Tibetan Headlines
Jan 4: Kagyu Monlam
Over 12,000 devotees have gathered for the 32nd Kagyu Monlam (great prayer festival) for world peace in Bodhgaya where they will engage in prayers for world peace, and other charitable works. The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje blessed the launch of a three-day multi speciality health camp which provides quality healthcare services to the poor, and where over 800 patients were seen by doctors and specialists.
Jan 3: Santokbaa Award
His Holiness the Dalai Lama became the seventh recipient of the Santokbaa Manavratna Award, presented to him in Surat, Gujarat, for his contribution towards world peace. Wearing a traditional Gujarati turban, His Holiness said that all the major religious traditions have the potential to help humanity through their teachings. The award was instituted in 2007 by the SRK Foundation, and set up by Govind Dholakiya of the Shree Ramkrishna Exports.
Jan 3: Leadership Skills
An eight-day leadership summit for Tibetan students is underway at lower Tibetan Childrens Village school in Dharamshala, with the aim of fostering leadership skills. The summit, organised by the Department of Education, Central Tibetan Administration, and inaugurated by Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people, is being attended by over 300 class X students from Nepal and India.
Jan 2: Severely Beaten
Four Tibetans, Tarey Kyi, Samlha, Ratna Dhargay and Lukyi, have been beaten up by Chinese authorities for refusing to sell their land in Zamthang County in Ngaba in the Tibet Autonomous Prefecture. Samlha is said to be in critical condition. They were ordered them to sell their land for government or business development projects and threatened with confiscation of the land if they refused.
Jan 1: Tibetan Entrepreneurs
50 Tibetan entrepreneurs from India, Nepal, England, and Poland attended the two-day Global Tibetan Entrepreneurship Conference in Mundgod, South India, with Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, head of the Tibetan Administration in Exile, presiding. Sangay assured the Tibetan business community of assistance and co-operation from the Kashag, [Tibetan Cabinet]. The conference was organised by Empowering the Vision and the Federation of Tibetan Co-operatives in India.
Dec 31: fb Deletes Post
Tsering Woeser, the popular, Beijing-based Tibetan writer, posted information on facebook about Kalsang Yeshi who self-immolated earlier this month, and included a link to a video of the monk in flames. Facebook removed the post citing the “graphic” nature of the video. Tibetans accuse fb, which is currently blocked in China, of cowing to pressure from Beijing to enable them to enter the Chinese market.
Dec 29: Blogger Arrested
Soepa, 21, a Tibetan writer and blogger, was arrested on a bus near his native Meruma township in Ngaba County. It is assumed his arrest is linked to articles and essays published on his blog: a recent post pays tribute to Tsepey who self-immolated last week. Soepa is a creative writing student at the Northwest University for Nationalities in Lanzhou, and has organised debates on freedom of speech during vacations.
Dec 28: Another Kirti Arrest
Lobsang Lungrig, 20, from Kirti monastery in Ngaba has been arrested – the same monastry as Lobsang Trinle who was arrested earlier in the week for his lone protest. "It is not known why he was arrested. We don't know where Lungrig is held" said a monk in exile with close contacts with Kirti. Lungrig's parents are Reyrey and Lhamo Dron, from division 5 of Meruma Township in Ngaba County.
Dec 28: Closing Ceremony
People gathered at Ganden Jangtse Monastery in Mundgod on the final day of the teachings for the Long Life Offering ceremony for HH the Dalai Lama. His Holiness said “The land of Tibet belongs to the people who live there, and it’s because of the persistent strength of spirit of the people of Tibet that we are able to work on their behalf in exile.”
Dec 27: Arrested
Lobsang Trinle, 21, a monk from Kirti monastery in Ngaba in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has been arrested following a solitary peaceful protest challenging Beijing’s rule in Tibet and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama, reports Radio Free Asia. A local source said, “He was carrying a big portrait of...the Dalai Lama ...and shouting slogans...He was severely beaten as the police whisked him away.”
Dec 26: Civil Disobediance
Further unsubstantiated reports are emerging from Tibet about the follow up to Kalsang Yeshe's self-immolation on December 23. Chinese officials stopped a party of nuns on their way to pray at Tawo Nyatso monastery where Kalsang Yeshe died, so they sat down on the road in peaceful protest. And there are reports of civil disobedience, with people blocking roads and praying publicly, which is strictly forbidden by the Chinese authorities.
Dec 26: Prayers and a Vigil
The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile issued a statement to express solidarity with Sangye Khar, 34, Tsephe Kyi, 19, and Ven Kelsang Yeshi, 32, who self-immolated in Tibet over the last 10 days, and urged China to investigate the real causes of the self-immolations and address the grievances of the Tibetan people. Tibetans and supporters in gathered at Martyrs Pillar at Tsuglakhang, the main temple in McLeod Ganj, for prayers and a candle-lit vigil.
Dec 25: Two released
Two Tibetan political prisoners have been released from prison in Tibet. Bumgha had served six years after being arrested in 2008 in Serta County for spearheading a protest, and for raising the Tibetan national flag, calling for religious freedom in Tibet and freedom for Tibet. Another, Dhargay, was released from prison in the Minyag region of Tawu County and welcomed by local Tibetans upon his return home.
Dec 25: Gunshot Wounds
News has emerged from Tibet that two Tibetans sustained gunshot wounds while attempting to protect Kalsang Yeshe from the authorities during his self-immolation protest on Tuesday. Police fired warning shots to disperse a crowd that had gathered at the scene as the monk was engulfed in flames, wounding two Tibetans. One of them, Tsering, managed to contact a monk living in India to pass on the news.
Dec 24: Sikyong in Goa
Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected political head of the Tibetan people, attended the three-day India Ideas Conclave 2014 in Goa from December 19-21. He spoke at the at the plenary session “Enduring Peace in South Asia”, saying that Tibet is key for enduring peace in South Asia. The conclave was attended by over 250 participants from around the world with parliamentarians, diplomats, journalists, educationists and security experts.