Tibet Custom

Statement by Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kasur Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:13:08 +0100

Special Envoy Lodi Gyari making a point during his meeting on July 1st with Du Qinglin, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Minister of the Central United Front Work Department. To his right is Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen while to the left of Du Qinglin is Executive Vice Minister Zhu Weiqun of the Central United Front Work Department. Photos/Central Tibetan Administration

Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen and I accompanied by senior aides Sonam N. Dagpo, Bhuchung K. Tsering, both members of the Task Force on Sino-Tibetan Negotiations, and Jigmey Passang from the Secretariat of the Tibetan Task Force, visited Beijing from June 30 to July 3, 2008.

We met with Du Qinglin, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Minister of the Central United Front Work Department, on July 1, 2008. This was our first meeting with Minister Du who had taken over the present post after the 17th Party Congress. He gave us a brief overview of China's domestic and international situation as well as on China's policy on Tibet. We took the opportunity to explain His Holiness the Dalai Lama's basic approach in resolving the issue of Tibet and also expressed our heartfelt condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Sichuan.

We visited the China's Centre for Tibetan Studies and were received by Director Lhakpa Phuntsok and Deputy Director Zhu Xiaoming. We had a good discussion with the scholars who briefed us about their research projects. We appreciated the work of the scholars in various fields and had the opportunity to emphasize the importance of scholars engaging in unbiased and independent research on issues such as the history of Tibet, which will contribute to a better understanding of the different perceptions.

We had a day-long discussion with Executive Vice Minister Zhu Weiqun and Vice Minister Sithar on July 2, 2008.

This meeting took place at a crucial time in our relationship. The recent events in Tibet clearly demonstrated the Tibetan people's genuine and deep-rooted discontentment with the People's Republic of China's policies. The urgent need for serious and sincere efforts to address this issue with courage and vision in the interest of stability, unity and harmony of all nationalities of the PRC is obvious. In addition even though His Holiness the Dalai Lama is seeking a solution to the issue of Tibet within the PRC, it is a fact that it has become an issue of great international concern. In this context, we had hoped that the Chinese leadership would reciprocate our efforts by taking tangible steps during this round. On the contrary, due to their excessive concern about legitimacy the Chinese side even failed to agree to our proposal of issuing a joint statement with the aim of committing both parties to the dialogue process.

The Dalai Lama's Envoys Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen and their team in discussion with Executive Vice Minister Zhu Weiqun and Vice Minister Sithar with their team on July 2, 2008 in Beijing.

While the Chinese side finally seems to have realized that their allegations against His Holiness for instigating the recent events in Tibet and in sabotaging the Olympics Games have become untenable, they are now urging His Holiness not to support violence, terrorism, and sabotaging the Olympics. We stated in the strongest possible terms that no one needs to urge us on this as His Holiness and the Tibetan struggle are universally acknowledged and appreciated for consistently rejecting and opposing such acts. While the Tibetan Youth Congress does not support the Middle Way Approach of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and stands for independence of Tibet, we categorically rejected the Chinese attempt to label it as a violent and terrorist organization. His Holiness has repeatedly and clearly stated publicly he is not seeking separation and independence of Tibet.

Throughout our talks we have reiterated to our counterparts that the issue at hand is the welfare of the Tibetan people and is not about the personal status and affairs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama or that of the Tibetans in exile.

In the course of our discussions we were compelled to candidly convey to our counterparts that in the absence of serious and sincere commitment on their part the continuation of the present dialogue process would serve no purpose.

The Chinese side expressed the view that the dialogue process has been productive and that we need to keep in mind that a half-a-century-old issue of great complexity, cannot be resolved in a matter of years.

Guided by the Tibetan leadership's policy of engagement, we agreed with our counterparts to have the next round of discussions in October and discussed some points that could serve as the basis of the agenda.

We briefed His Holiness the Dalai Lama today. We also briefed Speaker Karma Chophel and the Deputy Speaker Dolma Gyari this morning. On our arrival in Dharamsala on July 4 we briefed Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche.

We thank our host the Central United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party for its hospitality and assistance.

