The tibet post international newspaper

Situation not improved in Tibet over decades: Harald Leibrecht, Senior German MP See Page 7....

Vol. 02, Issue 92, Print Issue 16, 15 August 2013 Livestock ‘Indiscriminately’ Killed in Tibet

Tibetan singer Kalsang arrested over alleged political song

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B o d - K y i - Cha-Trin

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His Holiness The XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet warmly welcomed by devotees in Ladakh

By Amy King:12 August 2013

A Tibetan woman rounds up her herd of yaks in the Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China’s Qinghai province, March 8, 2012. Photo: File

By Samuel Ivor, 14 August 2013

Dharamshala: - Emerging reports coming out Tibet say, Chinese authorities are killing Tibetan-owned livestock in large numbers in an area marked for future mining operations, citing fears of an outbreak of disease.

The slaughter, which witnesses described as “indiscriminate,” began early in August in Ngamring (in Chinese, Angren) county in the Shigatse, Central Tibet, sources said.

“On August 2, officials arrived in Chungma township’s Genda and Thanga villages and killed 14 dzo [a crossbreed of yak and cow] and two yaks,” according to RFA Tibetan service.

“Then, on August 7, officials came to Dolo village and killed 68 head of cattle, burying them alive without even examining them for signs of infection,” sources said.

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Four Tibetan monks released from Chinese hard-labor camp

Leh, Ladakh: - The sun was beating down and the heat was on. However, nothing could have stopped the droves of Ladakhis from coming out on the morning of July 29th for a possible glimpse of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to give Him the warmest of welcomes to the “top of the world,” as he proceeded from the airport to his place of retreat, following his arrival in Leh, Ladakh, J&K. Ladakh, a spectacular, yet arid region, high in the Himalayas, has earned both the titles, “Top of the World,” and “Little Tibet” in India and has been noted to be one of the last undisturbed Mahayana Buddhist societies on Earth.

Yet on this day, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, traveled from many far reaching areas of Ladakh and beyond, lining the streets with their Khatas, prayer beads, and offerings, celebrating the blessings of this most fortunate visit by His Holiness. Many could be heard reciting: “Chomden dir ni Jonpa Lek, Dak chak sonam kalpar den...”

(Enlightened one, welcome, now that you have come, we have such good fortune and merit...)

While the ride from the airport could have easily have been a quick and hasty journey, His Holiness generously extended kindness and compassion toward the street lined supporters, taking his time to move slowly and deliberately along the roadway, giving all the opportunity to experience the blessings offered in the moments of his arrival.

While His Holiness will return to the Leh, Ladakh region

Thousands of local people and Tibetans came in their traditional dresses to welcome His Holiness. Photo: TPI/Amy King

in July 2014, giving a Kalachakra Initiation (3.7.201414.7.2014), this current three week visit to Ladakh is recognized to be designated for his much deserved rest and personal retreat.

Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in Nepal to protest China’s rule in Tibet

Ladakh is known to be a place of serenity and gracious hospitality, but some would say that on this very auspicious day, you could feel an even greater wave of peace and good fortune wash over Ladakh.

Kalon Dolma Gyari ends four European nations’ tour

Part of a large group of monks in a ‘solidarity’ march in Tridu county in Qinghai province’s Yulshul prefecture, Feb. 8, 2012. Photo: TPI

By Kalsang Dolma: 14 August 2013

Dharamshala: - Chinese Authorities in Yulshul County, eastern Tibet have released four Buddhist monks from a patriotic reeducation through hard labor months before the completion of their sentence.

Lobsang Nyima, Lobsang Samten, and Sonam Gewa had been allegedly leading protests on February 8, last year at the Nyatso Zilkar monastery in Tridu, Yulshul county (Chinese: Chenduo in Yushu, Qinghai Province), Lobsang, a Tibetan living in Belgium, told The Tibet Post International.

Tenzin Sherab, one of the four monks, was taken into custody on October 1, 2012, after being accused of publishing a newspaper called Marjen, or Exposed, “which was described as having political overtones and content related to selfimmolation protests,” he said.

See Page 8...

China’s air force, or PLA (AF), in live fire exercises over the Tibetan plateau. Photo: File

Kalon Dolma Gyari with officials and supporters in Trento of South Tyrol, Italy. Photo: TPI

By Kalsang Dolma: 14 August 2013

Dharamshala: - Kalon Dolma Gyari of the Department of Home of the Central Tibetan Administration ended her four-nation European tour on sunday August 11.

Kalon Dolma met several Italian officials, during her stay in Rome and Milan in Italy from 2-5 August. She also met with officials in Bolzano and Trento of South Tyrol and has described them about the tragic and difficult situation in Tibet under the Chinese rule.

In Brussels, Kalon Dolma met with members of the Tibetan community, supporters and some key officials of the host countries during a 3-day visit to Belgium from 6-7 August. See Page 3...

Heavy military deployment after a monastery closure in Tibet

A photo receiving from the capital of Nepal showing his body was completely burned to a crisp and a second photo shows crowds gathering at the site before his body was removed, Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 6, 2013. Photo: TPI

By Yeshe Choesang: 6 August 2013

On August 3, over two hundred military forces were deployed near Gaden Dhargyeling Monastery in Shak Rongpo in Nagchu county in Kham region of eastern Tibet. Photo: TPI

By Yeshe Choesang:6 August 2013

Dharamshala: - Reports are emerging that the Chinese military appeared this week to be preparing for a major crackdown on Tibetans after a Tibetan monastery closure in Kham region of eastern Tibet.

“On August 3, over two hundred military forces were deployed near Gaden Dhargyeling Monastery in Shak Rongpo in Nagchu county in Kham region of eastern Tibet,” sources told The Tibet Post International, (TPI), citing sources in the region.

See Page 2...

Dharamshala: - A Tibetan monk died early Tuesday morning after setting himself on fire near the Boudhanath shrine, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu, Nepal to protest Chinese repressive rule of the Himalayan region of Tibet.

The police official Manoj Chetri told reporters that they were investigating but have not been able to identify him beyond that he is a Buddhist monk.

According to latest sources, the monk was identified as Karma Ngedhon Gyatso, a 39-year old from Dhamshong area of Nagchu County, Central Tibet (Chinese: Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region), who escaped from Tibet in 2012. It appears the Monk succumbed to his injuries and passed away.

“The monk set himself ablaze near the Boudhanath shrine in the northeastern edge of Katmandu on early Tuesday morning, August 6, 2013 (7am local time) in an apparent protest against Chinese repressive rule in Tibet and immediately after the incident, his body was removed by Nepal authorities. ,” Thupten living in Nepal told The Tibet Post International (TPI).

Ngedhon Gyatso was taken to the Tribhuwan University

hospital in critical condition with much of his body burned.

Officials said Nepal Police and residents put out the flames with fire extinguishers and rushed him to the hospital.

A photo received from the capital of Nepal showed his body completely burned to a crisp, while another photo shows crowds gathering at the site before his body was removed.

It is the second self-immolation of a Tibetan in Nepal this year.

The Tibetan monk Drupchen Tsering who self-immolated in February died and the Nepalese Government did not return his body to Tibetan refugees living in Nepal.

Since 1998. seven exile Tibetans have set themselves on fire in India and Nepal in an escalating wave of protest against Beijing’s rule in Tibet. Four of them reportedly died later, succumbing to their injuries.

At least 120 Tibetans have self-immolated in Tibet since 2009 to protest against the same hardline and repressive rule and of them 103 were reportedly passed-away from their severe burn injuries.

Tibetan self-immolators have called for the return of the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama to his homeland and freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet.

Man sells old Tibetan silver teapot for record price

China’s air force, or PLA (AF), in live fire exercises over the Tibetan plateau. Photo: File

Flog It presenter Paul Martin with the battered old teapot Photo: BNPS

By James Dunn: 14 August 2013

Dharamshala: - A man who took an old Tibetan silver teapot along to BBC programme Flog It is celebrating after it led to a record £140,000 sale.

Experts on the show valued the item, that originated from the Far East, at £120, prompting the owner to reveal he had five other heirlooms at home, according to media reports.

After digging the relics out he sold them at auction for the six figure sum, setting a record for the highest amount ever achieved on the popular programme.

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Editorial:

TPI NEWS

Han Chinese tourists increasing in Tibet is merely maintaining population transfer

By Yeshe Choesang:15 August 2013

Dharamshala: - Millions of Han Chinese tourists visiting Tibet does not in any meaningful way benefit the Tibetan people, it may well be a dramatically exotic experience, one that draws the admiring attention of the international community, but it does not service Tibet or its culture heritage.

What was the Tibetans’ homeland looks set to become Han Chinese homeland.

If recent Chinese statistics are to be believed, the total number of tourists in Tibet is already over 20 million in the year 2013, with 13 million in the capital, Lhasa, alone. 97 percent of the tourists are Han Chinese in ethnicity, coming from the affluent cities of China’s coast. These figures only serve to reinforce the colonization process of Tibet by the Chinese Government.

Tibetans, along with many others in the world, see in such information a deliberate attempt to erase the distinctive culture and identity that defines Tibet as an independent nation politically. To the Chinese authorities however, Tibet is by definition Chinese, just as the Tibetan dynasty is by definition part of the grand story of the Chinese dynasty- while attempting to erase and rewrite Tibet’s history, destroy language and suppress the culture.

