Circular from Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kasur  Lodi G. Gyari

Washington, D.C. 11th November 2011

I am sending this circular concerning the changes in the Tibetan  political governance and how these affect me and my work.

As you are aware, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in his far-sighted  wisdom, has undertaken yet another step in empowering the Tibetan people by his devolution of his political authority to the elected  Tibetan leadership.  This process is now complete with the relevant amendment of the Charter of Tibetans in Exile in May 2011, coming  into session of a newly empowered Tibetan Parliament in June 2011, and the assumption of office by a newly empowered Kalon Tripa in  August 2011.

In 1990 His Holiness the Dalai Lama had appointed me as Special  Envoy to be based in Washington, D.C for broader international relations. Following the enactment of the Charter of the Tibetans  in Exile in 1991 and my retirement from the civil service of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), I continued serving as the  Special Envoy of H.H. the Dalai Lama.  Since His Holiness was also the head of the Central Tibetan Administration until the recent  changes, there was no conflict in my assisting in the work of the CTA or other concerned officials and organizations.  In this  regard, I have also worked with successive heads of the Office of Tibet in New York, whether it was taking up CTA issues with the  United States Government or other work.

With the changes in the CTA’s structure, the Kashag informed me in  May 2011 of its intention to appoint me to a position under it, as per the amended Charter’s provisions.  I responded by reminding the  Kashag that I had retired from the CTA civil service long time back and so the Charter provision did not apply to my position. It has  been extraordinary privilege to have the opportunity to serve the Gaden Phodrang until the last moment of His Holiness’ direct  political leadership.

Following the recent changes in the governance system, I have  ceased any involvement with issues relating to the Central Tibetan Administration; be it at the broader level of taking them up with  the U.S. or other governments, or minor issues like issuing letters of introduction.  All such issues are being handled by the Office  of Tibet in New York.

This, however, does not imply that I do not have any desire to  assist in the work of the new Administration or that the new Kashag does not have any confidence in me.  It is merely a reflection of  the part of the process of clarifying the structure under the new system in place now. It goes without saying that I am fully  committed to extend whatever support and counsel I can offer to the new Tibetan leadership.  I have also had the opportunity to  discuss  this matter with the new Kalon Tripa, Dr. Lobsang Sangay.

I will be continuing in my present capacity as Special Envoy of H.H  the Dalai Lama for some time for the dialogue process, including in leading our efforts in our talks with the Chinese leadership, with  Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen.  In this capacity, I will continue to be involved with governments, other organizations and individuals to  help with the dialogue process.

The present tragic situation in Tibet and the most repressive  policies of the Chinese authorities makes one wonder if it is even worth making any efforts for the dialogue. On the other hand the  prevailing situation confronts every sensible person that the only way is through dialogue.

China Lashes Out at Dalai Lama’s Visit to Mongolia

VOA Tibetan

China says it has lodged a strong protest with neighboring Mongolia over a visit this week by the Dalai Lama.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei announced the protest at a briefing in Beijing Tuesday.

“We have always opposed any country providing a platform for the Dalai Lama to engage in activities to split China in any form. China has lodged a strong protest to Mongolia.”

He said China has always opposed any country providing the exiled spiritual leader with a platform to advocate independence from China for his native Tibet.

The Dalai Lama began a series of lectures and prayer sessions in Mongolia Tuesday after arriving from Japan, where he blamed Chinese policies for the self-immolations of 11 Buddhist monks and nuns in ethnic Tibetan areas of China.

The Dalai Lama has long insisted he seeks only a degree of autonomy for Tibet, along with better protections for the region’s traditional culture.

But the Chinese spokesman charged that he uses every opportunity to advocate for Tibetan independence.

“The Dalai Lama always uses the opportunity of furtive visits to publicize Tibetan independence, smear the Chinese government and play up issues related to Tibet.”

He said the spiritual leader also uses his travels to smear the Chinese government.

Tibetan-style Buddhism is widely practiced in Mongolia, whose political survival has long depended on a delicate balancing act between its two giant neighbors, China and Russia.

Senior Mongolian religious leaders have stressed the purely spiritual nature of the Dalai Lama’s visit.

Tragic Death of Tawu Nun after Self-Immolation

Today, at around 12.40 pm, a nun in Tawu County, Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP), set herself afire in protest against the Chinese government amid the continued repression of religious freedom and human rights in Tibet.

Palden Choesang, 35 years old, shouted slogans such as “Freedom in Tibet,” “Long live H.H the Dalai Lama,” and “Let the Dalai Lama return to Tibet” before she self-immolated near Namgyal Stupa, a huge stupa in Tawu County.

