Friday, September 26, 2008
Dalai Lama resumes sermons, to visit Japan in November
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
China's grip still firm on Tibetan area
BBC News, Gansu, China
 Life is not quite back to normal in Gansu province |
On the edge of Tibetan towns in this western province, special police officers carrying rifles stand guard behind checkpoints made of sandbags.
Inside the towns, convoys of police vehicles drive up and down the streets. Security personnel stop shoppers and question them.
Six months after Tibetans staged riots and protests against Chinese rule, Beijing still maintains a tight grip on this largely Tibetan area.
Locals say their lives have not yet returned to normal, and many people arrested during the March unrest are still in prison.
'Criminal attacks'
Trouble began in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in southern Gansu, shortly after riots erupted in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
According to the local authorities, schools, shops and buildings belonging to the Communist Party and government were attacked by "criminals".
In the town of Hezuo, there is a bustling open-air market, where shoppers haggle over live chickens, dried goods, clothes, fruit and music.
Outside town, in the small villages that line the valley roads, farmers are harvesting highland barley and potatoes. Others herd goats.
 Few people will talk about the unrest, and monks are especially cautious |
"It hasn't returned to normal yet. They've released some of the people from prison, but not all of them," he said as he sat on a hillside near the village of Yumo.
The Chinese government blames the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's exiled spiritual leader, for orchestrating the unrest earlier this year.
But the farmer dismissed such claims. "We rose up on our own because there are no human rights here," he said.
Another Tibetan man told a similar story, although he only agreed to speak behind the relative security of closed doors.
"There are military personnel on every corner of the street. We don't have any freedom at all. Life is very difficult right now," he said.
He added that Tibetans want more freedom - and they want the Dalai Lama to return to his homeland.
Government investment
There are signs that China is taking the carrot-and-stick approach to resolving the still-tense situation in Gannan, where just over half the population is Tibetan.
The large number of personnel from the People's Armed Police - they even guard petrol stations - suggests Beijing is prepared for further trouble.
But the authorities also appear to be spending money in what could be a bid to quieten a population that openly criticises the government.
 |
And when the BBC visited Hezuo, a van from the local propaganda department was on the streets telling people about a new healthcare scheme.
The town square was also being spruced up. Workmen were putting new paving slabs in place, planting trees and laying out lawns.
Beijing seems concerned about the unrest, even if it publicly says there was no justification for it.
While we were in Gannan, a national committee in charge of minorities and religious affairs was holding a three-day investigation tour of the area.
A document circulated among delegates at the meeting shows Beijing wants to push ahead and create a "well-off society" in the prefecture.
It talks about developing the area's hydroelectricity potential, and the tourism industry in what is an area of stunning natural beauty, with mountains, clear blue skies and pine forests.
Negotiations
Beijing is also engaged in talks with the Tibetan government-in-exile, based in Dharamsala in India, about the situation in Tibetan areas.
The next round of talks is due to take place in October.
But Wang Lixiong, who has written about the relationship between Beijing and its Tibetan regions, believes China is not serious about making a breakthrough.
 The army were called in to stop the unrest in March |
Meanwhile Tibetans have seen very little benefit from negotiations which have been going on for several years, said the Chinese expert.
Mr Wang believes the next round of talks is critical. If Beijing does not offer concessions, the Tibetans may refuse to continue talking.
Back to normal?
Back in Gansu, people are getting on with their lives, even if it is under the watchful eye of China's security forces.
At a monastery with a golden roof in the village of Zagzag, monks - some as young as 13 - are still praying and studying.
They are reluctant to talk about their lives since the March unrest, although that reticence suggests they face pressure from the authorities.
Author Mr Wang believes China's crackdown following the protests has made Tibetans more aware of their rights.
"Slowly, Tibetans who didn't know anything about independence are beginning to understand what it means," he said.
That suggests the tension in China's Tibetan areas will not quickly subside.
Bush phones Dalai Lama, enquires about his health
US President George W Bush telephoned the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and discussed a range of issues besides enquiring about his health.
"President Bush's phone call reflected the great esteem he (Bush) and the American people have for the Dalai Lama," Chhime R Chhoekyapa, secretary to the Nobel laureate, told IANS Wednesday.