The thousands of domestic tourists arriving daily by train, and more by air, make it seem inevitable that Tibet will become a major tourist hotspot.In theory, this should serve to remind the world about the Tibetan issue. What a tragedy, however, that foreign tourists such as this have no chance to explore the reality beyond the cosmetic deceptions on display.

With little opportunity to communicate directly with Tibetans, under the ever watchful scrutiny of Chinese security, the foreign tourists in Tibet are allowed an illusory and selective perspective, designed to reinforce the Chinese-fuelled myth of progress and stability inside Tibet, often paraded to the world instead of the real situation in Tibet.

In major security sweeps of the Tibetan capital Lhasa in the last year, Chinese authorities have expelled thousands of Tibetans from the city, while encouraging the arrival of tens of thousands of Chinese. In this way, Tibetan people continue to be actively discriminated against through various examples of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and language discrimination.

Apart from this worrying abdication of moral awareness, in pursuit of personal adventure and economy satisfaction, those who visit Tibet should be aware that in so doing they are supporting an increasingly dominant Han Chinese presence. It

essentially amounts to for saking human rights and justice in favour of the pursuit of personal pleasure.

For thousands of years, the holy city of Lhasa has been a pilgrimage destination for Tibetans, but pilgrims are now routinely turned away from hotel rooms and holy sites the moment they produce their ID card that displays their ethnicity as Tibetan.

We should be aware that the numbers may be inflated by including the substantial floating population of Han Chinese who come to Tibet to make money. These workers’ presence has been primarily urban, and the outcome is that Tibetans are now being forced to move to rural areas.

Whether intentional or not, if the regime continues its repressive policy, perhaps it will finally achieve what the red army began over 50 years ago: the occupation of Tibet by the Han Chinese. It looks increasingly true that China wants only Tibet, but not the Tibetan people.

For Tibetans, it’s just a continuation of the colonization process, changing the image of Tibet in the eyes of the world. It’s a clear message that control of Tibet and its economy is in Han Chinese hands, and that Tibetans have little or no say in the future of their country. The scale of these Chinese population transfers however has sparked numerous protests by Tibetan communities. Over seven and a half million Chinese now reportedly live in Tibet alongside six million Tibetans.

The Tibetan cause had some limited international credibility 50-years ago, when there was less global awareness and understanding of the situation inside Tibet. Today, however, the nature and degree of cultural genocide and suppression waged upon Tibet has become internationally known. The Internet, mobile technology, and the courageous efforts of Tibetans have enabled a fuller exposure of life inside Tibet. News of selfimmolation protests, arrests, instances of torture, arrest and killings are reported almost immediately, which raises serious questions to the world about a nation under the draconian grip of a totalitarian regime. In order to be heard, we must speak with one voice for the struggle like we used to, when dealing with the issue of Han Chinese tourists as well as any of our other many struggles.

Tibetans in Tibet have had to deal with social, economic, political and religious injustices on a daily basis for over half a century, but conditions have not improved. It is not the first time and will not be the last time that China has used shameful policies in Tibet. China is not yet a superpower and it never should be, as long as there is no sense of responsibility, morality and respect for human rights regarding the Tibetan people.

China rejects demand for greater autonomy

By PTI : 6 August, 2013

BEIJING: China today rejected the Dalai Lama’s demand for a “high degree of autonomy” for Tibet saying it went against the Chinese Constitution and the “fundamental interests of Tibetan Buddhism”.

“Dalai Lama’s so-called “high-degree of autonomy” in “Greater Tibet” has “run counter to China’s Constitution, the law, and the fundamental interests of Tibetan Buddhism,” Yu Zhengsheng, a senior leader of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC)has said in his talks with Buddhist monks and religious officials during his current tour of Tibet.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and in-charge of minorities urged the Tibetan Buddhist circle to “have a clear understanding of the secessionist nature of the Dalai Lama clique and resolutely safeguard national unification, ethnic unity and Tibet’s harmony and stability,” state run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The official said it was important to “comprehensively implement the ethnic and religious policies of the Communist Party of China and actively guide religions so they adapt to a socialist society”.

Yu said development remains “fundamental and key” for Tibet and promoted efforts to rule Tibet by law and seek a regional development path with Chinese and local characteristics.

His assertions has made it clear that the new leadership of the CPC which took over power this year for a ten year tenure would continue to reject the exiled Tibetan leader’s call for greater

autonomy to the entire Tibetan region which has been divided into several prefectures.

Chinese officials have been saying that though the Dalai Lama has renounced call for independence, his demand for greater autonomy leaving only defence and foreign affairs to the Chinese central government amounted to independence which cannot be accepted by Beijing.

Similarly if they unite all the Tibetan prefectures, it becomes a huge province.

About 120 Tibetans committed self immolations in the last several months opposing the Chinese rule as well as demanding the return of Dalai Lama from his exile in India.

One self-immolation by a Tibetan was reported from Nepal yesterday.

There is no indications yet whether the new Chinese leadership headed by President Xi Jinping have any plans to hold direct or indirect talks with Dalai Lama.

Such talks with past failed to make any headway.

In his speeches Yu called for efforts to “achieve leapfrog economic and social development in Tibet and long-term stability” in the region.

Meanwhile, Tibetans from home and abroad flocked to a reputed monastery to celebrate the annual Shoton festival during which a massive handmade portrait of Lord Buddha was displayed for public.

The week-long event, also known as the Yogurt Banquet festival, had its routine start with a grand ceremony of “sunning of the Buddha” in the 600year-old Drepung Monastery, the largest monastery of Tibetan Buddhism’s Gelug Sect.

OPINION

The Tibet Post International

International community urged to help release of Adak, other prisoners in Tibet

By Yeshe Choesang: 5 August 2013

Dharamshala: - The international community and Tibetans urged to demand an immediate release of Runggye Adak and other Tibetan political prisoners held in Chinese prisons in Tibet.

After serving six years of his eight-year prison sentence for a public speech calling the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet in protests, his close relative Ven Atruk Tseten told The Tibet Post International (TPI) that his relative has been suffering from a long-lasting health condition or illnesses, including an eye and kidney damage and severe leg pain with his continued abuse and torture in the Chinese prison.

Atruk Tseten, a Tibetan MP issued an unofficial statement on Thursday August 1, 2013. “Today is August. 1, I would like to remind you all that it is unforgettable day for us to remember Runggye Adak, a Tibetan man who has bravely raised calls for the unity of Tibetans and freedom for Tibet.”

“The Chinese authorities in Lithang County are harassing Adak’s family members and relatives by prohibiting them from any official job title and barring them from attending any official event taking place in their town, directly dealing with Runggye Adak’s issue,” said The Tibetan MP, citing recent sources in the region.

He has urged Tibetans and supporters around the world and international community to press the Chinese Government to release the Tibetan man who was jailed for making a public speech calling the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and the release of Tibetan political prisoners.

Tseten is strongly concerned about the health of imprisoned Tibetan nomad who does not receive proper medical care in the Chinese prison. He said that that “Runggye Adak suffering from various long-term and serious medical conditions. Denial of the right to access medical treatment is a human rights violation, attempting to abuse the Tibetan prisoners.”

During a crowd of thousands who had gathered for the Lithang horse racing festival in 2007, Adak, a brave Tibetan nomad who publicly called for the return of the Dalai Lama and release of the 11th Panchen Lama Gendhun Choekyi Nyima and Tulku

Runggye Adak, a Tibetan man who has bravely raised calls for the unity of Tibetans and freedom for Tibet in 2007. Photo: TPI

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.

Runggye Adak stepped onstage at the official function, boldly grabbed the microphone and addressed a crowd of several thousand Tibetans.

He said: “If we cannot invite His Holiness the Dalai Lama home, we will not have freedom of religion and happiness in Tibet.”

Following his arrest, thousands of Tibetans from all over the county and surrounding areas gathered near the local government office demanding his immediate release. The Chinese authorities responded by deploying thousands of paramilitary forces and police to crackdown on the peaceful protesters.

Less than a minute into his speech, Adak was immediately arrested and was later sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of “inciting to split the country” and for “severely disrupting public order.”

At his sentencing, Adak told the court, “I wanted His Holiness the Dalai Lama to return, and I wanted to raise Tibetan concerns and grievances, as there is no outlet for us to do so. That made me sad and made me act.”

Three others, Atruk Lobo, a respected senior monk

from Lithang monastery, was sentenced to 10 years for “colluding with foreign separatist force to split the country,” Tibetan singer, Jamyang Kunchen was sentenced to nine years, and Atruk Lothok received a three-year sentence for helping to send photos abroad.

Three of Adak’s nephews and four other Tibetans were arrested and charged along with him, Lobsang Phuntsok, Atruk Lothok and Kalsanng Gyatso were released after receiving jail terms of one and a half, three years and five years, respectively. Jamyang Tenzin was re-arrested after serving a three-year jail term and he was sentenced to another three years in prison, increased to a six years of jail term.

“Imprisonment for peaceful expression is regarded throughout the modern world as a direct violation of human rights. If China is to maintain its place in the ever globalizing economy, it must learn to respect those rights and not to fear the peaceful voices of people in China and Tibet,” Tseten said.

China’s consistent use of excessive military force to stifle dissent has resulted in widespread human rights abuses including multiple cases of arbitrary arrests, political imprisonment, torture and execution.

but all the same, Tibet remains the most intensely policed region under Chinese administration.

Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have rejected the prosperity of China, choosing instead life as refugees in remote places. And yet wherever they go around the world, they find themselves marginalised by national leaders anxious not to offend China.

