Tibetan Headlines
Apr 6: Australian PM
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she would raise the issue of Tibet with the new Chinese leadership during her visit to China. The announcement follows Australia Tibet Council's letter to the PM urging her to encourage Chinese president Xi Jinping to address the current crisis inside Tibet.
Apr 5: CTA Working Hours
The Kashag Secretariat announced a change in the working hours of all the Central Tibetan Administration offices from April to September. Every first Saturday will be devoted to meetings of the Tibet Policy Institute, inter-departmental and office meetings. To compensate for the non-working Saturdays, office hours have been extended from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. This change will take effect Saturday, 6 April.
Apr 5: Tibetan Mural
An iconic new wall painting has been completed by three visiting Brazilian painters and Tibetan thangka art master Karma Sichoe. It is on Jogiwara Road just below TYC Guest House, opposite Youngling School gate, in McLeod Ganj. This is the artists' tribute to the Tibetan self-immolations.
Apr 3: 49th Day (She-Gu) prayer
She-gu puja held Martyr's Pillar, Tsug-la khang Temple, Mcleod for the martyr Pawo Drupchen Tsering who self-immolated for the freedom of Tibet on 13th February 2013 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Apr 2: Prisoner Released
The Chinese government has released Jigme Gyatso, 52, a Tibetan political prisoner after serving 17 years in prison. He was in debilitating condition due to years of severe torture suffered in prison. His overall health condition is very weak, and he has poor vision and a disabled foot. He was first arrested on 30 March 1996 for allegedly endangering national security and separatism by his involvement in forming an alliance for Tibet’s independence at Gaden monastery in Lhasa in 1992.
Apr 1: Tibetan Careers
The Tibetan Career Centre in Delhi is organising a year-long course of personality development and job specific training for Tibetan youths to help to instill self- esteem and confidence. Internship and job placement support would be provided at the end of the programme.
Mar 31: Film cyberattacks
Film makers Christian Johnston and Darren Mann, who posed as carpet salesmen and traveled to Tibet with the aim of documenting the human rights abuses there, have been the victims of a cyberattack. A laptop was hacked, its operating system wiped out, and a related website in Los Angeles deluged with so much traffic that it crashed. There is circumstantial evidence linking the attack to China.
Mar 29: Jampel Yeshi’s Statue
The Tibetan Youth Congress has unveiled a statue at of Jampel Yeshi, who self-immolated in Delhi a year ago, at Lhagyal Ri in Dharamshala. “As a Tibetan, he thought that his country was taken away from him, and he has no other way to resist except to sacrifice his life,” said former political prisoner Palden Gyatso.
Mar 28: Jampel Yeshi
A candlelight vigil was held in Delhi to commemorate a year since Jampel Yeshi’s self-immodation in Delhi to protest against China’s occupation of Tibet. In a handwritten message, Jampel wrote: “Tibetan people are setting themselves on fire to let the world know about their suffering, and to tell the world about the denial of basic human rights”.
Mar 27: Chinese Hack Mobiles
A targeted attack has been launched against Tibetan and Uyghur activists on their Android-based mobile devices. The attack hacked an e-mail account belonging to a high-profile Tibetan activist, infecting his smart phones with malicious viruses, and using the account to send ‘spear-phishing’ e-mails to his contact list, attaching an .APK file containing a malicious program. Certain characteristics of the attack suggest that it was designed by Chinese-speaking authors.
Mar 27: Chinese silenced
The Chinese Consulate at Chicago abandoned the opening ceremony of their exhibit “Tibet Today: Sight of Western China Photo Exhibition” at the University of Minnesota when local Tibetan organisations opened a parallel exhibit ‘Tibet Today: Exposing the Truth’ with pictures of independent Tibet, self-immolations and China’s repression in Tibet.
Mar 26: BRICS Summit
The Tibetan Women’s Association and Students for a Free Tibet India have issued a press statement demanding action for Tibet, for the attention of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, who is attending his first BRICS summit in Durban. BRICS, comprised of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, has become a serious force to be reckoned with both in economic and political terms.
Mar 25: Surveillance in Monastery
Tritsun, 26, A Tibetan monk from Tongkyab Monastery has been detained by China’s People’s Armed Police in Gade County in Golok in eastern Tibet. The reason for his arrest remains unclear, but may be related to a book he authored and published in March on immolations, and includes the biography of Lama Sopa who died in a self-immolation protest last year.
Mar 24: Indian Parliament
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a member of the Indian Parliament, has written letters to both Rajya and Lok Sabhas requesting them to invite HH the Dalai Lama to address the Houses. The Speaker of Lok Sabha, Chandrasekhar, emphasises India’s “moral responsibility” to the Tibetan people and the long-standing relationship between Tibet and India.