Tibetan Headlines
Dec 3: Visit from Chile
Chilean Member of Parliament Vlado Mirosevic and Fernando Salinas, a member of Chile Friends of Tibet, are on a five-day visit to Dharamshala to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to observe the Tibetan Government-in-exile and Tibetan community. They have suggested to His Holiness that they set up a Chilean parliamentarian group on Tibet, reports Voice of Tibet.
Dec 2: Protestors Beaten
Four protestors, Tare Kyi, Samlha, Ratna Dargye, and Lukyi, all members of the same family, have been beaten by Chinese officials in Dzamthang County in Sichuan Province. Samlha was left in a critical condition. They, along other families have refused to sell off their land wanted by local authorities, and were protesting peacefully. These landowners are poor, and their land is their main source of income
Dec 2: IC Replacements
The Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi has issued a notice asking Tibetans who are traveling, or need to travel, and are in possession of handwritten Identity Certificates (IC) to apply for their replacement with a digitalised machine readable IC at the earliest opportunity. People traveling with handwritten ICs may face problems at airports or immigration.
Dec 1: Prisoner Released
Jinpa Gyatso, 43, a senior monk from the Mura Mayul Samten Choekhor Ling Monastery in Machu County has been released from prison after completion of his three-year sentence. He was arrested for publicising the way people are treated in Tibet, for distributing his paper Manifesto of Truth and for his promotion of the Tibetan language within Tibet. There are reports that he was tortured in prison and has suffered physically.
Dec 1: World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day was observed in Dharamshala with various AIDS awareness programmes, including a street procession, distribution of pamphlets and condoms, an outdoor skit performance, an AIDS awareness talk and free blood tests. The events were jointly organised by the Central Tibetan Administration’s Health Department, Delek Hospital, Lha Chartiable Trust, Dharamshala Rotary Club, Kunphen and the Tibetan Women's Association, and took place in the main square in Mcleod Ganj.
Nov 30: Monks Arrested
Two monks from Kriti monastery in eastern Tibet, Ggaba County were detained by the Chinese police and no further information about them is available. The two monks are Lobsang Gempel, 28, and Drukda, 49. Lobsang was earlier arrested in May 2011 and released in 2013. Drukda too was arrested earlier in 2008 and imprisoned for 1 year and 4 months.
Nov 30: Round the Table
The Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution met for its seventh Round Table Discussion Coexisting and Flourishing, aimed at addressing communal issues and working towards a harmonious existence for both Indian and Tibetan communities. The 33 participants, who represented NGOs, Unions and associations in Dharmshala, addressed recent unfortunate incidents involving individuals from the two communities, including the murder of the Tibetan youth.
Nov 28: Tibet at the ILF
Six exile Tibetan writers and musicians have taken part, for the first time, in the Indian Language Festival organised by Samanvay, a Government of India institution and held at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi. Singers Loten Namling, Jamyang Tashi and Sonam Dolma performed at the inaugural ceremony, and Tibetan writers Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, Tenzin Tsundue and Bhuchung D Sonam read from their work.
Nov 27: “Educating” Monks
Thirteen officials will be employed by the local government of Nangchen County in Qinghai Province “to guard against continued overseas influence of separatism on monks” in the province. The officials must be “clearly against separatism” and “should have a good understanding of China's ethical and religious policies”. “This is...to assist monks' welfare and educate them on the negative influence of separatist ideas” said a Party spokesperson.
Nov 27: Lone Protester Arrested
Jampa Sangay, 29, was arrested by Chinese polices after staging a lone protest in the main market of Kardze in Kham province. While distributing prayer flags, Jampa shouted slogans calling for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Chinese police arrested him immediately. His current whereabouts is unknown. According to local sources, the continued protests in Kardze have resulted in intensified police controls in the region.
Nov 26: Raising the Standards
A group of Tibetan journalists from Dharamshala has spent three days with the Association of Tibetan Journalists in New Delhi under an initiative to raise the standard of Tibetan journalism. They visited the BBC’s South Asian Headquarters, Times of India Building, and the CNN IBN tower as well as a leading film studio, taking the opportunity to learn from the professionals they met there.
Nov 24: Dalai Lama’s Birthday
The Sikkim Express has reported that Sikkim declared an official holiday on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday on July 6, to express their solemn respect of, and appreciation for, His Holiness. On behalf of all Tibetans and followers of His Holiness, Gangtok Tibetan settlement office and the Tibetan Community in Sikkim thanked the Chief Minister, Shri Pawan Chamling for his effort and understanding.
Nov 23: Climate Change Concern
The Canadian Tibetan Committee has sent a letter to the Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, urging her to include climate action in Tibet as s core concern during the upcoming global climate conference COP21 in Paris. The letter also requested her to urge the Chinese government to reassess its economic developments policies in relation to the impact they may have on climate change in Tibet and Asia.
Nov 22: India and Tibet
Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Government of India said, “India should not change its political path when it comes to Tibet keeping in mind the long traditional relationship between the two countries.” Rijiju was addressing the Tibetan community at Palpung Sherab Ling Monastery near Baijnath on the occasion of Padma Sambhava maha puja. Former chief minister Shanta Kumar was also present on the occasion.
Nov 21: A letter from Tibet
According to a confidential letter sent from Tibet, Lhasa was placed under severe lockdown during the US delegation’s visit to Lhasa. A letter written by a Tibetan residing in Lhasa mentioned that repressive measures were taken to silence the voices of Tibetans to blur the real situation inside Tibet. The letter asserted that their final hopes and aspirations rest upon His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Central Tibetan Administration.