Tibetan Headlines
May 18: Countdown to Release
Tibetans in Tibet and in exile are counting down to the release from prison of Tibetan film maker Dhondup Wangchen, scheduled for June 5. Dhondup Wangchen was jailed in March 2008 for making the film "Leaving Fear behind" in which he asked common people their opinions about the 2008 Beijing Olympics. People have been campaigning for his release throughout his prison term.
May 17: Solidarity Day
The Central Tibetan Administration issued a statement for Solidarity day. Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay thanked governments, parliaments, Tibet Support Groups, human rights organisations, environmental groups, Tibetan Associations and Buddhist Centres for their support and solidarity, and appealed for their continued support for the Tibetan cause. The day was observed by Tibetans and supporters worldwide.
May 17: Abduction Anniversary
Tibetans and supporters in McLeod Ganj marked 19 years since Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, was illegally kidnapped by the Chinese government. The Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association and Students for a Free Tibet jointly organised a visual freeze action in the square, depicting the 6-year-old Panchen Lama behind bars.
May 16: Monastery Control
The forced management structural change that was threatened at Nyasto Zilkar Monastery has taken place, with senior monks removed and replaced with Chinese officials. There is a long tradition of the monks at this monastery managing all their affaris, but the monks were given no say in who was appointed and it is feared the monastery will be under total Beijing control.
May 16: Released!
Sonam Yarphel, 34, who was jailed for his role in protests in March 2008, has been released after serving six years of his 12-year prison sentence. There is no apparent reason for his release. He received a hero’s welcome at his home village of Dilyu in Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) prefecture’s Draggo (Luhuo) county in China’s Sichuan province.
May 15: Writer Arrested
Choeying Kalden, 20, a monk at Tsandan Monastery in Sog county in the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibetan Autonomous Region has been arrested for writing a poem that is critical of China's policy towards Tibetans. He is a regular contributor to local publications on Tibetan language, literature, and culture, and has also criticized China’s misrule of Tibet.
May 14: More Mining Protests
Hundreds of armed police have been deployed in a further crackdown over the last two months on mining protests in Lathok in Tibet’s Chamdo county, which neighbours Dzogang county where protests are still ongoing. “Many Tibetans have been beaten and detained” reported a source in Lathok, “We have been trying to send this information to you for some time.”
May 14: Abbot Rearrested
Khenpo Rabgyal, the abbot of Karma monastery in Chamdo, has been rearrested the day after his release on May 5. After serving two and a half years of his prison sentence for refusing to “co-operate” with Chinese patriotic reeducation campaigns, he had been sent home, although prohibited from returning to his monastery. His current whereabouts are unknown and there is concern for his health.
May 13: Monastery Control
Tibetan monasteries in Qinghai province have been threatened with tightened control. Radio Free Asia has reported that monastery managers suspected of challenging Beijing’s rule will be replaced with Chinese officials. The main target is Nyatso Zilkar monastery in Tridu county, where monks have led protest marches and held prayer gatherings to honour self-immolators. Shelma, Drubgyu and Lu monasteries may also be affected.
May 12: His Holiness in Holland
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has arrived in Holland on the next leg of his European tour where he was welcomed by the Netherlands Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans. He left Oslo after visiting the Norwegian Parliament as guest of the Norwegian Parliamentary Group for Tibet where he was given a warm welcome. Norway's government has been criticised for submitting to pressure from China and refusing to meet His Holiness officially.
May 11: Child Killed
A five-year-old Tibetan boy died and his aunt was seriously injured when a tunnel under construction collapsed in Tibet’s Dege County on April 26. Local Tibetans are demanding compensation for the two victims as well as for those Tibetans whose houses were destroyed last year in the pre-construction works. Protesters tried to halt tunnel construction in December last year.
May 10: Protest Escalates
The death this week of Phakpa Gyaltsen who died protesting against a Chinese gold mine in Tongbar town, Dzogang, has sparked a wider protest. Villagers are demonstrating outside local government offices and another man has attempted suicide. Tibetans say that Chinese mining is disrupting sites of spiritual significance and polluting the environment.
May 9: School Closed
Phakpa, a teacher, has been jailed for 13 years and his school closed following allegations that he was involved in political activities. The school provided virtually free education for about 70 poor Tibetan students and orphans and is in Chentsa (in Chinese, Jianzha) county in Qinghai province.The school taught the Tibetan language, history of Tibet and Tibetan medicine. Information about hese events of April last year has only just been released.
May 9: Teachers Protest
Tibetan teachers in Tibet are demanding better pay and benefits. After a recent sit-in protest was ignored, over 100 teachers set out to march to Xining, but stopped in Qinghai when they were told their concerns would be addressed. There is concern about the treatment of Tibetan teachers and that Han Chinese are frequently hired ahead of Tibetans. Facility in the Chinese language is often a requirement for promotion.
May 8: Suicide Protest
Phakpa Gyaltsen, 32, has died after stabbing himself and then jumping from the roof of a building in Tongbar town, Dzogang, in Tibet’s Chamdo prefecture. Gyaltsen decided "do something" after local protests against a Chinese mine being built in the area were dispersed. He jumped after authorities tried to halt his own protest. Gyaltsen is from the area’s Choeshoe family, and is survived by a wife and three small children, with another child on the way. Phone connections in the area are now blocked.