"The phone call came in (Tuesday) evening. The Dalai Lama was to meet Bush earlier this month in Washington. Since he had to cancel the trip because of ill health, Bush asked him about his health," he said.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet and took refuge in India when Chinese troops took control of Lhasa in 1959. He now heads a Tibetan government-in-exile here that is not recognised by any country.
Dalai Lama’s security tightened
According to sources, at least six close circuit television (CCTV) cameras will be installed on the premises of the Dalai Lama’s official residence at McLeodganj since there is a large open space between the outer and inner circles of security of the spiritual leader. According to Atul Fuzele, SSP (Kangra), the cameras will be installed in two or three weeks. A control room will be set up in the office of the DySP.
In addition, police surveillance has been increased around McLeodganj police station and a close vigil is being kept on areas around the Dalai Lama’s residence.
Meanwhile, the 52-day World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet beginning October 20 at Paris, has been postponed indefinitely.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tibet tops agenda in India-China talks
India has been home to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, since he fled in 1959 after China sent in troops to suppress a revolt against its rule. Arunachal Pradesh is the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama and home to one of the largest Buddhist monasteries outside the traditional capital of Tibet, Lhasa. Lamas from Tawang are revered in southern Tibet. China says the portions of Kashmir it occupies are vital to ensure access to sensitive parts of the Tibetan plateau.Alarming for Beijing is how Tibet has become part of Hindu nationalism, a potent continuing force in India.The head of this nationalist ideology is the Rashtryia Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or Organisation of National Volunteers. With an estimated membership of 5 million, it is the second-largest political movement in the world after the Chinese Communist party. The RSS spawned the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, which led India's government from 1998 to 2004.When I sit down with Indresh Kumar, the head of the Himalaya cell for the RSS, he is quick to point out "the diplomatic, political and humanitarian crime" of accepting Tibet as part of China. "Tibet was never part of China, which is an imperialistic nation."
Kumar, who formulates strategy for the RSS on Tibet, bases his assessment on two doctrines: one is India's national security, the other is race. The former is easy to explain: India's security can be threatened by China's army from the Tibetan plateau. It was a blitzkrieg across the Himalayas that saw India lose the 1962 war with China in a matter of days.
But what jars is the racial component of the RSS argument. "(Tibetan) genes must be saved," says Kumar. "The first responsibility for Tibet's independence is India's … because the two nations are culturally, religiously intertwined. [The] Dalai Lama says India is guru (teacher), Tibet is shishya (disciple)."
This thinking harks back to the central RSS assertion that India is populated by a race, of Aryans, and a religion, Hinduism, which are both somehow special. It is also energising rightwing Hindu attitudes to China.To see why this can lead to dangerous rhetoric, look back at the height of China's crackdown in Tibet in April. At this time, the former Indian foreign minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters "if there was conflict (over Tibet) we should be ready to meet the challenge". Narayanan is not part of the RSS, but his government cannot ignore nationalist sentiment. Little wonder that today's talks in Beijing are unlikely to lead to much – but more talks.
Dalai Lama cancels Europe trip after doctors say he needs more rest
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Tibet monk in hiding tells of interrogation, abuse
Suppressing his calls to a passing nun for help, they shoved a sack over his head and drove him to a guesthouse run by the local paramilitary People's Armed Police.
What followed, according to Jigme, was two months of interrogation and abuse over his suspected role in this spring's uprising against Chinese rule across Tibet and a broad swath of Tibetan-inhabited regions in western China.
His telephone interview with The Associated Press on Friday gives one of the few detailed first-person accounts of the crackdown on the riots and protests that continue six months after the events.
Chinese authorities contacted by phone said they had no information about Jigme's case, making his claims impossible to verify.
But the basic facts of his story correspond with testimony given by monks and nuns detained in previous campaigns and widely reported by credible overseas human rights groups.
While Beijing says an unspecified number of people have been detained following the protests, it has given no details about their treatment.
Jigme has also posted a video account of his ordeals on Youtube.com.
The 42-year-old monk, who like many Tibetans uses just one name, said he took no part in the sometimes violent protests that followed deadly rioting in Tibet's capital of Lhasa on March 14.
