There will be change in Tibet within next 10-15 years: His Holiness Vol. 02, Issue 97, Print Issue 21, 31 October 2013 Mind and Life XXVII - Craving, Desire, and Addiction
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China’s new leadership should use common sense and seek truth from fact: His Holiness the Dalai Lama By Yeshe Choesang: 21 October 2013
His Holiness with Tibetan Buddhist scholars and scientists at private residence of His Holiness in Dharamshala, India, on October 31, 2013. Photo: OHHDL
By Yeshe Choesang: 28 October 2013
Dharamshala: - His Holiness the Dalai Lama has joined a galaxy of prominent Tibetan Buddhist scholars and scientists in Dharamshala to explore ways to tackle craving, desire, and addiction – which are most pressing causes of human suffering. The Mind and Life Institute have brought together the scholars for the 27th Mind and Life conference. According to the institute, the five-day conference from 28 October – 1 November will focus its attention on craving, desire, and addiction, as these are among the most pressing causes of human suffering. “By bringing contemplative practitioners and scholars from Buddhist and Christian traditions together with a broad array of scientific researchers in the fields of desire and addiction, hopefully new understandings will arise that may ultimately lead to improved treatment of the root causes of craving and its many manifestations,” the Mind & Life Institute said in a statement.
Tibet Intergroup Meeting held at European Parliament
New York: The public talk by the spiritual leader of Tibet His Holiness the Dalai Lama capped two days of spiritual discourse which he gave to over 3,000 people in sessions hosted by Hollywood actor Richard Gere’s foundation. Stressing that meaningful autonomy for Tibet would be mutually beneficial to Tibetans and the Chinese, the 78-year-nobel peace laureate said he is not seeking a separate Tibet but one which remains within China. “The middle way is in everybody’s interest,” he said according to a report by PTI, referring to his model of Tibetan autonomy which would be on the lines of a Hong Kong or Macau, which have been given political and economic autonomy. “We want modernised Tibet. Give us meaningful autonomy so that we can carry preservation of Tibet’s culture, language and tradition...Preserving Tibet-Buddhist culture is also in the interest of Chinese Buddhists,” he said, adding that preservation of Tibetan ecology is in the interest of not only Tibetans but China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. China’s new leadership should use “common sense” and seek truth from fact, His Holiness has said in New York, as he expressed hope for some “indication of change” in approach during Xi Jinping’s presidency to bring about harmony and unity in the region. He gave a public talk Sunday, October 20 on the ‘Virtue of Nonviolence’ and told a packed theatre of hundreds of followers that he would like to talk with the Chinese government “when the opportunity comes” and stressed that Tibetans are not seeking independence from China but “genuine autonomy”. The public talk by the Tibetan leader capped two days of spiritual discourse which he gave to over 3,000 people in sessions hosted by Hollywood actor Richard Gere’s foundation, according to .
A view of the stage at the Beacon Theater, venue for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teaching in New York, NY, USA on October 19, 2013. Photo/Robert Nickelsberg
He added that many Tibetans across the world, including in India and the US, have been demanding “complete independence” but do not know how to achieve it. “We have to be realistic, seek truth from fact.” He said the regime of Jinping’s predecessor
Large parts of Tibet are still under martial law: Tibetan Administration
Hu Jintao focussed on a “good idea” of promoting harmonious society but use of censorship and force by the regime was a “wrong method” and only brought more fear in the hearts of people. P- 7......
China rejects genuine autonomy proposal
Mr Gabriel Lafitte, an expert and researcher on mining and exploitation of natural resources in Tibet, speaks at the meeting at at the EP, in Brussels, on 28th Oct. 2013. Photo: CTA
By Yeshe Choesang: 29 October 2013
Brussels: The 97th Tibet Intergroup meeting was held at the European parliament on 28th Oct, 2013. It was presided over by the president of the Tibet Intergroup in the European Parliament, MEP Thomas Mann. According to a report by the Central Tibetan Administration, the Intergroup meeting was attended by MEPs, officials of office of Tibet, Brussels assistants of MEPs, International Campaign for Tibet officials, members of think-tank groups in Brussels, members of Tibet support groups and members of Tibetan community in Belgium. P- 7......
Annual Meeting of Tibetan Settlement Officers
Zhu Weiqun, the Vice Minister of the United Front Work Department of CCCPC. Photo: Tibet.cn By Thomas Jake: 29 October 2013
Dr Lobsang Sangay during the International Day of Non-violence, Oct. 2, 2013. Photo: TPI
By Yeshe Choesang: 29 October 2013
Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, members of the Kashag, secretaries and the participants at the meeting on 26 October 2013. Photo: CTA By Yeshe Choesang: 30 October 2013
Dharamshala: - The ninth annual meeting of Tibetan settlement officers held at Gangchen Kyishong, the headquarter of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamshala. According to a report by the CTA, the inaugural function was attended by Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, Home Kalon Dolma Gyari, members of the Kashag and secretaries of various departments of the Central Tibetan Administration. Over 42 settlement officers from across India, Nepal and Bhutan are participating in the four-day meeting began from Monday, October 28 . Speaking at the inaugural, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay spoke about the profound contribution of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the elder generation of the Tibetan people towards the establishment and sustenance of the Tibetan settlements. P- 7......
Dharamshala: - The Central Tibetan Administration in a release dated 26 October 2013 said that “today large parts of Tibet are still under martial law like control” and rejected “the false claims of the recent ‘White Paper’ on the issue of Tibet.” “The ultimate judge of China’s rule in Tibet should be the Tibetan people. Even after 60 years of China’s invasion of Tibet and more than 50 years after Tibet came under the complete control of Beijing in the aftermath of the repression which crushed that year’s popular uprising against Chinese rule, today large parts of Tibet are still under martial law like control,” said CTA in a press statement. CTA also said, “the alarming escalation in desperate forms of protest, including self-immolations, in Tibetan areas, is a clear judgment made by the Tibetan people of China’s sixty years rule of Tibet.” “Since 2009, over 121 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against the Chinese government’s continued occupation of Tibet. The self-immolators have called for freedom for Tibetans and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet,” the statement said. Responding to the white paper issued by China’s State Council on Oct. 22, CTA stated “it is clear that economic and material development have failed Tibetans in their struggle to survive as a people with a distinct culture.” The statement adds, “in fact, the latest white paper is an attempt to cover up the darkest period experienced by the Tibetan people after China’s invasion of Tibet. No less a figure than Hu Yaobang, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, who visited Lhasa in 1980, apologized to the Tibetan people and said the conditions in Tibet were worse than pre-1959 Tibet.” “The late Panchen Lama, said in 1989, a few days before his untimely death, that China’s rule in Tibet brought greater suffering
than benefit for the Tibetan people. Over 1.2 million Tibetans died as a direct result of Chinese communist rule and more than 6,000 monasteries were razed to the ground,” the CTA press statement further added. “Interestingly, no other minorities in China have been the object of so many white papers. In light of growing public awareness and sympathy for the Tibetan cause, China is constantly challenged to justify the legitimacy of its presence in Tibet.,” the statement concluded. The response came after a new “Wite Paper”claimed Tibetan people are “happy and healthy” and China has no intention of altering its “correct” policies in the restive region of Tibet as it has brought unprecedented achievements. “Tibetan culture has been well preserved and developed, and freedom of religious belief has been respected and protected,” the white paper said, adding “the study and use of the Tibetan language and script are protected by law in China, and bilingual education, with Tibetan as the principal language”. “The Dalai Lama and his clique are conducting separatist activities for a long time to sabotage Tibet’s development and stability, and it aims to “overthrow the socialist system and the system of regional ethnic autonomy that is practiced in Tibet,” Xinhua reported citing the white paper. The new document further attempts to cover up China’s inhuman and brutal treatment of the Tibetan people under the names of “development success”. “The gross regional product (GRP) of Tibet Autonomous Region has rocketed from 129 million yuan (21 million U.S. dollars) in 1951 to 70.1 billion yuan last year. The increase marked annual growth of 8.5 percent on average and the region’s per capita GRP reached 22,900 yuan,” says the document.
Dharamshala: - A top Chinese official has rejected Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s high-level autonomy demand for Tibet, calling it a “ruse to create fissures in China”. “In fundamental sense, high-level autonomy means Tibet’s independence. We cannot allow it to happen in China,” state media quoted Chinese parliament’s Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee chairman Zhu Weiqun saying on Saturday. He said the Dalai Lama’s idea of autonomy was basically a move to encourage secessionist elements, total separatism citing his statement in India describing his idea a realistic goal. P- 7......
Tibetan minister unveils FTCI’s onlineshop
Kalon Dolma Gyari (centre) addressing during a press conference, Dharamshala, India. Photo: TPI/Choneyi By Yeshe Choesang: 25 October 2013
Dharamshala: - launched TIBET eSHOP, an online retail shop of Tibetan handicrafts and Buddhist ritual items at Hotel Tibet Dharamasala. Dolma Gyari Home Kalon or minister of the CTA launched an online retail shop for Tibetan handicrafts and artefacts at a press conference held in Dharamshala, India by FTCI, on October 25, 2013. P- 7......
