Tibetan Headlines
Aug 1: 40 Tibetans Detained
Around 40 Tibetans have been detained in China's Qinghai province. They were at a police station querying the compensation arrangements for the family of Soebey, a Tibetan motorcyclist killed in a road accident by a Chinese truck driver who has been allowed to go free and pay only minimal compensation. In the dispute one police officer was injured, when police reinforcements arrived many of the Tibetans were severely injured.
Aug 1: Shamar Rinpoche
The cremation rites for Shamar Rinpoche, the revered monk who died in Germany last month, were held in Kathmandhu. Nepal had refused permission for the rites, fearing anti-Chinese demonstrations, but later allowed the ceremony to go ahead. The ceremony at the Shar Minub monastery was peaceful, with no political statements or protests and thousands of Tibetan exiles paid their last respects.
Jul 31: Enthronement
The enthronement ceremony of the reincarnation of Penor Rinpoche has taken place at the Palyul Monastery in Dege County in Kham. Pema Dorjee was announced as the reincarnation of His Eminence Penor Rinpoche who passed away in 2009. Pema Dorjee is Palyul’s 12th Throneholder. He was found at a sacred location in Dhagpo near Lhasa, based on a “prophecy letter” sent by the 100-year-old yogi Jadrel Rinpoche.
Jul 31: Crackdown Promised
Meng Jianzhu, a senior Chinese Communist Party security official who has recently concluded a visit to Tibet, has stressed the need for more efforts to maintain stability in Tibet and vowed to carry out harsh crackdowns on "separatist activities" or "terror attacks". He called on Buddhist monks to make contributions to ethnic unity while visiting well-known religious sites, saying it is vital for national security.
Jul 30: Defiance!
A portrait of the Dalai Lama was displayed at a traditional horse-racing festival in China’s Sichuan province this week. In defiance of the Chinese authorities' restrictions, festival-goers were invited to pray and make offerings as well as offering katah or ceremonial scarves. Tibetan horse-racing dates back to the seventh century and is still popular with nomads with many people traveling for days to attend festivals.
Jul 29: New Laws in Driru
A new manual has been issued in the restive county of Driru in eastern Tibet. The manual lists prohibitions and requirements for Tibetans together with punishments for those who do not comply. Prohibitions include attending the Kalachakra initiations, singing songs praising the Dalai Lama, organising public talks and discussions, and monks and nuns from studying where they want. Punishments include political education and jail.
Jul 29: Craft Education
A two-day arts and craft workshop was held at Dharamshala, organised by the Career Counseling Section of the Department of Education. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, head of the Tibetan Administration in exile, opened the workshop, saying that introducing art and craft at early stage in a child's education improves creativity and innovation later in life. Arts and craft education will be taken to other Tibetan schools in the future.
Jul 25: SFT Raises Awareness
Students for a Free Tibet India held a panel discussion to mark the centenary of the Simla Convention signed between Tibet and British India in 1914. The speakers were Dr Dibyesh Anand, Tibetologist and Professor at Westminster College, London; Lobsang Yeshi, of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and Tenzin Tsundue, the Tibetan poet and activist. Anand said the Convention is a reminder to the world that Tibet was historically independent.
Jul 25: Railway Extension
China has announced plans to extend the railway line linking Tibet with the borders of India, Nepal and Bhutan by 2020. The extended railway network will accelerate the mass movement of Chinese migrants into Tibet, threatening the unique cultural identity of the Tibetan people, and has already led to an increase in Chinese mining and exploitation of Tibet's natural resources.
Jul 24: Tibet’s HR “Tradgedy”
mic.com has listed Tibet and Xinjiang as number 5 in their "human rights tragedies the world needs to stop ignoring", under the heading "Cultural and political rights denied in Tibet and Xinjiang". The article says "Both Tibet and Xinjiang are subject to punishments such as torture, long-time detentions, intrusive surveillance and squashing protests", and that " It's a struggle that is ongoing".
Jul 23: Back in Dhasa
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has returned to Dharamshala after leading the Kalachakra initiations in Ladakh earlier this month. Indian media reports that his health was giving concern, and that he had been hospitalised, have been refuted by his Secretary Chime Rigzin. Rigzin said that he has not been in hospital, that his future programme remains unchanged, and that people should not worry.
Jul 22: New Tibetan Course
The Sarah Institute of Tibetan Higher Studies, in collaboration with the New York based Tibet Fund, has set up a new course for students living abroad. The one-month course will give intensive training in Tibetan language, meditation, culture, civilization and Buddhist philosophy and practice. It is designed to be similar to western syllabuses and to gain the students credits for the courses they are studying at their colleges in the West.
Jul 19: Three Tibetans Arrested
Three Tibetans have been arrested in village 13 of Rongpo town in Sog County. No reason has been given for their arrest and their current whereabouts remain unknown. A relative of one of them who went to give them food and clothes has also been detained. The three are: Gyalten Phelgey, a 29 year-old monk; Gedi, a 52 year-old nun and Choedok, 49.
Jul 18: Suicide
A Tibetan monk, Thabke, aged about 24, has hanged himself in front of the Labrang monastery in Sangchu county in Gansu province, where he was enrolled. Thabke told friends that he wanted to end his life in protest against the imposition of a variety of restrictive regulations and policies, restrictions on religious freedom, and hardships in the daily life of Tibetan monks and nuns.
Jul 18: Universal Jurisdiction
The director of Spanish-based Tibet support group Comite de Apoyo al Tibet (CAT) has vowed to appeal against a Spanish court decision quashing international arrest warrants issued for Chinese leaders accused of crimes in Tibet. CAT director Alan Cantos said “We are going to question [the decision] at the Constitutional Court and at the Supreme Court, so there is still hope that the case can be re-opened.”