Many Tibetans consider themselves a separate nation from China, whose communist forces occupied the region in 1951, and have long chafed under Chinese rule.
Jigme said he suspects he was targeted by authorities for speaking to foreign media and overseas rights groups, the apparent basis for the charge of "illegally providing intelligence" brought against him.
Jigme said he was detained on March 21 and questioned for two days at the People's Armed Police guesthouse in the Gansu province town of Xiahe that surrounds the Labrang monastery complex where he lives. He was then driven with others to a prison in the nearby town of Linxia where he says conditions were extremely harsh.
"They demanded to know if I was a leader of the protest and what contact I had with the Dalai Lama," the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, Jigme told the AP by phone Friday from what he described only as a "safe place" near Labrang.
"They hung me up by my hands and beat me hard all over with their fists," he said. Similar treatment was meted out to other Tibetan prisoners, while family members were refused permission to bring them additional food and warm clothing, he said.
Jigme said he was hospitalized twice. The second time, after lying unconscious for six days and apparently on the verge of death from internal injuries, he was handed over to his family, who took him to another hospital where he recovered after 20 days of treatment and rest, Jigme said.
He said he received a conditional medical release under which his case remains unresolved.
Following his recovery in late May, Jigme said he returned to Labrang, where he is a member of the Gyuto Dratsang, or Upper Tantric College, one of the monastery's six institutes of learning.
He said outraged monks told of police raids on their quarters in which 188 were briefly detained on suspicion of taking part in the March rioting. All but nine were released two days later. The others, who admitted taking part in the protests, were released after a few weeks.
"They were really angry. They were forced out of their beds in the middle of the night, their living quarters searched and property stolen, and no explanation was ever given as to why," Jigme said. He said five other Labrang monks remain in custody over the protests and 20 others were in hiding.
Jigme said political indoctrination campaigns had intensified at Labrang, with monks forced to attend twice-weekly "patriotic education" classes where they are told to shun all contact with the Dalai Lama and his followers, who are accused by China of fomenting the spring protests. The Dalai Lama has denied the claims and condemned the violence.
A police officer contacted by phone in Xiahe, who gave only his surname, Liu, said he had no information about Jigme's case. Officials at the Communist Party management committee at Labrang and at the Linxia Detention Center also said they had no knowledge of such a case and refused to give their names, as is common among Chinese authorities not authorized to speak with the media.
Jigme said he had remained at Labrang until earlier this week when security agents visited his home. He said he would continue speaking out until detained again.
"I'm not afraid of being taken in," he said. "I have no regrets. I'm not guilty of anything."
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Dalai Lama asks for emergency meeting to discuss Tibet issue
His Holiness said considering the recent crisis inside Tibet and the situation in the world in general, the emergency general meeting would be held under the article 59 of the Charter of the Tibetans-in-Exile.
His Holiness said the meeting would be held in November and December this year.
The composition of the representatives for the meeting shall include the members of the Tibetan Parliament and others appointed on its behalf; the Kashag shall jointly decide, in consultation with the Tibetan Parliament or the Standing Committee of the Parliament.
After reading out the letter, Speaker Karma Chophel said since the Parliament is in session, a draft proposal will be formulated and tabled in the house for discussion on Monday.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Dalai Lama recovers from illness, returns home
DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — The Dalai Lama returned to his northern Indian home-in-exile Tuesday after recovering from a stomach illness that put him in hospital for four days, an aide of the Tibetan leader said.
The 73-year-old Nobel peace laureate was discharged last week from a Mumbai hospital where he had been admitted for tests after suffering abdominal pain, and had been recuperating in Mumbai and New Delhi.
"His Holiness has fully recovered and is now back home," his spokesman, Tenzin Takhla, said in Dharamshala, the hilltop town where the Tibetan government-in-exile is headquartered.
"He is fully relaxed and will resume work starting with a teaching on 25 September," the spokesman said.
In the weeks preceding his illness, the Dalai Lama had pursued a hectic itinerary as he campaigned for improved human rights in Tibet while China hosted the Olympic Games.
The health scare prompted special Buddhist prayer meetings in Dharamshala with dozens of monks and nuns gathering at the main temple to pray for his well-being.