Update on Tibet Demonstrations, 4 July 2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:45:23 +0100

1 July 2008

Karze (Ch: Ganzi) County, Karze "TAP" (incorporated into a Chinese province of Sichuan) - Monks stopped Chinese forces from raiding Khangmar monastery

Every year on 1 July, Khangmar (Gaeden Samdupling) monastery use to conduct its one of the annual religious ceremonies. This year also when over 70 monks were conducting such a ceremony, Public Security Bureau (PSB), the People's Armed Police (PAP), and officials arrived at the monastery to raid the quarters of those five monks who were arrested between 14 - 22 June.

Due to a strong opposition from all the monks against being bullied by the Chinese authorities and forces, the raid had to be postponed temporarily. The monks are likely to continue to hold onto their opposition against such raids.

28 June 2008

Serthar (Ch: Seda) County, Karze "TAP" (incorporated into a Chinese province of Sichuan) - Three monks from Noobsur monastery arrested for staging a peaceful protest

On 28 June at around 2:30 p.m., Trulku Gedun, Sashe, Gyachuk Wangchuk (or Yangchuk), all three monks from Noobsur monastery in Serthar county, were arrested for shouting slogans. Detailed information is awaited.

26 June 2008

Karze (Ch: Ganzi) County, Karze "TAP" (incorporated into a Chinese province of Sichuan) - A nun from Dragkar nunnery arbitrarily arrested

The PAP and PSB arrived at the Dragkar nunnery under Karze county on 26 June and arbitrarily arrested its nun Tsering Wangchuk, one of the heads of the nunnery. No detailed information is available.

18 June 2008

Karze (Ch: Ganzi) County, Karze "TAP" (incorporated into a Chinese province of Sichuan) - Nuns staged peaceful protests

On 18 June at around 11:00 a.m., Ngawang Phuntsok (32), from Bhulshar Ngangpa Taktsang family in Karze county, carried out a peaceful protest while waving the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in front of the county PSB office. He also distributed many leaflets.

During the protest, he shouted slogans such as "Chinese authorities must not denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Bring human rights in Tibet. His Holiness the Dalai Lama should be invited to Tibet". He was severely beaten and arrested by the PAP.

Just after an hour of his arrest, Yangzom (31), Baywang or Pemo (27), and Lhamo (29), all three nuns from Yarteng nunnery, staged a peaceful protest. They also shouted similar slogans such as "His Holiness the Dalai Lama should be invited to Tibet. Bring human rights in Tibet. Tibet belongs to Tibetans. Release Lobsang Tenzin Yeshi Thinley Rinpoche [the founder of Pangri Na and Yarteng nunneries who was arrested on 18 May]".

Over 50 nuns from Pangri Na nunnery were arrested on 14 May. Four have been released. Remaining are being detained in a prison located in Dartsedo (Ch: Kangding) county, Karze "TAP".

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: The politicking started right from the beginning

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:25:41 +0100

Alice Jones' news article "Chan picks fight with Olympic protesters" (3 July 2008, The Independent, UK) and Murray Wardrop’s “Beijing Olympics 2008: Jackie Chan slams protesters" (3 July 2008, The Telegraph, UK), drew my immediate attention.

As a fan of Jackie Chan, I welcome his latest role as a spokesman for the Beijing Olympics in August. As an actor and martial artist, Chan offers a lot in the related fields but as a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic Games, I think he is either too naïve or lacks a real understanding of global politics surrounding the most prestigious international sporting events - The Olympic Games.

“Winning the host rights means winning the respect, trust, and favor of the international community," Wang Wei, a senior official in Beijing declared at the time in 2001.

Chan must have forgotten that the Chinese Government Officials sanctioned millions of dollars and engaged heavily in lobbying behind the doors as well as face-to-face, bidding for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, ever since the notion to host this greatest international sporting event was conceived by the Chinese officials during the reign of President Jiang Zemin, about a decade ago.

Jackie Chan’s labelling the human rights activists as "just naughty boys [who] wanted to be on TV" is yet another flippant and callous ill-judged remark demeaning personal liberties of expression really undeserving of his position and gimmick of his celebrity status.

