འབྲེལ་གཏུགས་གསར་འཕྲིན།
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A Free Monthly Publication For Tibetan Issues & Community Information Rgd No. HPENG/2013/51798
Remembering the 10th Panchen Lama by Demay Tsering January 28 marked 25 years since Lobsang Trinley Lhundup Choekyi Gyaltsen, the 10th Panchen Lama, died aged 51 years. The Panchen Lama is the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Ven Bagdro, a Tibetan Buddhist monk and former political prisoner who is actively campaigning for a free Tibet, spoke at a press conference to commemorate the occasion at Lha’s Ahimsa House in Dharamshala. Ven Bagdro recalled the contributions made by the 10th Panchen Lama, and The 10th Panchen Lama spoke about Photo: freepanchen the allegations lama.org that there was a Chinese conspiracy to assassinate him. Ven Bagdro said that in November 1987 it is alleged that a “meeting to decide on [the]elimination of the Panchen” was convened at Deng Xiaoping’s residence [Deng Xiaoping was a prominent Chinese leader following the death of Mao Zedung]. He said that participants of the meeting included Deng Xiaoping, Chenyun, Li Xiannian, Bo Yibo and Songping, and that Wen Jiabao and Hu Jintao were appointed to execute a “Special Decision on Panchen”. Ven Bagdro Continued on page 4
Volume: XVI Issue: 1
31 JANUARY 2014
Fire Hits Tibet by Mary Trewartha One of Tibet’s most influential Buddhist learning centres, the Larung Gar Buddhist Institute in Serthar, in the Karze region of eastern Tibet (incorporated into China’s Sichuan Province), was extensively damaged by fire on January 9. Two nuns were injured, and more than 100 houses destroyed, although no loss of life was reported. The resident monks, nuns and local Tibetans made efforts to extinguish the fire but were hampered by heavy wind. The cause of the fire has not yet been identified. Larung Gar was established in the 1980s, during the liberalisation of religious practice which took place in the aftermath of the systematic annihilation of Tibetan culture and religion during
China’s Cultural Revolution. It attracts tens of thousands of disciples from around the world. Two days later fire devastated the ancient Tibetan town of Gyalthang, known in Chinese as Dukezong, or “Shangrila” as it has been named to attract Fire damaged nun quarters t o u r i s t s . at Larung Gar monstery The fire Photo: RFA destroyed more than two thirds of the town and left over 2,600 people homeless, although Continued on page 6
Detained Khenpo in Serious Condition by Tashan Mehta The detention of Khenpo (abbot) Karma Tsewang, a senior monk at Japa monastery in Nangchen, has a sparked a series of protests and arrests. Popularly known as Khenpo Kartse, he was detained in Chengdu town on December 6 while buying a statue for his monastery. His detention was allegedly due to his involvement in several incidents in Karma town in the Chamdo prefecture in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Khenpo Kartse is known for leading a team of monks to help the relief effort at Kyegudo after a devastating earthquake in April 2010, which state media reported left nearly 2,700 dead and 270 others missing. He has also
helped in efforts to protect the Tibetan language, culture and religion. A rally was staged on December 18 to call for his release. According
Khenpo Kartse in an undated photo Photo: Tsering Woeser
to Tsering Woeser, writer and poet, a group of county officials intervened in the rally and assured the protesters that efforts would be made to release Continued on page 5