Tibetan Headlines
Jun 20: Flood in Rongdrak County, Tibet
Reports have emerged of flooding and landslides in Tibet’s Rongdrak County resulting in two deaths and the displacement of 20,000 residents. The devastation is believed to have effected “ten separate areas within the county” with some houses being completely destroyed. Though the flooding has been blamed on heavy rainfall Tibet is reportedly seeing an “unprecedented number of natural disasters” with the situation exacerbated by “excessive construction activities”, mining and deforestation.
Jun 20: EU Urged to Discuss Tibet
The European Union (EU) is being urged to include Tibet on the agenda of its annual EU-China Summit which due to take place via video link on June 22. The International Campaign for Tibet has release a statement saying that that, “it is crucial that EU leaders challenge China more forcefully on its human rights record, including by demanding an end to its repression against the Tibetan people”.
Jun 20: Tibetans Protest at UN
Members of the Tibetan community in Switzerland and Lichtenstein have held a protest at the United Nations (UN) complex in Geneva, demanding a “stop [to] genocide in Tibet”. The protestors carrying Tibetan flags and banners marched to the complex carrying signs reading: China open Tibet to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Now” and “China: Stop Genocide in Tibet”.
Jun 20: UN World Refugee Day
June 20 marks United Nations (UN) World Refugee Day, and more than 60 years since His Holiness (HH) Dalai Lama was forced, along with 80,000 other Tibetans, to flee Tibet and seek refuge in India. The Central Tibetan Administration has sought to commemorate their struggle, along with that of the thousands who have fled their homeland since, by releasing a documentary series called “Refugee Voices”.
Jun 20: #JunkOneChina Online Campaign
Online activists have launched the hashtag #JunkOneChina to highlight their opposition to Beijing’s “One China Policy”. The policy underpins China’s territorial claims to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang; claims often disputed by the people living in these regions. One Twitter user posting the hashtag expressed their disdain for China’s approach, describing it as, “a dubious policy drafted by the biggest conglomerate of human rights oppressors in living history”.
Jun 20: India Should “Leverage” Tibet
The former Indian ambassador to China, Gautam Bambawale, has declared that “diplomatically leveraging China’s vulnerabilities in Tibet, Taiwan and Xinjiang”, should form part of India’s strategy towards China. Bambawale has said that India’s “[democratic] values are diametrically opposite” to that of China that New Delhi must, “unambiguously and immeasurably strengthen our partnerships with like-minded nations who share our value systems”.
Jun 19: “Stringent” CTA Guidelines on COVID-19
The exiled Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has “issued stringent guidelines for Tibetans travelling from or via Delhi to [Tibetan] settlements across India”. In the face of increasing COVID-19 cases guidance has been issued stating that travellers going from or via Delhi, or other “red zone areas”,must inform the respective settlement officer a week in advance, before being tested for the virus and observing a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
Jun 19: Tibetans Vulnerable in Nepal
Nepal’s increasingly close ties with China are leaving Tibetan refugees in the country, “uncertain of their status, vulnerable to abuses of their rights, and restricted in their freedoms of movement and expression”. Nepal does not give Tibetans in the country legal recognition as refugees, resulting in discrimination, difficulties finding employment and concerns that Nepalese authorities could be “sending Tibetans back into the hands of the Chinese authorities”.
Jun 19: Tibetan NGOs Condemn China
Five Tibetan Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) have come together to condemn China’s attack on the Indo-Tibet border which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldier. The Tibetan Youth Congress, Students for a Free Tibet, National Democratic Party of Tibet, Gu-Chu-Sum Movement Association of Tibet and the Tibetan Women’s Association issued a statement condemning “illegal aggression by Chinese troops” and calling on world leaders to “work together to counter China’s expansionism”.
Jun 19: Tibetan’s Appeal Rejected
The appeal against the seven-year sentence of Tibetan anti-corruption activist, Anya Sengdra, has been rejected by a Chinese court. Sengdra was sentenced for “provoking troubles, forming a mob to disturb social order, and other evil cases” in December 2019 following his criticism of corrupt officials and involvement in environmental campaigns. In May a United Nations working group called for Sengdra’s release,expressing concern that his “legitimate work” was being criminalised.
Jun 18: 750 Tibetans Tested for COVID-19
Around 750 Tibetans in India have been tested for COVID-19. The exiled Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) report that “the total number of cases in the Tibetan community is 22, out of which 13 cases are active, 7 have recovered and 2 have died”. The CTA added that, “the percentage of positive cases in the Tibetan community in India falls around 2.9 percent out of 750 tests”.
Jun 18: HH Dalai Lama: War is Outdated
His Holiness (HH) the Dalai Lama has declared that, “’the concept of warfare is related to feudal system,’ and therefore ‘gone’ and outdated”. Speaking at a video conference as part for the Jaipur Literature Festival His Holiness stated that the “feudal system”encouraged the “very strong concept of ‘we’ and ‘they’, then conflict, killing. So I feel, warfare, killing is related with feudal system. So that [is] gone”.
Jun 18: Tibetan Prayer Flags Destroyed
Chinese authorities have undertaken a campaign of “behavioural reform”, destroying prayer flags in Golog and Tengchen, Tibet. In what has been described as, “an act of contempt and utter disregard for local Tibetans’ customs and faith”, sources have described how, “authorities have set out to root out this Tibetan tradition of hanging prayer flags everywhere, directing local officials, the heads of monasteries, and relevant authorities… to carry out the order”.
Jun 18: Chinese Troops Deploy to Tibet
In the wake of its deadly border clash with India, Chinese state media has broadcast footage of troops conducting live fire exercises on the Tibetan plateau. The footage reportedly taken around 600 miles away from the border where 20 Indian soldier were killed, showed “soldiers sending out scouting drones, launching cannons, forming attacking patterns with tanks and military trucks, and firing at enemy warplanes”.
Jun 17: CTA on China-India Tension
The president of the exiled Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), LobsangSangay, has described Chinese aggression in Ladakh as ‘unsurprising’ and an attempt by China to divert attention from “coronavirus and other internal issues”. Speaking to Indian media Sangay stated that “what’s happening to India… is what we have been saying for the last 60 years” and that Chinese “paranoia and nervousness” has resulted in a need to divert attention.