Dalai Lama seeks Olympics invitation
CNN/Europe
May 21, 2008
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The Dalai Lama has said he is "happy" to attend this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, China, if he is invited
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was speaking to reporters Wednesday during a 12-day visit to Britain that also includes a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Asked whether China would like him to attend the Games, the Dalai Lama responded: "That I don't know. No indication." But he said any visit would depend on a meeting with Chinese authorities.
"I'm happy to go there, but (it will) entirely depend on our meeting," he said. "If (the) meeting becomes something concrete, constructive -- and in the meantime (the) situation inside Tibet improves, and (it) appears some kind of long-term solution (can) happen, then I'm ready (to) go there if (the) invitation comes."
Beijing blames the Dalai Lama and his followers for violence that erupted in the region in March amid demonstrations for Tibetan independence. The Chinese authorities cracked down on the protests, which began peacefully on the 49th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising.
Tibet's self-proclaimed government-in-exile put the death toll from the protests at 140, but Chinese government restrictions made it difficult to confirm that number. Chinese authorities reported 19 people were killed, and said most of those were Han Chinese targeted by Tibetans.
The Olympic torch relay is currently working its way through mainland China -- although it was on hold through Wednesday for a three-day suspension to honor victims of the deadly earthquake that struck last week -- and is scheduled to pass through Tibet from June 19-21.
The Dalai Lama said he "definitely" supports having the torch go through Tibet.
He also praised the response of the Chinese authorities to the quake. And while he acknowledged that forging economic links with China was important for Britain and the West, he said they must not ignore human rights issues.
"The economy is important, but human values are more important: human issues like human rights," he said.
"While you are making close relationship in the business field, there is no point in forgetting about principles. I think that is very important."
He dismissed criticisms of the British prime minister's refusal to meet him at his Downing Street office, instead hosting a meeting at the Archbishop of Canterbury's residence, Lambeth Palace. The Dalai Lama insisted his visit had always been meant to be "non political."
Dalai Lama's Britain Visit Raises Questions of Protocol
By John F. Burns and Alan CowelL
The New York Times
May 21, 2008
LONDON -- The Dalai Lama arrived in London on Tuesday as part of a protracted foreign tour, highlighting efforts by European governments to balance China's hostility toward him against their support for human rights in Tibet.
At his previous stop in Germany, the Dalai Lama was received at a relatively low political level, met by only one government minister, in sharp contrast to last September when he met with Chancellor Angela Merkel. That meeting had prompted a long chill in relations with Beijing. This time, though, the chancellor was out of town on a week-long tour of Latin America.
In London, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was embroiled in a debate over the level of warmth he should display toward China at the 2008 Summer Olympics in light of Beijing's recent crackdown on dissent in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama on Tuesday seemed eager to avoid inflaming the dispute with China, although he did refer to China's rule in Tibet at one point as totalitarian. The remark was made during a speech at London Metropolitan University, where he received an honorary degree. In unscripted remarks delivered in English, he was critical of China's role in education in his homeland.
"In Tibet, although the Chinese did help in modern education," he said, "the totalitarian system is one-sided, every field is much politicized. It does not give a complete form of education."
According to the Dalai Lama's official program for his 11-day visit to Britain, he will meet Mr. Brown only at an encounter with the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, at what the prime minister's office called "an interfaith dialogue with several other religious leaders."
Breaking with a tradition established by two British prime ministers, John Major and Tony Blair, Mr. Brown will not receive the Dalai Lama at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence.
The scheduling inspired complaints from politicians and others who support Tibetans in their struggle against China, and who maintain that the British authorities have played down the Dalai Lama's status to avoid conflict with China, a key trade partner.
"Treating the Dalai Lama as only a religious leader simply ignores reality," said Sir Menzies Campbell, the former leader of the small opposition Liberal Democrats. "There is no reason why he should not be received at No. 10 Downing Street."
"Many people will conclude that the prime minister is trying to have it both ways, to see him and not offend the Chinese government," Sir Menzies said.
Representatives of the London-based Free Tibet Campaign said Mr. Brown would be the first Western leader to meet the Dalai Lama since widespread protests and violence between Tibetans and the Chinese authorities in March. "It is vital that the British government treat the Dalai Lama not just as a religious leader but also as a political figure," said Matt Whitticase, a representative of the campaign.