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TPI NEWS
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Editorial:
Opinion
The Liberty Bell of Tibet– To be or not to be? Part II
The world is a Paper Tiger for the freedom struggle for Tibet? 31 October 2013
Dharamshala: - The spiralling repression and inhuman treatment by Chinese authorities in Tibet in the last five decades presents a serious shame to the world for peace making. Despite world crises, including wars, many religious and peace leaders particularly His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, legendary African archbishop Tu Tu, 1979 Nobel peace prize winner Williams of Northern Ireland, and many others have genuinely worked for peace for this century. They have repeatedly called for the urgent resolution of festering conflicts which threaten the world, especially the issues of Tibet, the Middle East, and the current situation in the Arab world. Yet, the world doesn’t care for peace and non-violence. There is no thought beyond war, business and daily life. How can Tibet trust a world that continues to ignore its repeated pleas for peace? The proceedings at the general assembly of the UN only show member nations in an unending scramble for power - power to invade, power for war, power for weapons. Of course, there are talks about religion, nonviolence, good will, environment protection, global warming, etc. So-called peace-makers see the same problems in Tibet, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, but there is no voice rising for the humble and occupied Tibetans. All attention gets focused on Iraq, Afghanistan and Middle East, only for material gains like oil or increasing terror or political power. Why is there no resolution for the Tibetans? Peace is but a meaningless word, in a world competing for weapons, economic power and political advantages. The world saw the war on Iraq and Afghanistan, can we count the number of people killed? The war on terror is raging; can we count the people that have become terrorists? In 1959 China occupied Tibet, killing 1.3 million out of 6 million Tibetans. The Tibetan government-in-exile has estimated at least one million Tibetans have died under Chinese rule and around 80,000 refugees have fled the country. The death toll is comparable to the amount of Jewish deaths from Nazi atrocities. It is a common belief that involving paper heroes such as UN, USA, EU, ARAB world and SAARC will be helpful. But, unfortunately, a Paper Tiger never bites. For the Tibetans, the dilemma is a clear exclusion from political stake holding, which radicalises and legitimises violence of red Chinese. This political pandering is why there is no effort to solve the Tibetan crisis. Isn’t that how Iraq, Afghanistan and Middle East are different? We must take the first difficult steps on that road to equality; an equality that has so far evaded the snow people since the 1950s. The Chinese are still hunting down Tibetans like rats in the snow. In my opinion, Tibetans can’t trust a world that doesn’t care about Tibet. Tibetans are losing hope that their issues will be resolved. A huge banner, with the symbol of a way or road painted on it, hangs above the main hall of the assembly to constantly remind the world leaders attending many conferences, to find ways to fulfil the stated aims of confronting violence and advancing shared security of peace in this world. Tibetans are get killed when they express their voice for freedom, without a single weapon, getting killed by the heavy arms of Chinese military in Tibet and even its neighbouring borders. Big eats small, even in animals, the bigger ones become friends and the UN is one of them. Unfortunately, the smaller ones become victims, much like the Tibetans. The UN and EU don’t have any old or new proposals for Tibet and its people’s sufferings. The Chinese occupation since 1949 sent thousands of Tibetan refugees into India, Nepal and abroad. These political bodies, however, never considered any welfare, security, aid or support for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Neither was there any effort to call for an active participation of all Asian states. Hardly are there any press conferences addressing Tibet issues, but many leaders have commented that attempts at peace were not successful at creating peace between Tibet and China for the reasons that Chinese secular efforts were not enough to solve the problems between people of different political system. Mediations may be necessary in the Utsang province (Central Tibet), Kham province in Eastern Tibet, and the Amdho province (North-Eastern Tibet) from western countries. Thousands of Tibetans from occupied Tibet have cried out to the world to help the Holy Land regain freedom and peace for all. There has been too much bloodshed over the Snow land, particularly the recent murder of thousands of Tibetans between the 1987–1989, and then lately 2008. China has no claims to victory after killing innocent Tibetans, including women and children. No official UN committee ever invited the spiritual
leader of Tibet, His Holiness The Dalai Lama to a platform of the International political affairs for Tibet. The reason is clear, he is known to the world as a peacemaker. Many current anti-peace men have dwelt on the causes of violence in the name of religion. When our identities are threatened we seek to defend them. One of my friends, Mr. Karma said because religion is so profoundly related to identity, when people are hurt they fall on their religious traditions to give them a sense of purpose and seek self-justification in a way that disregards and stigmatizes the other. This way, he continued, politicians come to the conclusion that for peace building to happen it must be kept away from religion. He said he would have urged the assembly to acknowledge that terrible things have been done in the name of religion and would refer to the Holy Land as an area where conflict resolution has failed because red politicians did not work together with religious leaders. I know that he is trying to remind me how many holy places were destroyed by the Chinese in Tibet since 1950s. Yes, Karma played an instrumental role in bringing together the two political monotheistic faiths for the first group meeting in Dhartsedho (A place in Tibet which shares a border with China) in 1985, a place that never knew a UN human rights declaration, it was drawn up condemning violence in the name of freedom. At the same time Chinese chairman Dang declared that everything was possible except independence for Tibet. Many Tibetans said they hoped the United Nations 1980s theme of Dialogue among Cultures, occupation, human rights and Civilizations (which I expected) would yet pave the way for talks to resolve the China and Tibet crisis. Bhapa Phuntsok (First Tibetan communist) used to say that although he respected the roots of Han-Chinese civilization, he hoped its great capacity and resources could be utilized to establish peace and stability for mankind even in Tibet. But this capacity was being squandered by Chinese politicians who are neither serving the interests of Chinese citizens nor the people of the whole 95 minorities of China. Chinese made Tibetans a minority in China, but we are not a minority. We have our own language, history, tradition, culture, custom, currency, national flag and anthem, which symbolizes Tibet as a completed nation. If Tibetans act in any direction for their independence, terrorist development had nothing to do with it. As signatory to the UN human rights Treaty, Tibet has the right to develop any action for freedom and struggle for peaceful purposes, but still Tibetans are treated like animals without effective voice in front of the international community. In exile Tibetan communities have used hunger strikes and burning themselves to show their suffering, but many feel that no active action has ever been taken for their struggle for freedom. One of my friends, Mr. Yushuang from Taiwan and Mr Luzi, a man of Chinese origin from Malaysia, asked me ‘why don’t you Tibetans take any action for Tibetan independence and why are Chinese authorities and military personnel living happily in Tibet?’ These are very important questions for Tibetans; we never make it difficult for Chinese authorities and their strong military bases across Tibet. Speaking of the Chinese attack on Tibetans recently, even many western people said, such a brutal attack has to be premeditated. Killing Tibetans is not an act of self-defence. The country is fighting to protect its culture, customs and identity. Tibet’s potential in helping to solve the China and Tibet crisis should be recognized whether they use violence or non-violence. Many world leaders, particularly, the UN Human Rights Commission raised the Tibet issue several times and condemned the terrible wrong-doings, but its a small part of it. A total of 122 verified Tibetans set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese repressive rule. Recently the Chinese military murdered four Tibetans in the Driru County of eastern Tibet. Many uncovered protests that tried to express their voice buried by the totalitarian regime will never be uncovered. The current peace process or middle way approach of His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the Chinese government building a genuinely corridor for peace and prosperity which would enhance the living standards of the people in both Tibet and China peacefully, a superlative. The communist regime however never had a heart for others in this regard. Since 1949, Tibet and its people lost all their political prosperity, their dignity and their ancient history. Still there is no strong word from the world for Tibetan issues. So the question is, why are Tibet and its people’s issues, including Human Rights so cheap while dealing with China?
The Tibet Post International
By Jack Fenton: 31 October 2013
Directly on the opposite side of the bell, and approaching the viewer in an expression of tireless spiritual mission bespeaking Peace, Fraternity and Unity, is a standing, or rather, walking depiction of the Awakened One : Lord Buddha himself. We note that the open palm of his outstretched right hand bears in Tibetan script the invincible inscription : Rangzten! In subtle contrast to the single proclamation in the right palm of the Buddha his left hand is upraised, and held lightly between finger and thumb, is the silent communication to humanity of the indissoluble unity of life that resides at the heart of all of us, represented in the lyrical shape of the Blue Lotus. The light clasping in hand of the ‘fully opened flower’ also signifies the simplicity of an enlightenment that cannot be sought but can only be recognized as a felt reality of presence. An enlightenment that is not a possession but rather an insight that brings ease of being, and that draws in for the days of our lifespan, not the settled end to adversity, but the settled reality of a continued inner peace and strength of being to confront it. Behind Lord Buddha, the figuratively stylized canopy of a Bodhi-tree frames his figure in an accentuated background of halo-like form, while the birds and creatures of spontaneous creation abound playfully in the medium of the overhead scene. The beatific expression on his face is significant of inner order, and his slender, be-robed figure is altogether the revelatory embodiment of great peace and harmony. Nothing else need be added…except these words from the Heart Sutra, which are suitably located at the feet of The Awakened One : “Dayata (OM) Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Swara” But the forceful image of the Tibetan Liberty Bell is not yet finished for the enquiring scrutiny of our eyes! – for there is yet something significantly, and indispensably relevant in startling addition missing from the austere focus of our contemplation, with its simple yet elegant arch marked by the transcendent wiles of Mahakala. Because, for the visually dynamic image of ‘Tibetan resistance pitted against unyielding Chinese might’ to be fully realized. And in order for the whole thing to register its full visual weight carried of every significance, we must task our eyes to envisage the excruciating imposition of a fearsome, heavy-gauge barbed wire, respecting nothing in its way and twisting its consuming vulgarity several times fully around the body of the bell! The barbed wire (steel based and specially commissioned) must necessarily encircle the venerable depictions of the revered figures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and that of Lord Buddha : The manifest affront of the garish wire representing in all its barbed visual crudity, the fierce power of oppression and the enduring climate of fear overwhelming the life and freedom of present-day Tibet. Removing our attention from this most impacting of the bell’s features, we note that beneath the manifestly severe image of the bell held in its ugly embrace of barbed-wire - and representing in all its chaste purity of form the legitimacy of the Tibetan right to its own freedom and destiny - is the much lighter and brighter appeal of a beautifully sculptured thousand-petalled lotus. The sculpture is one-meter in diameter and half-as-much in depth. The delicate, releasing beauty of the white marble lotus compels the viewer’s eye by its striking delicacy of form contrasted so markedly against the overhanging, somber presence of the mighty bell. The marble lotus, fashioned in the emerging shape of an ‘unfolding renaissance-moment’ beneath the mouth of the bell, is not only a reflective image of the pure spirit and claim to rightful sovereignty to the Tibetan homeland, but is also in its select place of eminence below the bell, a solitary, eloquent form both deeply elegiac and commemorative : for resting beneath the ornament of its cool grace and beauty, the venerable ashes and preserved relics of distinguished dignitaries and spiritual luminaries who have served the Tibetan community now formally rest in a purpose-made
sanctum sanctorum. The residing of these hallowed ashes beneath the white lotus sculpture located directly beneath the canopy of the bell, are of a highly significant investiture in their conspicuous place of temporary rest; for they reside there in unforgettable veneration and in the full knowledge of all the Tibetan’s who may wish to visit and pay their homage and respects at the site. By the act of volunteering to include their ashes in memoriam there, the presence of the revered ashes enshrined may collaborate to deeply enhance the poignancy, the gravity and the overall shared significance of the site. The presence of the entombed relics might be said to be subliminally participating, as it were, in the hushed air of vigilant occasion, and their contribution would add more than greatly to the silent intensity and its underlying message of freedom-in-waiting that informs the entire site. In marked respect to the ashes of those dignitaries that rest beneath the memorial of the white lotus, those ashes so interred, are to remain (solely at the prior behest and consent of those who wish to be interred there,) undisturbed within the silent arena of the Tibetan Liberty Bell - preserved there, demonstratively as it were, in a solemn proclamation and dignity of vigilance until such time as Tibet is unequivocally free of its oppression. Only at this final and precise time of special moment in the history of Tibet should the ashes of those who have been interred beneath the Tibetan Liberty Bell be borne back, at long last, to the more appropriate resting place of their beloved homeland that has now become the free nation of released Tibet. At this point it’s abundantly clear that the Tibetan Liberty Bell will be established, from this time on, in its own unique atmosphere of visual power and abiding demonstration of ‘silent resistance’ for all visitors to the temple to duly witness. The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Prime Minister, various members of the government and those officiating at the head of a rallying force in service to a march or demonstration, may foregather about the arena setting of the Tibetan Liberty Bell to address the local or international community whenever various occasion to do so makes its need duly felt. The symbolic significance of the site of the Tibetan Liberty Bell can only intensify its value of place in the community in the unfolding course of time. And its powerful, implacable image of Tibetan courage and resilience set against the might of gravest oppression, will undoubtedly and continuously be a magnetic scene of interest to the various international media. Perhaps by the increased significance attaching to the scene, the site of the Tibetan Liberty Bell might even become a preferred background venue from which His Holiness the Dalai Lama faces the world-press, invites television interviews, makes news statements or responds before his microphone to the varying events as they take place in the world that might adversely affect or happily register in the unknown quantity of the Tibetan situation. At any rate, the Chinese regime cannot possibly immunize against it! No doubt Mao Tse-tung’s oldguard inheritors would be greatly incensed at the institution of a Tibetan Liberty Bell, whose location right in the heart of the exiled community of Tibetans, spurs the hearts and minds of those who live there, casts a secret gleam of undying strength and encouraging light to those in Tibet who hear of its existence, and is a growing reference point and special focus arena of moral awareness for all visitors who come to the area. Also as an incidental mention, the Tibetan Liberty Bell, popularized by the renewed broadcast of its imposing image reaching so many eyes in so many countries, might conceivably become a lasting thorny reminder against the propaganda machine of the Chinese regime; letting them know signally that the complete story on Tibet’s destiny is not yet finished, despite all of their life-breaking efforts to the contrary. Standing in a new century, facing many significant erosions and uncertainties, the Tibetan spirit in