In a desperate attempt to draw the world’s attention to their cause, more than 100 Tibetans have set fire to their own bodies in the past two years. But even these sacrifices, in clear violation of Buddhist precepts, have failed to provoke any meaningful outrage in places that matter.

The global indifference to Tibetans has only emboldened the Chinese government. On Saturday, July 6, police in Sichuan province opened fire on a group of monks who had gathered peacefully to celebrate the birthday of the Dalai Lama. At least two monks were seriously wounded. The Chinese official responsible for ethnic minorities, Yu Zhengsheng, reacted to this atrocity with yet

more belligerence, vowing to “deepen the struggle against the Dalai clique”.

This is a self-wounding approach to the problem because, for all visceral reactions he evokes in Beijing, the Dalai Lama is perhaps the last best Tibetan ally that China has. For years, it is the Dalai Lama who has prevented Tibetans from embracing violence.

But Beijing’s refusal to deal with him has substantially eroded his authority within the Tibetan community in exile. Certainly, the Dalai Lama continues to be revered as a spiritual leader by almost all Tibetans. But a restless generation of young Tibetans is questioning his political acumen.

What, they ask, has our nonviolent struggle given us? Why, they wonder, are we directing violence at ourselves rather than at our tormentors?

Any eruption of violence would in many respects mark not so much a new beginning as a return to the 1960s when, backed by the CIA, Tibetan insurgents launched a series of spectacular attacks against the Chinese army.

...................continued from front-page

come just a few days ahead of an annual traditional horse-racing festival.”

“The local authorities also are forcing Tibetans to celebrate the festival. Around 50 Tibetans were invited to perform their traditional dances and songs for the events during upcoming festival week,” Tharpa told TPI. “They however requested the authorities to cancel their performances by expressing their deep regrets over the closure of the monastery.

But, Tibetan performers have been told that they regarded not celebrating festival as an act of political activism,” he added.

“The situation remained extremely tense in Shak Rongpo in Nagchu county and surrounding areas, following the closure of monastery in reaction to a new crackdown on monks.”

According to the sources, many monks were already expelled from the monastery after the local authorities increased restrictions on religious.

Tibetans lose patience after 50 years of peaceful protest The National: Kapil Komireddi 17 July 2013

How much can Tibet endure? It’s a question that hardly anyone in the West wishes to ask. After all, those who have made it a habit to force themselves on some fragile states in the name of human rights and democracy tend to develop very cold feet when they face China.

But it’s a question that Tibetans want to have asked - and answered. For more than five decades, they have been exemplars of nonviolent protest and through all that time their condition has only worsened.

The latest proof of the extent to which Beijing has eradicated the Tibetan way of life came in the form of an exhaustive report published last month by Human Rights Watch.

According to this study, more than two million Tibetans have been forced into what China calls “new socialist villages” over the last seven years. Satellite imagery collected by HRW shows rows of newlybuilt, identical houses and apartment blocks.

To some, this will look like progress, a move away from the backwardness of rural life. But to the Tibetans who have been subjected to this programme, it’s only the newest phase in a process that began with China’s “peaceful liberation” of Tibet in 1951: to erase from Tibetans’ emotional and mental make-up their sense of who they are, and to integrate them, through forced changes to their way of living, into the homogenous revolutionary China conceived by Mao Zedong.

China may be changing but in Tibet the revolution is still unfolding, still claiming its victims. This is why Beijing did not stop at resettling the Tibetans.

As HRW reports, the central government has also dispatched 20,000 officials to monitor the Tibetans under the slogan “solidify the foundations, benefit the masses”.

To many Tibetans, China’s unyielding push to erase Tibetan identity has only confirmed the futility of nonviolent protest. They may have downgraded their original demand for full independence from China to a call for autonomy within its boundaries,

Heavy military deployment..............

Eyewitnesses who saw around 20 twenty military trucks heading towards the monastery, seems preparing a major crackdown. Local Tibetans now facing a heavy restrictions and repression imposed by the communist regime.

“The Chinese military forces with medical teams have put up tents near the monastery, are ready to crackdown on Tibetans,” Ngawang Tharpa, a Tibetan originally from the same region and currently living in northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala told TPI. According to the source, the monastery was forcibly shut down by Chinese authorities on July 30 this year, over its alleged links with the spiritual leader of Tibet His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The local Tibetans are currently barred from the monastery to perform any religious activities.

Sources to TPI said, “the increase the military deployment is a strict warning against Tibetans,

TPI NEWS

The Tibet Post International

His Holiness The Dalai Lama wishes George W. Bush after successful surgery

By Yeshe Choesang: 8 August 2013

Dharamshala: - The spiritual leader of Tibet His Holiness the Dalai Lama Thursday, August 7, expressed happiness and relief with the successful heart surgery the former U.S. President underwent after his doctors found an artery blockage.

The Nobel Peace laureate wrote a letter dated August 7, 2013 to Bush, 67, after his Tuesday’s surgery. His Holiness wished him a swift and complete recovery.

“His Holiness Dalai Lama wrote the letter from Leh (in Jammu and Kashmir) where he is on a three-week visit,” office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama based in Dharamshala said.

According to media reports, the former President

George W. Bush returned home Wednesday after successfully undergoing heart surgery for a blocked artery Tuesday morning in Dallas.

Spokesman Freddy Ford told AP that Bush was discharged from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Wednesday morning and “is doing great.”Bush, 67, had a stent placed in an artery during the Tuesday procedure, which was done after an artery blockage was found during his annual physical Monday.

The blockage was discovered at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas and, following a recommendation by his doctors, Bush agreed to go ahead with the procedure.

George W. Bush is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd President of the United States of America from 2001 to 2009.

Unity key to sustenance after devolution: Sikyong

By Yeshe Choesang: 7 August 2013

Photo 1: Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay during a public talk at Phendheling settlement in Mainpat. Photo 2: Sikyong with Tibetan school children at Phuntsokling settlement in Odhisha. and Photo 3: Sikyong addressing Indian Tibet supporters in Bhandara in Maharashtra. Photo: CTA

Dharamshala: The Tibetan people’s unity and concerted effort played a key role in sustaining and strengthening the Tibetan administration following the historic devolution of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s political authority to the democratically-elected leadership, said Dr Lobsang Sangay, who completes his second term on 8 August.

“Two years ago, His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced his decision to devolve his complete political authority to the elected Tibetan leadership to bring about complete democratisation of our polity.

His decision naturally brought a great deal of concern among us, but we have put our shoulder to the wheel to move forward,” Sikyong said in his public talks at Tibetan settlements in Bhandara, Mainpat and Odhisha in India from 1-5 August.

“When we look back at the last two years, there has been a real sense of stability among the Tibetan people. This has happened not due to something that the six people in the Kashag have done. The main factor behind this is the Tibetan people’s effort to take collective responsibility to follow the vision and guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” he said.

“It has also sent a clear message to hardliners in the Chinese government that the Tibetan administration would stay alive and strong until the issue of Tibet is resolved,” he added.

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Sikyong said the devolution process had also raised concerns among Tibetans inside Tibet. “I want to tell them that I have been able to highlight the issue of Tibet at various international forum and meet with a number of key officials. These officials highly admire His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s decision and express their continued support until a lasting solution is found to the issue of Tibet,” he said.

According to the Central Tibetan Administration, Sikyong visited Tibetan schools and monasteries during his visits.

Sikyong also met with members of Tibet support groups and the media in Nagpur before starting his visit to the three settlements. He spoke to senior functionaries and members of RSS, Bharat Tibbat Sahyog Manch and Bharat Tibet Mitra Sang.

During his meeting with the media, Sikyong said: “India and China did not share common border until 1959. India’s national security is linked to Tibet. India’s support for Tibet as an autonomous buffer zone is in the best interest of all parties.”

Sikyong also Deekshabhoomi and paid respects to Dr B R Ambedkar, the chairman of India’s constitutional drafting committee. Addressing a gathering of Tibet supporters, Sikyong said: “India is land of Buddha and is holy for us Tibetans. The age-old ties between the two remain and we look towards India for protection and support.”

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Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay reaffirms commitment to pursue dialogue with China

By Kalsang Dolma : 8 August 2013

Dharamshala: - Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected political leader of Tibet once again reiterated his administration’s firm commitment to pursue a meaningful dialogue with the Chinese government to seek genuine autonomy for Tibet.

Addressing at a prayer gathering Dr Sangay said the successful democratic transition His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s historic decision to devolve political authority to a democratically-elected leader has send a clear message to the Chinese government that Tibetans in exile will keep alive the Tibetan movement.

He also said the task force on negotiations would be enlarged and will hold their 26th meeting in September.

The Kashag (Cabinet) has proceeded with a three-phase approach of consolidation, action and dialogue since assuming office in August 2011, Sikyong said, adding that the first two phases have been completed.

Sikyong said “we have been able to consolidate a smooth democratic transition with the support of Indian and international Tibet support groups by hosting their major conferences in Dharamshala.”

“We have organised a special prayer service today to express solidarity with all those Tibetans who have self-immolated for the cause of Tibet, and their family members,” Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay told hundreds of Tibetans gathering at the main Tibetan temple in McLeodganj, Dharamsala to express their sympathy and solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet during a special prayer ceremony, which was presided over by His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee.

The ceremony has also marked the second anniversary of successful democratic transition following His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s devolution of political authority to the democratically-elected Tibetan leadership.