"Gordon Brown is refusing to meet him in a political setting, underplaying his importance as a political leader especially at a time when his importance has been emphasized by the Tibetan people and people across the world," Mr. Whitticase told The Press Association, a news agency. "There is a deep-seated political problem in Tibet and the Dalai Lama holds the key, and he should therefore be met in a political setting."
The Dalai Lama is on a three-month tour of five countries, including the United States, and he used his visit to Germany to underline his insistence that he is not seeking Tibet's independence from China.
But according to Agence France-Presse, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, warned Germany on Tuesday "to not support in any form or connive with the Dalai's anti-China separatist activities on German soil."
In Britain, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to give several speeches, to address a parliamentary foreign affairs panel and to speak to audiences in Nottingham and Oxford.
John F. Burns reported from London, and Alan Cowell from Paris.
China arrests three nuns of Tehor Nyagay Nunnery in Kardze
For Immediate Release
TCHRD
May 21, 2008
China arrests three nuns of Tehor Nyagay Nunnery in Kardze
Three Tibetan nuns from Tehor Nyagay Nunnery, in Kardze County were arrested by the County Chinese security forces for staging a peaceful protest, according to reliable sources within Tibet.
At around 1:00 AM (Beijing Standard Time) on 20 May 2008, three nuns from the Nyagay Nunnery, situated in Kardze County, Kardze "Tibet Autonomous Prefecture"(TAP"), Sichuan Province, started marching from Tehor Nyagay Nunnery towards the Kardze County which is around 20 Kms away from the Nunnery. The Nyagay Nunnery is very close to the famous Kardze Tehor Dargay Monastery. The three nuns were said to have reached, Kardze County, their preplanned destination of the protest before morning dawn sets in. The reason cited for the three nuns was to launch their march in the wee hours of the morning so as to avoid being blocked and arrested by the heavy security presence and severe restriction imposed on the movement of the people in that area.
According to the source, the three nuns started their protest at around 9:00 AM (Beijing Standard Time) near Kardze County headquarters when people begin to gather for their daily lives in the county. The three nuns shouted slogans calling for "Freedom in Tibet", "Dalai Lama should return to Tibet", and "Immediate release of the political prisoners imprisoned by the Chinese authorities". The three nuns were immediately detained by the County Security forces and taken away to unknown location. There is no immediate information on their whereabouts and conditions.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the three nuns who were detained by the Chinese authorities for voicing opinion in a non-violent manner and exercising their freedom of expression.
China Blocks Thousands of Hindus from Tibet Pilgrimage
By Heather Timmons and Hari Kumar
The New York Times
May 21, 2008
NEW DELHI -- The Chinese government is refusing to issue visas to Hindus trying to make the traditional summer pilgrimage to what they hold to be the home of Lord Shiva in Tibet, forcing thousands to delay or cancel the trip.
Starting in June, Hindus from Nepal and India embark on a multiweek journey to the 22,000-foot Mount Kailash in the Himalayas and nearby Lake Mapam Yutso, known in India as Lake Mansarovar. The trip, a once-in-a-lifetime event for most who make it, includes treacherous off-road drives and several days of arduous trekking, and is believed to bring the traveler closer to the divine.
This year, though, the Chinese government is refusing to grant any visas for travel to the Tibetan sites from Nepal, tour operators in Nepal say. India's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the Chinese government had cited unspecified "domestic reasons."
At the same time, Beijing has retracted permission previously granted to Indian pilgrims who were planning to make the trip in early June. The Olympic torch is scheduled to go through Tibet's capital, Lhasa, on June 20.
"I was planning for the last 10 years for this trip," said Rajendra Goyal, 48, a Mumbai-based hardware trader whose trip has been canceled. Mr. Goyal said he was on a rigorous diet and exercise schedule for the last two months to make sure he was fit for the mountain hiking involved.
"A pilgrim is a pilgrim, not an activist or a politician," he said. "I am going there for religious faith, not to do any violence."
Tour operators and pilgrims said they believed that the cancellations were a result of the turmoil and demonstrations in Tibet that started in March. "This could be because of protests in Tibet; in fact, that is the main reason," said Ripu Mardan, the information manager of Eco Trek International, a Katmandu-based tour operator. Eco Trek normally sends several hundred pilgrims a year to Mount Kailash and Lake Mapam Yutso.