Surely, Chan ought to recall the promises made by the Chinese officials to the international community that they would open up the country and improve human rights situation amongst other issues, following the decision to award the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to the most populous nation on the planet.

As China prides itself of 4000 years of great Chinese civilization, the six million Tibetan people are equally proud of their modest recorded history of 2000 years and their unique Tibetan Buddhist culture, who often regard China as their “Uncle.”

Chan’s passing comment on Tibet's relationship with China as an "ancient history" and "nobody can solve this kind of problem" simply shows his real lack of understanding and dismissive attitude to the Tibetan people and their history.

Whilst the Chinese leaders recite their mantras of Tibet being part of China since the 13th century, China’s famous actor rewrites the same history to "…a million years…of myths."

Jackie Chan reiterates the China’s official lines and says, "You cannot mix sports with Politics" and yet The Forbidden Kingdom star gives history lesson, who apparently is a spokesman for the Beijing Olympics! It's all very interesting! Much talked about but China was to get the first official accusation reprimand from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on mixing of sports and politics.

The Chinese Government officials themselves used their political and economic influences and played active roles in securing the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The politicking started right from the start. Bit of Kung Fu politics to say the least!

As a Tibetan, I know China and the Chinese people take great pride in hosting the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and certainly majority of the Tibetans support that. At the same time, Tibetan people want their freedom, democracy and certainly an end to China’s ongoing illegal occupation of Tibet, where heavy presence of troops are deployed to subjugate the Dalai Lama loyalists.

It is quite evident to the rest of the world the recent uprising across Tibet, Tibetans called for "Human Rights in Tibet", "Religious Freedom in Tibet", "Independence for Tibet" and "The Dalai Lama should return to Tibet."

Tibetans, who continue to suffer under China's illegal occupation of their country over the past 50 years, once again since March 10th this year, risked everything they have including their own lives to speak up for freedom and democracy.

The Tibetan Diaspora, Pro-Justice and Human Rights campaigners around the world including those individual Chinese lawyers and intellectuals within China, will carry on with their beliefs and will not be silenced at a time when the Chinese officials continue to completely ignore the reality on the ground in Tibet and in other ethnic minorities areas. With their real political courage, the Chinese leaders can resolve the problems affecting the lives of millions of ethnic minorities across China including Tibet’s issue.

Article submitted to TIbetCustom.com by By Tsering Passang, London

Save Tibet Asia Pacific Forum Held in Tokyo: Updated

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:10:35 +0100

Tokyo: The Save Tibet Asia Pacific Forum began Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. at the Gakkushi Kaikan hall in Yurakucho, Tokyo. The Save Tibet Network led by Makino Seishu, former Japanese Parliamentarian organized this Forum ahead of the G-8 leaders' Summit scheduled in Sapporo 7 July. It was attended by Parliamentarians, scholars, supporters and general public from Japan, Australia and Taiwan.

Makino began the Forum with a welcome speech, and said that since the demonstration in Tibet this March, the issue of Tibet was widely raised around the world. He said G-8 leaders' summit has many agendas, but the most pressing issue of human rights and Tibet is not one of them.

"We are all here to discuss the gravity of the Tibetan situation and call upon the G-8 leaders not to forgot Tibet and urge them to send strong message to Chinese leadership to address Tibetan problem seriously. Environment and human right concerns are beyond boundaries, we all have responsibility to voice our anxiety, therefore, we are all here to make this Tibetan issue heard in the G-8 summit," said Makino.

Kalon Kesang Yangkyi Takla, Kalon for the Department of Information and International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration, read out the message of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, followed by her keynote address.

She welcomed the delegates, and thanked the organizers for their hard work in making this forum materialize at this crucial time. She dwelt on the undergoing hardships of the Tibetan people under the oppressive policies of the Chinese government.

She explained that human rights and basic fundamental rights violation is still going on in Tibet. She hoped that through this Forum, a strong message could be sent to the leaders of the G-8 countries to urge the Chinese leadership to face the reality and take Tibetan issue seriously.