Latest reports state that nun Choesang died from severe burn injuries. Her body is being kept at Tawu Nyatso Monastery at this moment.

Choesang was born in Drogcho Village, Geshe Township of Tawu County, Kardze TAP. She was a nun at Dakar Choeling Nunnery in Tawu County.

Today was the last day of a ‘*Nyung-ney*’ practice, a religious fast by monks of Tawu Nyatso monastery and local Tibetans that was held in the premises of the Namgyal stupa. According to sources, nun Choesang self-immolated at a road nearby the Namgyal stupa.

Shortly after nun Choesang’s self-immolation, many police arrived, placing heavy restrictions on the area around Nyatso monastery.

Latest reports state that nun Choesang died from severe burn injuries.
Her body is being kept at Tawu Nyatso Monastery at this moment.

Press Release From The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile

Statement Of Gratitude To The World Community For Their Continued Support And Solidarity With The Tibetan Cause

Since the peaceful protests of 2008, the situation inside Tibet has been continuously deteriorating. The repressive and unjust policies pursued by the Chinese government with regard to Tibetan religion, Tibetan language, Tibetan culture, finance and politics are meant to oppress, discriminate and restrict and suppress the rights of the Tibetans. So much so, the Tibetans inside Tibet are increasingly becoming second class citizens in their own country.

The Chinese government has also been resorting to arbitrary arrests and torture of Tibetan youngsters and intellectuals, without giving a fair trial, while the Chinese settlers spread across the three provinces of Tibet have been resorting to illegal acquisition of traditional Tibetan lands, making the lives of Tibetan farmers and
nomads very hard.

And the Chinese government, instead of addressing the issues facing the Tibetans inside Tibet, keeps on denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his middle way approach for a genuine autonomy for Tibet through its false propaganda. Therefore, out of helplessness and desperation, 10 Tibetans including a nun, have self  immolated since March this year, calling for freedom and the safe return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

In view of the grim situation prevailing inside Tibet, the US Administration, Denmark’s Administration as well as the British and the European Parliament have expressed their solidarity with the Tibetan people through press statements, resolutions and discussions in their respective Parliaments. Similarly, various Non-governmental Organisations, Tibet Support Groups, Chinese Democratic Organisations and activists across the world have
carried out campaigns and activities calling for the world’s attention towards Tibet. The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile is deeply grateful and would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to all the support and help extended.

The Chinese government have imposed heavy restrictions and have suppressed the basic rights of Tibetans in the whole of Tibet particularly in the areas where, self  immolation protests have taken place recently. Therefore, we urge the United Nations and peace loving nations across the world to stand up for truth and justice and pressure the Chinese government for the human rights violations taking place there. Furthermore, an independent investigation should be carried out in the areas of  Ngaba in Amdo, Tawu and Karzey in Kham to ascertain the ground realities prevailing in the region.

The stories of development and a harmonious society churned out by the Chinese propaganda machinery is a lie and without any basis. It is a tactic adopted by the Chinese government to hide the truth and fool the world.

We also urge the various Non-governmental Organisations, Tibet support groups and individual Tibet activists to continue their campaigns and activities calling for the attention of the world and peace loving people towards the issue of Tibet.

German MPs urge Chancellor Merkel to raise Tibet with Hu Jintao

Phayul (Tuesday, November 01, 2011)

By Tendar Tsering

DHARAMSHALA, November 1: With the G-20 summit scheduled to begin in the next few days, a group of German Parliamentarians urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to raise the Tibetan issue during the summit.

The three German Parliamentarians – Mrs. Sabine Weiss MP (CDU), Mr. Harald Leibrecht, MP (FDP) and Mrs. Sabine Bätzing-Lichtenthäler MP (SPD) in an open letter urged Chancellor Merkel to boldly raise the issue of Tibet with Chinese president Hu Jintao at the summit.

“The situation inside Tibet is currently escalating at a dramatic pace. Tibetans need more political support, especially from Europe,” The MPs said.

“We should not convey the impression that human rights are being traded for economic success and commercial relations.”

The open letter also urged the German government to advocate for an immediate end to China’s repressive policies in Tibet.

“We hope that you can use the G20 Summit to call on the Chinese government to respond to the Tibetan people’s legitimate demands with a meaningful dialogue instead of force,” the letter said.

The MPs acknowledged the German Chancellor for meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader in the Chancellery in 2007, and applauded her for setting an example to other German leaders in the future.

In recent months, ten Tibetans in Tibet have set themselves on fire, calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.

Tibetans and Tibetan supporters all over the world are gearing for a global campaign during the G 20 summit calling upon world leaders to put pressure on China to consider the genuine grievances of the Tibetan people.

