Tibetan Headlines
Mar 13: Tibetan Women’s Day
The first official Tibetan Women’s Day event was held at Tsuglagkhang, the main temple in Dharamshala, organised by the Central Tibetan Administration. HH the Dalai Lama opened the celebration, saying that women are “innately more compassionate and empathetic”. The Day has been set up to honour and empower Tibetan women and recognise them as equal partners in the Tibetan freedom struggle.
Mar 11: Year of Campaign
The Kashag, or Cabinet, of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile have declared 2017 to be a “year of campaign for Tibet” to galvanise the global Tibetan movement. Speaking at the Tibetan Uprising Day event in the temple in Dharamshala, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, the political leader of the Tibetan people condemned China for its continued repression in the face of the Tibetan people’s resilience and commitment to non-violence.
Mar 10: Uprising Day
On Tibetan Uprising Day, remembering the day in Lhasa in 1959 when thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the Chinese invasion of Tibet, events are taking place around the world. The statement by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile said Tibetans "Remember and pay tribute to all those who have sacrificed their lives for our nation’s struggle". In Delhi, police intervened in a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy.
Mar 9: Martial Law Remembered
A prayer service was held in Dharamshala to mark the 28th anniversary of the Martial Law imposed on Lhasa by China and enforced by Hu Jintao, then party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Hundreds of Tibetans lost their lives during the year that the Law was in force, and thousands more were arrested and imprisoned. Tibet was closed to outsiders for a further few years.
Mar 9: Norbulingka Anniversary
Norbulingka Institute in Sidhpur, lower Dharamshala, celebrated its 21st anniversary at an event in which Thangka painting of all fourteen Dalai Lamas of Tibet and the great Tibetan emperors as well as 11 volumes of the Tibetan encyclopedia were unveiled. His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke of the importance of an “unwavering dedication to preserve our culture, identity and religion for many years to come.”
Mar 9: Property Seizure
Rongwo Monastery in Rebgong county is appealing for the return of their property and land which was leased to a teacher’s college and then seized by local authorities last year. The monastery, which is very short of resources, has received no reply to their petition. Security is tight in the region with edicts for monasteries to work in strict compliance with Chinese-influenced management committees.
Mar 9: Rights Violated
Wangpo Tethong, a Tibetan activist based in Switzerland, has filed a complaint against the Berne City Council and the police for “violating the constitutional right of freedom of expression during the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Switzerland” reports Voice of America. He, along with other Tibetan protestors, was arrested for protesting against China’s repressive policies in Tibet and said that unlike the Tibetans, a Chinese group was given freedom of expression.
Mar 8: Beaten and Arrested
Gedhun, a young Tibetan man, has been severely beaten by Chinese police before being taken into custody. Gedhun had shared online images of the Tibetan National flag and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Gedhun is from Wonpo Village in Dzamey Township in the Dzachukha area of Sershul, Karze County in Kham, eastern Tibet. No official details of his arrest have been issued.
Mar 8: Rewards for “Loyalty”
The Chinese authorities in Qinghai are handing out awards to Tibetan monks and monasteries deemed to have cooperated with Communist Party rule. Radio Free Asia reports a source as saying that awards of around 10,000 yuan [US$1,450] were recently made to individuals at a meeting in Rebgong, while at the same time threatening punishment to monks who had recently travelled to India and Nepal.
Mar 7: Shri Rabi Ray
Shri Rabi Ray, the former speaker of Lok Sabha, former Union Minister and Tibet supporter has died. The exile Tibetan political leader Sikyong Lobsang Sangay said “His death comes as a huge loss for both India and Tibet… Shri Rabi Ray was instrumental in hosting the first World Parliamentarian Convention on Tibet held in Delhi in 1994”. He was a freedom fighter before joining active politics.
Mar 3: University Row
The row at the University of California last month over the invitation to HH the Dalai Lama to speak at the University has been exposed as a ploy by the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles. The Chinese Student and Scholars Association (CSSA) who opposed the visit have now said the CSSA had “asked the Chinese Consulate for instructions”, and were “going to implement them.” The visit is going ahead.
Mar 2: Espionage
A man has been arrested in Sweden on suspicion of having “engaged in refugee espionage” - spying on Tibetan refugees living in Sweden. The Swedish Security Service arrested him saying he is “suspected of having, at the request of another country, illegally gathered information about people in the Tibetan community in Sweden”, and that the information had been passed on to intelligence officers working for a foreign power.
Mar 2: Tibet Day
Three American cities – Richfield, Columbia Heights and Minneapolis – have announced they will mark March 10 as Tibet Day. March 10 is the 58th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising in Lhasa against the Chinese occupation there and is observed by Tibetans worldwide. The three cities will raise the Tibetan national flag.
Mar 1: Artist Banned
Tashi Norbu, 43, a Tibetan artist based in the Netherlands, has cancelled a live painting performance in Lilau Square in Macau, an autonomous territory of China. Tashi was scheduled to paint a Fire Rooster to symbolise the Tibetan New Year but was told that the China Liaison Office deemed his work controversial and it would be risky to enter Macau. A display of Tashi’s other work has also been cancelled.
Feb 28: Visas Denied
United States visas have been denied to members of an exile Tibetan women’s football team due to participate in a friendly tournament in the US. The team was invited to partake in the Dallas Cup, one of the most important friendly youth tournaments in the world and team members had provided all necessary documentation and fulfilled all requirements for US visas.