Other speakers were Japanese Parliamentarians and Tibet supporters, including Matsubara, Fujita, Suzuki, Igarashi and Oishi. They spoke about their experience while working on the Tibet issue and applauded the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and justness of Tibetan struggle for peace and justice.

"China is the most heavily populated nation in the world and it is there that human rights violation is taking place and people are denied basic fundamental rights. We should all take a moral responsibility to tell the Chinese leaders that what they are doing is not right and not acceptable to international communities," said one Parliamentarian.

Delegations from Australia are Tenzin P Atisha, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Peter Slipper, Michael Organ, and Paul Bourke of Australia Tibet Council. Atisha spoke about his experience in 1985 when he visited Tibet as a member of fact-finding delegations sent by the Central Tibetan Administration. The participants spoke on necessity of raising Tibet issue not only for the sake of Tibet, but also for the benefit of China itself. A gist of what they said in their presentation could be summarized as follows.

"The world leaders found Tibet not worth a risk antagonizing China. Tibet is not just a political issue nor it is a riots or an isolated human right issue, it is a global issue. We all need to take this seriously and uphold the theme of this Forum, i.e. Compassion for the planet," said the delegates. "China has agreed to the International Olympic Committee that they would improve on human rights and freedom of press but what we see today is that it has become worse in Tibet. G-8 leaders should see that China take its words seriously and resolve Tibetan issue."

Delegates from Taiwan included Dawa Tsering, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Prof Su Chia-hung of Foo-yin University, and Taipei city councilors Lee Ching-Feng and Lien Li-Jen. Taiwanese delegations expressed their support and solidarity with the Tibetan people for their struggle for peace and justice in their homeland. They urged the Chinese leaders to see if the material developments and the railway lines they are boasting of are really benefiting the Tibetans. They want China to take more effort in improving their human rights record and press freedom.

Representatives from Inner Mongolia and Uighur, Khereed and Mahmut said the situation in Tibet is similar to their regions, where they have lost their pride, identity and language, they live under a foreign culture and language. "Practice of one's culture and language has become a thing of the past," said one of them.

Later, Professor Ishihama of Waseda University made a presentation on Tibet, which highlighted the influence of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia and China.

The delegates responded to questions raised from the audience. There were some 200 people who participated as audience. Television and newspaper representatives from major media have widely covered the event.

In the evening, liaison office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan and East Asia hosted a dinner for the delegations and the organizers. Idano Yukio, president of Japanese Parliamentarians Group for Tibet welcomed the delegates and convinced his support for the Forum. Baba Reiko of Busshokai raised a toast to the delegates. Representative Tshoko Lhakpa thanked the delegates for their participation in the Forum and for their insightful presentations. He said he is very hopeful that the Forum could send a strong message to G-8 leaders to raise Tibet issue during the summit. He also thanked Makino and his team for their sincere effort in organizing this timely Forum.

In its continuing chapter today, the delegates called upon all G-8 leaders to address the Tibet issue at the Summit scheduled to take place 7 and 8 July. They drafted a resolution after much deliberation and unanimously finalized it at 12:00 pm the conditions of which are as follows.

Resolution of the Save Tibet: Asia-Pacific Forum

Given the current critical situation in Tibet, present and past parliamentarians, Tibet support groups and supporters from Australia, Taiwan and Japan attended a Forum prior to the G8 summit to appeal to world leaders to use their influence to address the Tibetan issue as a matter of urgency. [Note: Tibet in this document refers to the whole of Tibet, comprising the provinces of Amdo, Kham and U-Tsang.]

The Asia-Pacific Forum, organized by Save Tibet Network Japan, was held in Tokyo from 1-3 July 2008. Participants recognized the dramatic increase of concern and support for Tibet throughout the world resulting from the recent tragic events in Tibet.

The Forum condemns the on-going violations of human rights in Tibet, including arbitrary arrests, repression and the campaign of so-called "patriotic education" in Tibet.

The Forum commends the Tibetan people for responding to the call by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to reject violence, despite the violence and suffering inflicted on them by the Chinese authorities.