“It has strengthened the hopes of Tibetans inside Tibet that their brethren in exile shoulder the responsibility in line with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision and invigorated their courage and determination,” he added.

The collective effort of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the people and civil servants of the Central Tibetan Administration has deepened the international community’s conviction in our commitment to democracy, he added.

Sikyong Dr Sangay stressed on the importance of unity within Tibetan community in exile. He said “Tibetans in and outside has forged unity and made a concerted effort to ensure a smooth transition after His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s historic decision to devolve political authority to a democratically-elected leader.”

“The action phase witnessed major solidarity events in several cities including New York, New Delhi, Brussels, Tokyo, Sydney and others. These solidarity events were complemented by media

Sikyong addressing a special prayer service to express solidarity with all those Tibetans who self-immolated in Tibet, in Dharamshala, India, on 8 August 2013. Photo: TPI/Kalsang Dolma

awareness and efforts to garner support for Tibet in Congress and parliaments across the world.

Working with friends and supporters of Tibet, we were able to get resolutions and motions passed in parliaments in the European Union (EU), France, Italy, the United States and others,” he said.

Sikyong said the CTA will now direct its efforts on the dialogue phase and pledged to make continued efforts to resume contact with the Chinese government and take initiatives to educate the international community, including Tibetans, on the Middle Way Approach, repeatedly advocated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama since the 1980s.

Concerned over the spate of self-immolation protests, Sikyong said the situation in Tibet remains critical as Tibetans continue to set themselves on fire to protest against China’s repressive rule.

Sikyong reiterated that Tibetans are driven to set themselves on fire in protest by the Chinese government’s policies of political repression, cultural assimilation, social discrimination, economic marginalisation and environmental destruction over the last 60 years of its invasion.

“The blame and solution lies squarely with the Chinese government,” he said.

“Through various media, the Kashag has consistently appealed and categorically discouraged Tibetans in Tibet from selfimmolating as a form of protest. Life is precious and as human beings we do not want anyone to die in such a manner. As Buddhists, we pray for the soul of the deceased. As Tibetans, it is our sacred duty to support the aspirations of Tibetans in Tibet: the return of His Holiness the great Fourteenth Dalai Lama to Tibet, freedom for the Tibetan people, and unity among Tibetans,” he said.

Sikying also praised the unwavering courage and strength in the Tibetan people inside Tibet. “Unity and cooperation are of paramount importance and

Sikyong Dr Sangay inaugurates Tibet Corps staff quarter

By James Dunn: 13 August 2013

Dharamshala: - A newly-built residential quarter for the staff members of Tibet Corps was inaugurated by Dr. Lobsang Sangay, Sikyong or democratically elected political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) based in Dharamsala, India.

According to CTA Media, Tibet Corps is a novel initiative of the present Kashag to inspire Tibetans to become directly engaged in tangible work to build and strengthen the Tibetan community, its institutions, and the Central Tibetan Administration.

“Around 17 Tibetans, including health and computer professionals and students, have joined the Tibet Corps over the last one year and four months since its inception,” Mr Kaydor Aukatsang, the head of Tibet Corps, said at the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by the speaker and standing committee members of the Tibetan Parliament, Kalons and secretaries.

“These Tibet Corps volunteers are serving in the seven departments of the Central Tibetan Administration and health centres in the settlements.

Moreover, over 500 professionals and students have made themselves connected with the programme through our website,” he said.

“It has given me a unique opportunity to use my

we appealed to our brethren to make continued effort towards this end,” he said.

Dr Sangay said the international support for the issue of Tibet is a result of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision and achievements and, truth and moral standing of the Tibetan people. “The international community recognises Tibetans as a people with morality, honest and truthful.

So we urge Tibetans both in and outside Tibet to maintain this recognition,” he said. He also strongly urged Tibetans to shun alcohol and drug addiction and gambling.

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.......ends four European nations’ tour Continued from front-page

Kalon Dolma has successfully introduced the Sister settlement project to the members of Tibetan community in Italy and Belguim. The initiative aims for the Tibetan communities in the West to extend a helping hand to needy Tibetan settlements financially, culturally and socially. She also met with officials and supporters, during her four-day trip to Netherlands and France from 8-11 August.

4

TPI NEWS

15 August 2013

Two Tibetan protesters sentenced up to 4-years in Chinese prison

Dharamshala: - Sources coming out of Tibet said that Chinese courts in Malho County (Chinese: Huangnan, northwestern China’s Qinghai province), Amdho region of north-eastern Tibet have sentenced two Tibetans up to four years in prison on charges of allegedly involving selfimmolation in protest against Chinese rule over Tibet and spreading opinions related to Tibetan independence.

“An Intermediate People’s Court in Malho County (Chinese: Huangnan), northwestern China’s Qinghai province has sentenced Akhu Gyatak, a 63-year old Tibetan man to four years in jail and deprived of his political rights for two years for allegedly inciting others to set fire to themselves to protest Chinese rule and allegedly giving speeches calling for Tibet’s independence,” Sonam, a Tibetan living in Switzerland, told The Tibet Post International.

The Chinese court in its verdict on February 8 charged Gyatak with subverting state laws and inciting activities to split the nation. He was arrested

by Chinese authorities in November last year after a severe crackdown on local Tibetan who have staged a peaceful protest against China’s repressive rule.

A local Chinese court in earlier February has

sentenced Dorjee, a Tibetan student to two years and six months in jail and deprived of his political rights for one years for his alleged role in selfimmolation protests and allegedly shouting slogans demanding independence for Tibet and establishing an organization- called ‘Tibetan traditional custom preservation centre’ (Tibetan: Gangsol Gyunzin Tsokpa),” a source to TPI said.

The report confirms that .” Dorjee was also detained by the Chinese police for taking part in a peaceful protest in November last year, following a spate of self-immolation protests in Rebkong County in northeastern Tibet.

“Gyatak and Dorjee among many other Tibetan political prisoners are serving different jail-terms in a Chinese prison in Siling City, (Chinese: Xining, the capital of Qinghai province),” sources added.

The sources also stated that “local Chinese authorities in siling earlier this month released two Tibetan monks;- Dakpa Gyatso and Jigmey Tenzin after being in Chinese custody for nine months.

The two were detained for allegedly involving in self-immolation protests.”

“Some 70 Tibetan protesters are still in Chinese police custody since February this year, 52 of them are currently undergoing intensive police interrogation. The Chinese court has already issued arrest warrants against 12 Tibetans and their sentencing hearings are ready to take place,” Sonam further added, saying it is described in state-owned media reports cited Chinese officials.

In last November alone, 28 Tibetans, including nine from Rebkong County in northeastern Tibet set themselves ablaze to protest against China’s occupation and hard-line policies in Tibet.

There have now been a total of 120 Tibetans living under the communist regime who have set themselves on fire, of which 63 have taken place in 2012, marking one of the biggest waves of political self-immolation protests in recent history. They have called for the return of the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.

Authorities in the region have intensified their repressive policies by criminalizing the selfimmolation protests, arresting and sentencing family members and friends of protesters and off late, accused of supporting a self-immolation protest and of leaking news of protests to outside contacts.

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Dorjee, a Tibetan student from Rebkong was sentenced to two years and six months by a Chinese court in Rebkong, Amdho, Tibet. Photo: TPI

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The Tibet Post International

Shoton Festival of Tibet begins with heavy Chinese military deployment

By Yeshe Choesang: 09 August 2013

Dharamshala: - Emerging reports coming out Tibet say China has imposed a heavy restriction on Tibetans in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet during the first day of the six day Shoton festival that took place on Tuesday.

Many photos received from the capital of Lhasa showed the Beijing’s efforts to control Tibetan traditional events, including Shoton Festival with a massive deployment of armed forces at the two of the great three university monasteries of Tibet; Drepung and Sera Monasteries in anticipation of possible unrest during the ongoing festival.

“Chinese government has stepped up heavy restrictions on the religious activities of Tibetans at the Drepung Monastery in the capital Lhasa as they observe the festival with a giant painted Thangka displaying of Buddha,” Ngawang Woebar, a Tibetan monk living in India told The Tibet Post International (TPI).

“Scanners were installed by Chinese authorities on either side of the entrance to the Drepung Monastery near capital Lhasa, where thousands of Tibetans and Chinese pilgrims have gathered for for festival, which is known to be one of the most popular traditional festivals in Tibet being held from August 6-12,” he added.

“Some of the Chinese security personals among the crowds could be seen in the reports by Chinese state run media as a propaganda purpose used by the authorities. Their reports however try to indicate or prove that the festival is undergoing without restriction. The official reports however showed mainly the crowds celebrating the festival with a giant painted Thangka displaying Buddha,” sources to TPI said.

“Heavy armed troops were also deployed to Sera

Chinese military forces imposed heavy restrictions on Tibetans at the Shoton festival at Drepung monastery in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, on August 6, 2013. Photo: TPI/Sonam

monastery in Lhasa. Then can clearly been seen at crowds gathered at the festival and within the monastery watched as Tibetans solemnly proceed with the ceremony,” Sonam, a Tibetan man living in Switzerland told TPI. The US embassy in China has recent released photos of Ambassador Gary Locke’s visit to Tibet and the story has a completely different ending.

The latest images from the region reveal the real and tense situation in Tibet, including capital Lhasa, a place tightly controlled and repressed by the Chinese government.

Shoton Festival originates from the 11th century. It had been exclusively a religious observance until the 17th century when the Great 5th Dalai Lama introduced the Tibetan opera into the celebration,

making it as a nationwide gala.