China: UN experts warn of severe human rights restrictions

on Tibetan Buddhist monasteries

GENEVA (1 November 2011) – A group of United Nations independent experts voiced grave concern over reports of heavy security measures, in and around the area of the Tibetan Buddhist Kirti monastery – which houses some 2,500 monks- and other monasteries in Aba County, an area of Sichuan province with many ethnic Tibetans in south-west China.

“Intimidation of the lay and monastic community must be avoided, and the right of members of the monastic community, and the wider community to freely practice their religion, should be fully respected and guaranteed by the Chinese Government,” stressed the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Mr. Heiner Bielefeldt, noting that the recent deployment of security forces is reported to include officers in riot gear, soldiers with automatic rifles, and trucks and armed personnel on the streets leading to the monastery.

Further measures are reported to include security raids and surveillance within monasteries, with police presence inside and outside monasteries to monitor religious activities. “Such restrictive measures not only curtail the right to freedom of religion or belief, but further exacerbate the existing tensions, and are counterproductive,” Mr. Heiner Bielefeldt said.

His comments were echoed by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. Maina Kiai, who warned that “such measures seriously impede the exercise of the right to association of members of the monastic community.”  

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. Frank La Rue, added his voice expressing his “deep concern about allegations of restrictions to Internet access and mobile messaging services within Aba Country, as well as journalists’ lack of access to the region.” In his view, “rather than taking such measures, the Government should instead listen to and address the legitimate grievances of the monastic community.”

The heavy security measures adopted have resulted in increased tensions between the Chinese authorities and members of the monastic community, in particular since March 2011, a period which has seen an escalation of protests by both lay persons and members of the monastic community, calling for religious freedom. The severe restrictions on freedoms of religion, expression and association, have led to hundreds of monks reportedly leaving the monastery, with many being arrested or subjected to enforced disappearance.

“Any enforced disappearance is unacceptable and such practices are in violation of international law,” said the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Mr. Jeremy Sarkin, expressing concern that a proposed revision to the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law will legalise enforced disappearances in the country. “This heinous practice is not permitted under any circumstances. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever may be invoked to justify an enforced disappearance.”

Another UN expert panel, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, expressed concern about the recurring practice of arbitrary arrests and detention of monks in the area of Sichuan province. “No individual can be arrested on the ground of peacefully exercising the rights and freedoms guaranteed under international human rights law,” stressed Mr. El Hadji Malick Sow, the Group’s Chair-Rapporteur.

The Independent Expert on minority issues, Ms. Rita Izsák, also called on the Chinese authorities to fully respect and uphold the rights of minorities including their rights to freely practice their religion and culture. “Allegations suggest that this is far from the case in this region and I urge the Government to cease any restrictive practices and refrain from any use of violence or intimidation.”

Tibetan Values Movement Spreads

2011-10-21

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/movement-10212011170649.html

Buddhist monasteries in Tibet are increasingly becoming centers of ethnic identity.

Monks destroy a pistol at Dzogchen monastery.

As Tibetans step up protests against Chinese rule, Buddhist monasteries in the eastern regions of Tibet have become the focus of efforts to promote not just religion but Tibetan national and cultural values, according to Tibetan sources.

And annual public assemblies at the monasteries have greatly increased in size in recent years, observers and participants say, as tens of thousands of Tibetans gather to assert their cultural identity in the face of Beijing’s cultural and  political domination.

Religious congregations in Tibet have traditionally concerned themselves with the performance of rituals and prayers, said one man, who travels widely in the region.

“Now, it’s different,” he said.

“Taking these gatherings as an opportunity, many educated Tibetan individuals and intellectuals attend the sessions and take part in discussions about Tibetan culture and traditions,” said the man, speaking to RFA on condition of anonymity.

Use of the spoken and written Tibetan language, and “how important this is to the survival of Tibetans,” is especially stressed, he said, adding that moral ethics and nonviolence have also become popular subjects of instruction.

Large-scale gatherings

At Sershul monastery in the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of China’s Sichuan province, more than 20,000 Tibetan monks and laypeople gathered from Oct. 6-13 to take part in discussions on these subjects, one participant said.

And during an Oct. 2-5 gathering at the Dzogchen monastery, also in Kardze, a senior religious leader spoke to more than 10,000 Tibetans about moral conduct in the community.

“As a result, many young Tibetans surrendered their weapons, including swords and knives, and vowed to shun violence,” one source said.

“Many also took vows to give up drinking and gambling, to speak pure Tibetan [not mixed with Chinese], and to wear Tibetan national dress.”

