo, Sansuma Kunggur Bwiswmuthiary, Rishang Keishing, Takam Sanjoy, Prof. Anil Kumar Sahani, Baishnap Parida, Pradeep Battacharya, Sohan Potai, Dr Pradeep Balmuchu, Deeraj Sahu, Dr Ajay Kumar and Ninong Ering, Minister of State, Minority Affairs. TWA’s General Secretary Nyima Lhamo said “the advocacy team engaged the Indian Parliamentarians in a strategic discussion to ensure an institutional support and tangible action to assert multilateral pressure on the Chinese leadership to resolve the Tibet crisis.” Since 2009, as many as 107 Tibetans living under Chinese rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Outspoken Congress leader, Mani Shankar Aiyar, former minister and now a member of Rajya Sabha told the team that the self-immolation protests inside Tibet are “critical and needs urgent intervention.” Ram Vilas Paswan, chief of Lok Janshakti Party, while vouching his support for the Tibetan cause, produced a copy of a letter dated January 22 urging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to “sympathetically look into the matter of heightened repression in Tibet.” Responding to the advocacy campaign, independent Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrashekar sent a letter to the Prime Minister urge him to “support the cause of Tibetan freedom by issuing a strong statement in light of current human rights violation and crisis in Tibet and raise this issue with the Chinese President at the upcoming BRICS meeting on 26 and 27 March 2013, in Durban, South Africa.” “Within 2 days, 11 MPs signed the ‘Stand up for Tibet’ pledge, which has already garnered 50,000 signatories. The copies of the signed ‘pledge’ and an exclusive appeal letter was delivered to the Prime Minister’s office today,” said Tsering Choedup from International Tibet Network. The campaign also requested Indian Parliamentarians to invite His Holiness the Dalai Lama to address the Indian Parliament and also invite Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, to address the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Indian Parliament. Organisers said the advocacy campaign will be an on-going campaign in India with substantial follow-ups with Indian lawmakers. |
Tibetan women shout out to Xi Jinping
TWA, on the final day of their three-day mass campaign ‘Tibetans stand together in joy and sorrow’ raised slogans at Xi’s figurine at Jantar Mantar. 200 Tibetan women activists representing 33 chapters from across India and Nepal directly called on China’s new president to ‘end the repression in Tibet, resolve the Tibet crisis now, and face the Tibet Challenge.’ “Today, as Xi Jinping formally assumes the title of president and as we commemorate the 5th anniversary of the ‘2008 spring uprising in Tibet,’ we are shouting out to the Chinese leaders to review their failed policies in Tibet, to end the crisis inside Tibet and significantly to fulfill the genuine aspirations of the Tibetan people who sacrificed their lives calling for ‘freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet’ and for ‘the dignified return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama back to Tibet’,” said Tashi Dolma, president of TWA. TWA in a release noted that the situation in Tibet is “exacerbated by a deepening crackdown by the Chinese government on any forms of peaceful expressions for freedom by the Tibetan people, thus deepening the anguish Tibetans feel.” “The Chinese leaders have time and again deliberately mishandled the crisis in Tibet,” the group said. The final day’s sit-in event at Jantar Mantar was addressed by Nitin Gadkari, former President of Bharatiya Janata Party, who said that he is ‘aware of the grim situation inside Tibet and remain saddened over the heightened repression.’ “I have and will always stand by the Tibetan people and their unwavering struggle for freedom,” said the BJP leader. Jaya Jaitley, prominent social activist, lauded the spirit of Tibetan women and assured that the ‘impeccable tenets of the Tibetan non-violent struggle and the powerful role of Tibetan women will persevere and bring triumph to the Tibetan freedom movement.’ Other speakers included Kamla Bhasin, Women empowerment activist, Radha Bhatt, Gandhian and social activist, Dr.Alana Golmie, Burmese democracy activist and members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. The TWA organised three-day mass solidarity campaign in New Delhi included sit-in protest, lobbying Indian leaders, peace march, prayer meetings, and signature campaign. Since 2009, as many as 107 Tibetans living under China’s rule, including 14 women, have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. |
Tibetan women shout out to Xi Jinping
