Tibetan Headlines
Mar 28: Pema Awarded
Jetsun Pema, better known as Amala, was honored with GR8! Golden Scroll at the 13th GR8! Women Award held at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Hyderabad on March 23. The GR8! Women Awards are a coveted recognition of women of substance. Addressing the occasion, younger sister of the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama dedicated the award to all those who had been fighting for Tibet’s cause. Jetsun Pema has worked for the plight of Tibetan refugee children for forty years.
Mar 27: French Support
Expressing deep concern over the human rights situation in Tibet, a group of French MPs urged President Francois Hollande to raise the issue of Tibet during his meetings with the visiting Chinese president, President Xi. “Do not sacrifice the issue of Tibet and human rights for corporate affairs. The development of trade relations with China should in no way be at the expense of human rights,” said Jean- Patrick Gille, Noel Mamère, members of the French National Assembly.
Mar 27: Obama Controversy
US first lady Michelle Obama, who had signaled that she'll steer clear of controversy during her recent China tour, ended up creating a storm by visiting a Tibetan restaurant in Sichuan province, prompting thousands of Chinese to ask if she meant to indulge in domestic politics. She met some local Tibetans and sought to promote education and boost cultural ties. Sichuan province has witnessed a large number of self-immolation by protesting Tibetan monks.
Mar 26: Tibetan Protests
Hundreds of Tibetans in China's Gansu province have staged protests this week over the seizure of farm land for the construction of highways catering to state-linked gold mining and industrial activities. The Tibetans gathered on March 16 and 17 to voice their opposition to the highway projects in Sangchu (in Chinese, Xiahe) county in the Kanlho (Gannan), which will pollute the environment and destroy livestock.
Mar 25: Helpful Monk
A Tibetan monk living in Wales, UK, has helped a teenage runaway from Germany reunite with his family, reported Wales online. Lama Lobsang Topgyal spotted Tilo Yaye, 18, sleeping outside Cardiff Market two months ago. Tilo, who has mental health problems, had fled his home in Lüneburg, Germany. Tilo is not the first person Lobsang Topgyal has helped off the streets, he offers refuge at his flat to people he meets who are experiencing marriage problems and family fall-outs.
Mar 25: Drilda Arrests
Four Tibetan monks from Drilda monastery in Trido Township, in Tibet’s Sog County, were arrested by Chinese authorities on the night of March 17, says Ngawang Tharpa, a Tibetan with contacts in the region The four monks are Tsangyang Gyatso, Tsewang, Atse and Gyalsten. The reasons for their arrest are not known due to the strict restrictions currently imposed by authorities in the region. Tsangyang Gyatso is the chant leader at Drilda monastery.
Mar 25: Tsenden Arrests
Chinese authorities in Tibet’s Sog County have arrested two Tibetan monks from the Sog Tsenden monastery in separate incidents this month. Gendun Drakpa, 20, was arrested on March 14 for reportedly burning the Chinese national flag and writing "Tibet is independent" (in Tibetan) on a gate, and Choeying Kalden, 20, was arrested on March 16 for allegedly sending an essay critical of the Chinese government to fellow monks.
Mar 24: US Program
The Tibet Fund, which is based in New York, is collaborating with the Institute of Buddhist Dialectic in Dharamshala, to organise a month-long summer Tibetan study program for Tibetan youths living in the United States and Canada. Mr Lobsang Nyandak, Executive Director of the Tibet Fund, says that the objective of the program is to teach young Tibetans born or brought up in the West about Tibetan culture, history, and the community in exile.
Mar 22: Prisoner Death
A Tibetan who was “brutally tortured” and suffered other abuses in jail for challenging Chinese rule has died following his release from custody, a rights group and sources close to the former political prisoner said. Goshul Lobsang, 43, who had been beaten so severely that he could not even swallow his food, died on March 19 at his family home in Machu (in Chinese, Maqu) county in the northwestern China’s Gansu province. Sources say “His condition never improved after he was released.”
Mar 22: Tibetan Imprisonment
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has reported the arrest and subsequent sentencing of three Tibetans in Tibet’s Sangchu County between 2008 and 2009. Rigzin Tsering, 40, was sentenced to 12 years, Nyingchak Gyal, 44, and Tashi Tsering, 33, were sentenced to five and seven years in prison respectively, for their participation in a protest in March 2008. "The sentences were passed in 2009 in the aftermath of the 2008 uprising in Tibet, but due to the tightened control over information, their fate had remained unknown till today" said TCHRD.
Mar 21: World’s Greatest Leaders
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been chosen by Fortune, a leading world magazine, as number 9 in its list of the world’s 50 greatest leaders, extolling his “more than five decades of tireless campaign for peace, non-violence, democracy, and reconciliation, especially among world religions.” His Holiness and Pope Francis are the only two spiritual leaders listed in the top ten. The magazine said “The Dalai Lama radiates charisma.”
Mar 21: Tibetan Lobby
A delegation of Tibetan NGOs has urged Indian politicians and parliamentarians to press China to bring “an immediate end to the crackdown in Tibet”, saying “only co-ordinated and swift diplomatic action” can stop the crisis inside Tibet. Co-ordinated by International Tibet Network, the lobby was initiated by Tibetan Women’s Association, Gu Chu Sum Movement for Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet. The delegation completed a two-day Tibet lobby in New Delhi.
Mar 20: Honorary Degree
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been awarded an honorary Degree, Doctor of Letter (D.Litt) in Shimla at the Himachal Pradesh University. In his address, His Holiness emphasised the importance of ancient Indian teachings along with modern education. "India is a very rich country full of knowledge and wisdom and there is an urgent need to harness that, especially by the youth, for educational prosperity." His Holiness also highlighted the need of traditional education system for a realistic society.
Mar 19: Activist’s Death
Tibetan exiles have expressed sadness over the death of a Chinese human rights activist Cao Shunli, 52, who died of organ failure in a Beijing hospital last week. Condemning the treatment meted out to Cao by Chinese prison authorities, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said Cao death is "a huge blow" to the human rights movement in China, and that the Chinese authorities must be held accountable for Cao’s death.
Mar 18: China’s Rejection
China has rejected all but one of the recommendations on Tibet raised in a United Nations Review of its human rights record. During China’s second Universal Periodic Review in Geneva on October 22, 2013, more than a dozen UN member states raised concern for the human rights situation in Tibet calling on China to change its treatment of ethnic minorities and the rights to freedom of expression, religion and assembly. The recommendation accepted by China was to facilitate the visits of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Rapporteur to Tibet