exile, estranged from its homeland for more than six decades, has the most difficult task of all, in that it must win at the last against the continued violent measures of a stone-faced myopic giant, bearing little regard for human rights and or the sanctity life in its process; and it must set itself against this feat of endurance with both its sanity and its integrity kept intact, despite the overhead guns and the torments and the rightness of the Tibetan will being long embattled against the constant slam of overwhelming odds. But you are not alone, Tibet! You are in no way hopelessly stranded because you are heartily befriended, behind the scenes as it were, by more than you can imagine in the growing will and empathy of like spirited people throughout the world. We join you in your certitude that justice and human decency are utmost things to be valued. You have brothers alive in that insight! They may not be to found too vocally in governments, no, but they exist in great numbers in civil society. And let us not forget that the governments are there to serve civil society and not the other way round. It is the civil society of China that is showing clear signs of slow rumbling disaffection now against the old order. It is the awakening in civil society in the other places of the world also that are gathering in energy to confront a new century. The awakened citizen today wants this world to be considerably purged of the old poisons of the conventional mindset and the behind-the-scenes power of elitist corporate czars, who for most of last century pulled their strings and thus plunged the world by their greed and machinations, into a painful sequence of wars and recurring depressions. “This world has become a dangerous place not because of those who are doing evil acts, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” –Albert Einstein The universal prime essential in the human experience of acknowledging, respecting and preserving the establishment and the vitality of human rights and dignity in the core place of our relations with each other, serves by the influence of its discarding potency – eliminating from us only what is unworthy, antiquated and delusionary anyway - to lift us distinctly beyond the dimly conscious mesmerism of the shiftless, marauding beast. Risen humanity is not a distant, too glorious thing to realize by any means : its proximity is right at the back of our eyes, and its first-hand quality and reality is arrived not in distant measures of idealism but right here and now in the present simplest of cooperative acts, and in the present simplest conveying of kindness. In this nature do we find the right precedence in the world of human interchange. This kind of living brings us right along, and more happily I believe, to the bright stepping-stone of human decency. And perhaps from that salutary vantage point our heads may gainfully clear someday in the risen nature of compassion. And there, just possibly in the reality of this newfound sobriety we find ourselves, we may collectively wake to the awesome fact that the threshold to all prosperity and harmony in the human experience is, despite our objections, fashioned only in the consideration of love…and not as the fool in his half-life imagines, in the thoughtless pressure of exploitation governed by fear and greed. For the concept of TLB to become a tangible reality rather than its entity just remain the airing of a good idea that spins awhile, languishes and then is gone, the Tibetan community living in India must deeply desire to see its manifestation come about at the Main temple in Dharamsala. The determined aim to see a Tibetan Liberty Bell installed there would necessarily entail a simple enough, though decidedly collective collaboration composed of real enthusiasm. Only with the joined strengths of various individuals bent to the same commitment, would a strongly enough general stimulus within the community get created, and by that awakened sentiment the means found to bring in a signed petition of address contained of all the many thousands of people who wish to show their support to see the Tibetan Liberty Bell come to life . Along with a united Tibetan front and with a collectively raised voice of many people from other lands who perhaps recognize the contributing vitality to the Tibetan cause inherent in the realization of the monument, the Tibetan Liberty Bell might easily become, not a vitally missed opportunity, but a brought in celebrated event and viable reality by July 6th of the coming year. With a petition of many thousands of people in clear support of the project brought directly to the eyes of His Holiness, it is difficult to imagine how its realization could fail. ‘I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.’ The Buddha. You can reach him at jack-bluelotus@hotmail.com
The views expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Tibet Post International.
31 October 2013 exile news 3 Tibet’s self-immolations send unequivocal message to the world Indian Prime Minister urged to
TPI NEWS
The Tibet Post International
Kalon Dicki Chhoyang of the Department of Information and International Relations for the Central Tibetan Administration. Photo: TPI Taipei photographer/Artemas Liu By Yeshe Choesang: 23 October 2013
Dharamshala: In response to the Chinese Government ‘White Paper’, the Tibetan Administration on Wednesday said the massive wave of selfimmolation protests against Chinese rule is sending an “unequivocal” political message to the world about the failed policies in Tibet. “The white paper issued by the Chinese government on 22 October is replete with information about Chinese state investment towards development in Tibet,” said information Kalon Dicki Chhoyang of the Central Tibetan Administration. “Yet, the 121 self- immolations that have taken place in Tibetan areas since 2009 as a form of political protest send an unequivocal message to the world that the policies in Tibet have failed to address the aspirations of the Tibetan people,” she added. She said that Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, the US, the UK and Iceland raised their concerns on the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet. “They pressed China over its systematic attempts to undermine the rights to freedom of religion, culture and expression and recommended China take necessary measures to ensure that the rights
of Tibetans and other ethnic minorities are fully observed and protected. Furthermore China, they said should facilitate visits of the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Procedures to assess the real situation in Tibet,” Kalon Dicki added. Kolan Dicki’s response came after a Chinese official white paper claimed Tibetan people are “happy and healthy” and China has no intention of altering its “correct” policies in the restive region of Tibet as it has brought unprecedented achievements. A total of 121 Tibetans in Tibet however have so far burned themselves in protest against Beijing’s failed policies in Tibet. They called for freedom for Tibetan people and the return of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet. In a lengthy policy paper carried by the Chinese state controlled media ‘Xinhua news agency’, the government said that Tibet under Chinese rule had achieved a great deal. “Today’s Tibet is developing economically, making progress politically, has a flourishing culture, a harmonious society and a good environment; its people are happy and healthy,” it said, adding “Tibet’s development cannot be separated from this correct path.”
The white paper rejected the criticism that it is eroding Tibetan culture and faith, saying that “any fair-minded person would be filled with amazement” at the advancements China has bought to Tibet. It repeated China’s assertion that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is intent on pushing for Tibet’s independence to sabotage its development and stability. “There are some others in the world who intentionally distort the past and present of Tibet due to their ideological bias or out of consideration for their self interests. They created a ‘Shangri-La’ myth, wishing to keep Tibet in a backward primitive state forever,” the white paper added. In january, the Central Tibetan Administration issued its own white paper entitled “Why Tibet Is Burning” on the fundamental reasons for the increasing number of self-immolations in Tibet. The official paper stated that “the reason lies in China’s massive policy failure in Tibet over the course of more than 60 years of its rule. The revolution that is brewing in Tibet is driven by political repression, cultural assimilation, social discrimination, economic marginalisation and environmental destruction.” “China’s failure to solve the fundamental problem of its rule in Tibet was foreseen in the early days of Chinese rule in Tibet by eminent Tibetan leaders working within the Chinese communist establishment,” the Tibetan paper added, saying “as far back as the early 1960s, these Tibetan leaders strongly decried Chinese communist rule.” The White Paper on Self-Immolations stated “many Tibetan intellectuals and cadres who work in the communist establishment in Tibet make their judgment of Chinese communist rule in these terms: “In the first 10 years (1950-60) we lost our land (i.e. communist China invaded Tibet). In the second 10 years (1960-70) we lost political power (the government of old Tibet was replaced by the communist establishment). In the third 10 years (1970-1980) we lost our culture (the Cultural Revolution destroyed Tibet’s traditional beliefs). In the fourth 10 years (1980-90) we lost our economy (Chinese settlers took over the job market in Tibet).”
speak for Tibet with Chinese leaders By Yeshe Choesang: 07 October 2013
Delhi, Oct 15 - Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), the largest Tibetan NGO in exile working for the freedom of Tibet and the Tibetan people has presented a letter to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh informing him about the current situation in Tibet and has requested him to speak for Tibet when he meets with his Chinese counterparts in Beijing next week. PM Singh is scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping as well as Premier Li Keqian on his trip to China. Reports in the Indian media state that the two leaders will talk about environmental, trade and border issues. TYC acknowledges that the visit will mainly consist of talks in regards to the overall benefits of the two nations but remains optimistic that both sides realize the need for the issue of Tibet to be resolved soon. “We believe that a lasting peace and security for India lies in a free Tibet. A Tibet without China’s military presence is the only assurance you can have of an India free from constant Chinese incursions as well as ludicrous claims”, says Tenzing Jigme, President of TYC. TYC Vice President Tamdin Hrichoe, Culture Secretary Tashi Dhondup, Finance Secretary Tenzin Wangchuk and members of TYC chapter in Delhi delivered the letter to the Prime Minister’s office today. “We have informed the PM about the current crisis in Driru region of Tibet where peaceful protestors are being shot at, beaten and imprisoned along with the situation of self immolations inside Tibet where the number has now reached 121”, said Jigme. In recent days, Tibetan residents of a restive county in the Tibet Autonomous Region have clashed with police while resisting a new campaign to fly the Chinese flags from their homes, according to international media sources. According to media reports, “thousands of Chinese government officials and workers arrived in Nagchu (in Chinese, Naqu) prefecture’s Driru (Biru) county on September 27 to force monasteries and families in the area “to raise the Chinese national flag on every house.”
The Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. Photo: The Unreal Times
“Tibetans in some villages refused to comply and clashed with officials and the police,” the resident said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. When additional security forces arrived and detained a group of villagers, “over 800 Tibetans went to the Driru county center and protested at the door of the county office, demanding the release of those who had been taken away.”According to sources, Chinese security forces shot and wounded scores of Tibetans as they fired into a crowd demanding the release of a villager who had led protests defying orders to fly the Chinese flag from their homes. At least 60 were severely wounded when the Chinese troops opened fire indiscriminately into the crowd, suffering gunshots to their hands and legs. TYC demands immediate investigation into the situation in Driru and believes that PM Singh should stand on the right side of history and humanity. In the letter, TYC thanked India, the Indian government and the people of India for giving Tibetans a home. India has been more than a good friend to Tibetans. India is host to the largest number of Tibetans in exile and home to our beloved leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We remain forever grateful to this great nation for the kindness and support it has shown to the Tibetan people, stated TYC. TYC members also visited the UNHCR office and submitted a similar letter to the Chief of Mission. On October 22, China will undergo its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Tibetan NGOs attended ‘Asia Wave of arrests contributes to Tibet’s growing isolation: Media watchdog Democracy Network’ held in Seoul and Development. The Joint theme of the conference was “Challenges of Inclusive Democratization to Civil Society in Asia; Linking Democracy to Peace and Development” and following are the topics that the conference focused under the theme: •
The Founding Assembly of the ‘Asia Democracy Network’ and the ‘3rd Seoul Democracy Forum’ held in Seoul, Koreaheld from 21 – 24 October 2013.Photo: TPI By Yeshe Choesang: 28 October 2013
Dharamshala: - Members of exiled Tibetan NGOs attended the Founding Assembly of the ‘Asia Democracy Network’ and the ‘3rd Seoul Democracy Forum’ held in Seoul, the capital of Korea. The meeting was attended by the over 80 civic leaders, democracy activists human rights defenders from all corners of Asia.Tibetan Women’s Association’s Research and Media Officer, Tenzin Dekyi and International Tibet Network’s Asia Coordinator Lobsang Tseten were among the attendees at the Seoul democracy event held from 21 – 24 October 2013. The proposed Founding Assembly of the ADN is a joint initiative of Korean Democracy Network (KDN) which is composed of four democracy-related organizations, namely Korea Democracy Foundation (KDF), Korea Human Rights Foundation (KHRF), Center for Korean Women and Politics (CKWP) and East Asia Institute (EAI) in partnership with like-minded civil society organizations and institutions engaged in democracy promotion in Asia, including fifteen Organizing Committee members for the ADN’s founding assembly. This founding assembly of Asia Democracy Network focused on challenges of Democratization to Civil Society in Asia and linked relativity of Democracy to Peace
• • • •
Peace Building, Development and Democracy in Asia D ef en d in g an d E mp o w er in g C iv il Society in Asia Strengthening Democratic Governance in Asia Civic and Democracy Education in Asia Poverty, Inequality and Democracy in Asia
The primary goal of ADN is to promote and consolidate democracy and democratic governance making use of international cooperation and solidarity in the fields of information-sharing, capacity-building, r e s e a r c h a n d a d v o c a c y, i n p a r t i c u l a r through international engagement in interngovernmental processes and through actionoriented research on democracy. ADN aims to be a watchdog for a mature democracy across Asian regions. The conference was concluded with a field trip to Demilitarized Zone, which was very educational and historic place to visit. It has been 55 years since two people and the land of Korea was torn apart by the Korean War. This Demilitarized Zone splits the peninsula into two and even now Korea considers it as a reminder of their nation’s pain and frustration, and also an endangering factor to world peace and a shame to civilization. Nevertheless, the whole area of DMZ is also the historical stage for an incredible ecological revival, bustling with nature and life, which no manpower can substitute. The isolation from wars, conflicts and killings has transformed the territory into a peaceful habitat for wildlife.