TWA, on the final day of their three-day mass campaign ‘Tibetans stand together in joy and sorrow’ raised slogans at Xi’s figurine at Jantar Mantar. 200 Tibetan women activists representing 33 chapters from across India and Nepal directly called on China’s new president to ‘end the repression in Tibet, resolve the Tibet crisis now, and face the Tibet Challenge.’ “Today, as Xi Jinping formally assumes the title of president and as we commemorate the 5th anniversary of the ‘2008 spring uprising in Tibet,’ we are shouting out to the Chinese leaders to review their failed policies in Tibet, to end the crisis inside Tibet and significantly to fulfill the genuine aspirations of the Tibetan people who sacrificed their lives calling for ‘freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet’ and for ‘the dignified return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama back to Tibet’,” said Tashi Dolma, president of TWA. TWA in a release noted that the situation in Tibet is “exacerbated by a deepening crackdown by the Chinese government on any forms of peaceful expressions for freedom by the Tibetan people, thus deepening the anguish Tibetans feel.” “The Chinese leaders have time and again deliberately mishandled the crisis in Tibet,” the group said. The final day’s sit-in event at Jantar Mantar was addressed by Nitin Gadkari, former President of Bharatiya Janata Party, who said that he is ‘aware of the grim situation inside Tibet and remain saddened over the heightened repression.’ “I have and will always stand by the Tibetan people and their unwavering struggle for freedom,” said the BJP leader. Jaya Jaitley, prominent social activist, lauded the spirit of Tibetan women and assured that the ‘impeccable tenets of the Tibetan non-violent struggle and the powerful role of Tibetan women will persevere and bring triumph to the Tibetan freedom movement.’ Other speakers included Kamla Bhasin, Women empowerment activist, Radha Bhatt, Gandhian and social activist, Dr.Alana Golmie, Burmese democracy activist and members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. The TWA organised three-day mass solidarity campaign in New Delhi included sit-in protest, lobbying Indian leaders, peace march, prayer meetings, and signature campaign. Since 2009, as many as 107 Tibetans living under China’s rule, including 14 women, have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. |
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Popular Tibetan singer Lo Lo sentenced to six years
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China sentences tortured Tibetan monk to five years
DHARAMSHALA, March 13: A Tibetan monk who was hospitalised last year
after suffering severe beating and torture in Chinese police custody has
been rearrested and sentenced to five years in prison.
Lobsang Jinpa, 31, a monk at the Nyitso Zilkar monastery in Tridu region of Keygudo, eastern Tibet, was re-arrested from his monastic quarter on February 23. Lobsang Sangyal, an exiled monk told Phayul that a Chinese court in the region sentenced Jinpa to five years in prison for unknown reasons. “I have been trying to get more details about the court sentencing and Lobsang Jinpa’s condition and whereabouts but all attempts at establishing contact have failed,” Sangyal said. Lobsang Jinpa is son of Tagyal and Pema Tsomo. He was earlier arrested in September 1, 2012 with four other monks, Sonam Sherab, 45, Sonam Yignyen, 44, Ngawang Monlam, and Kalsang Tsultrim, during a surprise raid at the Monastery by Chinese security officials. Chinese security forces had arrived in large numbers and confiscated electronic items, including computers and CDs from the quarters of the five monks. Other monks of the Monastery who pleaded for the release of those arrested were severely beaten. Sonam Sherab and Sonam Yignyen were later sentenced to two years in prison by a Chinese court in Siling city on unknown charges, while Ngawang Monlam was detained for a month and later released due to a disability in his leg. According to the same source, Lobsang Jinpa and Kalsang Trultrim were beaten and tortured in prison by Chinese police and were severely injured. “Their condition was so serious that that they had to be hospitalised,” Sangyal said. The initial arrest and the sentencing are believed to have been carried out in connection with the peaceful protests that engulfed the Tridu region on February 8, last year. Thousands of Tibetans in the region had taken part in a peaceful protest coinciding with the global solidarity vigil called by the exile based Central Tibetan Administration. Around 400 monks from the Zilkar monastery had led the protest march to Zatoe town with banners, written in blue and red ink, symbolic of the two protector deities of Tibet, calling for the Dalai Lama’s return, release of Tibetan political prisoners including the XIth Panchen Lama and respect for Tibetan lives. Although no arrests were made during the protest, three Zatoe monks - Sonam Gyewa, Lobsang Samten, and Lobsang Nyima were arrested on February 16 and later sentenced by an Intermediate People's Court in Siling at a secret trial without the presence of the monks' family members. |
China arrests Tibetan monk on eve of Uprising Day
Kirti Monastery monk Tsepak arrested for the second time on March 9, 2013.