Tour operators estimate that 5,000 to 6,000 pilgrims travel to the home of Lord Shiva, one of the six deities in Hinduism, from Nepal each year.
"This is our holiest of holy sites," said Gopal Vijay Ditya Singh, 62, a professor of electrical engineering in Lucknow, India, who had paid $5,000 to go with his wife. "How can they stop us from going there?"
Tibetans Asked to Stop Anti-China Protests Due to Earthquake
By Jay Shankar
Bloomberg
May 21, 2008 01:12 EDT
Tibet's government-in-exile called on protesters to halt demonstrations against Chinese rule in the Himalayan territory, in an expression of solidarity with victims of the Sichuan earthquake.
Tibetans across the world should stop protesting outside Chinese embassies at least until the end of May, the government said in a statement posted on its Web site. They should write a letter to the concerned authorities ``that they are doing so in solidarity with the quake victims.''
The government-in-exile, based in Dharamshala, northern India, says more than 200 people have been killed since protests against Chinese rule broke out in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, and other regions on March 10. China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of fomenting unrest, says 18 civilians and one police officer died in March 14 riots in Lhasa.
Tibetan exiles have since staged regular demonstrations worldwide against China's crackdown on the protests.
The quake, China's strongest in 58 years, killed at least 40,075 people and injured 247,645, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the State Council, China's Cabinet.
China may take as many as 10 years to recover from the quake as the government relocates more than 12 million people left homeless by the disaster, according to World Vision, a Christian aid group.
Tibetans must undertake prayer meetings and raise donations for the victims of the quake, according to the statement.
Protests began in Tibet on March 10 when hundreds of monks marched in Lhasa calling for an end to religious restrictions and the release of imprisoned colleagues. The date marked the anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, after which the Dalai Lama, the Himalayan region's spiritual leader, fled to India.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jay Shankar in Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net
Blood Donation to Nepal Red Cross
By Tenzin Choephel, Phayul Correspondent
Phayul
May 21, 2008
Kathmandu May 19 - The Nepal Tibetan Solidarity Forum organized a blood donation program in aid of Nepal Red Cross Society at Khula Manch, Tundikhel today to express their unwavering solidarity with fellow Tibetans in Tibet in their fight for truth, freedom and justice. The campaign saw participation from over 120 people out of whom 83 were deemed fit to donate a pound of their blood. The participants included Tibetan officials, RTYC Executives, journalists, monks, nuns, general public and some Nepalese locals.
One donor, RTYC Executive Norbu Gyaltsen told Phayul, "I hope my blood donation will help those injured in Tibet, I am ready to give my blood, life or anything for my country". Former RTYC President Tenzin Wangdu, Boudha Jorpati Tibetan Welfare Officer Dhondup Tsering and Tibetan journalist Tsetan were among the donors.
Tsetan told Phayul, "This donation will help Nepalese, I am doing this as a gratitude for them and this is also in solidarity with our brethrens in Tibet".
Many of the donors were Tibetans who have been taking part in the recent protests against China in Kathmandu. Among them, over a dozen monks and nuns donated blood today some of whom are originally from Dingri and Nyalam County near Mount Everest in South Central Tibet. There was no protest reported from these areas. They explained while talking to Phayul that due to the torch relay on Everest and these areas' close proximity to the border, an additional 10,000 soldiers had been deployed in the region.
One of the monk Lobsang Zodpa who has taken part in almost every protest in Kathmandu said, "My hometown Nyalam County is being isolated from outside, during my last telephone conversation with my family, they said authorities in our place have warned people to refrain from talking to relatives or friends outside Tibet, or if they pass information to face severe punishment". He also said that people in his region could not protest because after the unrest in Lhasa, Kham and Amdo, there was extra security deployed and people were suppressed before they could do anything.
The reasons for participating in all the protest here in Kathmandu he explains, "Is to protect my country, people and culture and to make them stop killing in Tibet". According to him one man Tenpa from his county who returned to Tibet a week after sending his son to school in India has been arrested and disappeared, his father who holds a government job was fired and the family has been denied of government
housing grant.
Another monk Khedup who protested in Kathmandu six times told Phayul, "Chinese are killing and torturing many Tibetans in Tibet, I am protesting against China to stop this inhumane atrocity and restore the rights of our fellow Tibetans in Tibet."