Four Tibetans who arrested by Chinese for allegedly sending information to outside of Tibet. Photo: Media File By Yeshe Choesang: 17 October 2013
Paris, 16 October 2013: - The Chinese authorities have stepped up their persecution of independent Tibetan news providers in recent weeks, arresting three writers who are frequent information sources for external observers on the pretext that they carried out “political activities aimed at destroying social stability and dividing the Chinese homeland.” “Every arrest of a Tibetan who tried to inform his peers and the outside world about the dramatic situation in Tibet plunges the region further into isolation,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Instead of trying to turn Tibet into an information black hole, the Chinese authorities must put an immediate stop to these arbitrary arrests and release those detained without delay. We urge the international community to forcefully condemn their detention.” Reporters Without Borders added: “There can be no justification for remaining silent in the face of these flagrant violations of freedom of information, not even the ‘respect for sovereignty’ that the Chinese government repeatedly cites in response to criticism of its repressive and discriminatory policies towards
Tibetans.” A Tibetan exile known only as Tharpa told Reporters Without Borders that he learned from two local sources that Kalsang Choedhar, a monk from Palyul monastery, was arrested in the market in Sog, in eastern Tibet, on 12 October for circulating information about a two-week-old crackdown by the Chinese authorities in Driru county. Choedhar ’s mobile phone was confiscated following his arrest and he is currently being held incommunicado in an unknown location. Hundreds of Tibetan monks from Palyul monastery demonstrated outside Palyul county government offices and a police station to demand Choedhar’s release. Officials said he had been transferred to Chamdo. Tsultrim Gyaltsen, a 27-year-old Tibetan writer who uses the pen-name of “Shokdril,” was arrested in Khardrong, in Driru province, on 11 October, and a 25-year-old associate known only as Yulgal was arrest the next day. Both are accused of “political activities aimed at destroying social stability and dividing the Chinese homeland.” Their current place of detention and physical condition are not known.
Gyaltsen’s computer, mobile phone, books and other personal effects were confiscated by Chinese security officials who went to his home at 1 a.m., witnesses said. A former monk, Gyaltsen has written two books about Tibet and used to edit a Tibetan-language magazine called The New Generation. Yulgal is a former Security Bureau officer who resigned because of the “political” nature of his work. The manner in which the three are being held is similar to that use with Lobsang Namygal, a Tibetan poet also known by the pen-name of “Sangming,” who has been held incommunicado ever since his arrest on 15 May 2012 for publishing the Dalai Lama’s banned speeches and other politically sensitive works about Tibet. Namygal’s detention was kept secret for more than a year. His family knew absolutely nothing about his whereabouts until March 2013, when they learned that he was probably being held in Chengdu prison (in Sichuan province) although they still did not know why. It was only in September that the authorities confirmed that he was being held in Chengdu and gave the grounds for his arrest. They also confirmed that he was not permitted any visits. He still has not been allowed to speak to a lawyer or receive visitors. An employee of Chengdu’s Buddha Cultural Centre until his arrest, Namygal is the author of a book of poems that express his views and arguments in favour of Tibetan independence. He was previously held for a year after being arrested in 2008 in connection with demonstrations in Lhasa linked to the Beijing Olympics. The situation of news and information providers is worrying throughout China but particularly in Tibet, where any criticism of the Chinese authorities is severely punished. Chinese embassy officials in Thailand directly threatened the French journalist Cyril Payen after France 24 broadcast his documentary “Seven Days in Tibet” in May and tried to get the TV station to remove it from its website. China is on the Reporters Without Borders list of “Enemies of the Internet” and is ranked 173rd out of 179 countries in the 2013 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.
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31 October 2013
TPI NEWS
The Tibet Post International TIBET NEWS China arrests more Tibetans in suffers Tibet’s Driru as crackdown spreads
China’s white paper on Tibet from human rights doublespeak
A huge contingent of armed police surround Tibetans attending the Monlam Chenmo prayer festival in Rebkong County in February 2013. Photo: TCHRD Report: Filed by TCHRD: 25 October 2013
Dharamshala: - This week, China issued a white paper titled “Development and Progress of Tibet” which contained stunning claims of improved situation inside Tibet. Indeed the release of the white paper on the day of China’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council was a strategic move. However, if China thought that a mere white paper filled with omissions, human rights doublespeak and calculated obfuscation would help blunt criticisms against its egregious human rights record in Tibet, it turned out to be just another exercise in self-delusion,” said the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy. Like its White Papers on Tibet issued in the past, the latest one begins by distorting not just the current reality of Tibet, but also Tibet’s history, denying its distinct identity as a nation and civilisation having its cultural influence beyond its Himalayan borders – in regions and countries as diverse as Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Baltistan, Kalmykia, Mongolia and so on. A notable feature of the latest white paper is the extent to which China redefines the concept of human rights reinforcing its prejudice against the universal nature of human rights. The white paper suggests that economic development is the sole indicator of China’s respect for human rights in Tibet. Indeed what has human rights got to do with the possession of a motorcycle or a refrigerator? Some of the Tibetans who died of self-immolation protests used their motorcycles to reach the site of the protest where they died calling for human rights and freedom. China considers the top-down approach to development, which has destroyed traditional livelihood, self-reliance and fragile ecology, a “great practice for respecting and guaranteeing human rights”. The white paper even goes further calling the exploitative, exclusionary development policy in Tibet as a “victory of human justice”. What was not mentioned is that under the banner of ‘development and progress’, China consistently justifies human rights abuses in the name of ‘stability maintenance’ policy. One of the fundamental problems with all of China’s white papers on Tibet is the failure to acknowledge, let alone address current human rights abuses inside Tibet. Based on some warped logic, China thinks that rehashing the same old criticisms against ‘serfdom’ in ‘old Tibet’ would somehow magically right all the human rights wrongs it has committed for the past six decades in Tibet. While China accuses ‘old Tibet’ of perpetuating ‘feudal serfdom’, it has gone a step further, by turning Tibet into a human rights catastrophe with colonial overtones. Before putting into perspective all the disinformation and doublespeak spewed by the latest white paper, it is important to invoke the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi who had said: What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy? According to the latest white paper, Tibetans have become “true masters of the country, society and their own fate” thanks to “democratic reforms and regional ethnic autonomy” law. The white paper cites ‘village self-governance system’ and
the holding of periodic elections for Villagers’ Committees as evidences that meaningful rural democracy exists in Tibet. Nothing can be further from reality. When China first introduced the so-called village self-governance system, the village elections were meant to be held outside of the party system and designed to give local elected officials the ability to manage their own affairs via the creation of village committees of between three to seven local residents. But in practice the chairman of the villager’s committee is almost always the village party secretary. However, the basic law to exercise village democracy called the Organic Law of Villagers Committees of the People’s Republic of China (OLVC) has failed to implement meaningful grassroots democracy in Tibet. In fact, the English translation the OLVC for Mainland China is worded differently than the OLVC for the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The immediate differences are the emphasis on the ‘electoral committee’ that reports to higherlevel people’s government, and the need for candidates to satisfy certain criteria including that “the candidate member of a villagers’ committee shall support the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), love socialist China and the unity of nationalities and oppose separation”. TAR administration is subservient at each of the four levels of government to their counterparts in the party, who are at the highest levels of the CCP invariably Chinese. Although the administrative level may administer and disseminate policies and campaigns, the formulation of those policies and the laws, which affect the daily lives of local people, lie with the highest level of the party. Given that the level of unrest has increased over the last three decades, leading to the Tibet Uprising in 2008 and 128 self-immolation protests during the last UPR period, the application of a specially tailored OLVC to TAR must lead one to question the nature and intention of the OLVC. It is hardly likely, given clear detestation of many CCP policies in TAR and other Tibetan areas, that the OLVC has been introduced to give representation. Unlike in the areas of mainland China, where representation may curb corruption in the lower cadres and build harmony, the infrastructure of democratic process may well increase, not relieve, tension if it is perceived to be another oppressive measure. A recent report by the TCHRD is another illustration of party control at village level. After several hundred villagers gathered peacefully in Tawu (Ch: Daofu) County to celebrate the Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday, they were beaten up and fired upon with live ammunition and tear gas. Since then, local officials in Tawu have introduced five major ‘stability maintenance measures’. These new rules relate to changing the local cadre system in order to root out any cadre whose “political stand” is not clear. Cadres in Tawu are to be rotated every three years, interrogated to assure their allegiance to the party and investigated as to their backgrounds. Other measures relate to dissemination of party propaganda via compulsory village propaganda meetings each week established by special work teams and new village surveillance measures. These include a new rule that requires a CCP
cadre to live within the home of a Tibetan family for at least ten days out of every six months. These new conditions may well effect local elections for villagers’ committees. Interviews conducted by TCHRD in recent months demonstrate that the OLVC has not been implemented in Tibet. It may be that the CCP fears implementation of the OLVC in its legal form, in particular articles 2 and 14, until it feels it has a grip on the rural population and has converted them, via ‘patriotic education’, from Tibetan Buddhism to ‘socialist thinking’. There is no indication that those living in Tibetan villages can effectively exercise any of the rights provided for in the OLVC. Early research illustrates that instead of nominating their own candidates, they are presented with a list of predetermined candidates to choose from. In one instance, villagers hopeful of representation and aware of international electoral norms were prohibited from nominating a candidate. Officials have filled out people’s ballots for individuals and for groups. There have been no private ballot boxes. Electoral supervision is provided by the CCP and candidates must be presented to a higher level of the CCP before the election process. Neither has there been any indication of polling booths, discussion of policy by village committee members or campaigning. Seemingly candidates have no policies. Voters are given no indication that the village election, or the committee, is a forum, where they can elect a candidate to represent them and their concerns. Rather they perceive the village committee as an organ of the state that announces CCP policies and campaigns. Without effective methods of electing people who can represent the aspirations of the people, Tibetans have resorted to directly petitioning the central government to inform them of the problems at village level. Earlier this year four Tibetans were detained for petitioning in Beijing. These arrests removed another opportunity for Tibetans to participate in public debates and civil society. In light of continued party interferences in local matters, the implementation of the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law like the OLVC has remained a myth rather than reality. What difference would it make to ordinary Tibetans if the official statistics show that 70.53 percent of TAR local officials are Tibetans and “other ethnic minorities” when they only serve as servile conduits to policies made in Beijing. In the section on ‘Environmental Protection and Ecological Improvement’, the white paper blames global warming for almost all the environmental ills in Tibet, conveniently side-stepping harmful environmental practices sanctioned by the local authorities in their race to increase GDP growth figures. Global warming does not occur in vacuum. China’s environmental protection laws have failed to protect the environment. Tibetans are shot at and beaten up for peacefully petitioning the authorities to implement the environmental protection laws. The creation of ‘nature reserves’ on the Tibetan plateau ostensibly for “ecological improvement” has caused the relocation and eviction of tens of thousands of nomads and farmers off their ancestral lands. In August 2013, local Tibetans in San Jiang Yuan Three Rivers Headwaters Nature Reserve were shot at with teargas shells and severely beaten up for protesting mining activities that causes pollution of drinking water sources such as rivers and lakes and causing death and destruction of Tibetan lives and their herds. Tibetan environmental activists are arrested and imprisoned on trumped up charges, and in some cases, Tibetan NGOs working to protect the environment have been forcibly closed when their activities threatened exposing illegal collusion between mining companies and local authorities. The white paper insists that the current development policy in Tibet is the “right path” backing this fallacious claim with a host of statistics on the number of heavy infrastructure and industrial projects being implemented in Tibet. According to China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), mining and infrastructure construction needed for resource exploitation and transportation takes the bulk of government investment in Tibet. Last year, the official China Daily reported that “mining industry will need governmental financial