Tsepak, 29, was picked up from his aunt’s home by Chinese security personnel at around midnight on March 9. Dharamshala based Kirti Monastery in a release said Tsepak had been nursing his sick aunt. “Tsepak’s family members and friends have no clue why he was arrested and where he is being currently detained,” the release said. This is not the first time that he has been arrested. On March 25, 2011, Tsepak was arrested in Beijing and kept in detention for a few months when he was studying at the Beijing Nationalities University. “He was arrested by Chinese police on March 25, 2011 at around 6 pm (local time) for reasons that were not known then,” the Kirit Monastery said. “However, it was later found out that he was detained for allegedly keeping contacts with outsiders.” Tsepak is son of Dhondup and Dhondey. Confirming the reports of his arrest, Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Right and Democracy today said Tsepak had become a monk at the Kirti Monastery at a young age. “Before his detention, he was in the third-year Uma class (equivalent to Master’s Degree course in Tibetan Buddhism) at his monastery,” TCHRD said. Last week, in Beijing, Chinese officials representing Ngaba, told reporters that the tight security clampdown on the Kirti Monastery and the surrounding regions will not be relaxed. Wu Zegang, the governor of ‘Aba prefecture’ accused the local Kirti monastery of collaborating with exiled Tibetans to organise protests while failing to provide any concrete evidence to substantiate his claim. Another provincial official, Zhang Dongsheng, announced that government officials in eastern Tibet will not ease their grip over the region's monasteries and people. "Our struggle against the Dalai Lama is long-term and intense," Zhang said. "We cannot relax at any moment.” |
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Three Tibetan monks stage protest in Bathang, One arrested, two on the run
DHARAMSHALA,
March 12: Three Tibetan monks of the Yaso monastery in Bathang region
of eastern Tibet staged a peaceful protest against China’s rule on March
8, raising slogans for the Dalai Lama’s long life and Tibet’s
independence.
Chinese security personnel arrested one of the monks, while the two others managed to escape and are currently on the run.
According to Bawa Kalsang Gyaltsen, a member of the Dharamshala based Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, the three monks paraded the ‘banned in Tibet’ Tibetan national flag as they carried out their protest in Bathang.
“The monks shouted slogans for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s independence, and language rights,” Gyaltsen said citing sources in the region.
“While the monks were carrying out their protest, several Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene and arrested one of the monks. The two others managed to escape arrest and are currently on the run.”
The arrested monk has been identified as Tashi Dorjee, while the names of the two other monks have not been revealed.
The protest on March 8 followed rising tensions in the region after Chinese authorities barred local Tibetans from carrying out a consecration (rabney) ceremony of a statue of the Dalai Lama commissioned by a local monastery, the same source said.
Prevailing tensions over a Chinese mining site near the Yaso Monastery, in addition to the protests, has ensured that the region remains under strict surveillance and heavy lockdown.
Chinese leaders of Tibetan areas, last week renewed their pledge to fight against the “Dalai clique resolutely” and crackdown on “all secessionist forces and sabotage activities.”
Chinese security personnel arrested one of the monks, while the two others managed to escape and are currently on the run.
According to Bawa Kalsang Gyaltsen, a member of the Dharamshala based Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, the three monks paraded the ‘banned in Tibet’ Tibetan national flag as they carried out their protest in Bathang.
“The monks shouted slogans for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s independence, and language rights,” Gyaltsen said citing sources in the region.
“While the monks were carrying out their protest, several Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene and arrested one of the monks. The two others managed to escape arrest and are currently on the run.”
The arrested monk has been identified as Tashi Dorjee, while the names of the two other monks have not been revealed.
The protest on March 8 followed rising tensions in the region after Chinese authorities barred local Tibetans from carrying out a consecration (rabney) ceremony of a statue of the Dalai Lama commissioned by a local monastery, the same source said.
Prevailing tensions over a Chinese mining site near the Yaso Monastery, in addition to the protests, has ensured that the region remains under strict surveillance and heavy lockdown.
Chinese leaders of Tibetan areas, last week renewed their pledge to fight against the “Dalai clique resolutely” and crackdown on “all secessionist forces and sabotage activities.”
Tibetan college girls storm Chinese Embassy
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