Fresh protest marks March 10 in Tibet (Updated)

DHARAMSHALA, March 10: In reports coming out of Tibet, three Tibetan monks today carried out a peaceful protest against China’s rule in Kardze region on eastern Tibet. Today is the 54th Tibetan National Uprising day and the fifth anniversary of the 2008 mass uprisings in Tibet. According to exile sources, the three monks of the Mangey Monastery, identified as Lobsang Samten, Sonam Namgyal, and Thupten Gelek, carried out a peaceful demonstration in Zachukha region at around 11:50 am (local time) calling for freedom and democracy in Tibet. According to eyewitnesses, they were carrying a white banner with the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the centre and many slogans written on it. When Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene and began arresting the protesting monks, two lay Tibetans Lobsang Kalsang, 17, and Ngawang Gyatso, 41 tried to rescue them. Later, all five Tibetans were arrested. Their whereabouts and conditions are not known. Security has been intensified in the entire region following today’s protest. Last year on March 10, Gepey, 18-year-old monk of the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, eastern Tibet set himself on fire near a military camp in the region. Since then, as many as 107 Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding for freedom and the return on His Holiness the Dalai Lama. China appointed leaders of Tibetan areas earlier this week pledged to continue the fight against the “Dalai clique resolutely” and crackdown on “all secessionist forces and sabotage activities.” Speaking in Beijing on the sidelines of the ongoing National People’s Congress, the leaders called maintaining stability in Tibet their “top priority” and said they “can not relax at any moment” in their “long-term and intense” struggle against the Dalai Lama. Several countries and human rights groups have called on China to rethink its policies in Tibet and begin genuine talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama to find a long lasting solution to the issue.

Mass arrest of Tibetans in connection with self-immolations

Tibetans and foreign supporters carry photos of self-immolators during the final day of the four-day solidarity campaign in New Delhi on Febraury 2, 2013.

In a first of its kind mass arrest in connection with the ongoing wave of self-immolation protests in Tibet, Chinese authorities have arrested 70 Tibetans in eastern Tibet.

Chinese state media Xinhua on Thursday cited police in the Malho region as saying that the “criminal suspects” were captured in connection with a “string of self-immolations that have occurred since November 2012.”

As many as 99 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 protesting Chinese rule and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

The report cited a senior police official as saying that more efforts will be exerted to “thoroughly investigate the cases and seriously punish those who incite innocent people to commit self-immolation.”

Lyu Benqian, who heads a special police team investigating the self-immolations also blamed “the Dalai Lama clique” for “masterminding and inciting” the protests.

“Personal information, such as photos of the victims, were sent overseas to promote the self-immolations,” the report cited him as saying.

"Some of the victims were frustrated and pessimistic in life, and they wanted to earn respect by self-immolation," Lyu added.

The report also carried stories of several individual self-immolators, claiming that their personal problems were the reason for their protests.

Among those arrested, the report cited one Phagpa, a young Tibetan in Dowa, Rebkong region, who was arrested for attending the funerals of six self-immolators, offering donations to their family members and working to spread ideas related to separatism and "Tibetan independence."

Last month, Chinese courts sentenced a Tibetan Lobsang Kunchok to death with a two-year reprieve and Lobsang Tsering to 10 years on charges of “intentional homicide.” The same day, another court sentenced six Tibetans to varying jail terms of 12 to three years in jail on similar charges.

Following the sentencing, New York based global rights group, Human Rights Watch, said Chinese authorities should “immediately release” Kunchok and Tsering, while noting that their conviction “relied solely on confessions they gave during five months in detention.”

“These prosecutions are utterly without credibility,” said Sophie Richardson, China director. “The Chinese government seems to think it can stop self-immolation by punishing anyone who talks about it. But in pursuing these ‘incitement’ cases, the government compounds the tragedy of these suicide protests.”



HRW noted that it has documented “endemic use of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and coercion of Tibetans in detention.”

“Self-immolations take place in the context of the Chinese government’s long-standing repressive policies in the Tibetan areas that have seen severe restrictions on Tibetans’ rights,” HRW said.

The Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration also condemned the harsh sentences, blaming the Chinese leadership as “solely responsible for the growing unrest and deteriorating situation in Tibet.”

“The series of rushed sentences clearly show that Tibetans in Tibet are denied basic human rights,” the exile Tibetan administration said. “It is also evident that these are done in utter disregard to the Tibetan aspiration and deep anguish at the continuing self-immolations in Tibet.”