Dharamshala: - China has disappeared a Tibetan father of three and arrested 10 other Tibetans in an ongoing crackdown in Diru (Ch: Biru) County in Nagchu (Ch: Naqu) Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). According to TCHRD, a Tibetan father of three, Tenzin Rangdol, 34, was arrested on the morning of 18 October 2013 and is being held incommunicado by the police in Shagchu (Ch: Xiaqu) Town in Diru County. He was arrested on his way home in Gochu Village no. 4 after walking his children to school. Tenzin Rangdol’s wife is Tsering Pelzom, 26, and the couple has three young children. The next day, on 19 October 2013, Tenzin Rangdol’s arrest triggered an overnight protest outside the local government office in Shagchu Town, following which more than 10 protesters hailing from Gochu Village were arrested. Those arrested include Shodhar, Dorgyal (perhaps a shortened form of Dorjee Gyaltsen or Dorjee Gyalpo), Lhamo, Kelsang Namdol, Mengyal, and an unidentified son of Mrs Sangmo of Gochu Village. The protest was staged by about 40 Tibetans from Gochu Village and about a hundred other
Tibetans from surrounding villages in Shagchu Town. As local Tibetans in and around Shagchu Town made their way towards the township government office to appeal for the release of Rangdol, local authorities disabled all phone lines in the area and armed police put up road blockades making it difficult for many Tibetans to reach the protest site. On 19 October 2013 outside the Shagchu government office, local Tibetan appealed for the immediate release of Tenzin Rangdol and criticized the Chinese government’s entrenched practice of criminalising Tibetan people’s peaceful means of expressing their grievances. Quoting local eyewitnesses, a source said, “Local Tibetans gathered outside the township office urged the government stop labeling them ‘splittists’. They said the real cause of ‘splittism’ is the unjust legal system and authoritarian abuse of power. Local Tibetans have maintained throughout the peaceful protest that they have done nothing to split the country as charged by the government.” The same source told TCHRD that local Tibetans believe the Chinese government intentionally uses “splittist” (or endangering state security) charges against Tibetans to make it nearimpossible for them to seek redress and justice. Protesters spent the night of 19 October 2013 outside the premises of the local government office. By the next morning, armed police clothed in riot gear had surrounded the Tibetans. It was then that 10 protesters were arrested and others were given stern warning. In a telling incident, an identified official from Nagchu Prefecture chided the protesters, “”You all are just like [helpless] eggs hitting a rock. [If you don’t behave], we will put you in the same situation like in 1959 and 1969.”
support of 16 billion yuan and social investment of 32 billion yuan” during the 12th FYP. According to China analyst Ashok Tiku, the 12th FYP is focused on strengthening strategic infrastructure in Tibet, which includes the establishment of emergency relief and rescue bases, new railway projects, expressways and expansion of airports. The point is the real beneficiaries of these development projects are not ordinary Tibetans but the Chinese government and Chinese migrants. It is well documented by international development scholars, including Andrew Fisher of Eramus University, Rotterdam, that China’s economic development projects on the roof of the world has mainly benefitted the ruling Chinese Communist Party members and the Chinese migrants moving into Tibet from Mainland China. Tibetan natives, on the other hand, are economically, and culturally, marginalised given that political decisionmaking power remains in the hands of the Chinese communist party, which is controlled overwhelmingly by Han Chinese. It is important to understand the political context within which China implements its policies in Tibet. For instance, the white paper claims that the building of a ‘new socialist countryside’ in Tibet has “greatly benefited local farmers and herdsmen”. However, there is no mention whatsoever of the involuntary and forced nature of building the “new socialist countryside” and the new mass surveillance and propaganda campaigns implemented since late 2011. If anything, the building of ‘new socialist countryside’ has made it easier for the government to ‘maintain stability’ in Tibetan grassroots communities. To demonstrate improved human rights situation, the white paper lists the number of motorcycles and refrigerators owned by Tibetans. But the white paper was mum on infant and maternal mortality rates, which remain highest in the whole of PRC. Last year, official Chinese media reported that the maternal mortality rate in Tibet had dropped 174.78 per 100,000, or nearly six times of the national level in 2010. H o w e v e r, a c c o r d i n g t o G a b r i e l L a f i t t e , development scholar and author of recentlyreleased Spoiling Tibet, the rate of death of women in childbirth “remains ten times higher, or 1000% of the all-China rate, with no sign that it is declining”. Lafitte maintains that the maternal mortality rate in Tibet is around 400, maybe even 500 per 100,000 children born every year. The situation is so dire that Chinese official media last year reported that reproductive services in Tibet remained “severely insufficient”. Studies have demonstrated that Tibet maintains
some of the highest maternal and infant mortality rate in the world. Figures given in a 2011 white paper of the Chinese government show infant mortality rate in Tibet as 20.69 per thousand as opposed to the national level of 13.1 per thousand. One can only speculate on the real extent of the crisis since Chinese statistics cannot be relied upon as accurate given that the current premier Li Keqiang, as party secretary of Liaoning Province, had revealed that China’s GDP figures are “man-made”. On the subject of religious freedom, the white paper claims that the reincarnation system in Tibetan Buddhism “is respected by the State” and that new incarnations have been recognized following “traditional religious rituals”. The truth is the party and the government had long seized all authority and control over Tibetan Buddhist reincarnation under the guise of different regulations. The 2007 ‘Management Measures for the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism’ mandates that all reincarnate lamas (tulkus), or “living Buddhas” as called by the Chinese government, must be recognised by the communist party or else they will be deemed “illegal or invalid.” These new measures by the Chinese government fundamentally undermine the practice of tulku identification, determining tulkus not on the basis of centuries-old Tibetan religious tradition but rather the ideological wishes of the CCP. The implementation of the policy has had very harmful effects within Tibet. In September 2013, the Chinese authorities indefinitely shut down the Shak Rongpo Gaden Dhargyeling Monastery, a Tibetan monastery with more than 300 years of history, for supposedly violating the legislation. So long as China denies civil and political rights, Tibetans can never be able to meaningfully exercise their economic, social and cultural rights. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) forms that basis of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). For instance, how can Tibetans benefit from development projects when they are routinely excluded from the decision-making process and denied any say in the management of their land and resources? Without acknowledging the reality inside Tibet, the aspirations of the Tibetan people for more religious, cultural, linguistic, political freedoms, and most importantly, to see the return of their beloved spiritual leader Dalai Lama to Tibet, the Chinese government will not be able to achieve its goal to secure real stability and harmony in Tibet.
Tenzin Rangdrol, a father of three young children, was arrested and disappeared. Photo: TPI Report: Filed by TCHRD: 22 October 2013
TPI NEWS
31 October 2013 H.H the Dalai lama 5 Public Talk on the Art of Happiness Treating Tibetans with respect is the proper-way: His Holiness
The Tibet Post International
By Jane Cook: 27 October 2013
Zacatecas, Mexico, 16 October 2013 – Zacatecas, recognised as a UN World Heritage Site, saw the arrival of the spiritual leader of Tibet His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Antiguo Templo de San Augustina. Once a church, it was today the location of an Inter-Religious Dialogue hosted by Monsenor Sigifredo Noriega Barcelo, Bishop of the State of Zacatecas His Holiness arrived to a brass band playing and excited school children lining his path, where the Bishop welcomed him inside. In his welcoming address the Bishop spoke of the malevolence in the world and reminded those present of a pledge the Catholic Bishops of Mexico had taken to work for peace and human development His Holiness began by saying that he preferred to speak standing up, “so I can see the faces of the people I’m talking to.” He said that material development appears to be beautiful, but underneath the problems of injustice, exploitation, corruption and conflict give rise to anxiety and unease. On the other hand, he added, spirituality is a real source of inner peace, which is derived from the practice of compassion. His Holiness stated that spirituality retains a valuable role in the 21st century, but in order to pursue it we need to be sincere. “The message of spirituality – love, compassion, tolerance, self-discipline and truthfulness should be part of our day to day life. If they are, they will impel real change,” he said. Another point he made was that today we live in a multi-religious world and added that although there are philosophical differences these are just differences of approach to the practice of love and compassion. “Many of the problems that confront us are our own creation,” he said and everyone has the potential to create peace in their own minds. Everyone in the room then recited a prayer for
peace. His Holiness then met the press and reiterated his commitment to promoting human values, the causes of inner peace, to inter-religious harmony and to the preservation of Tibetan culture (peace and non-violence). The first question was about creating peace in a country riven by inequality and about the origin of social and economic problems in Mexico. His Holiness said that they must strive for peace and that the education system is oriented towards materialism and lacks any sense of warmheartedness. During lunch His Holiness spoke of becoming a refugee more than 50 years ago and how on one hand it was sad, but for him personally he was now no longer bound by protocol and formality. He also agreed that all religions should share common practice when it comes to generating love and compassion. After lunch His Holiness addressed 4200 people at the Zacatecas Convention Centre saying that everywhere he goes he tries to promote values as a source of happiness and tries to foster religious harmony. He said he believes it is worth working to develop a happy attitude as this will help you keep a calm mind. He also added that mental experiences were more effective than physical ones. On the subject of prayer His Holiness said that prayer and meditation could be helpful on a personal level, but were not so effective when it came to social change. He added that a materialist lifestyle without any thought for inner values made us not much different from animals. His Holiness disagreed that ethics should only be based on religion and that there was a need for a code of secular ethics. Warmheartedness leads to inner peace and self-confidence secures a calm mind which in turn leads to a happy life. His Holiness now leaves for New York after almost a week in Mexico during which he has spoken with 42,000 people.