Being one of the largest festivals on the roof of the world, it serves as a showcase to rooted tradition, appealing culture and great piety of the Tibetan people.

The festival mainly consists of three parts giant Buddha display, Tibetan opera show and horsemanship & Yak race show. In combination they represent the best of Tibetan religion, culture and tradition.

First day of the festival, about 600 square meter Thangka displaying Buddha opened up as the morning as thousands gathered for the annual ceremony. The giant Thangka roll up again and carry back to the monasteries after nearly six hours of display.

Strong earthquake hits eastern Tibet, no casualties reported

By Yeshe Choesang: 15 August 2013

Dharamshala: - A 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted the region of Dzogang County and Markham County in Kham region of eastern Tibet early on Monday, August 12, toppling houses and damaging roads but no casualties were reported, official media here said.

“Zogang County and Markam County in Qamdo Prefecture, some 1,000 km southeast of provincial capital Lhasa, were jolted by the quake at 5:23 am.

“We felt strong tremors in the county seat when the quake took place, and damage has been seen to houses and roads, but I have received no immediate report of casualties,” Zhang Hongjun, head of the local unit of ruling Communist Party, told state-run Xinhua news agency.

However, Zhang is worried for the villagers in Ringo, a mountainous town with a population of 3,476, which is right on the epicentre, and is about 75 kms away from the county seat of Zogang.

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A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit eastern Tibet on Monday, the Chinese Geological Survey said, shaking buildings in two counties; Dzogang and Markham near Chamdho. Photo: TPI

“It will take us more time to figure out the situation there, as eight of the 12 villages in Ringo are not accessible by telecommunication or highway, so the rescuers have to go there on foot,” he said.

The quake was also felt in the neighboring Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Deqen and Yunnan Province, and local government is investigating consequent damage.

Aftershocks have been occurring in the quake-hit area, with the strongest being 5.1 in magnitude, and another rescue team sent by the government of Qamdo Prefecture is on its way to the affected areas.

According to the local officials, at least 87 people were injured, although none known to have been killed, and over 45,000 houses damaged by the 6.1magnitude earthquake. They also said that besides houses, the earthquake had damaged multiple highways, bridges and some water conservancy facilities. He has said traffic will be resumed soon with the damages to the roads being expected to be fully cleared by Aug 15.

Just weeks ago, a 6.6-magnitude quake jolted Minxian and Zhangxian counties in the northwestern province of Gansu, killing at least 95 people.

On April 14, 2010, residents of Yushu County in Kham region of eastern Tibet, located on the Tibetan plateau, were awoken by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake.

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TPI NEWS

LIST OF SELF-IMMOLATIONS IN TIBET AND EXILE

Since 1998, seven Tibetans self-immolated in exile, India and Nepal to protest against Beijing’s repressive policy, four of them passed-away

Since 2009, a total of 120 Tibetans self-immolated in Tibet to protest against Beijing’s repressive policy, of them 103 reportedly passed-away

The Tibet Post International

15 August 2013

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TPI NEWS H.H THE DALAI LAMA Petitioners who called release of Tibet’s Coming Full Circle: My Meeting With the senior monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche freed Tibetan leader His Holiness The Dalai Lama The Tibet Post International

15 August 2013

By Kalsang Dolma: 7 August 2013

Dharamshala: - Four Tibetan laymen who were detained two weeks ago for petitioning the Chinese central authorities have been released. The petitioners were calling for the release of Trulku Tenzin Delek, a popular religious figure from Nyagchu county, Kham region of eastern Tibet.

According to Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy Dharamsala, India (TCHRD), four Tibetan laymen Sogren Lori, 66, Lugdzi Abey, 50, Lhama Choeduk, 64, and Trinley, 46, were detained on 20 July at Chengdu after their return from Beijing.

Trulku Tenzin Delek’s sister Donkar Lhamo, 47, was also among the group although she was not detained.

The group, representing local Tibetans in Nyagchu (Ch: Yajiang) County in Karze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, visited Beijing from 9 July to submit petition to the Chinese central government and other relevant offices.

Sources told the group that officers from the Nyagchu County Public Security Bureau (PSB) detained the four men for fourteen days at Gara Detention Centre in Nyagchu County. The detainees were asked to pay Yuan 4,000 each to secure their release. However, the detained and their family members refused to pay the arbitrary fine imposed by the County PSB. Last week, they were released albeit on different days without paying the fine.

In the petition, Nyagchu Tibetans called for the release of Trulku Tenzin Delek who is serving life imprisonment in a prison in Sichuan Province.

In the past 11 years of Trulku’s imprisonment, Nyagchu Tibetans have time and again called for the release of Trulku who they believe had been jailed on trumped-up charges of masterminding a series of bomb blast in Chengdu city. The petition also called for the release of Trulku on medical parole if a retrial could not be arranged.

According to Trulku’s relatives and disciples, the latest petition calls on the Chinese authorities to withdraw false “terrorism” charges against Trulku since thousands of Tibetans in Nyagchu County have for many years petitioned all levels of local government rejecting the charges. In December 2009, more than 30,000 Tibetans in Nyagchu County signed a petition calling for the release of Trulku.

Since his imprisonment in 2002, Trulku’s relatives were allowed only six prison visits. Each visit lasted for half an hour and a prison official always stood by closely monitoring the visit. Prison officials had also told Tezin Delek’s visitors not to discuss anything “unpleasant” or “irrelevant” saying they would not take responsibility if something happened to Trulku as he had heart disease.

According to relatives, during each visit, Trulku maintained his earlier stand that he had done nothing to violate Chinese laws, further asking his relatives to arrange for re-trial or appeal for medical parole.

In 2001, a series of bomb blasts ripped through Karze Prefecture. On 3 April 2002, a bomb went off in the city’s main square, Tianfu, in Chengdu. Shortly afterwards, Chinese police arrested Lobsang Dhondup, a relative and disciple of Trulku.

The Chinese police alleged that Lobsang Dhondup was involved with the explosions. His room was ransacked and police found a photo of Trulku. It was how Trulku was linked to the entire incident. Both Trulku and Lobsang Dhondup had declared their innocence and the authorities could not produce any substantial evidence to corroborate their allegations, conviction and sentencing.

“It is important to note here that the persecution of Trulku and Lobsang Dhondup occurred at a time when China had just begun using the ruse of ‘war on terror’ to

crack down on legitimate dissidence and activism in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in New York. “Moreover, the controversial hardliner Zhou Yongkang served as the Party Secretary of Sichuan Province from 1999 to 2002, a period during which Trulku was arrested and sentenced. Shortly after Tenzin Delek’s conviction, Zhou was promoted as China’s Minister of Public Security, a post he held with iron fist until 2012,” ,” TCHRD said.

The well-known Chinese writer, Wang Lixiong had written on a Chinese language website, “Trulku Tenzin Delek is a lama who is respected by all the people.

By putting the label of a terrorist on him, putting him on trial and clamping the death sentence on him, the Chinese police might think they have accomplished something great.” Wang Lixiong further wrote that he did not believe that Trulku was involved in the bombings: “By this act, the Chinese police have used one arrow to kill two deer. The Chinese police have cut Trulku Tenzin Delek down to size and have claimed success in solving the mystery of the April bomb blasts.”

In a secretly recorded message, smuggled out of Tibet, Trulku had said: “Whatever [the authorities] do and say, I am completely innocent ... Around that time, one of my friends called me and asked if [Lobsang Dhondup] was my relative. Then I became suspicious that something serious was going on. When I heard about the explosions and arrest of Lobsang Dhondup, I suspected that I might be wrongly accused and arrestedthat I might become a scapegoat.”

After months of incommunicado detention, when he first made his court appearance in December 2002, Trulku Tenzin Delek had lost weight and he walked into the courtroom with two police officers holding him. In 2010, exile Tibetan organizations reported that Trulku Tenzin Delek was suffering from a heart condition and high blood pressure for which he was not receiving proper medical attention. During one of the prison visits, Trulku told his relatives that he once fell down unconscious, which indicates that his heart condition had gotten worse. In 2011, during another prison visit, Trulku was seen using a walking stick to support himself raising concerns among family and friends that something was wrong with his leg.

On 14 August 2012, during the last prison visit, relatives found Trulku already seated in his chair on the other side of the glass window waiting. Relatives say it is unusual for Trulku to come before them and that usually they would always arrive earlier and wait for Trulku. When the meeting was over, relatives waited for Trulku to leave, as he usually did, but Trulku asked them to leave first making the relatives suspicious that something was wrong with Trulku’s leg. When the relatives insisted, Trulku refused to budge from his seat.

This unusual meeting with Trulku has raised concerns over Trulku’s medical condition among hundreds of thousands of his followers and disciples.

TCHRD calls on the Chinese government to release Trulku Tenzin Delek on medical parole as a first step toward a future retrial. The group said it maintains that both Trulku and Lobsang Dhondup were falsely charged and their basic human rights were denied during the entire process from detention to sentencing, and in the case of Lobsang Dhondup, immediate execution. Both were secretly detained for seven months before their appearance at a court trial. Trulku was denied access to attorneys or to private visitors during the entire duration of his detention, thereby confirming allegations of torture. The continued imprisonment of Trulku on politicised charges despite repeated appeals from his followers and disciples for his release is tantamount to violating the right to religious freedom and beliefs of hundreds of thousands of Tibetans.