The Dalai Lama in Bihar at CM Nitish Kumar’s invitation

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama being received by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at Patna Airport on January 3, 2013.  January 4: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai arrived in the Indian state of Bihar at the invitation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Thursday. The Dalai Lama was received at the Patna airport by the Chief Minister and a host of top government officials. The Tibetan spiritual leader is scheduled to inaugurate a three-day International Buddhist Sangha Seminar on The Role of the Buddhist Sangha in the 21st Century jointly organised by the Bihar Art and Culture Department and the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee. Hundreds of delegates from 20 countries, including China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Japan are expected to attend the meet starting January 5. Earlier today, the Dalai Lama held a special prayer at the Chief Minister’s One Anne Marg official residence for world peace. CM Kumar, Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, Water Resources Minister Vijay Chaudhary, state JD(U) President Vashist Narayan Singh, and party Rajya Sabha member R C P Singh were among those who took part in the prayer. Talking to media persons, the Dalai Lama praised the chief minister and the state government for taking keen interest in Buddhism. Describing Nitish Kumar as "a dynamic Chief Minister," the Tibetan leader said he was "very happy to visit the land of King Ashoka who spread Buddhism in the world." While mentioning the glorious history of modern day Bihar, the Nobel Peace laureate recounted the names of the state’s great sons like independent India’s first President Dr Rajendra Prasad and Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan. Also today, the 77-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader, along with CM Kumar, inaugurated a statue of Lord Buddha at the Buddha Smriti Parka in the state capital. Following his visit to Patna, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to leave for Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh to give four days of teachings on Shantideva's A Guide to the Boddhisattva's Way of Life (chodjug) from January 7 to 10.

CM Omar Abdullah meets Tibetan parliamentary delegation

Students from Ladakh and Zanskar regions of Jammu and Kashmir state carrying out a Tibet solidarity protest in Jammu city on January 2, 2013.

January 4: The all-India lobbying campaign initiated by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile began its month-long campaigning in north India with a meeting with Omar Abdullah, chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The north zone Tibetan Parliamentary delegation called on the honorable Chief Minister on January 2 in the state’s winter capital, Jammu city. According to a release by the delegation, Omar Abdullah, during the meeting, expressed his support for Tibet’s cause.

“The leaders of the Chinese government very well know that the struggle carried on by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is for autonomy in Tibet,” Omar, who has met the Tibetan spiritual leader on several occasions, said. “Presently, Hong Kong and Macau enjoy a special autonomous status under the Chinese rule and I find China’s reluctance on Tibet hard to understand.”

The delegation also met with Ngawang Rigzin Jora, Minister of Tourism and Culture; Members of the State Legislative Assembly; and other high level India officials of the state, which shares its border with China occupied Tibet.

On January 2, as part of the lobbying campaign, around 150 students from the Ladakh and Zanskar regions of the state carried out a protest march in Jammu city in solidarity with the ongoing crisis inside Tibet. The students paraded Tibetan national flags and banners calling for solidarity with the demands of the Tibet self-immolators.

Following their visit to the state, the north zone delegation will then take the Tibet lobbying campaign to other north and central Indian states, including Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Last month, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile announced the all-India lobbying campaign as part of the exile Tibetan administration’s attempts at garnering wider support for international intervention in the ongoing crisis inside Tibet.

95 Tibetans have set themselves on fire inside Tibet protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

The Tibetan parliament said the delegations, apart from holding meetings with senior leaders, will also address press conferences and interact with the general masses to “spread awareness on the critical situation inside Tibet and garner their support.”

The north zone parliamentary delegation comprises of MPs Dawa Tsering, Ghang Lhamo, Geshe Kalsang Damdul, and Mogru Tenpa.

First Tibetan Teachers’ Meeting underway in Dharamshala

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay addressing the First Tibetan Teachers' Meeting in Dharamshala on January 3, 2013. 

DHARAMSHALA, January 4: More than 150 Tibetan teachers and administrators from all over India are currently meeting in the exile headquarters of Dharamshala for a first of its kind meeting organised by the Education Department of the Central Tibetan Administration.

The three-day ‘First Tibetan Teachers’ Meeting’ began Thursday aimed at promoting an open discussion on ways to develop the education system in Tibetan schools. Teachers and officials of the Education Department will be sharing their views and suggestions on a wide range of topics.

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, who is also the Kalon of the Department of Education, presided over the inaugural ceremony held at the Tibetan Children’s Village School, Lower Dharamshala.

Sikyong Sangay in his address recalled his school life and spoke about the education system in Tibetan schools.

He noted that improving the education system would take teamwork over a long period of time.

“Improving the education system will take our joint effort of not just two or three years but rather, we all should work together like our five fingers,” Sikyong Sangay, who is a product of the Central School for Tibetan, Darjeeling said.

“The Administration is to provide all the facilities, school heads must utilise those facilities, teachers are to teach, students are to study, and parents and relatives of the students must also play their roles.”

He further emphasised that literacy rate should not be the sole benchmark of academic competence and excellence.

“The literacy rate of Tibetans in exile is 84 per cent and population wise, we are better than India, Nepal, and Bangladesh,” the Harvard law graduate said. “But even though we are better in reading and writing rate, it is also obvious that we lack the quality to become experts.”

The meeting comes on the heels of the recent launch of the Tibet Education Project, a two-year programme, aimed at improving the quality of education opportunities for Tibetan refugee students in India and Nepal.