By Jane Cook: 28 October 2013
Warsaw, Poland, 24 October 2013 – The Rector of the University of Warsaw received His Holiness the Dalai Lama this morning for his first meeting with a group of Polish Members of Parliament. His Holiness spotted and fondly embraced his old friend Heinrich Wujec before members of the group were introduced by Hon. Beata Bublewicz. His Holiness began by joking that Poles were as familiar as Tibetans with the drawbacks of Communist domination. He likened the situation to one in which an uninvited guest has arrived with a gun and proceeded to take full control. However, he said, the power of truth will prevail over the power of the gun and he noted that the Tibetan spirit is now stronger than ever. He also pointed out that Tibet’s independence during the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries has now disappeared and that the Chinese constitution now provided for regional, prefectural and county autonomy. Tibetans should be able to exercise those rights, he continued, and be able to preserve and maintain their language, culture and religion and protect their fragile environment. China, he said, is the most populous nation but the 1.3 billion Chinese people have a right to know what is going on and are quite capable of judging right from wrong. Perhaps Polish parliamentarians could wield some influence as a newly democratic country, he wondered, and gently point out the benefits of being open. “Treating the Tibetan people with respect,” His Holiness said, “respecting their identity, language and culture is the proper way to create the much vaunted harmonious society.” In a short interview about Pope John-Paul ll , His Holiness said that he met the new Pontiff at an ecumenical gathering in Assisi which focussed on world-wide spirituality. He said he
Photo 1: His Holiness the Dalai Lamawith parliamentarians in WarsawOct. 24, 2013. Photo 2: His Holiness with Polish media. Photo 3: His Holiness meeting with Tibetans and support groups and Photo 4: His Holiness with group of Polish MPs. Photo/ Jeremy Russell/OHHDL
felt very close to him as they had shared similar experiences with a communist system. Pope John-Paul ll was concerned about the value of spirituality and the problems of the materialist world, he added. His Holiness discussed meeting Lech Walesa and said that he admired how he stuck strictly to nonviolent principles. Finally, His Holiness met some of the two dozen Tibetans living in Poland and members of various Tibet Support Groups, telling them that after nearly 55 years there is still great suffering in Tibet. He said the Tibetan spirit remains unbowed but as many Tibetans are unhappy they prefer to take their own lives rather than put up with the situation. He urged Tibetans living in free countries to be the representatives of their brothers and sisters in Tibet
and to keep up the Tibetan spirit. Looking back, he said, they have a spiritual tradition to be proud of, beginning in the 7th century with the coming of Shantarakshita and Kamalashila to Tibet. It was, though, Shantarakshila who established the teaching and began to learn Tibetan in his old age. He stated that Tibetan Buddhism follows the pure tradition which includes deep understanding of the workings of the mind and emotions. Similarly, Tibetan medical traditions attract a great deal of interest. Traditionally, he said, Buddhism was seen as the preserve of monks and nuns but he is encouraging Tibetans, Mongolians and others to think of themselves as 21st century Buddhists, learning to transform the mind and what the Buddha, Dhorma and Sangha are.
Tibetan people remain committed to Actress Sharon Stone receives non-violence: His Holiness the Dalai Lama Nobel Peace Summit Award
His Holiness the Dalai Lama along with fellow participants raise hands together as the choir sings John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ at the conclusion of the 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Warsaw, Poland on October 23, 2013. Photo/Jeremy Russell/ OHHDL By Yeshe Choesang: 24 October 2013
haramshala: - Actress Sharon Stone has been honoured with the Nobel Peace Summit Award in Warsaw, the capital and largest city of Poland for her AIDS charity Work. The spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama presented actress Sharon Stone with the Nobel Peace Summit Prize on Wednesday for activism against HIV/AIDS, at the end of the three-day event in the capital. Stone received the award “for her activities that
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brought solidarity and new hope to the millions of people who have fought and are fighting against the tragedy of HIV/AIDS.” The actress paid tribute to late actress Elizabeth Taylor, who was one of the first in Hollywood to take up the cause in the early 1980s. Stone said that if it was not for her “friend, the great fighter Elizabeth Taylor, we would still be saying the word AIDs in a whisper, as if it was a secret.” She stressed that AIDs remains a vast challenge across the globe. “A child still dies every minute [from AIDS],” Stone said. The 55-year-old has worked closely with US charity amFAR - the Foundation for AIDS Research - and also holds the office of campaign chairman for them. “Please, everyone, reach out and show what you’re able to do,” she implored. The 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates was attended by former Peace Prizewinners including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Polish laureate Lech Walesa. The separate Peace Summit Prize has been won in the past by such figures as rock star Bono and actors Sean Penn and George Clooney.
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Former speaker of South Tyrol, Italy A software engineer, Austria A professional graphic designer, India A Tibetan writer, India
Editor in Chief Mr Yeshe Choesang Chinese Editor Miss Keary Huang Tibetan Editor Choneyi Sangpo Photographer Artemas Liu Layout & Design Choneyi Sangpo Distributor Mr Dhondup Contributors to this editon Keary Huang Taiwan Jack Fenton US Artemas Liu Taiwan Jane Cook UK Adrivit Bhattacharya India James Dunn UK Thomas Jake Finland Yeshe Choesang India Choenyi Sangpo India Himalayan Literacy Trust (Head Office) Room #2 2nd Floor, Exile House Temple Road, McLeod Ganj: 176219 Dharamshala, Distt. Kangra H.P., India
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Press Conference for the Nobel Laureates and Sharon Stone after the 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Warsaw, Poland on October 23, 2013. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL By Yeshe Choesang: 24 October 2013
Dharamshala: - A total of 121 Tibetans who’ve self-immolated in Tibet are not drunk or overwhelmed by family problems and they believe in non-violence, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said at the 13th Nobel Peace Laureates’ Summit that was held in Warsaw, the capital and largest city of Poland. “Stand in solidarity for peace - time to act” is the official motto of the 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates which was held in Warsaw on 21-23 October 2013. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Frederik Willem de Klerk, Betty Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Mohammad Junus, Mikhail Gorbachev and Lech Walesa were among the guests. “These sad incidents show that the people involved believe in non-violence. These people are not drunk or overwhelmed by family problems and they could have turned to violence against others,” His Holiness the Dalai Lama said in answer to a question ‘whether the 121 people who have committed self-immolation in Tibet had lost hope.’ “Instead they chose to sacrifice themselves. Tibetans remain committed to non-violence,” the spiritual leader of Tibet added.
“Before the Tiananmen event took place, despite our efforts to reach out to Chinese, we had difficulty attracting their support,” His Holiness said, adding “since then it has been easier and Chinese scholars, artists, even retired army and government officials have expressed sympathy.” “Wherever there are Tibetans we try to set up Sino-Tibetan friendship groups. When I’ve spoken to Chinese who were demonstrating against me I’ve found they are completely ignorant about the real situation,” His Holiness added. “Everyone knows we are not seeking independence and yet Chinese government propaganda persists in depicting me as a ‘splittist’,” His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet reiterated. Nobel Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire said that every man, woman and child has a right not to be killed and each of us has a duty not to kill anyone else. She praised the model of non-violence that His Holiness and the Tibetan people have brought to their freedom struggle. “Non-violence is effective. He cited the growing numbers of Chinese intellectuals and ordinary people showing sympathy for the Tibetan cause, support that would v a n i s h i f Ti b e t a n s t u r n t o v i o l e n c e , ”
H.H. the Dalai Lama said in response to Maguire’s comment. “We Tibetans wish to modernize Tibet, but the Chinese must give us the opportunity to take care of our own affairs, then we’ll be able to protect our language, religion and culture, which is a culture of compassion and peace,” he added. As a historically Buddhist country, His Holiness said “China can benefit from our Buddhist culture. Meanwhile, mindful that several of Asia’s major rivers rise in Tibet, affecting 1 billion people, we also need to be able to protect our environment. It’s difficult to predict what will happen, but the Tibetan spirit remains strong.” “Basically the use of force is a mistake. After the September 11th tragedy, on September 12th I wrote to Mr Bush, who I know well. I expressed my heartfelt condolences and my hope that any response would be nonviolent. My concern was that once hatred and anger are involved the use of physical force never ends the problem. When the moderator asked if intervention is or is not helpful, His Holiness replied: “The twentieth century was an era of bloodshed and immense violence and yet the Berlin Wall and Marcos government in the Philippines were brought down by people’s power. “I hope therefore that the present century can instead be a century of dialogue. As I said at the summit in Hiroshima, world peace will not come about simply through prayer but through action. If we have the will we can create world peace”, he added. “I hope this meeting has provided guidance to the younger generation today, you who truly belong to the twenty-first, in ways to end violence. This is what we must think about. If we consider other people as our human brothers and sisters there’ll be no room to harm or exploit each other,” His Holiness said. The 78-year-old Nobel Peace laureate said “We have to come to think of every one of the 7 billion human beings as part of ‘us’. I believe it’s important that today’s younger generation try, because the twenty-first century is likely to be a turning point in the life of humanity.”
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TPI NEWS
31 October 2013
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31 October 2013 International 7 His Holiness expresses condolences UN criticises China for deteriorating human rights record
The Tibet Post International
TPI NEWS
over passing of Supreme Patriarch
His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet with the supreme Patriarch of Thailand, in Japan, In 1998. Photo: Media file By Yeshe Choesang: 29 October 2013
Dharamshala: - - The spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama Saturday, expressed his sadness over the the passing away of the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. ‘Immediately on hearing news of the passing away of the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, His Holiness composed a letter expressing his sadness,’ the Office of His Holiness said in a condolence statement on October 26th 2013. “Dear Spiritual Friends,” he wrote, “I am saddened to learn of the passing away of His Holiness Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara so soon after celebrating his 100th birthday. While offering prayers for the late Supreme Patriarch, I would like to convey my condolences to the Supreme Sangha Council of Thailand and his millions of followers in Thailand and around the world.” The statement added “he observed that in
his passing we have all lost a remarkable spiritual friend.” “I met the late Supreme Patriarch many years ago and had the deepest respect and admiration for the way fulfilled his religious responsibilities. Throughout his long and meaningful life he remained thoroughly dedicated to the service of humanity,” His Holiness said in the statement. “He advised that at such a time we may feel bereft, but the best tribute we can pay to him is to do whatever we can to develop peace and wisdom just as he did. He stated that he hopes to send a personal representative to offer prayers and condolences to the people of Thailand as a mark of respect,” it further added. According to media reports, after he was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 20, 2002, the Supreme Patriarch was able to perform leadership duties for a time, but in 2004, a senior Buddhist monk was appointed to work on his behalf. His successor will be formally appointed by Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thailand is the world’s most heavily Buddhist country, with more than 90 percent of its 67 million people members of the religion. Thai doctors say the Supreme Patriarch, the head of the country’s Buddhist monks, passed away at the age of 100 on Thursday night. He was the 19th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand and led the nation’s monks since 1989.