The executive members of Tibetan Youth Congress, which is the largest Tibetan NGO in exile honor India’s Independence Day at McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, India, on August, 2013. Photo: Tsewang Dolma/TYC International Relations and Information Secretary

By Sophia Slater, Huff Post: 1 August 2013

This summer, I’ve returned to Dharamsala to work with the Tibetan community in exile. When I arrived, I was excited to be teaching English again at the Tibetan Children’s Village through the Lifeworks community service program. And I would also be interning for the first time at the Tibetan Women’s Association, an international group focusing on human rights abuses and empowerment of women. But a few days after I arrived, things got even more exciting. I received a message: “Be at the Dalai Lama’s compound by 11:30 on Tuesday. Don’t be late. Bring your passport.” I was going to meet the Dalai Lama?!

Before I left for India, an audience with the Dalai Lama had been requested through my Tibetan relatives. But I’d hardly dared believe it might actually happen. What a great honor it would be to meet such an amazing man! I admire the Dalai Lama for the work he does to spread awareness of the Tibet situation while maintaining his policy of non-violence and inspiring his people. He’s adamant in portraying himself as a “simple Buddhist monk” but he’s also an international symbol of peace and compassion, one of those rare leaders driven not by greed or lust for power, but rather by a genuine desire to help his people and everyone else in the world.

I also really hoped to meet the Dalai Lama because of the connection between his predecessor, the 13th Dalai Lama, and my family. In 1910, my great-greatgrandfather, S. W. Laden La, was liaison officer when the 13th Dalai Lama took refuge in India after the Chinese invaded Tibet. While working in Lhasa in 1920, my great-great-grandfather had an audience with the Dalai Lama at the Potala Palace, an unforgettable moment that he wrote about in his diary. In 1923, the Dalai Lama appointed him Chief of Police as part of an effort to modernize Tibet.

Their last meeting took place in Lhasa in 1930; they

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Trulku Tenzin Delek Thupten Choekyi Nyima was born in 1950 to Tsepak Dorjee and Dolma Choezom in Lithang (Ch: Lithang) County in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. He entered the monastery at the age of seven and sought his ordination from Khensur Shakpa.

In 1978, Trulku met with the previous 10th Panchen Lama at Labrang Tashikyil Monastery to express concerns over Chinese authorities inflicting torture on local Tibetans. He got the permission from Beijing to build a monastery and the Panchen Lama named it Kham Nalanda Thekchen Jhangchup Choling. In 1983, His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognised him as the reincarnation of Geshe Adhon Phuntsok and gave him the name, Trulku Tenzin Delek.

When he returned to Tibet in 1987, Trulku was constantly under surveillance for alleged political activities and connections with the Dalai Lama.

Until his arrest on 7 April 2002, Trulku was active in social welfare activities in Lithang County.

Between 1991 and 1997, Trulku Tenzin Delek built seven monasteries, hospital, an old people’s home and a school for orphans and children from poor families in Nyagchuka County. He was also an active environmentalist and a teacher to hundreds of thousands of followers and disciples.

Trulku was very popular among the local people as significant portion of them trusted Trulku Tenzin Delek over district cadres, to solve communal problems fairly and efficaciously, in part because of his willingness to approach provincial and central government officials when local efforts failed.

spent the afternoon talking and the Dalai Lama gave my great-great-grandfather a beautiful khada silk blessing scarf.

To get ready for my audience, I borrowed a formal red brocade chupa, the traditional Tibetan dress.

On the big day, some of the Tibetan women I was working with helped me put it on, making sure it was tied properly and my earrings and brooch matched. Next they helped my brother Henry (who’s also working in Dharamsala this summer) put on a men’s chupa. Then he and I went out to get khadas to offer to the Dalai Lama and print some family photos of our great-great-grandfather and the 13th Dalai Lama to take with us.

At about 10:45, we headed for the Dalai Lama’s compound. It was a sunny, brisk morning, unusual during the summer monsoon, and this seemed fitting for such a special day. We came to the tall, heavy gates of the compound and walked in clutching our khadas and photos, trying to follow directions without being swept away by the crowd. Everyone was going somewhere and doing something: getting out food, herding family members, praying quietly. The Dalai Lama was giving a teaching that was being broadcast over loudspeakers and translated one language at a time; when their particular language wasn’t on people chatted, their animated conversations filling the air.

We were patted down and our bags searched at the security check. A guard escorted us to the reception office, where a tall, burly Tibetan man took our passports and told us to fill out forms explaining who we were and why we were there. Then we waited, along with a group of U.S.-based Tibetans and two Americans, a father and his teenage daughter working with a Tibet NGO in Washington, DC. Everyone was fidgety, making polite conversation to pass the time and--for me anyway--calm our nerves.

My chupa had been ironed but I still smoothed away imaginary wrinkles in the deep red fabric. I folded and refolded my khada. By the time we were finally called, the slow fan on the ceiling must have rotated a thousand times.

We were shepherded through another security checkpoint and then taken outside to a line snaking down the hill from the Dalai Lama’s official residence, a low building decorated with traditional bright Tibetan colors. Most of the people waiting were Asian and looked like tourists with their sun visors and fanny packs; there were also a few Westerners. When we saw the people ahead of us start putting their khadas around their necks, we did the same. The moment had finally come!

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The line moved fast, and as we got closer I saw the Dalai Lama. Dressed in his simple maroon robes, a serene expression on his face, he was just standing at the entrance to his residence shaking each person’s hand and posing for pictures. He really did look like a simple Buddhist monk.

When our turn came, the Dalai Lama smiled at us, took our hands, and said hello in his deep, gentle voice. We showed him the photos and, pointing to the one of my great-great-grandfather, he said, “I have seen that picture.” It was at that moment that I recognized why we were there. The Dalai Lama held the photos, and held our hands tightly, and we posed for his official photographer. One hundred years after my great-great-grandfather was with the 13th Dalai Lama in India and Tibet, we were holding hands with the 14th Dalai Lama. I felt as though our family’s story had come full circle, as if we’d fulfilled some sort of destiny.

The Dalai Lama thanked us and we thanked him. In a daze, we walked down the hill, past the security checkpoints, out the gate, and into the busy streets of Dharamsala.

When I look back on that morning, it seems unreal, like we were in a play or a dream. What I remember most is when the Dalai Lama took my hand. His hands were so soft and his grasp so firm; it was a comforting hold, confident and kind. Imagining my great-great-grandfather walking away from the Potala Palace in 1920 after his audience with the 13th Dalai Lama, I can understand the awe he felt, the sense that your life has been greatly altered and bettered from meeting one of the most inspiring men the world will ever know.

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Adviser Franz Pahl Adviser Thomas Kemeil Adviser Shalinder Kumar Adviser Thupten Yarphel Editor in Chief Mr Yeshe Choesang Chinese Editor Miss Keary Huang Assistant Editor Miss Kalsang Dolma Tibetan Editor Mr Dhondup Layout & Design Miss Kalsang Dolma Distributor Mr Karma Wangchuk Contributors to this editon Keary Huang Taiwan Samuel Ivor UK James Dunn UK Samul Ivor UK Kiran Menon India Amy King USA Tenzin Wangmo India Yeshe Choesang India Kalsang Dolma India Dhondup India Himalayan Literacy Trust (Head Office) Room #2 2nd Floor, Exile House Temple Road, McLeod Ganj: 176219 Dharamshala, Distt. Kangra H.P., India

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7 TPI NEWS INTERNATIONAL U.S. Govt. raised Human Rights issue with Situation not improved in Tibet over decades: China at highest levels: Spokesperson Harald Leibrecht, Senior German MP 15 August 2013

The Tibet Post International

Aug. 1, 2013: U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing by Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf in Washington, DC. Photo: Department of State

By Yeshe Choesang: 2 August 2013

Dharamshala: - U.S. Government said the 18th annual Human Rights Dialogue between US and China held in-depth and frank discussions on human rights issues at the highest levels. It was concluded on July 31, in Kunmíng is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province in Southwest China.

“The two sides held in-depth and frank discussions on the rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and other human rights issues, including specific cases of concern at the highest levels,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said.

During the daily press briefing on August 1, Marie Harf however, did not mention Human Rights situation inside Tibet, where Tibetans being violently suppressed, but she said “specific cases” which related Human Rights issues were raised by the U.S. side.

“Yesterday, (July 31) we concluded the formal portion of the U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue in Kunming, China,” said Marie Harf.

“Acting Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Uzra Zeya and Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of International Organizations and Conferences Director-General Li Junhua led respective interagency delegations to the dialogue, MS. HAR told reporters.

MS. HAR said that “the Human Rights Dialogue is an opportunity to reinforce the messages, including on specific cases that we consistently deliver at the highest levels on these issues.”

“I’m not going to get into specific cases that were discussed, other than to say that specific cases were discussed,” she responded to reporter when asked “reinforce the messages,” in which the U.S. either asked for progress.

“But we’ve made clear from this podium and elsewhere when we have concerns about specific cases and will continue to do so,” she added.

“I don’t have a further readout on that. Clearly, we believe that this is a continuous conversation. It’s important to continue having it, because obviously human rights is a key tenet of U.S. foreign policy, MS. HARF told them after she was asked whether she did sense that the Chinese side committed to anything.

The dialogue is “taking place against the backdrop of alarming escalation in self-immolations by Tibetans to protest against the Chinese government’s repressive rule,” said the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration just a few days before the U.S.- China meeting.