The Forum fully recognizes His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration to be the legitimate representatives of the Tibetan People.

The Forum fully supports the Middle-Way Approach of the Central Tibetan Administration and the re-opening of official contact between envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Government of the People's Republic of China to discuss the peaceful resolution of the issue of Tibet.

The Forum notes that many of the leaders attending the G8 Summit at Toyako, Japan, including President George Bush, President Nicholas Sarkozy, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Prime Minister Yasuo *censored*uda, have individually made strong statements of support for the Tibet-China dialogue.

The Forum urges these leaders to jointly re-affirm their support for the dialogue process and calls upon them to urge President Hu Jintao to elevate the dialogue to the level of formal, results-oriented negotiations leading to genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people as soon as possible.

The Forum urgently calls on the Chinese leadership to:

a) Cease the arbitrary arrest and detention of Tibetans and immediately release all those imprisoned for peacefully exercising their basic human right to free expression.

b) Allow the United Nations, foreign journalists and other media, diplomats and independent international fact-finding delegations unrestricted access to Tibet.

c) Immediately cease the so-called "patriotic education" campaign, which has been re-introduced across Tibet.

d) Respect the rights of the Tibetan people to engage freely in cultural and religious practices.

e) Cease the facilitation of migration by Han Chinese and other non-Tibetans into Tibet.

f) Stop the reckless exploitation of Tibetan natural resources, which is endangering Tibet's fragile eco-systems and impacting on neighboring countries.

g) Transform the Tibet-China dialogue from mere token discussions to transparent, agenda-driven negotiations with the aim of achieving genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people and bringing harmony to both Tibet and China.

Negotiating to Negotiate with China

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:54:45 +0100

by Tashi Topgyal
New York, USA
June 29, 2008

We have been negotiating to negotiate with China since Deng Xiaoping said "apart from independence, all issues can be discussed" in 1979.

The immediate come out was visits to Tibet by several Tibetan delegations from exile. But it took almost ten years to make a formal statement on the future status of Tibet - the Five Point Peace Plan in 1987 and the Strasbourg proposal the following year by the Dalai Lama. The Strasbourg called for one country two system -- same as what China give Hong Kong. In short, Tibetans govern themselves under a democratic system and China is responsible for foreign and defense.
Many Tibetans criticized Strasbourg proposal.

In 1987, 1988 and 1989 large scale demonstrations took place in Tibet against Chinese rule. The demonstrations were violently crushed by the Chinese. China declared martial law in March 1989. Despite the worsening situation in Tibet, the Dalai Lama continued to seek dialogue with China.

Between 1979 and today, many delegations from Dharamsala visited China. The elder brother of the Dalai Lama visited China several times. During one visit he asked the Chinese leaders if Deng mislead him by saying "anything but independence" as talks with China were making no progress even though the Dalai Lama stopped calling for Tibetan independence.

For a long time, there was no contact with China. However, in 2002 Mr. Lodi Gyari and Mr. Kelsang Gyaltsen, the Dalai Lama's two envoys renewed contacts with Chinese officials. The First Round of dialogue with China began in September 2002. There was great expectation.

On Mr. Gyari return, he said "what impressed us more this time was the much greater flexibility displayed by the current leaders in their mental attitude." Also "We had the opportunity to visit some areas of Chengdu, Shanghai and Beijing and were greatly impressed with the progress and development that have taken place." And not a word about the situation in Tibet.

Since then five rounds of talks have taken place. Tibetans officials are optimistic that the seventh round will take place soon before the Olympics. But what happens after the Olympics? What was the outcome of the 4 May talks with China?

Very little has been achieved during these talks. The task is not easy. There have been further complications. The Chinese cunningly appointed Mr. Sitar as a senior member of their team. This is a strategy to present the Tibetan issue as a problem between Tibetans and not with China. Mr. Sitar is a Tibetan from Eastern Tibet was earlier stationed at China's Consulate in Zurich. He succeeded in building good contacts with some Tibetans in Switzerland.