Tibet activists urge UN member states to press China
Tibet activists unfurling giant banner at Palais des Nations, and now Tibetans and supporters gathering outside UN HQ, Geneva for a massive protest. Photo: ITN By Yeshe Choesang: 22 October 2013
Geneva - As UN member states arrived this morning for China’s Universal Periodic Review, Tibet activists from three countries abseiled down the side of the United Nation’s Palais de Nations and unfurled a 9x15 meter banner reading “China Fails Human Rights, UN: Stand Up for Tibet.” The two climbers Laerke Arvedsen (Denmark) and Chris Brocklehurst (UK) along with Luna Pedersen (Denmark) and Phil Kirk (UK) were arrested and are currently in police custody. A fifth activist, Cheme Nelung, a Swiss-Tibetan member of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe was not arrested. The daring action drew attention to the extreme human rights violations taking place in Tibet right now and urged UN member states to block China’s re-election to the Human Rights Council in early November. “Just this month, Chinese forces reportedly shot four Tibetan protesters in Driru dead (1), and injured dozens more, in what is only the latest example of the Chinese government’s brutal rule in Tibet,” said Pema Yoko, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “The human rights crisis in Tibet demands action by the international community and must be front and centre during today’s review.” This is China’s second Universal Periodic Review, a mechanism by which once every four years, the UN’s Human Rights Council reviews the performance of member states against their human rights obligations and commitments. According to UN guidelines, the Chinese government is required to respond to the concerns and recommendations raised. “The Chinese officials here today will do everything they possibly can to cover up their regime’s atrocities in Tibet and pretend nothing is wrong. We’re here to expose their lies and the reality on the ground, where entire towns and villages in Tibet are under military lockdown,” said Padma Dolma, Europe and Campaigns Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “Too often the Chinese government avoids any scrutiny of its flagrant human rights abuses in Tibet but today, in Geneva, China is finally in the hot seat.” China’s review comes amidst several reports of a violent crackdown in Driru county, central Tibet (Chinese: Biru, Naqu Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region). According to media reports, four Tibetans were fatally shot by security forces following another incident where 60 Tibetans were injured when Chinese forces opened fire on a crowd
peacefully appealing for the release of a fellow villager who had objected to a government order for all Tibetan homes and monasteries to raise the Chinese flag (2). On October 21, a rare smuggled video footage emerged showing Chinese forces using machine gun fire to break up a peaceful blockade by Tibetans against mining operations at a sacred mountain in Dzatoe county in eastern Tibet (Chinese: Zaduo, Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province) (3). Since 2009, at least 122 Tibetans, including monks, nuns, women and even teenagers, have lit their bodies on fire in protest of China’s increasingly oppressive rule in Tibet, demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama. “China’s brutal policies in Tibet have driven 122 Tibetans to give up their lives in protest and it’s time for UN members to recognize China’s appalling human rights record for what it is,” said Migmar Dhakyel, Board Member of Tibetan Youth Association in Europe. “We call on UN member states to block China’s re-election to the Human Rights Council in three weeks time to send a strong message to Xi Jinping and the Chinese government that until it upholds international human rights standards in Tibet, it will not be business as usual for China at the UN.” The protest action was organized by Students for a Free Tibet with support from the International Tibet Network and Tibetan Youth Association in Europe. At 13.30hrs Geneva time, 19.30hrs Beijing time, 07.30 EST, Tibet movement leaders, human rights advocates and Chinese democracy campaigners will give reaction to the UPR hearing.
By Yeshe Choesang : 22 October 2013
Dharamshala: - The UN human rights council Tuesday criticised China of arresting activists, curbing Internet use and suppressing ethnic minorities, as the UN formally reviewed its rights record for the first time since Xi Jinping became head of the communist regime. Uzra Zeya, acting assistant secretary in the US State Department’s bureau of democracy, human rights and labor, said China should cease using harassment, detention and arrest to silence human rights activists and their families and friends. “We’re concerned that China suppresses freedoms of assembly, association, religion and expression..., harasses, detains and punishes activists..., targets rights defenders’ family members and friends and implements policies that undermine the human rights of ethnic minorities,” Zeya said. US-based Human Rights Watch urged China to demonstrate its commitment to human rights by ending harassment, arbitrary arrest and torture of activists. “China is good about signing human rights treaties, but terrible about putting them into practice,” said its China director Sophie Richardson. Human Rights Watch also urged Beijing to improve media freedom and halt abuses against its Tibetan and Muslim Uighur ethnic minorities. A total of 121 Tibetans Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China since 2009 to protest against Chinese rule in Tibet. Rights groups blame religious repression and cultural erosion, while Beijing says it has brought massive investment to the relatively undeveloped region. The criticism focused on China’s unfulfilled promise to ratify an international human rights treaty known as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Chinese special envoy Wu Hailong, who led Beijing’s delegation in Geneva, said talks with other countries in Geneva had been “open, candid... and cooperative.” However he added that some of the accusations levelled at China had been “based on misunderstandings and prejudices.” But Julie de Rivero, of Human Rights Watch, told the BBC that China’s focus on economic progress was a way of avoiding the real issues. “The question is why does does China continue to torture people in prisons and why is it systematic? Why do they not allow human rights defenders to raise questions that party members are even raising, about corruption? When it comes from the mouth of a human rights defender it earns them a place in prison,” she said. The regime signed the treaty in 1998 but its parliament has never ratified it. As part of a U.N. International Bill of Human Rights, the ICCPR requires nations to uphold basic individual rights such as freedom of religion, assembly and speech. Hours before the session began, Tibetans and supporters scaled the the Palais des Nations and unfurled a banner reading: “China fails human rights in Tibet - U.N. stand up for Tibet”. The group of Tibetans and supporters urged the U.N. member states to block China’s election to the Human Rights Council in early November. U.N. security detained the four Tibet supporters
Annual Meeting of Tibetan Settlement Officers...... continued from Front-Page......
“The vision and hard work of His Holiness and elder generation have sustained the Tibetan movement and settlements till now. Following their footsteps, we hope to strengthen efforts of Central Tibetan Administration and Tibetan settlement offices, through such annual meetings, to create a robust Tibetan community,” he said. Sikyong Dr Sangay said that as per the guidance of His Holiness, the education and welfare of Tibetan community are the most important priority, especially the welfare of former Tibetan political prisoners and poor families. He also emphasised the need to inculcate ethical behaviour in everyday life and condemned the assault on women in Mundgod and Tenzingang Tibetan settlements. Speaking on the situation inside Tibet, he said that it continues to remain grim, adding that in the wake of the critical situation inside Tibet, the 14th Kashag launched the integrated threephased CAN strategy: Consolidation, Action and Negotiation, to push the Tibetan struggle forward. Sikyong also reiterated that the Middle Way Policy of the Central Tibetan Administration is the only realistic solution to solve the Tibet issue. “His Holiness the Dalai Lama has assured that
the Middle Way policy will succeed in finding a solution to Tibet issue within his lifetime,” he said, adding that however it doesn’t mean we should be complacent. Home Kalon Dolma Gyari, in her opening remarks, said that Tibetan settlement officers have worked really well over the years. She said that the settlement officers are the representatives of the Central Tibetan Administration and the welfare of the Tibetan people should be the first priority of the settlement office. She also said that while the settlement officers work really hard, there are still a lot of red tape involved in getting works done in time. These systematic hurdles should be reduced so that we can serve the people better,” she said, calling for an unbiased and efficient system. She called for the need to look into issues facing the settlement and problems faced by Tibetan sweater sellers. The agenda for this year’s meeting include deliberations on the proposed budget of Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC), settlement population, protection of lands provided to the Tibetan community by the state governments, and discussions on how to create a self-reliant society.
United Nations Human Rights Council. Photo: Media File
from Denmark and Britain for several hours, and a spokeswoman for Students for a Free Tibet later said they had not been charged and were expected to return to their home countries. In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said it was willing to work with other countries on human rights as long as it was in a spirit of mutual respect. “But we firmly oppose those kinds of biased and malicious criticisms,” she added, referring to the Tibetan protest. The UN member states, including United States, Australia and Germany rebuked China at the session for what they say is the religious repression of ethnic minorities, including Tibetans in Tibet and Uighurs in Eastern Turkistan. The review, led by Poland, Sierra Leone and the United Emirates, called for better treatment of women, disabled people, and ethnic minorities; a reduction and eventual abolition of the death penalty; and the release of everyone detained for political reasons. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)
Wednesday said that “Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, the US, the UK and Iceland raised their concerns on the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet”. The CTA also expressed gratitude towards the UN member states as cited above for their efforts to hold China accountable with regards to its human rights record in Tibet. The United Nations Human Rights Council, which reviews all U.N. members every four years, convened in Geneva, where sharply opposing views of China’s human rights record were exposed. China is not currently among the 47 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which has a rotating membership. The Geneva forum was examining its record on Tuesday as part of its periodic review of each U.N. member state every four years. In 2009, the UN Human Rights Council strongly urged China to do more to reduce poverty, introduce judicial and political reforms and respect the rights of ethnic minorities.
continued from Front-Page......
He said truthfulness and transparency are very important for building trust. “If you bring more security personnel and censorship, then more fear will come. Fear and trust cannot go together.” He said he is still waiting for an opportunity to return to his homeland and undertake pilgrimage. “My desire (to return to his homeland) is always there.” When asked what advice he would give to his successor, His Holiness the Dalai Lama laughed and said, “whether there is a 15th Dalai Lama or not nobody knows. If 15th Dalai Lama comes, it means I am no longer there.” He added that his advice would be that his successor should focus on his studies. “When I was young I did not pay much attention to studies. I was too lazy. I still regret that,” he said.
China’s new leadership should use common sense......
“The new leadership (in China) should use common sense and seek truth from fact. Policy of the new leadership should be based on seeking truth from fact,” he said, adding that this will help in creating harmonious and united society. His Holiness said he is “hopeful” that “there is possibility of some indication of change” that the new leadership in China will focus on harmony and unity. He further said that harmony is very essential in a country like China which has a huge population and many ethnic groups. The Tibetan leader said events of the past like the Tiananmen Square protests created “resentment” among the people and added that harmony is related to trust, which can be build through respect and dialogue.
China rejects genuine autonomy proposal...... continued from Front-Page......
“The Dalai Lama’s goal is to initially seek autonomy and later push for making Tibet an independent country,” said Zhu, who heads a policy making body on Tibetan affairs. “The first step is so-called autonomy. The second one is actual independence,” he said. Zhu explained there was no provision for the Dalai Lama’s proposal under the Chinese law. He said Tibet has witnessed 13% growth in 2012 and
called it “a world of change compared to the poverty and serfdom seen during the time the Dalai Lama controlled Tibet”. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and CTA seek a genuine autonomy for all Tibetans living in the three traditional provinces of Tibet within the framework of the People’s Republic of China. He has cited examples of Hong Kong and Macau, which have been given political and economic autonomy in China.
Tibetan minister unveils FTCI’s onlineshop...... continued from Front-Page......
Speaking at the occasion, Home Kalon said, “I appreciate FTCI in taking a step along with change in the way of doing business in today’s world. Such initiative is in tune with the 14th Kashag’s principles of Unity, Innovation and Self-Reliance.” In his address at the launch of TIBETeSHOP, Mr Tashi Wangdu said, “TIBETeSHOP is one of the innovative projects FTCI has started. There will be several other innovative projects under FTCI’s project pipelines.” Mr Siva Reddy remarked that ecommerce is very popular in western countries and in Indian market
its growth rate is very high. He further added that in near future ecommerce will be major enabler for business development for Tibetan community in India. According to the FTCI, “Over 200 different products will be available on TIBETeSHOP site. All these products are classified under 9 different categories namely Dharma, Handicrafts, Jewellery, Furniture, Clothing, Books, DVDs, Herbals and Others. Products can be purchased on the site from 15 countries including US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, UK, Swiss, Germany, France and Russia.”
Tibet Intergroup Meeting held at European Parliament continued from Front-Page......
The special guest for the 97th Tibet Intergroup was Mr Gabriel Lafitte, an expert and researcher on mining and exploitation of natural resources in Tibet, presented his new book “Spoiling Tibet: China and Resource Nationalism on the roof of the World. He also spoke on the issue of rampant exploitation of natural resources on industrial scale in Tibet and how such mining activities are affecting Tibet’s fragile environment.