Throughout the Dialogue, I made the same point that Vice President Biden made at the S&ED – that “China will be stronger and more stable and more innovative if it represents and respects international human rights norms.” Uzra Zeya acting Assistant Secretary of State said on August 2, 2013 during the Press Conference on U.S.-China Human Rights.

“As we have done many times in the past, we recognized the Chinese people’s remarkable record of economic development over the last three decades,” she added.

“At the same time, we did not shy away from raising the full range of issues where China’s policies and human rights practices have fallen seriously short of international standards,” she added.

“We also underscored U.S. concern over China’s severe restrictions on religious freedom and the freedoms of expression, assembly and association, both offline and online,” said Zeya.

“We also expressed deep concern about China’s stepped-up attempts to silence dissent and tighten controls over Tibetans and Uighurs, emphasizing that policies ostensibly designed to maintain stability are counterproductive when they deny Chinese citizens their universal human rights and fundamental freedoms,” she said.

“We also urged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions,” Zeya further addd.

She reiterated that dialogue is “a chance for the two countries to engage on human rights issues and to do so in a more in-depth manner, focusing both on specific issues and specific cases, and to lay out opportunities to take action to improve human rights conditions in China and China’s reputation in the world.”

“In addition, we specifically called into question the pattern of arrests and extralegal detentions of public interest lawyers, Internet activists, journalists, religious leaders, and others who challenge official policies and actions in China.”

“We noted that such actions are contrary to China’s international obligations and indeed, in most cases, China’s own laws and constitution. We also conveyed our deep concern about attempts to control or silence activists by targeting family members and associates of those activists, an issue that the Secretary has raised with his counterparts.”

Since 2009, at least 120 Tibetans have set themselves ablaze in Tibet to protest against Chinese rule, calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.

China still today continues its brutal crackdowns in Tibet with using its iron fist policy to control the Himalayan religion. The regime also inculcates on its citizenry that the Tibetans are one of her minorities, are backwards and superstitious and tells stories of how much China does to help the “poor” Tibetans and how happy Tibetans are for their help.

Tibetans hover say over 1.2 million Tibetans have lost their lives and thousands of monasteries and temples were destroyed directly as result of China’s brutal occupation. Tibetans continue to live without basic human rights today under the rule of China.

Talk on Tibet, the waves of self-immolation protests held in Taichung City of Taiwan

Representative Dawa Tsering speaking to students of National Taichung Girls school on 9 August 2013. Photo: CTA

By Kalsang Dolma:12 August 2013

Taipei: - A talk on Tibet, including the waves of selfimmolation protest against Chinese rule was held on August 9 at Taichung National Girls High School based in Taichung City, the third largest city of Taiwan.

According to the Central Tibetan Administration, the talk was organised by the Taichung National Girls High School and over one hundred Taiwanese students were attended the discussion on Tibet’s past, present and the future. “The talk also addressed the issue of Tibetan self-immolation protests which has swept Tibet since 2009.”

Mr Dawa Tsering, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Taiwan was invited to the talk to speak at the event.

MrTsering spoke on Tibetan culture, history and reasons for Tibetan refugee’s coming into exile and why Tibetan people set themselves on fire. He spoke about an hour followed by a brief

question and answer session.

Before the talk two documentary films on Tibet ‘Escape from Tibet’ and ‘Murder in Himalaya’ were screened to the students.

Since 1998. seven exile Tibetans have set themselves on fire in India and Nepal in an escalating wave of protest against Beijing’s rule in Tibet. Four of them reportedly died later, succumbing to their injuries.

At least 120 Tibetans have self-immolated in Tibet since 2009 to protest against the same hardline and repressive rule and of them 103 were reportedly passed-away from their severe burn injuries.

Tibetan self-immolators have called for the return of the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama to his homeland and freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet.

Harald Leibrecht, a senior member of the German Parliament since 2002. Photo: File

By Yeshe Choesang : 2 August 2013

Dharamshala: - A member of the German Parliament and a prominent supporter of the Tibetan issue has pledged to work for the cause of Tibet and urged other parliamentarians to support the Tibetans’ aspiration for freedom.

“The situation in Tibet has not improved over the last many decades. It is of utmost importance that our parliamentarians and Tibet groups should provide political support to Tibetans in their quest for freedom,” said Mr Harald Leibrecht, a member of the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development.

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the political leader of Tibetans met with Mr Harald Leibrecht MP in Berlin during his Europen trip in 2011. Leibrecht is a senior member of the German Parliament and a prominent supporter of the Tibetan issue. He announced that he has vowed to keep working on Tibetan cause even after he retires from the German Parliament in next two months.

He is also the Coordinator for Transatlantic Cooperation on behalf of Federal Foreign Office and one of the co-

Chinese-language site of the Central Tibetan Administration attacked by hackers

By Kalsang Dolma: 13 August 2013

Dharamshala: — Hackers have attacked the Chineselanguage website of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) based in Dharamshala, India with an unidentified virus, making the portal inaccessible.

“Our office cannot access the website and we are trying to figure out what kind of virus is responsible for the problem,” Tashi Phuntsok, spokesman for the CTA based in the north Indian town of Dharamshala, told AFP. T h e o ff i c i a l s i t e o f t h e C TA c o v e r s t h e parliament, cabinet, administrative departments, and public offices.

Hackers have taken down the English, Tibetan and Chinese versions of the website several times in the past, according to Phuntsok.”We are a prominent target for attacks by Chinese hackers,” he said.

He could not confirm when the hackers had struck or if spying software had been installed on the computers and laptops of users trying to log on to the website.

Kurt Baumgartner, a researcher at Kaspersky Lab, a global manufacturer of antivirus software based in Moscow, detected the attack late Tuesday

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Tibetan websites temporarily shut down or removed completely or attacked. Photo: TPI

and said the website had been “strategically compromised” as a result.

Tenzin Taklha, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s spokesman, told AFP that spiritual leader, His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s official website www.dalailama.com continued to function normally.

The official website of the CTA, located at www. tibet.net, is a trilingual website in Tibetan, English and Chinese languages. The site acts as a window to the departments and offices of the CTA, Tibetan settlements, schools and institutes.

Several Tibetan-language websites and blogs hosted in

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chair of the Tibet Discussion Group in the German parliament.

In his message to the new parliamentarians who will be elected in the September elections, Mr Leibrecht urged them to raise the issue of Tibet during their meetings with Chinese officials and underlined that the parliamentary group on Tibet can make valuable contribution to the Tibetan cause.

“I was involved in the Tibetan cause before I became a member of parliament and will continue to support the cause through other ways after my retirement,” said Mr Leibrecht.

Leibrecht, a senior member of the German Parliament, is the Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation in the Field of Intersocietal Relations, Cultural and Information Policy, German government.

Since 2002, he is serving as: Deputy Chairman of the sub-committee on International Cultural.

Educational Affairs,Member of the Committee on economic cooperation and development.Substitute Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Chairman of the Baden-Württemberg FDP parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.

The Human Rights Committee of the German parliament On April 24 this year strong urged the new Chinese leadership to open up a new chapter in their relations to the Tibetans, to look into the causes of the desperate acts and to bring about necessary reforms.

“The significant rise of self-immolations is an expression of deepest desperation about the lack of freedom, as well as about non-existent freedom of religion and the refusal of the Chinese leadership to respect a unique cultural identity,” the Human Rights Committee said in its joint declaration.

In 2011, the three chairpersons of the Tibet Discussion Group in the German Parliament urged German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel in an open letter “to advocate for an immediate end to the Chinese violence towards the Tibetan people.

They highlighted that the monks and nuns of Tibet’s various monasteries have been the most affected. “The Tibetan people are suffering and living with a feeling of cultural and religious genocide,” the letter said.

They urged the Germany Chancellor to use all your leverage, so that the Tibetan people’s basic human rights that are enshrined in the Chinese constitution will be respected.

They applauded the German Chancellor’s for meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Chancellery and said, “you have already set a bright example.”

The Chinese authorities in Tibet have adopted increasingly aggressive measures to prevent Tibetans from the widespread protests that shook the regime. At least 28 self-immolation protests to deaths peaked in the run up the ruling Communist Party’s pivotal Party Congress last November.

Since 2009, at least 120 Tibetans have self-immolated reportedly to protest Chinese hardline and repressive rule in Tibet and of them 103 were reportedly passedaway from their severe burn injuries.

Tibetan self-immolators have called for the return of the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama to his homeland and freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet.

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China have gone offline from last year. The four Tibetan language websites; tibetcul.cn,(Tibetan Culture) rabdrol.net, (famous blog) dobumnet.com (blog) and tibet123.com (One of most popular blogs in Tibet) are among the popular websites have been temporarily shut down or removed completely.

Most of the popular independently-run Tibetan blogs and sites, Tibetan official websites, those hosted in outside of China have also still blocked in major cities in China, including Beijing, while testing at websitepulse.com The websitepulse.com shows status of any blocked websites as: “Failure receiving network data.” The wikipedia has also listed more than 2600 websites, which are or were blocked in China. Lists of websites blocked in China.

The Paris based world media watchdog ‘Reporters Without Borders’ in may this year has added Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China, in the new list of predators of world press freedom.

According to RSF, ‘Xinhua’ - the world’s biggest propaganda agency belonging to the Chinese Communist Party’s Propaganda Department, employs more than 10,000 people. The head of the Xinhua has the rank of a minister.