The Buddhist monk fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.
He champions a "middle path" policy which espouses "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet, rather than the full independence that many younger, more radical activists are demanding.
Still, China vilified him as the "mastermind" of what it called a drive to sabotage the Olympics and destabilise the country.
Violent protests against Beijing's rule broke out across Tibet in March, sparking a heavy Chinese crackdown that drew global condemnation.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Taktser Rinpoche, eldest brother of the Dalai Lama, passes away
International Campaign for Tibet
September 5th, 2008
Taktser Rinpoche, the eldest brother of the Dalai Lama, passed away earlier today (September 5) at home in Indiana in the United States having been ill for several years. He was 86 years old.
Taktser Rinpoche - whose given name was Thupten Jigme Norbu - was recognized at the age of three as the reincarnated abbot of Kumbum monastery in modern-day Qinghai, one of the most important monasteries in Tibet, and was therefore already a prominent figure in Tibet's religious hierarchy even before his brother the Dalai Lama was born.
In the immediate wake of the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949-1950, Taktser Rinpoche played important intermediary roles first between the Dalai Lama and Chinese Communist officials and then later, when in India, between the US State Department and the Dalai Lama during the protracted negotiations between Beijing and Lhasa surrounding signature of the controversial Seventeen Point Agreement - the document which was intended to give legitimacy to China's rule of Tibet.
Taktser Rinpoche was deeply mistrustful of the Chinese Communist Party's intentions in Tibet, and was a prominent voice advising the Dalai Lama to leave Tibet in the face of what was perceived as direct threats to his own personal safety as well as to the integrity of Tibet itself.
In 1950, when the Dalai Lama was still in Lhasa, Chinese officials attempted to persuade Taktser Rinpoche to travel to Lhasa and convince the Dalai Lama to accept the "peaceful liberation" of Tibet, even promising to make him the governor of Tibet if he succeeded, according to one account. Taktser Rinpoche eventually agreed to travel to Lhasa to see the Dalai Lama, but evaded his Chinese escorts on route and instead conveyed to the Dalai Lama his deep misgivings about China's influence in Tibet, and urging the Dalai Lama to retreat to the border with India.
Although a devout and dedicated follower of the Dalai Lama, Taktser Rinpoche nevertheless took a different stand on Tibet's status to his brother, calling instead for the complete independence of Tibet as opposed to the model of autonomy put forward by the Dalai Lama.
An extremely energetic individual, Taktser Rinpoche dedicated his life to serving the Dalai Lama, Tibet and the Tibetan people, including serving as the Dalai Lama's representative in Japan. Upon leaving Tibet in the 1950s and over a long and prolific writing career, he wrote several academic papers and books on Tibet including his own autobiography, Tibet Is My Country, one of the first books on the Tibetan experience to have scholarly credibility. He went on to serve as Professor of Tibetan Studies at Indiana University in the United States, where in 1979 he founded the Tibetan Cultural Center.
Taktser Rinpoche was a tireless advocate for the protection of Tibetan culture and the rights of the Tibetan people in Tibet. Each year - including this year prior to the Beijing Olympics - he participated in long walks and cycle rides to raise awareness of the plight of the Tibetan people.
He is survived by his wife Kunyang Norbu, and three sons.
Dalai Lama nominated for 2008 Sakharov prize
He is among the eight nominees vying for the honour. Other probables for the prize include Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, France-Colombian ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt, jailed Chinese pro-democracy campaigner Hu Jia, Belarussian political prisoner Alexender Kozulin, a release said.
Three candidates will be shortlisted by the EU Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on September 22 and the winner will be announced in mid-October.
The prize will be presented at Strasbourg plenary session on December 16.
The 2008 Sakharov prize named after Soviet dissident Andrel Sarkharov marks the 20th year since the award was first instituted.
Among the previous winners of the prize are former South African president Nelson Mandela, Burmese opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung Suu Kyi, ex-UN secretary Kofi Annan and Chinese dissident WEI Jingsheng.
China mining company sets up Tibet subsidiary
China's top aluminium producer, Chinalco, has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Tibet to explore and smelt mineral resources on the rooftop of the world.
