Tibetan Headlines
Aug 14: Memoir of a Prisoner
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has released a memoir of a former Tibetan political prisoner, Tenzin Nyima. The memoir is a personal account of Tenzin Nyima’s peaceful protest against the Chinese government by raising the banned Tibetan national flag in Amdo Rebkong, and his subsequent arrest, and torture in jail. At present, the book is available in Tibetan only.
Aug 14: Dozen Wounded
Nearly a dozen Tibetans have been “seriously wounded” after Chinese police opened fire to disperse hundreds of Tibetans protesting against the detention of a village head in Sershul county in Kardze prefecture. Many Tibetans have been detained and beaten in the crackdown in Sershul county. Wangdak, the 45-year-old village head was detained after he complained to the authorities over the harassment of Tibetan women by senior Chinese officials at a cultural performance.
Aug 13: TYC Working for Tibet
The 45th Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) Working Committee Meeting has opened in Gangtok, Sikkim, with over 100 participants from regional chapters in India, Nepal and Bhutan attending the 6-day conference. Chief guest R B Subba (Human Resource Development Department/Youth Affairs Minister in Sikkim) said at the opening ceremony: "The work you do is very important for Tibet...the critical situation inside Tibet must be resolved soon."
Aug 12: Lama Dawa Rinpoche
Lama Dawa Rinpoche, a senior Tibetan spiritual leader currently in prison and barred from contact with his monastery, has been allowed to return to his monastery and conduct teachings. He visited Shag Rongpo monastery in Shagchu township in the Nagchu prefecture where he gave teachings and empowerments to thousands of monks and lay Tibetans. Dawa Rinpoche was arrested in 2010 for allegedly contacting His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Aug 11: Activists Freed
Two Tibetan activists have been freed from prison. Rinchen Samdup is an environmentalist who organised villagers to plant trees and report poaching, he has served five years. Gyaltsen, a monk, was freed after serving two years for participating in a protest by thousands of Tibetans against China's "repressive" policies. About 20 monks from his Ba Shetri Monastery who were arrested with him are still in prison.
Aug 9: Woeser Detained
Tsering Woeser, the Tibetan writer based in Beijing, has said that the Chinese authorities detained and interrogated her for three hours when she arrived at Lhasa airport. She tweeted: “They took pictures of my lingerie, medicine, cosmetics, books and DVDs". They copied the contents of her computer and checked her cell phone. Woeser, a prominent Tibetan activist, was in Lhasa to visit her mother, who was also interrogated.
Aug 9: Coal Mining Destruction
More than 100 Tibetans have been protesting against coal mining in Qinghai province's Nangchen county, saying that the mining contradicts directives pushing for the protection of the environment. They also have concerns on health grounds. Meanwhile Greenpeace Asia has exposed a Chinese coal company operating illegal open-pit mines at the Muli coalfield on the Qinghai plateau, potentially endangering a fragile ecosystem and the Yellow River.
Aug 8: All Vegetarian
The people of the Samyeling Tibetan Colony (Majnu Ka Tilla) in Delhi have decided to observe every Wednesday as "Vegetarian Day" for a year. The decision comes as a mark of respect, and to acknowledge the kindness of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Tibetan people, and the practice will run until His Holiness's birthday next year. The Indians and Nepalese living in the colony have welcomed the idea.
Aug 7: Tibetans Sentenced
Eight people in Derge County have been given sentences of up to nine years for their alleged involvement in a 2012 protest when a Tibetan named Tashi destroyed a police station using a petrol bomb. Tashi was protesting against the increase in police stations across Tibet after the 2008 uprising, he was killed in the blast.The eight are: Yeshi, Pema Norbu, Jiga, Tsering Phuntsok, Bugoh, Gendun, Lhaksam and Sugoen.
Aug 6: Prison Sentences
Six Tibetans from Phondo town in Phenpo Lhundrup County in the Tibetan Autonomous Region have been sentenced to up to 12 years for taking part in an anti-mining protest three years ago. The Chinese mining operations caused environmental destruction and harm to livestock, and at least 100 homes were evacuated when their village was flooded. The six are: Ngawang Yeshi, Pema Gyalpo, Pema Gyaltsen, Chonyi Woser, Kunga and Pema.
Aug 6: Education and Culture
The 8th Tibetan Educational-Cultural debate organised by the Sarah Chapter of the Tibetan Youth Congress is taking place at Sarah College near Dharamshala. The three-day debate will mark the centenary of the Shimla Convention. Intellectuals from the exile community have been invited speak and write about the Simla Convention as an important part of Tibetan history.
Aug 5: Film Award
Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, a New York based Tibetan filmmaker, has won the "Emerging Director Award" at the Asian American International Film Festival in New York City for his documentary film "Bringing Tibet Home". The film depicts a well-known Tibetan artist smuggling 20,000 kilograms of Tibetan soil into India for an art installation in tribute to his father who died in exile, dreaming of setting foot on his native soil.
Aug 4: “Criminalisation of Self-immolations”
The International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group based in the US, has released a special report entitled “Acts of significant evil: The criminalisation of Tibetan self-immolations”. It urges the Chinese government to “release all Tibetans who have been detained and sentenced on grounds of 'incitement to' or 'aiding self-immolations'". The report continues, “Since 2012, at least 11 Tibetans have been sentenced to prison or even to death” on these grounds.
Aug 3: Training Tibetan Women
A five-day training programme for trainers on the Legal Empowerment of Tibetan Women in Exile, organised by the Tibetan Women’s Association, is underway in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala. Over 50 participants from different parts of India and will qualify as certified trainers in the field of legal empowerment. The group had an audience with His Eminence the Gyalwang Karmapa who spoke to them on gender issues, and will be meeting Sikyong Lobsang Sangay.
Aug 2: Nomad Hero
Student for a Free Tibet India staged a street theatre in McLeod Ganj to remember the nomad Rungye Adak who has been in prison since 2007. Adak, 52, openly expressed loyalty to the Dalai Lama and spoke about freedom of expression in front of a huge crowd at the annual Lithang horse race festival in 2007. There is concern that he is in poor health.