Many Tibetans feel that the talks are a waste of time. Some Tibetans even question the personal integrity of Mr. Gyari. He has done a lot in promoting the Tibetans issue. But many complain that the Washington, DC based International Campaign for Tibet started by the Dharamsala, is today runs independently by him. Also money funds that should be raised for Dharamsala are being hijacked by ICT. And ICT staff knows more details about the talks than even senior Tibetan officials.

Mr. Gyari's deputy Mr. Kelsang Gyaltsen is a high flying official who joined the Tibetan government service after leaving a banking career in Switzerland. He was the Dalai Lama's Representative in Switzerland and secretary in India. Under controversial circumstances he was appointed the Dalai Lama's Envoy when he moved back to Switzerland.

When appointed to head the newly established Tibet office in Brussels to lobby the Tibetan issue in European Union, Mr. Gyaltsen refused to be based there but continued to work from his home in Switzerland.

Earlier this year, Dharamsala announced that Mr. Gyaltsen will open a new office in Zurich to promote political activities in Europe. Why Zurich and not Brussels, the capital of European politics..
Switzerland is not even a member of the European Union. Was has he been doing the last 10 years in Europe? Instead of consolidating our work in Europe, opening a new office has high financial implications for our government.

To complicate the matter more, a veteran official Mr. Tashi Wangdi, currently the New York Representative and ex-minister will head the Brussels office. So what is Mr. Gyaltsen's actual role and work?

Once can over hear senior officials jokingly saying in Dharamsala, whatever Mr. Gyatlsen says - I want to work from home - he gets his way. The other interesting anecdote is that the Envoys don't report to our foreign minister. Do they make their own foreign policy independent from our foreign ministry? Recently, Mr. Gyari while addressing a US Congress hearing on Tibet said that the Olympic torch should not rally through Tibet. I understand that this wasn't a policy decided in Dharamsala. This is not the first time and will not be the last.

As the criticism and delusion grows stronger amongst the younger generation as well as government officials, our policy to engage the China must become more transparency. After every round of talk with China, there must be clear briefings to the government officials and the community at large and not mere one page statements.

Samdhong Rinpoche is a charismatic and respected leader, populously elected Tibetan Prime Minister. During his first term, he streamlined and strengthened the framework of the government. During the second term, I hope same success is achieved in our foreign policy. Surely, he has the wisdom and courage to hold the two envoys more accountable. No individual other than the Dalai Lama is indispensable.

China's current policy on Tibet is more hard-line than 1980s. Mr.
Phuntso Wangyal, a veteran Tibetan Communist accused the Chinese government hawks of closing the door on dialogue with the Dalai Lama and misleading the Chinese leadership about the Dalai Lama's influence in Tibet.

It is unlikely that this faction will lose power anytime soon.

Finally, a few meetings cannot resolve the deep-rooted misconceptions and strong distrust between the Tibetans and Chinese. An important beginning has been made and we must continue this process. More important, we need to find ways to influence Chinese people and policy makers within China to change their policy in Tibet.

The talks with China will go on for a long time. We should be under no delusion about this. A change in the team by including some young blood preferably someone who reads and speak Chinese must be considered. We need to think about continuity.

First Published by;- The Canada Tibet Committee Editorial Board 30th June 2008

Update on Tibet Demonstrations - July 2nd

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:10:18 +0100

No Specific Date

Taktse (Ch: Dazi) County, Lhasa Municipality - One more died from torture in prison

Ngawang Palsang (aka Lama of Lo monastery), a former monk of Lo monastery in Taktse county and born there, was arrested in this March by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Lhasa City.

In 1993, he was imprisoned and tortured for six years in Drapchi Prison for his involvement in political activities. Since his release, he has been studying Tibetan medicine and astrology in Lhasa.

This May, he died from heart attack caused by horrible torture he suffered in prison. His body was handed over to his family. Detailed information is not available. (With this, death toll stands at 211)

Taktse (Ch: Dazi) County, Lhasa Municipality - A prisoner released in deteriorated health condition

Passang (or Tenzin Namgyal), a monk from Phagmo monastery in Taktse monastery, was released in a deteriorated health condition recently. He was arrested this March by the PSB of Lhasa City, and severely tortured in prison.