Since October 1949, this state-run news-agency has been completely subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party and remains the voice of the sole party.

China remains as one of states that are classified as ‘Enemies of the Internet, ‘ where severely curtail freedom of expression on and access to the Internet

8

15 AugustS 2013

TPI NEWS BACK PAGE FOCUS

The Tibet Post International

Why are Tibetans predisposed to be positive?

By Gabriel

Lafitte: 15 August 2013

The immediate response of my Tibetan friends, on hearing that a brand new Potala has been built over the river from the original, positioned facing north to look at and interrogate the historic Potala, is that this is good. It matters little that the geomantic positioning is all wrong, that the purpose is to stage a spectacle to imprint the Party’s “mass line” on the minds of millions of Han Chinese tourists flocking to Lhasa. What occurs most readily to Tibetans is that the actual Potala is overloaded with tourists, so a duplicate might take the pressure off, that’s good.

Big new globally branded hotels coming up in Lhasa will be good, because it gives opportunity for Tibetans to connect with tourists who have a sincere desire to make meaningful connections with Tibetans. The wider impacts of commoditising Tibetan culture, as a packaged product, are secondary.

In the deeply rooted optimism of the Tibetan mindset, it is all to the good that the Buryat Hambo Lam planned to declare Russia’s Putin-lite leader Medvedyev an incarnation of Tara. Splendid. It matters little that his strategy was to not only curry favour with the Kremlin but to distance Buryat from Tibetan Buddhism, relocating the epicentre of Buddhism to Buryatia, as prophesied by the Buddha’s saying that Buddhism would go north. Buryatia is as north as it goes.

It takes a lot to rile a Tibetan. One has to work hard, pointing out one negative impact after another, before a Tibetan will softly and reluctantly say: this is not necessary, not skilful.

Westerners far too readily dismiss this as naivete. It’s not hard to see why. When you hear Tibetans tell you, with conviction, that they know that the last Romanov tsars, or even the leading Politburo members in China are or were secret Buddhists, seeking the blessings of the lamas on their deathbeds, it is hard to see anything more than wishful thinking.

Yet it would be wrong to attribute this to a bubble of bliss that Tibetans inhabit, that shields them from reality. Modernity fetishes the fact. We readily talk of hard-headed facts. We are all too willing to believe the worst, even to the point that it depresses us. Cold, hard, reality is meant to be a refresher, a wake-up call, as if the modern fact has its own independent existence.

We are predisposed to believe the worst. From that ingrained starting point, we sometimes then discover circumstances are more workable than we initially supposed.

Although Tibetans are predisposed to believe the best, they do work through the complexities of situations, and may come to realise that all is not well, that bad actors, or more probably bad motives are in play. The new brandname hotels may employ some Tibetans who speak Chinese and can pass exams and security checks, but few tourists want more than photo opps with cute Tibetans. The intrusiveness of the mass tourist gaze penetrates even the climactic moments of a lengthy pilgrimage to the Jokhang to purify the mind.

So maybe, on balance, mass tourism with Chinese characteristics is not helpful.

The Buryat Hambo Lam may have hit on a classic strategy to bring Russian power into the Buddhist realm, but his chauvinism denies the lineage connections with Tibet, and seeks to invent a tradition of purely indigenous, autochthonous Buddhism that owes nothing to no-one. He bolstered his case for an autarkic Buryat Buddhism by parading the mummified body of a predecessor who died in 1927 as Communist purges

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Dharamshala: - Chinese authorities have arrested a Tibetan singer popularly known as ‘contemporary Tibet’s young nightingale’ for singing a “politicallysubversive” song at a concert last year.

“Kalsang Yarphel, about 37, was arrested on 15 July

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A Tibetan Buddhist monk prostrating in front of the Potala Palace Photo: TPI/Keren Su

loomed. Miraculously, seven decades later, the body remained so lifelike it was as if he died only hours ago. This proves that fully enlightened beings realised the nature of mind, in Buryatia, so there is no need of any dependence on external connections to maintain authentic lineages.

As Anya Bernstein says: “In September 2002, Buddhist lamas of the Ivolginsk monastery in the post-Soviet Republic of Buryatia in southern Siberia accompanied by independent forensic experts performed an exhumation of the body of Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov, the last head lama from the time of the Russian empire, who died in 1927. The body of the lama, found in the lotus position, allegedly had not deteriorated, and soon rumors spread that the lama was alive and had returned to Buryatia, as he had promised he would. According to the stories told by senior monks, before his death Itigelov asked to have his body exhumed. After the exhumation in 2002 the lamas installed the body in a glass case in the Ivolginsk monastery, which very soon became an international and domestic sensation, with articles appearing in The New York Times, and Russian politicians and oligarchs rubbing shoulders with droves of pilgrims and tourists to catch a glimpse of the lama.”

How should we respond to this necropolitics, as Bernstein calls it? Is it ludicrous, inspired, chauvinist, magnetic, negative or positive? It may well be all the above. Little of it fits into the category of the modern fact. The Tibetan worldview accommodates much more than objective fact.

Tibetan optimism has powerfully sustained Tibetans under decades of Han intrusion, arrogance, racism and offensive insistence on attacking what is dearest to Tibetans, the Dalai Lama. The good hearted response is not at all naïve, it has been an inner strength sustaining Tibetans over long, bleak decades. It originates in the sacred outlook cultivated by Buddhist practitioners, who enable themselves to act effectively in the world by first adopting the stance that everything, even the most polluted and psychotic states, are originally pure and remain undefiled by confusion and delusion.

Meditators are instructed in many intensive practices to realise this as the fundamental truth of all phenomena, in ways that are embodied and thus come readily to mind.

Ordinary Tibetans, who have no particular religious

training, but who grow up in Tibetan culture, inherit that positive attitude. All share in this legacy, it is in the air.

There’s nothing naïve about this: it is the reason Tibet has survived and often thrived, against the full might of modern coercive authoritarianism.

Gabriel Lafitte is a development policiy consultant to the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, northern India.

Tibetan silver teapot for record....... ...................continued from front-page

The show is similar to Antiques Roadshow except that people go on to sell their treasures at auction which is also filmed by the BBC. The unnamed owner took the 12ins tall teapot along to a valuation day held last month at Longleat House, Wilts.

They discovered that the ornate pot was seized by an ancestor of the man who took part in the controversial British expedition to Tibet in 1903 led by Colonel Francis Younghusband.

The collection including a number of rare religious objects also included 140 rare photographs taken during a controversial expedition made by the British into Tibet

2013 in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet and taken to a detention centre in Chengdu city in Sichuan Province where he remains now,” said Dharamsala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

Yarphel has released several albums and participated in many musical concerts organised by both government and private organisations.

In his song, Yarphel exhorts “Tibetans to learn and speak Tibetan, unite three traditional provinces of Tibet and uphold patriotism.”

The DVDs made out of the songs performed at the concert were distributed distributed widely in Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. A month later, the Chinese authorities enforced a ban on the sale and distribution of the DVD many of which were confiscated, the group said quoting sources from the region.

The Tibetan singer is currently lodged in a detention centre in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province.

Yarphel is the son of Gonpo Tseten and Makho. His wife is named Tsezin Palmo and they have three children. Videos of Kelsang Yarphel performing the song Bhodpa Tso is available on Youtube.

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Zurich: The political leader of the exile Central Tibetan Administration in India, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, arrived in Switzerland on April 10 for a 12-day visit.

Dr Sangay was scheduled to address the Swiss Tibetan community on April 14 in Fribourg, where His Holiness the Dalai Lama was also set to give a teaching. From April 20 to 21, the Sikyong

Livestock ‘Indiscriminately.............. ...................continued from front-page

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The next day, another 21 animals were taken by force from their owners and killed in the same way, sources added.

“Later, on August 12, officials killed 52 animals belonging to Thanga village and announced that all the rest would be destroyed.”

Local herders objected to this “indiscriminate killing of livestock” and argued that if a disease had spread among the herds, authorities should separate the affected animals from those who were still healthy, he said.

“Those who resisted the killing spree were threatened with ‘serious consequences,’” the man said, adding, “A local Tibetan named Kalsang was taken away and hasn’t been heard from since.”

Four monks released..............

The four were detained on February 13, 2012, and were released on July 18, July 23, and July 25 this year, respectively, Lobsang said.

Tenzin Sherab was released on July 15, this year.

Sources stated that “he was severely beaten and tortured before being sentenced, and afterward was forced to work as long as fifteen hours per day, making gloves and copper wires.”

Below is a translation of the song by the exile Human Rights group: “Fellow Tibetans” We must learn Tibetan Speak Tibetan To learn them is our responsibility, Fellow Tibetans We must unite We must unite All the three traditional provinces of Tibet must unite, Fellow Tibetans We must build courage Thinking about the years and months of joy and suffering We must build courage, Fellow Tibetans We must allow joy and suffering to speak up Thinking about Tibet’s future path We must search for the path, Fellow Tibetans We must uphold our patriotism Upholding patriotism Let’s march forward Together, shoulder-to-shoulder.

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Tibetan singer Kalsang arrested over alleged political song

Singer Kalsang Yarphel, 37, who was detained for singing “politically subversive” song at a musical concert. Photo: TCHRD

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Tashi Delek If you would like to sponsor an issue of The Tibet Post International newspaper, Please contact us via email; news@thetibetpost.com or call us anytime on; +91-9882423566 We would like to present a brief profile of your company or your own profile and any message to share with others.

Your support will help us continue our service and work.