Tibetan Headlines
Oct 4: Detainees Released
Only three monks remain in detention following the mass arrests in Kham [Ch: Sichuan] in August and September. The Tibetan Review reports that all but three of the 121 detained have now been released with a warning not to keep or share pictures of HH the Dalai Lama or other religious or political content. The three still held were among eight taken from Dza Wonpo Monastery.
Oct 4: Tibet Lobby Day
Tibetans and supporters from more than 20 states in the United States took part in Tibet Lobby Day on Sept 28 - 29, holding more than 75 virtual meetings with members of Congress or their staff urging them to take action to help the Tibetan people, and sending more than 4,100 signatures in petitions to Congress. The petitions encouraged increased US support for Tibet.
Oct 2: Resist China!
Tibetans joined Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, Southern Mongolians, Chinese and Taiwanese people in a day of protest against the Chinese Communist Party and their crackdowns against freedom, democracy, and human rights which has intensified across China. Resist China is a global campaign. In London, United Kingdom, large numbers of people gathered in Picadilly Circus to demonstrate their support for the movement.
Oct 1: GCMGC Kicks Off
The Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial (GCM) Gold Cup football tournament has kicked off with a match between Dhondupling FC and Shimla FC, with the hosts losing to Simla 4 - 2, at Dhondupling Tibetan settlement near Dehradun. This year’s tournament, which runs from Oct 1 - 12, sees ten football teams from India and Nepal playing 27 matches, with each team playing at least four matches.
Oct 1: China Responds
The Chinese government has responded to the call by UN experts to provide information about two detained Tibetans, Rinchen Tsultrim and Go Sherab Gyatso, who have apparently disappeared in detention. China’s response has failed to address the allegations or to provide the information requested, reports the International Campaign for Tibet, the United States based Tibet advocacy organisation, who have called for the immediate release of both detainees.
Oct 1: Seeking Help
Members of the deadlocked Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile have approached His Holiness the Dalai Lama to ask for forgiveness, and for direction in how to solve the impasse. The meeting of MPs held earlier this week failed to reach a consensus. Phayul reports a “credible source” as saying that different solutions were discussed, but no agreement was reached. No public statement has been made.
Sep 29: Monk in Poor Health
Thabgey Gyatso, 46, a Tibetan monk from Sanchu County who was serving a 15 year sentence has been released two years early, but there is grave concern for his health. Radio Free Asia reports that he was arrested in Lhasa during the 2008 protests and that he continued to protest in prison, where he was beaten. He has spent the last three years in Tenshi Prison Hospital.
Sep 28: Attempt at Resolution
The Tibetan Parliament-in-exile (TPIE) has begun a two- day meeting to try to find a way to resolve the current parliamentary deadlock which is crippling Parliament. All 45 MPs are present, with the exception of Doring Tenzin Phuntssok representing Australasia. The new Sikyong Penpa Tsering has been unable to appoint his Kashag [Cabinet]. The deadlock originated last spring with the impeachment of the three Justice Commissioners.
Sep 28: Chinese Border Villages
China has built 680 villages close to the Tibet-India border in Ladakh, where China makes regular incursions over the border into India, and Aranachal Pradesh, the north eastern Indian state that China claims as its own territory, reports the Tibetan Review. The villages are very prosperous and designed to convince nearby Indians of the benefits of living under Chinese rule, while also serving “as additional eyes and ears for Beijing”.
Sep 27: Chinese Incursion
An area of traditional grazing land in Ladakh in north India has been lost to a Chinese intrusion, reports The Hindu. This is the site of a stand off between Indian and Chinese troops since April this year. “No Zone” areas, now out of bounds to local villagers and farmers, have been created along the Line of Actual Control - or de facto border with Tibet - formerly patrolled by Indian troops.
Sep 24: Further Sinicisation
Radio Free Asia reports that there is concern among the Tibetan population of Amdo [Ch: Qinghai] that homes and monasteries demolished in an earthquake earlier this year are being rebuilt Chinese-style, and not being replaced by Tibetan style buildings. RFA’s local source said the authorities are demolishing structures that were not affected by the earthquake and including their replacement in the Chinese-style new build.
Sep 24: Call for Boycott
A petition has been submitted to the Swiss Government calling for an official boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing. The petition, which has 7,788 signatures and was submitted by Swiss Tibetan associations, is supported by Swiss parliamentarians Fabian Molina and Nicolas Walder.
Sep 24: No Freedom!
Freedom House has published this year’s report on internet freedom, ranking China as the worst country for internet freedom for the seventh year running. The report says “Chinese authorities imposed draconian prison terms for online dissent, independent reporting and mundane daily communications. The COVID-19 pandemic is heavily censored”. This lack of internet freedom is used to control flow of information into and out of Tibet.
Sep 24: Climate Strike
"The Earth is burning, Tibet is melting - take climate action now" was the message put forward by eight Tibetan organisations in Dharamshala at a Climate Strike event held in advance of the COP26 conference in Glasgow in Scotland in the United Kingdom, from November 1-12. Youth protesters initiated the global climate strike event held at more than 1,400 locations with the message: "change is coming - from the streets."
Sep 23: Congratulations!
HH the Dalai Lama has written to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to congratulate him on his Liberal party’s victory in the Canadian national elections saying, “May I [...] express gratitude for the warm welcome Canada has shown Tibetan refugees since the time your late father was Prime Minister. I understand that, by and large, Tibetans have been making a positive contribution to Canada’s multicultural society.”