Tibetan Headlines
Aug 11: Teacher Arrested
Rinchen Kyi, a teacher at the Singdruk Taktse private school which was abruptly closed by Chinese authorities last month, has been arrested, apparently on charges of “separatism”. Tibet Watch, the UK-based Tibet advocacy group, reports that the school was closed because it taught in Tibetan, and taught traditional Tibetan culture. Rinchen Kyi is reported to be in poor health and held in an unspecified hospital hundreds of kilometres from her home.
Aug 10: Tibet Exhibition
An exhibition, Escape from Tibet, at the Anna Göldi Museum in Canton of Glarus, Switzerland, has been visited by members of the Swiss Parliamentary group for Tibet. The exhibition showcases photographs of Tibetan people and depicts the resistance and resilience of the Tibetan people since coming into exile. Also included is a photo documentary about the painful journey of a six-year-old Tibetan girl who escaped from Tibet.
Aug 10: Hunger Strike
A group of 25 Tibetans have begun a relay hunger strike on the site of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. They are calling on the Chief Justice Commissioner and the two Justice Commissioners of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission (TSJC) who were impeached by the Tibetan parliament to “respect democracy and resign.” One of their slogans said, “Rule of law is the backbone of democracy. We reject Oligarchy”.
Aug 10: Prisoners’ Justice Day
The Tibetan Womens’ Association has marked International Prisoners’ Justice Day with a photo exhibition. TWA President Tenzin Dolma said they want to, “express solidarity with the millions of people imprisoned unjustly by the Chinese Communist Party and to highlight their plight” and continued, “Under the Chinese rule, Tibet has been turned into a big prison and every Tibetan, prisoners deprived of basic human rights and suffering injustices.”
Aug 9: Military Training
Schoolchildren in Tibet aged 8 - 16 years are now required to attend the new military training camps for young people during their summer vacation. The camps are located near the border with the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its own territory, leading to speculation that the training will provide the next generation of border soldiers, as well as providing a brainwashing opportunity for the youngsters.
Aug 9: Serious Health Condition
There are concerns for the health of Dorje Tashi, 48, who is serving life imprisonment in Lhasa for donating money to the exile Tibetan community, and for supporting Tibetans during the 2008 protest. It is reports that he has a severe heart condition, bruising, and haemorrhoids following torture while in prison. He is Tibet’s wealthiest businessman; his properties have been seized and two of his hotels taken over by the authorities.
Aug 9: Renovation
Gepheling Phodang at Shiwa Tsel [Ladakhi: Jive Tsal], His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s official residence Leh, the capital of Ladakh, is to be renovated. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) has conducted a review and wishes to provide the best possible facilities for His Holiness when he stays at Phodang, bearing in mind his health and age, including the provision of an elevator.
Aug 9: Shoton Festival Cancelled
The annual Shoton or “Yoghurt Festival” has been cancelled in Lhasa, with the authorities citing risk of the spread of COVID-19 and to “ensure security and protect the activities connected to the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet as well as the well being of all people in the city.” The festival includes a monastic ceremony with a thangka display and Tibetan opera performances.
Aug 6: Lobsang Tenzin Released
Lobsang Tenzin, a monk from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, has been released from prison. He had served more than ten years of his 13 year sentence which he was given for his involvement in the self-immolation of Lobsang Puntsok who died in March 2011. Another monk by the same name who was convicted and sentenced with Lobsang Tenzin was released in 2018.
Aug 6: Senior Monk Arrested
Konmay, a 45-year-old disciplinarian monk from the Trotsik Monastery in Ngaba County in Kham [Ch: Sichuan Province], was arrested on July 20, according to sources at Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala. Details of his arrest are currently unknown. Konamy is a senior monk in his monastery who supervise the daily functioning of the monastery and discipline of the monks.
Aug 5: Parliament Impasse
Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association, Students for a Free Tibet and the National Democratic Party of Tibet have appealed to members of 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile for an immediate resolution to the ongoing deadlock. The oath taking anomalies have created the impasse and Parliament has been unable to elect a Speaker and Deputy Speaker, which in turn has disenabled the new Sikyong to elect his ministers. The NGOs also called for the formation of an independent committee to amend the ambiguities in the charter.
Aug 4: Monastery Closed
A Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Linxia in Gansu Province in north central China has been closed by the authorities and its monks expelled. The Red City Temple, or Royal Order of Pagoda Temple, is a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery of the Sakya School. The monastery raised funds to help victims of the Covid-19 pandemic last year but the authorities became suspicious that they were accumulating wealth and closed it down.
Aug 3: More Border Military
New military camps for younger Tibetans have been built in Nyingtri [Ch:Linzhi], near the border with the north eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh which China claims as its own territory. The camps provide military training, reports Tibet Watch, the UK based Tibet research and advocacy group. Chinese state media reports that the centres “inculcate patriotism, love for China and the spirit of defending national borders”.
Aug 3: Released?
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has called on China to clarify whether they have released Bangri Tsamtrul Rinpoche, a reincarnated lama and founder of the Gyatso orphanage home, who was due for release last week after serving 18 years of life imprisonment in Chushur [Ch: Qushui] County Prison near Lhasa after a closed-door trial. There is concern for his health, which is believed to be poor.
Aug 2: China Demands Info
Tibetans living in Tibet have been ordered to give the authorities names and personal information about their relatives living outside Tibet. Failure to comply will risk the loss of state benefits such as land and housing. Radio Free Asia reports that people in Dingri county in Shigatse provided the details required but were then interrogated and their mobile phones confiscated, and that they were denied the promised benefits.