During the meeting, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Representative, Mr Ngodup Dorjee, spoke on the chronology of recent incidents and repression taking place in Driru county. The representatives of Tibetan community who are originally from Driru county spoke on the resistance, arrests, harassment of the local Tibetan population by the Chinese authorities and they also presented a report on recent tragic events in Driru county.
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31 October 2013
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next 10-15 years Concert: Stone pillar memoir for martyrs in song His Holiness says there will be change in Tibet within to women filling more leadership roles.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his talk in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico on October 15, 2013. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL
By Jane Cook: 18 October 2013
Mexico City, Mexico 14 October 2013 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama began a final busy day in Mexico City by giving an interview to Adela Micha of Televisa. She began by telling her viewers that she was speaking in person to the Dalai Lama and asked him how he sees himself, to which he answered: “As
just another human being.” She asked his view on the status of women in Buddhism and His Holiness replied that 2600 years ago women were treated equally. As human history unfolded men took over leadership because of their physical strength. He added that education now compensates for that inequality and he looks forward
His Holiness the Dalai Lama expresses condolences over passing of Former Polish Prime Minister By Yeshe Choesang: 29 October 2013
Dharamshala: - The spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Tuesday, Oct. 29 expressed condolences at the passing away of the Former Prime Minister Prime Minister of Poland. “In a letter to the family of late Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the first Prime Minister of Poland after the fall of communism in 1989, His Holiness the Dalai Lama expressed his sadness and offered his prayers and condolences,” the Office of His Holiness said in a condolence statement on October 29th 2013. “His Holiness recalled his several meetings with Mr. Mazowiecki and expressed his admiration for his leadership,” the statement said. The statement added His Holiness “also remembered him as a friend and steady supporter of the Tibetan people.” According to media reports, Mazowiecki, Eastern Europe’s first democratic prime minister after communism, key adviser to Poland’s Solidarity
freedom movement and UN human rights envoy to Bosnia in the 1990s, has died on Monday at a hospital in Warsaw, where he had been taken several days earlier with a high fever. He was 86. A lawyer by training, a writer and thinker by temperament, Mazowiecki was well equipped for his role in ousting communism from Poland and shaping a democracy. Like Walesa, and many Solidarity activists, he was detained under martial law, imposed on Dec. 13, 1981, to curb the freedom that had irritated Moscow. After one year in confinement, Mazowiecki returned to Walesa’s side and wrote reports about social and economic stagnation under martial law. The hardships inspired a new wave of strikes in 1988. Mazowiecki walked arm in arm with Walesa at the head of angry workers in Gdansk. The renewed protests brought the communists to the negotiating table with Solidarity, to discuss the terms of democratization. Mazowiecki authored many of these terms.
Tibetans must remain united to the cause: Meilli Chow, Taiwan Friends of Tibet
suffering of the six million Tibetans in Tibet. She feared that a divided community will only help the Chinese authorities. Ms. Chow concluded her speech by thanking all and saying - “It’s the responsibility of the people living in free countries to strive to make sure voices of those in Tibet be heard to the outside world”.
His Holiness was asked about the issue of Tibet and siad that he expects to see change within the next 10-15 years. On the subject of young Tibetans criticizing his approach he said that they lacked experience and a holistic view of the issues involved. He then outlined his past meetings with Mao Zedong, Pandit Nehru and the UN, stating that all Tibetans should have the opportunity to preserve their culture and language etc. His Holiness then sat quietly in the Arena where he was going to teach and a Sanskrit recitation of the Heart Sutra was recited. He then talked about generating the awakening mind of Bodhichitta and pointed out that when he conducts such a ceremony, rather than just a lecture, a bond is formed between teacher and student. Therefore, he requested that anyone who propitiates Gyalpo Shugden should leave the arena. The 5th Dalai Lama described Shugden as a perfidious spirit who brought only harm to the Dharma and sentient beings. The assembled crowd then recited the appropriate verses from the ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’ and then His Holiness led them in reciting the verses for generating the awakening mind of Bodhichitta, the altruistic aspiration to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Tony Karam, the organiser, thanked His Holiness on behalf of Casa Tibet Mexico and read out a financial statement. A donation to the Dalai Lama Trust would be made from surplus funds. During a lunch break His Holiness was interviewed by Fernanda Gonzalez Vilchis, Editor of the National Geographic Magazine. Pictures of Lhasa appeared in the very first edition and she offered His Holiness archive photographs including some of the Potala Palace in 1946. His Holiness told her that he had found copies that belonged to his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama and that he regularly received the magazine when he was in Tibet. His Holiness returned to the Arena to meet a number of members from other faiths. There were 12000 in the audience, which was free to enter, and tickets had been distributed to students who in turn were allowed to invite teachers, parents and friends. His Holiness began by noting that the young people in the audience belong to the 21st century and it will be their responsibility to shape the future and make this ‘a time when disputes are settled by dialogue.’ He said that they will need ‘vision’ and ‘determination and self-confidence.’ His Holiness then answered several questions and left the Arena to much applause. former Mexican President Vicente Fox and his wife came to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They met privately for a few minutes before walking with him from the main house to the newly established Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum.
A minute silence was observed by Tibetan singers, musicians and artists to mourn the Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet. Photo: TPI/Yeshe Choesang
By Jane Cook: 18 October 2013
Dharamshala: - Nearly one thousand people, including Tibetans and foreign tourists gathered at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, in North Indian Himalayan town of McLeod Ganj where a musical concert to to create awareness about Tibet’s issue in song and music. Gangkar Rinpoche, Geshe Monlam Tharchin - a member of standing committee of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and representatives from Tibetan NGOs were among the guests who attended the opening concert. The two-day night concert entitled “Stone Pillar memoir For Martyrs in Song” aimed at honoring self-immolation protesters who have sacrificed their lives for Tibet. The event was organised by the Association of Tibetan Artists to raise money to build a monument to commemorate those Tibetans who have set themselves on fire in Tibet calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 13 Tibetan singers, including Tsering Gyurme, Phurbu T. Namgyal and Choedak performed at a martyrs memorial fund raiser concert in Dharamshala on October 29th, and 30th. These events are hosted by
Lhakpa Dolkar and Amber Jade. A new song honoring self-immolators released by Tsering Gyurmey, one of the most liked Tibetan singer from Nepal. He also performed the new song during the opening concert. Hor Choetop, Dhenma Khentse, Tenzin Yuulo, Sogshod Dhargye, Tenzin Namkhen, Ngawang, Jamyang Tashi, Tamdrin Tseten, Loden, Choephel and Gyeyang Dolma among the singers who performed at the event. According the association, the group of Tibetan singers already toured 26 Tibetan settlements across India. In nine months, the group managed to raise nearly Rs 7 Lakh. The group tour was initially supported by Mr Dawa Rinchen from the Tibet Tours and Travels, managed by Tibetan professionals. It provides services to hundreds of tourists, institutes and organisations from different countries visiting India and Nepal. The traditional costume or dress facilities provided by Mr Phurbu Tsering, director of Tibetan Traditional Fashion Shop based in Dharamshala, India, where you can buy or order traditional Tibetan costumes, trendy clothes, and new style Tibetan clothes with modern fashion elements.
Zurich: The political leader of the exile Central Tibetan Administration in India, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, arrived in Switzerland on April 10 for a 12-day visit.
Dr Sangay was scheduled to address the Swiss Tibetan community on April 14 in Fribourg, where His Holiness the Dalai Lama was also set to give a teaching. From April 20 to 21, the Sikyong
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China arrests five Uyghurs for Beijing’s Tiananmen Square attack By Yeshe Choesang: 31 October 2013 Ms Meilli Chow, the Chairperson of Taiwan Friends of Tibet speaking to Tibetan media in Dharamshala, India. Photo: TPI/ Yeshe Choesang By Adrivit Bhattacharya: 18 October 2013
Dharamshala :- Ms Meilli Chow, the Chairperson of Taiwan Friends of Tibet (TFT) was in Dharamshala recently to take the opportunity to meet and thank members, partners and friends who have been associated with TFT in the Tibet cause. After a five year stint, Ms Chow will be stepping down from the post of the Chairperson next year. “Taiwan Friends of Tibet is successfully addressing the Tibet issues in Taiwan today. I am very happy to say - about five years back there were only 100 to 200 people gathered in the March 10 rally, but today we have 1000 to 2000 people” - she said in her speech. The TFT has also been successfully organizing group visits to Dharamshala including the students exchange programme for years now. Ms. Chow clarified that the TFT has no intentions to intervene in internal affairs of the Tibetans. “The future of Tibet will be decided by the Tibetans. TFT’s primary objective is to make sure that the voices of the six million Tibetans inside Tibet be heard”. She feels that the difference in opinions within the Tibetan communities shouldn’t spread to outsiders. Ms. Chow expressed further that she’s deeply worried and saddened to see a confrontational divide among the Tibetan community on the Tibet cause in the recent past. “15 years ago when I first came here as a journalist - the whole community was united”. So she urged all to keep aside the differences on whether it’s complete independence or the middle way and focus on the real issue - the oppression and
Dharamshala: - Five people, include two tourists were killed and dozens injured on Monday, Oct. 28 the government said, when “Eastern Turkistan” activists ploughed a car into pedestrians and caught fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, the site of 1989 pro-democracy protests bloodily suppressed by the military. Chinese police said the three killed in the vehicle were from the same family. The driver was identified as Usmen Hasan. His wife, Gulkiz Gini, and mother, Kuwanhan Reyim - both from far western Xinjiang - were also in the car. Five suspects have been detained in connection with the car crash and explosion in Tiananmen Square on Monday, which authorities claimed its “carefully planned organised and premeditated” attack carried out by “ferocious” criminals, state media Xinhua reported. The five were arrested 10 hours after a car careened along a pedestrian walkway in front the square’s famed gate tower and exploded in flames after it hit the Jinshui Bridge, killing three occupants and two tourists, Xinhua said. The note also described a vehicle and four number plates from Xinjiang, the scene of sporadic violent incidents, warned authorities to look out for seven people. The Beijing city government said on one of its official news websites that a female tourist from the Philippines and a male tourist from southern Guangdong province had also died. Beijing claims nearly 40 people were injured, three were tourists from the Philippines and one from Japan, it added.
The central and Beijing governments were forced to hold a meeting after the incident to speedily investigate what happened and “ensure the security and stability of the capital”, according to media reports. The car crashed almost directly in front of the main entrance of the Forbidden City, where there hangs a huge portrait of the Mao Tse Tung, the communist dictator of China, who was known as the greatest mass murderer in world history. Eastern Turkistan or Xinjiang is home to the Muslim Uighur people, whom complain of cultural and religious freedom under Beijing’s repressive rule. There have been sporadic outbreaks of freedom movements in both Xinjiang and Tibet since its invasion in 1949. China however claims it grants the Uighurs and Tibetans wide-ranging freedoms. Beijing has dealt with Xinjiang much as it has dealt with Tibet. It has flooded the region with Han Chinese to tip the population balance against the indigenous locals. Mandarin is the language of social advancement in these regions; the local language, culture and religion impede progress. Job listings frequently request native Mandarin speakers only. The exiled leader of Eastern Turkistan, Rebiya Kadeer, who lives in US, warned against accepting at face value China’s account of the incident. “Chinese claims simply cannot be accepted as facts without an independent and international investigation of what took place in Beijing on Monday,” Kadeer said. “If the Uighurs did it, I believe they did it out of desperation because there is no channel for the Uighur people to seek redress for any kind of injustice they had suffered under Chinese rule,” she added.
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