Breaking: 110th Tibetan Self-immolation

Undated photo of Kal Kyi March 24: A Tibetan woman today set herself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s continuing occupation of Tibet. Thirty-year-old Kal Kyi, a mother of four has set herself ablaze protesting near Jonang monastery in Zamthang in Eastern Tibet at 3:30 pm (local time). “The local Tibetans carried her charred body inside the monastery premises to prevent it from falling into the hands of Chinese security personnel,’ said Tsangyang Gyatso, an exile Tibetan who has close contacts in the region. Kal Kyi had died from injuries. Kyi is survived by her husband, Gyepo, and their four children. Last year in May, another Tibetan woman, Rikyo 33 has set herself on fire near the Jonang Zamthang Gonchen monastery in Zamthang County, which is located in Ngaba, the nerve centre of the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet. With Kyi’s self-immolation the confirmed number of Tibetan self-immolation has reached 110. The primary demand of those who set themselves on fire are freedom for Tibet and return of His holiness the Dalai lama from exile. Fourteen Tibetans have self-immolated since the beginning of this year. Eight of them happened in February alone.

China sentences Tibetans up to six years

DHARAMSHALA, March 21: In connection with the self-immolation protest, Chinese court in Qinghai (Tib. Amdo) province handed down three Tibetans up to six years in jail. According to Dharamshala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Tibetans were charged of “incitement to split the country” and invoked article 103 of the Chinese Criminal Law to punish the Tibetans. The Intermediate People’s court in Tsoshar has sentenced Jigmey Thapkhey to five years in jail and deprived his political rights for three years; Kelsang Dhondup was given six-year jail term and withdrawn his political rights for four years. A court in Ping‘an County sentenced Lobsang to four years in prison and deprived his political rights for two years. In January this year, a Chinese court sentenced Lobsang Konchok, 40, a monk from Ngaba Kirti Monastery to death with a two-year reprieve and Lobsang Tsering, 31, to ten years in prison. On the same day, six other Tibetans were handed down heavy jail terms for their alleged roles in trying to rescue a Tibetan self-immolator from falling into the hands of Chinese security forces. Since 2009, there have been 109 confirmed Tibetans self-immolations calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. It is also reported that on March 19 a number of Tibetans were prosecuted for their alleged roles in the self-immolation of Rinchen, 17 and Sonam Dhargey, 18, who set themselves on fire in Kyangtsa in Dzorge, Eastern Tibet on February 19. Both succumbed to their burns.

Tibetans protest against China’s shift in blame of self-immolation protest

Tibetan activists in Dharamshala stages a protest on “China’s victimization” of family members of self-immolators, March 21, 2013. DHARAMSHALA, March 21: As a response to continuing attempts by Chinese authorities to blame and impose heavy punishment on the family members of the self-immolators, the Tibetans in Dharamshala today staged a protest on “China’s victimization” of family members of self-immolators. 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.

Karmapa to Grace Khampa Gar Tsechu Festival

Khampa Gar traditional ritual dance (cham).  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

Prayers and protests mark Losar

Tibetans in Pokhara marking the first day of Losar with hunger fast and prayers for Tibetans inside Tibet on Feb 11, 2013. DHARAMSHALA, February 12: Tibetans inside and outside Tibet observed the Tibetan new year, Losar, with prayers and protests as a mark of respect and solidarity with the ongoing critical situation in Tibet. The Tibetan lunar new year, which this year fell on February 11, saw muted celebrations for the fifth year in a row, following China’s brutal crackdown of the 2008 peaceful protests in Tibet. In 2012, as many as 83 known Tibetans set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, last month, requested all Tibetans to forgo the usual new year festivities given the “continuing tragic situation” in Tibet. “Instead, when this year’s holiday falls on February 11, I ask you to perform only the customary religious rituals like visiting temples and making offerings,” Sikyong Sangay had said. “Kindly pray for all who have sacrificed their lives and for all who continue to suffer in occupied Tibet.” In the Tibetan exile headquarters of Dharamshala, the customary ‘Tsetor’ ceremony was held early in the morning on Monday at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple. Monks of the Namgyal Monastery and officials of the Central Tibetan Administration recited the invocation of Palden Lhamo, the guardian deity of Tibet, which was followed by monks participating in a brief Buddhist philosophical debate as part of Losar rituals. Thousands of Tibetans, wearing traditional dresses, were also seen visiting the Tsug-la Khang to offer prayers. Also in Dharamshala, around 40 students of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah, sat on a 24-hour hunger fast in solidarity with Tibetan self-immolators and protesting China’s repressive policies in Tibet. Covering their mouths with black cloth, the students also wrote in their own blood the name ‘Lobsang Konchok,’ a Tibetan monk who was recently sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on charges related to the self-immolation protests. The students called the sentences passed by China “unfair and unjust” and said they planned to organise more campaigns to protest the verdicts passed by China against several other Tibetans. Tibetan students of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah write the name of Tibetan monk Lobsang Konchok with their own blood in Dharamshala on the first day of Losar, February 11, 2013. In the Indian capital New Delhi, over a hundred Indian and Tibetan students from the Delhi University participated in a marathon on the first day of Losar. The marathon, organised by the Students for Free Tibet, India also marked the beginning of the celebrations of the 100th year of the Tibetan proclamation of independence. "Our celebration marks a paradox in that it is both an occasion of celebration and mourning the lives of Tibetans who have burnt themselves to fight for that very freedom," said Ugyen Choedup, SFT leader. Tibetans and supporters worldwide will be commemorating the Centennial of the proclamation of Tibetan Independence on February 13, 2013. In the Nepali city of Pokhara, around 40 Tibetans sat on a day-long hunger fast on Monday. Organised by the regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Paljorling, the Tibetans also offered 500 butter lamps for those who have passed away in the ongoing self-immolation protests. There are also reports of mass prayer gatherings in at least three different areas of eastern Tibet on the first day of Losar. According to information received by Phayul, photos of Tibetan self-immolators were displayed at the prayer gatherings held in front of portraits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