The USD 2 million project includes intensification of teacher development and training; expansion of Scholarship Program; Scale the Counseling Program; prioritising Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education; providing Test Preparation and Coaching for Secondary School Students and Improve Educational Management

In line with the 14th Kashag’s prioritisation of education, the exile administration also recently announced new scholarship schemes representing a 50 percent increase in its annual scholarship funding.

The Department of Education currently oversees 73 Tibetan schools – excluding the pre-primary sections and private schools – in India and Nepal under different autonomous administrative bodies. There are around 24,000 students and 2,200 staff members in these schools.

Tibetan school students appeal for global intervention in Tibet crisis

Students of the Tibetan Children's Village School, Upper Dharamshala carrying out a peace march in solidarity with Tibetan self-immolators on November 24, 2012.

With the continuing escalation in protests against Chinese rule in Tibet, school students in the exile seat of Dharamshala carried out a peace march followed by a prayer session in solidarity with Tibetan self-immolators, Saturday.

Senior students of the Upper Tibetan Children’s Village School carried out a peace march from the school basketball court to the Martyr’s Pillar near Tsug-la Khang, the main temple.

The school’s student council, which took the initiative to organise the march and prayer service, said the entire students, through the campaign, express solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet and send a clear message to the United Nations and the international community that they need to take “urgent and effective actions to end the crisis inside Tibet.”

To accentuate their appeal, the marching students wore cross marks on their eyes, ears, mouth and hands.

Thupten Dorjee, the school captain told Phayul that the cross marks symbolise the urgent need on the part of the UN and the international community to “monitor the unfolding crisis inside Tibet, listen to the six million Tibetans, speak up for the demands of the Tibetan self-immolators, and take effective action and send a special delegation to asses Tibet’s situation.”

“Although, we are in the middle of our preparations for our final exams, but despite that the students felt it necessary to organise the campaign to express our concern and solidarity with the tragic happenings inside Tibet,” Dorjee said. “We do clearly understand that our first responsibility as of now is to study hard for the cause of Tibet.”

Students of the Tibetan Children's Village School, Upper Dharamshala carrying out a peace march in solidarity with Tibetan self-immolators on November 24, 2012.

The students then took out a candle light vigil back to the school. A short video depicting the ongoing wave of self-immolations inside Tibet was screened to the students following which a prayer service was held in the evening.

The deepening crisis inside Tibet has witnessed large scale anti-China protests and a series of self-immolations that has now seen 81 Tibetans set themselves on fire, since 2009, demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

November alone has reported 19 self-immolations and protests by thousands of Tibetans, including by school students in the Rebkong region of eastern Tibet.

Man Dies in Latest Self-immolation Protest, Toll Rises to 81

Dharamshala: - A latest source coming out of Tibet has stated that one more Tibetan has died after setting himself on fire in Tsekhog township, Rebkong county (Chese: Zeku, Qinghai Province) in Malho of Amdho region in north-eastern Tibet.

"Tadrin Dorjee, 29, set fire to himself at the entrance of Dokarmo town office in Tsekhog around 6:30 pm (local time) on Friday, 23 November. He then chanted prayers for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama with folded hands. 

Dorjee reportedly died on the spot. He is survived by his parents, and four sisters and brothers.
According to sources from inside the region, "thousands of local Tibetans offered prayers and attended his funeral that night."

The Chinese authorities have cut off all communication, including Internet and phone lines following the incident in the region, the sources stated.

The sources also stated that armed Chinese forces and police in paramilitary vehicles stepped up patrols in the area and surrounding areas, after two separate self-immolation protests Friday alone by two Tibetans in protest against Chinese rule over Tibet.

The latest incident has pushed the total self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet to 81, including 5 in last 6 days and 19 within this month alone, according to the exile Tibetan administration.

The self-immolators have called for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, earlier this month strongly urged the Chinese government to "promptly address the longstanding grievances that have led to an alarming escalation in desperate forms of protest, including self-immolations, in Tibetan areas, and said she was disturbed by "continuing allegations of violence against Tibetans seeking to exercise their fundamental human rights."

The Central Tibetan Administration on Friday strongly stressed its deep concern over the tragic escalation in self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet, as news of the Tibetan self-immolations have been spreading rapidly in the world in recent months.

Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the political leader of Tibetans (Tibetan: Sikyong), the democratically-elected leader of the Tibetan people and political successor to His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet, appealed to Tibetans and supporters around to world to form a coalition with as many human rights groups to organise and participate in the Global Solidarity Day on 10 December.

"We also request them to dispatch delegations to visit different media organisations in order to create awareness about the ongoing tragedy in Tibet. Equally important is to reach out to as many members of Parliament, Congress and government officials, Dr Sangay said.

“Despite our repeated appeals not to take drastic actions, self-immolations continue in Tibet. Therefore, I appeal to the international community and governments to stand for justice by answering the universal aspirations of Tibetans in Tibet: the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans,” he further said.