After his release, he and his members of family were warned about harsh punishment against disclosing any information or photo on torture.

He was imprisoned in August 1993 and tortured for six years in Drapchi Prison for his involvement in political activities.

Lhasa - A monk from Drepung monastery severely beaten during interrogation

A monk from Drepung monastery in Lhasa was released recently after being severely beaten during interrogation. He was arrested in this March by the PSB of Lhasa City.

He was imprisoned in Drapchi Prison for over 13 years from 1991 to 2004 for his involvement in political activities. While in Drapchi Prison, he had sustained severe injury when the prisoners staged a peaceful protest in 1998.

Following the March protests in Lhasa, most of the former political prisoners were arrested. Some of them were released. But, whereabouts of some of those, who are being detained, are unknown.

Czech Republic Supports Effective Dialogue on Tibet

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:08:43 +0100

Geneva: The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament passed a resolution supporting for an effective continuation of the dialogue between envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the government of the People's Republic of China.

Czech Republic's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomás Pojar/File Photo: Czech Embassy "The solution of the situation in Tibet should come out of the conclusion of that dialogue. Such a political solution of the rights of the Tibetan people that would reflect interests and wishes of the Tibetans and their cultural and religious identity," declared the resolution passed during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee on 19 March.

The resolution was recommended by the committee meeting chaired by Martin Bursik, vice-premier and minister of environment, Tomás Pojar, first-minister of foreign affairs and Katerina Jacques, member of Parliament and rapporteur on Tibet.

The deputies request the government of the People's Republic of China to enable access to representatives of the United Nations and world media to Tibet.

They appealed to the Chinese government to allow members of the Red Cross to help Tibetans injured during the peaceful demonstrations in Tibet.

The Chamber of Deputies - due to the tragic experiences with political trials in Czechoslovakia and after the rehabilitation of Czech political prisoners in the '90s of the last century - insists on the release and rehabilitation of all citizens who were punished for claiming their political opinions or religious belief and for realising their inalienable rights.

The deputies appeal to all its representatives to actively defend human rights of the people of China and Tibet Autonomous Region during all international proceedings.

“Love Tibet,” so reads the motto of the Love Family!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:10:34 +0100

On 6 July one of the biggest Open Air Parties in Germany will take place in Hanau.

Tibet has been occupied by China since 50 years ago and the Tibetans are treated as second class people in their own homeland with their culture suppressed and destroyed. As a reaction to the years of Chinese repression, the largest and the most desperate yet peaceful protests occurred in Tibet in March 2008, against which China proceeded with even harder measures.

In order to bring attention to the urgent situation in Tibet, the Love Family with well known DJ Sven Väth and all the participants will show their solidarity for the Tibetan people.

The festival – which will be one of the biggest Tibet-Solidarity events in Germany – expects more than 15,000 people to take part in events such as signature collections for Tibet related petitions. The festival will take place in the outskirts of Hanau. The organiser has invited the Tibet-Initiative Deutschland and Verein der Tibeter in Deutschland (Association of Tibetans in Germany) to distribute Tibet-related information packages at the event. For the visitors a small peace-band with "Love Tibet" inscribed on it will be available. 5000 prayer flags await to be signed by the guests and thousands of Tibetan Flags await to be flown in the sky.

Venue of the event:

LOVE FAMILY PARK
Mainwiesen Hanau
Josef-Bautz-Strasse
63457 Hanau
When: 6 July 2008 from 9:00 am – 22:00 pm.
More Info: http://www.lovefamilypark.com/content/park_2008/news_archiv/love_tibet/index_ger.html
VTD Association of the Tibetans in Germany : www.tibet-forum.com
TID Tibet support group Germany : www.tibet-initiative.de

China human rights deterioration leads to US Olympic Boycott Call

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:17:52 +0100

Top US legislators Republican Reps. Frank R. Wolf of Virginia and Christopher H. Smith of New Jersey have called for President George Bush to skip the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

The two congressional members had bee due to meet with Chinese Human Rights activists, however Communist officials impisoned, threatened & barred the activists from attending the meeting, which led the congressmen to speak out about the situation in China.