The Chinalco Tibet Mining Co. Ltd., formally launched in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa has a registered capital of $US36.5 million.
The new company will explore, mine, smelt and sell minerals.
Chinese media reports say more than 100 minerals have been found in Tibet, and that it has the largest copper and chromium reserves in China.
Mining in Tibet has become more commercially feasible with the opening of a railway linking it to the rest of the country in 2006
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tibet unrest looms in post-Dalai Lama era
BEIJING (Reuters) - A spell in hospital by the Dalai Lama highlights enormous complexities likely to arise when the 73-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner does pass away.
Revered by Tibetan Buddhists as their spiritual leader, but loathed by China as a troublemaking separatist, the Dalai Lama smiled and waved to supporters as he left a hospital in India on Monday after being treated for four days for a stomach ailment.
But questions about the mortality of a man who supporters believe is actually the latest reincarnation of a long line of enlightened masters are now being raised.
There are also questions about who will succeed him as head of Tibet's government-in-exile, as well as the future of the Himalayan region itself.
Analysts say China, which rules Tibet, and the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile, which wants autonomy for the region, are likely to embark on bitter rival searches for a reincarnated successor -- as happened when other senior Tibetan Buddhist leaders have died in the past.
But they also predict widespread unrest in the region despite Beijing being likely to introduce draconian security measures.
The Dalai Lama's death and the search for his successor could create a rallying point at home for more than 5 million Tibetans, many of whom are unhappy with Communist rule.
"There will definitely be rioting. It'll be a lot bigger in scale than March 14," said Wang Lixiong, Chinese author of three books on Tibet, said, referring to unrest which spilled over into nearby Tibetan populated provinces in March and in ensuing week.Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Dalai Lama leaves hospital for 'good rest'
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was discharged from a Mumbai hospital yesterday, four days after being admitted with stomach pain, but said he still needs plenty of rest. The 73-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate smiled and waved and shook hands with hospital staff before leaving in a bulletproof car. The Dalai Lama has cancelled all engagements for three weeks and will spend several days resting in Mumbai.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Dalai Lama out of hospital but needs a 'good rest'
The 73-year-old Nobel peace laureate smiled and waved as he emerged from Mumbai's private Lilavati Hospital, an AFP photographer said. He shook hands with hospital staff before leaving in a bullet-proof car.
The Dalai Lama's spokesman, Tenzin Takhla, has said he has cancelled all engagements for three weeks and would now spend several days resting in Mumbai.
A hospital spokesman declined to comment on his state of health, but Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said the Dalai Lama was "very fine."
"There is nothing to be worried about. The doctors have advised that he take some more rest," Rinpoche told AFP from the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where the government-in-exile is based.
The Dalai Lama underwent a series of tests in Mumbai after admission to hospital on Thursday following complaints of "abdominal discomfort."
In a message issued by his office, the revered Buddhist leader said he was suffering from "fatigue" and that there was "no cause for concern."
"The doctors attributed this to fatigue... They have advised me to have a good rest," the Dalai Lama was quoted as saying.
A Tibetan official at the Dalai Lama's home said last week he had suffered a bout of diarrhoea after which "he felt very weak."
In recent weeks, the Dalai Lama has pursued a hectic itinerary as he campaigned for improved human rights in Tibet while China hosted the Olympic Games.
During the Games, he travelled to France for a 12-day visit during which he accused China of ongoing repression of the Tibetan people.
He met French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy -- but not President Nicolas Sarkozy.
On Saturday, he joined Tibetans in a 12-hour fast to draw attention to the human rights situation in their homeland and pray for world peace.
"The Dalai Lama had a lot of international teaching commitments this month," Rinpoche said.
"We have said his appointments have been cancelled for three weeks... so by the middle of September it should be clear when he will resume his other commitments."
The Buddhist monk fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.
The Dalai Lama champions a "middle path" policy which espouses "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet, rather than full independence as many younger, more radical activists are demanding.
Still, China has vilified him as the "mastermind" of what it called a drive to sabotage the Olympics and destabilise the country.
Violent protests against Beijing's rule broke out across Tibet in March, sparking a heavy Chinese crackdown that drew global condemnation.
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