Tibetan Headlines
Feb 12: Losar protests
At the main temple in McLoed Ganj, around 40 students sat on a 24-hour hunger fast in solidarity with Tibetan self-immolators and protesting China’s repressive policies in Tibet. Covering their mouths with black cloth, the students also wrote in their own blood the name ‘Lobsang Konchok,’ a Tibetan monk sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on charges related to the self-immolation protests.
Feb 11: Losar
Tibetans inside and outside Tibet observed the Tibetan new year, Losar, with muted celebrations and prayers as a mark of respect and solidarity with the ongoing critical situation in Tibet. In McLeod Ganj, the customary ‘Tsetor’ ceremony was held early in the morning at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple. Thousands of Tibetans wearing traditional dress visited the Tsug-la Khang to offer prayers.
Feb 10: Tibetan Jailed
China has said that it has jailed a Tibetan herdsman for four years for having incited secession. Gyadehor, 60, was also deprived of his political rights for two years. The report suggested that he received a fair and open trial and that more than 100 people, including his relatives and friends, were present when the verdict was delivered.
Feb 9: U.S. Demand
The U.S. has called on China to address the root causes of the problems in Tibet and hold substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s representatives to find a lasting solution. “There are deep grievances within the Tibetan population which are not being addressed openly and through dialogue by the Chinese Government,” said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland.
Feb 8: Mass Arrest
In Huangnan (Tibetan: Malho) Prefecture of Qinghai Province, 70 Tibetans have been taken into custody as “criminal suspects”, and 12 of them formally arrested in connection with self-immolations that took place in Nov 2012. According to the head of a special Chinese police team investigating the self-immolations, sending personal information, such as photos of the victims, overseas, amounts to promoting self-immolations. So is praying for the self-immolation dead and wounded.
Feb 7: US Denial
A major US broadcaster has denied Chinese allegations of their involvement in encouraging Tibetan self-immolations. Voice of America Director David Ensor said the allegations were “totally false”. He further called onChina Daily and CCTV to “retract their stories.” VOA also denied that any news reports were influenced by the Dalai Lama or the Dharamshala based exile Tibetan administration.
Feb 4: Cancer Alert
On World Cancer Day, the Tibetan Government in Exile’s Department of Health has requested every Tibetan to help spread the truth about cancer by reducing existing misconceptions about cancers in our community, saying that we should strive to become more cancer literate through active engagement in discussions and dialogues on cancer prevention using both traditional and modern communication platforms.
Jan 19: China holds Tibetans
Hundreds of Tibetans who were detained while returning home after attending the Dalai Lama’s Kalachakra teaching in India in Jan 2012 are still in detention in Tibet’s capital Lhasa while a businessman has been jailed for two years after items related to the Dalai Lama were found in his shop and home, reported Radio Free Asia
Jan 18: Human Rights
Tibet was ranked “Worst of the Worst”, along with North Korea and 8 other countries, in the US-based rights body Freedom House’s latest annual survey of political and civil rights. China itself was ranked as “Not Free” and described as having “the world’s most complex and sophisticated apparatus for political control.” The “Not Free” ranking is assigned to countries “where basic political rights are absent, and basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied.”
Jan 17: Wild Yaks
Tibetan wild yak (Tib: Drong), the third largest land mammal in Asia, could be making a comeback following a sharp decline in numbers in the mid 20th century due to overhunting. Reported by the Wild life conservation Society which has found out nearly 1,000 wild yaks in the Kekexili Nature Preserve on the remote Tibetan plateau recently. The now endangered species, fifty years ago, roamed the entire Tibetan plateau, managing to sustain themselves on the stunted grass roots at elevations up to 17,500 feet.
Jan 16: Honouring the Martyr
Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters, including the Tibetan Chief Justice Commissioners, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, and Member of the Tibetan Parliament, attended a prayer service today at Tsug-la Khang, the main temple in Dharamshala. The special prayer service, led by H.E. the 11th Kirti Rinpoche was held in honour of Tsering Tashi and Passang Lhamo, who set themselves on fire in protest against China's repressive policies. Tsering Tashi, 22, passed away in his self-immolation protest on January 12 in Amchok town in Sangchu region of eastern Tibet.
Jan 15: Chinese intellectuals
“Many intellectuals in China have started appreciating our middle way approach,” H.H. the Dalai Lama said while talking to reporters at Central University of Tibetan Studies (CUTS), Sarnath. He said that since 2008, thousands of articles have been written by Chinese people in which they were supportive of the middle way approach and have criticised the policies of the government. People in China are now critical of their leaders against their vision for Tibet, he added.
Jan 14: Chinese land grabbing
Passang Lhamo, 62, reportedly burned herself in Beijing September last year, reportedly protesting against illegal land grabbing by Chinese authorities in the Kyegudo region. Repeated appeals to the authorities in Beijing failed to yield any concrete results. She went to Beijing after being refused permission to retain her ancestral home. She was taken to hospital after the incident where she was treated for severe burns. (Tibet.net)
Jan 11: Schools Transfer
The government of India is to transfer the 71 schools for Tibetans that it currently runs, to the Central Tibetan Schools Administration (CTSA) at Dharamsala. It will continue to finance them. The transfer would benefit 2,220 residential students and 6,455 day scholars through better focus on their educational needs. (Tibet.net)
Jan 10: Information Blackout
Chinese authorities in eastern Tibet are confiscating satellite dishes used by Tibetans after banning orders on “illegal satellite equipment” were issued last month. The satellite equipment is the only source of information inside Tibet besides the state sponsored propaganda news. This is part of the wider clampdown on communications to stifle information on the self-immolations.