Congessman Christopher Smith said in Beijing "A meeting we had scheduled for Sunday night with three human rights lawyers never occurred as the three lawyers were threatened and either taken away or placed under house arrest by the police," He went on to say "Similarly, after we met with senior house church pastor, Zhang Mingxuan, he too was placed under house arrest."

China rolled out it's usuall excuses in these cases, such as "the meeting was incompatible with the congressman's vist" etc, despite China vowing to open up before the Olympics it has gone into reverse gear and the attempt to crush all dissent before the Olympics is in full swing.

Recently visa restrictions imposed by China have led to a fall in the number of visitors to China, a fall some estimate to be 50% from visitor levels this time last year. Hotels built by people expecting a rush of visitors to the Olympics are empty, business persons cannot get access to China to complete business deals and it is not certain that things will change before the Olympics. So paranoid have the Communist leadership become that they run the real risk of throwing a party (the Olympics) and then not letting anyone actually get inthe dorr in case the carpets are ruined.

Meanwhile for anyone who does not tow the party line life is getting much harder in China.

President Sarkosy of France has stated that he may not attend and will consider Chinese actions in Tibet pending his possible non attendance, Angela Merkle of Germany will not attend for the same reasons, other European and Canadian leaders are also considering non attendance.

Things are so tight in China that ordinary people may not have a choice to attend or not as Visa restrictions become tighter not losser as the games approach.

Update on Tibet July 1st Re;- Demonstrations

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:35:16 +0100

18 June 2008

Driru (Ch: Biru) County, Nagchu Prefecture, "Tibet Autonomous Region" - Four monks of Tarmo monastery arrested, their whereabouts unknown

Ngawang Gyalten (42), abbot and head of the Democratic Management Committee of the monastery, Ngawang Jampa (40), one of the heads of monastery, Ngawang Sangye (38) and Kalsang Lochok (20), all monks from Tarmo monastery in Driru county, were arrested on 18 June by the local Public Security Bureau when they reached the Nagchu prefecture. They were on way to Lhasa for some monastery works. It is unknown where they are being detained.

Their arrest was caused by an earlier incident. Following the March protests, the Chinese authorities deployed a huge contingent of forces and work teams in Sog Dzong (Ch: Sou), Drachen (Ch: Baqing), and Driru (Ch: Biru) counties in Nagchu prefecture, and also intensified the "patriotic re-education" campaigns.

When the work teams conducted "patriotic re-education" classes including denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Tarmo monastery in March, the abbot Ngawang Jampa stood up and confronted the members of the work team saying, "As we follow Buddha Dharma with His Holiness the Dalai Lama as our root guru, we can not denounce him. He should be welcomed back to Tibet."

The work teams could not arrest him immediately due to the presence of a large number of monks. However, the work teams said that his offense would be dealt when they will again conduct "patriotic re-education" from 1 July.

He, along with other three monks, was arrested this time. They were accused of not seeking permission for leaving the monastery.

No Specific Date

Phenpo Lhundrup (Ch: Lingzhi) County, Lhasa Municipality - Released nuns being expelled from their nunnery

Many of the nuns from Shar Bhumba nunnery in Phenpo Lhundrup county, who were arrested for participating in a 2-day protest staged in Phenpo Lhundrup county in March, were released recently.

Due to a strong request from the local people and the nunnery, the local Chinese authorities could not stop those released nuns from re-entering their nunnery. However, they were expelled from the nunnery to their respective homes this month.

Similarly, the nuns of Phende Tse nunnery (a branch of Nalanda monastery) in the same county, who were arrested earlier, were released recently.

Moenpa (his nickname) and two others, all monks from the Nalanda monastery and who were arrested in April, were beaten by the People's Armed Poice (PAP) after they were made to stand on their knees on the stones and their necks tied with automobile tyres. Though, they were released, their health has deteriorated due to such horrible torture.