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.

Chinese authorities issue ultimatum, offer cash prize for “crimes” linked to Tibet self-immolations

Notice by Chinese authorities in Malho, eastern Tibet announcing cash rewards for information on self-immolations. Chinese authorities in Malho region of eastern Tibet have announced cash rewards for those “exposing crimes” related to the ongoing wave of self-immolations and issued an ultimatum warning those who have “committed fault” to turn themselves in. The notices were jointly issued by the Malho People’s Intermediate Court and the Public Security Bureau in the Tibetan areas of Rebkong, Tsekhog, and Chentsa which fall under its jurisdiction. The Malho region of eastern Tibet carried a major part of the casualties in the recent alarming escalation in self-immolation protests and mass demonstrations by thousands of Tibetans, including school students against the Chinese government. Since October, 44 Tibetans have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with the latest being a teenaged schoolgirl Bhenchen Kyi from Tsekhog. In copies of the notices sent to Phayul by a Swiss based Tibetan, Sonam, Chinese authorities have given an ultimatum to Tibetans who have “committed fault,” to turn themselves in before November 30 in lure of “lesser” punishment. The notices, issued in Tibetan and Chinese languages, encourage people to “accept their crimes” of inciting self-immolations, displaying portraits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama during mass funerals of the self-immolators, raising “separatist” slogans, offering condolences to the family members of self-immolators, “unlawfully” taking pictures and videos of self-immolations and sending them out and spreading rumours and indulging in provocative talks. The authorities have warned that those who are caught under these crimes after the given deadline will be dealt severely according to the law. In recent weeks, authorities have engineered a heavy security clampdown in the region, arresting several Tibetans from Rebkong and Tsekhog in connection with the self-immolation protests. Along with the ultimatum, Chinese authorities have employed its age-old policy of sowing distrust in the society by announcing heavy monetary rewards for information on self-immolators and those who “incite” such protests. Cash prizes ranging from 1,000 Chinese Yaun (US $ 160) of 200,000 Chinese Yuan (US $ 32,000) have been announced for information exposing self-immolators, those inciting self-immolations, and those who have visited families of self-immolators to offer condolences. Rewards have also been announced for those who avert self-immolations from occurring at the site of the protest. The authorities further promised to protect the identity of the informants and called the self-immolation protests a “bad influence” on social harmony and stability, not just of the region but also of the entire nation. Similar tactics of announcing cash rewards and offering bribes to families of self-immolators to state that the protests were not against the Chinese government, have been employed earlier in other parts of Tibet as well. A phone call to the Tsekhog Public Security Bureau Office by Phayul yielded little result as the official who answered the call in the supposedly Tibetan office refused to speak in Tibetan and spoke only Mandarin.

China should allow UN officials' visit to Tibet

Dharamsala: The newly-appointed Chinese leaders should accept the requests for official visits to Tibet by the UN nominees and implement recommendations made by its agencies, Tibetan political leader Lobsang Sangay said here on Saturday.

The strong and unprecedented statement of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and visit by US Ambassador to China Gary Locke to Tibet clearly show that the situation there needed to be urgently addressed, said the political successor to the Dalai Lama.

He was addressing a prayer meeting organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to express solidarity with those who "sacrificed" their lives for the cause of Tibet.

Meanwhile, one more person died after setting himself on fire in Luchu in Kanlho in north Tibet on Thursday night, taking the number of self-immolations to 80 since March 2009, including 18 in this month alone, claimed the CTA.

Sangay said despite repeated CTA appeals not to take drastic actions, self-immolations continue in Tibet.

"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 said.

The 43-year-old Sangay, who took over as political successor to the Dalai Lama, appealed to Tibetans and supporters around the world to participate in the global solidarity day on December 10.

The Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. The Tibetan exile administration is based in this northern Indian hill town.