Tibetan Headlines
Jun 18: Ropeway in Dharamshala
Dharamshala will soon have its first ropeway from Kotwali Bazaar to McLeod Ganj. The 2.1km ropeway will help in decongesting McLeodganj town which is under pressure from the 2.5 L domestic and foreign tourists who visit annually. The Himachal Pradesh government has awarded the contract for the INR120 crore project to the Mumbai-based Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd. Work is likely to begin next month and take two years to complete.
Jun 17: Back in Dhasa
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has returned to his exile home in Dharamshala following his ten day visit to Australia. Well wishers lined the streets in McLeod Ganj to welcome him home. On his last day in Australia he met 700 Bhutanese people, and among his many talks over there he met a group of Chinese intellectuals with whom he shared his thoughts on compassion, love and dialogue.
Jun 17: Birthday Greeting
The Central Tibetan Administration has launched a video birthday greeting on behalf of the Tibetan People inside and outside Tibet for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who will celebrate his 80th birthday on July 6. The video highlights the Dalai Lama’s commitment to contribute to human happiness, religious harmony worldwide and to Tibet’s culture and environment. It features a tribute and greeting from Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Jun 16: Husband Arrested
The husband of 36-year-old Sangye Tso who died after setting herself on fire last month near Tashi Choekhorling monastery has been arrested. Tamding Wangyal and his wife Sangye owned businesses in Chone County. Their two children are staying with their grandfather. Three Tibetan monks from the monastery, Samten Gyatso, Lobsang Samten and Thinlay Gyatso, have also been arrested but it is not clear if their arrest in connected with Sangye’s self-immolation.
Jun 15: HR Statement
Sarah Sewell, the United States Special Co-ordinator for Tibetan Issues, spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council's event, Lockdown in Tibet, saying "we believe that the Tibetan people, like people all around the world, should be able to enjoy their fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.” She also mentioned China's unwillingness to allow foreign media and diplomats to visit Tibet.
Jun 15: TCHRD Report
China’s latest White Paper, issued last week, follows the usual trend of presenting China as a champion of human rights by providing misleading information and ignoring the real human rights situation inside China, reports the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. TCHRD says that the White Paper attempts to distract people with numbers that purportedly demonstrate China’s progress in advancing human rights.
Jun 14: TIPA Anniversary
The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts celebrated the 56th anniversary of its founding with an event at TIPA. The celebration was dedicated to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in honour of his upcoming 80th birthday. Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected political leader of the Tibetan people, spoke at the event which was attended by parliamentarians, government officials and members of Tibetan non government organisations.
Jun 13: Monks Expelled
Chinese authorities are expelling monks from Nyatso Zilkar monastery in the Yulshul prefecture’s Tridu county. They are limiting the number of monks allowed to study there as well as expelling monks who are not officially enrolled, and pursuing suspects thought to have been involved in activities challenging Beijing’s rule. One, Tsultrim Woeser, was detained and then released after two days.
Jun 13: Forced Relocation
People whose homes have been destroyed by the Nepal earthquakes are being relocated to Shigatse, 300 km away and their possessions cleared from their houses. People from a village in Rongshar, Dingri County, who are refusing to leave their village are being denied relief aid. It is understood that new houses will be built on on the village barley fields which will jeopardise their main source of food.
Jun 12: Activists Disrupt Meeting
Tibetan Youth Association of Europe activists succeeded in disrupting a meeting of the Beijing Olympic Committee in Lausanne in Switzerland where the Chinese were presenting their case for the 2022 winter games to be held in China. Tibet campaigners had already sent a report to Olympic Committee members, saying the 2008 Beijing Games failed to bring any improvement in human rights in China, and that China intensified its repression.
Jun 11: Celebrations Banned
Celebrations for the Dalai Lama’s forthcoming 80th birthday that are being planned in Tibetan populated regions in Tibet and China are being blocked by Chinese authorities. Public gatherings that could be linked to the event are banned and a new list of prohibited behaviours is being circulated in at least one county in Golog in the Qinghai province. Some people have already been detained.
Jun 10: Four Monks Detained
Four monks from Labrang Tashikyil monastery in Gansu’s Sangchu county in the Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Chunggey Jinpa, Kalsang and Jamyang have been taken into custody, seized while out in the market. A fourth, Kalsang Monlam, also from Labrang, was detained separately. Their families have not been informed despite a Chinese law requiring authorities to inform detainees’ relatives within 24 hours.
Jun 9: Water Pollution
The only water supply for Shadrang Village in Rebkong County has been polluted by a road building project which started in April and has dug up land at the drinking water source, reports the British campaigning group Free Tibet. Authorities have refused to take action, with local sources saying that appeals by villagers to authorities have been met with “reprimands”.
Jun 8: Miss Tibet 2015
The 13th Miss Tibet Pageant was held at TIPA, Dharamshala. There were three contestants this year. Pema Choedon, 24, from Dekyiling Tibetan Settlement, Dehradun won the title. She was awarded INR 100,000 as prize money. Lobsang Kyizom, a student from Kathmandu, Nepal became the First Runner-up and Tsering Dolma, a nurse from Pokhara, Nepal was announced as the Second Runner-up.
Jun 7: Left to Starve
A large number of Tibetan mastiffs have been abandoned and left to starve in Tibet’s capital Lhasa, reports Radio Free Asia. Traditionally domesticated by Tibetan nomads as guards, the demand and growing popularity of Tibetan mastiffs grew around 2008. They fetched high prices of up to US$ 250,000 but the demand gradually decreased and the subsequent price fall resulted in many dogs being let loose in the streets.