Tibetan Headlines
Feb 29: Families to be Rehoused
In Shimla, 71 Tibetan families are to be moved and rehabilitated. They have been living in tents and shacks in Sanjauli since arriving there after fleeing Tibet, and were displaced when the Tantia parking complex was built. Now the local government is to provide them with “pucca houses once the housing project is finalised” in the Maliana or Mehli area.
Feb 28: Artefacts Exhibited
The British Museum in London is to display Tibetan artefacts made from human remains at their forthcoming exhibition on Tantra from April to July. The objects will include a drum made from two skulls; a trumpet made from a thighbone; a ritual cup made from a skull and an apron of intricately carved human bone. The musuem consulted Tibetans while preparing the exhibition which will include audio interviews.
Feb 23: Losar Greeting
Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, has sent a Losar message to all Tibetans inside and outside Tibet for Losar 2147, the year of the Iron Rat, extending his “heartfelt greetings” and saying “We are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of our brothers and sisters in Tibet and pray that the [Coronavirus] epidemic is contained very soon.
Feb 22: Territory Spat
India’s Home Minister Amit Shah has visited the north eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh - sparking an angry response from China which regards Arunachal as Chinese territory, calling it “Little Tibet”. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the visit was a violation of China’s “territorial sovereignty” that “sabotaged political mutual trust” between the two countries. New Delhi says India’s position on Arunachal Pradesh was “clear and consistent”.
Feb 21: Losar Clampdown
Losar gatherings have been severely restricted in the Tibet Autonomous Region, despite it being the only region of the People’s Republic of China to be reported as officially free of Coronavirus. Even family visits and gatherings are being restricted. Despite this, Chinese state media Xinhua reports that large infrastructure projects are forging ahead unimpeded.
Feb 19: Tibetans in Sichuan Infected with COVID-19
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Sichuan’s Tawu County, China have risen to 60. All of the effected individuals are reported to be ethnic Tibetans. The Health Commission of the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture additionally reported that all those effected are natives of Tawu with no history of travel to other areas.
Feb 18: Miss Himalaya Global
Methok Lhanze, a Tibetan girl has won the title of Miss Himalaya Global. She won the contest in New Delhi after participating in the Miss Tibet beauty pageant. Miss Himalaya Global was held by Gandhi Films Productions and there are suggestions that allowing Methok Lhanze, a Tibetan exile living in India, to participate representing Tibet is a gesture of solidarity with Tibet by the production company.
Feb 17: Nun Commits Suicide
A nun living in Chengdu in Amdo [Ch: Sichuan] has committed suicide, reports Radio Free Asia. The nun, whose identity is not known, was expelled from the Buddhist Centre Yachen Gar along with thousands of others during the recent demolitions evictions there. She spent time in an internment camp last year and was beaten for protesting against the Chinese officials there.
Feb 15: Library Protest
Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) and the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) demonstrated outside the Queens library in New York in protest against a Chinese exhibition there which, they claim, gives misleading information about the treatment of Tibetans by the occupying Chinese government. The exhibition portrays Tibetans as happy, and implies there is religious freedom, environmental protection and access to schooling for Tibetan children.
Feb 14: Independence Day
Tibetan Independence day was marked with a “Majestic Walk” event organised by Students for a Free Tibet, with activists showcasing Tibetan culture on the streets of McLeod Ganj. Feb 13 is the anniversary of the declaration of Tibetan independence by HH the 13th Dalai Lama in Simla in 1913, to highlight the Tibetan Cultural Resistance. In Tibet, all events marking this day are banned by the Chinese authorities.
Feb 13: New Agreement
Mentseekhang (Sowa Rigpa, the Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute) and Manipur International University (MIU) have signed a memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the building of a new centre for Mentseekhang at the University. MIU will fully finance the project and is providing 2,500 acres of land for the campus. Mentseekhang will open a new branch clinic there next month and Degree courses will soon be available.
Feb 12: Seven Detained
Seven people have been detained in Tibet for participating in online discussions about the rising number of cases of Coronavirus, and charged with spreading rumours and misinformation. One person, Chen, a resident of Gonjo in Chamdo, said people were arriving in secret from China and “causing panic”. Another, Tse from Tengchen in Chamdo, asked people to recite prayers to guard against infection.
Feb 11: Prisoner Released
Choechok, a monk from Dza Wonpo Gaden Shedrup Dhargyaling monastry in Kardze in eastern Tibet, has been released after serving two years in prison, reports the Tibetan Express. He was arrested following a self-immolation protest in December 2017, although it is not known what his charges were.
Feb 11: Karmapas Work Together
Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorjee, the two heads of the Karma Kagyu lineage, are working together to recognise the reincarnation of lineage holder Shamar Rinpoche. Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee said it is “extremely important” that there is no “mistake or confusion” to avoid the destruction of “all the majesty and power of over nine hundred years of history”.
Feb 10: Appeal for Kidney
Phurbu T Namgyal, one of the best-known Tibetan singers living in exile is appealing for a kidney on social media saying, “I spent most of the last year at home, resting and recovering. He is known for supporting financially needy people through his “Om Charitable projects” which are currently supporting 25 Tibetans. He is living in Minnesota in the United States, working in Information Technology.