Similar gatherings were held in at least eight other locations during September and October, sources said, with one assembly of about 1,400 monks currently under way in Nangchen in the Yulshul (in Chinese, Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of China’s Qinghai province.

Defining ‘Tibetanness’

The growing movement among Tibetans to declare their cultural identity in the face of cultural and political domination by China has allowed Tibetans to “differentiate themselves from what it means to be ‘Chinese,’” said Elliott Sperling, a professor of Tibetan studies at Indiana University.

“The very act of defining your Tibetanness is an act of defining that which is not ‘Chinese’ about you,” Sperling said.

Following widespread protests in Tibet in 2008 against rule by Beijing, China’s leaders may have attempted to strike “a deal” with Tibetans similar to the one they struck with the Chinese people following the bloody crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement, Sperling said.

In this deal, Sperling said, certain restrictions on expression would be relaxed so long as no fundamental challenge was mounted to the Chinese Communist Party’s political control.

“But essentially, [this deal] isn’t going to work, since the dynamic is quite different,” Sperling said. “In other words, they’re dealing with a population which simply does not see itself as Chinese.”

“And you have many different expressions of this, which include celebrations of Tibetanness.”

Desperate situation

Tibet under Chinese rule has been rated among 10 of the world’s most repressive societies in a survey published this year by U.S.-based rights group Freedom House.

A recent wave of self-immolation protests against Chinese rule in which at least five Tibetans have died underscores the desperate situation faced by Tibetans, some analysts said.

The protests “could lead to a turning point in relations between the Chinese state and the Tibetan community,” Robbie Barnett, director of the Modern Tibetan Studies program at Columbia University, said last week.

“I have seen things on the Web inside Tibet—poems and comments and so on—that show that many Tibetans are deeply upset about these developments,” Barnett said.

“I think that Tibetans take it very seriously when they see people prepared to give up their lives because of what is understood to be political pressure on them.”

But Beijing is unlikely to relax its controls in Tibet.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping—the likely successor to President Hu Jintao, who must retire from running the Party in late 2012 and from the presidency in early 2013—visited Tibet in July to preside over celebrations marking 60 years since China gained control over the region.

Xi, in his first major speech on Tibet, vowed to crack down on “separatist activity” in the region and suggested that he will not ease Beijing’s hard-line stance.

Reported by RFA’s Tibetan service. Translations by Karma Dorjee. Written in English with additional reporting by Richard Finney.

TCHRD PRESS RELEASE

25 October 2011, Dharamsala

Contact: Ms. Dukthen Kyi  (English) / Mr. Jampel Monlam (Tibetan, Chinese)

Tel: +91 1892 223363, 229225, 225874

Yet Another Self-Immolation in Kandze

Sources to Tibet report that yet another monk self-immolated in Kandze County, Sichuan Province today (25 October 2011). At around 9.30 a.m Tibet local time, the fifth incident of self-immolation this month, monk Dawa Tsering, poured petrol on his body and set himself afire during the annual religious *Cham* dance ceremony in Kandze.

While on fire, monk Dawa Tsering raised slogans demanding the return of H.H the Dalai Lama, equality, and freedom in Tibet. Other monks who were gathered there for the religious ceremony tried to extinguish the flames and then immediately took the injured monk to Kandze People’s Hospital in the monastery car.

A Kandze monastery monk, Dawa Tsering, aged around 38, is son of father Delek and mother Dontso.

Monk Dawa’s health is described critical. Latest reports fear that the chances of his survival are very slim. Monks of Kandze monastery have brought him back to the monastery.

For Immediate Release:

TWA holds Global solidarity actions in honor of Martyr Tenzin Wangmo

The Tibetan Women’s Association and its 56 chapters spread across the globe have organized global solidarity actions: peace rallies, candle light vigils and prayer services in honor of martyr Tenzin Wangmo, aged early 20’s, who died after a seven minute self-immolation protest. Tenzin Wangmo is the first female martyr to commit self -immolation, the highest form on non-violent protest.

News emerged from reliable sources in Tibet that on October 17, around 1 pm (Tibet time), nun Tenzin Wangmo lit her body and did rounds of the sumo bridge, at a cross roads near her nunnery, 3 kilometers away from the Ngaba County market. Tenzin Wangmo raised the slogans: “We want the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama back to Tibet,” and “We want religious freedom in Tibet.”

Tenzin Wangmo belonged to Ngaba Mamae Dechen Choekorling Nunnery, the largest nunnery in Amdo Ngaba with 350 nun residents.

Wangmo’s death is the fourth case of self-immolation deaths and is the ninth self-immolation case in Tibet. There is a spate of self-immolation drives in Tibet with seven such cases in less than three weeks.

Of the nine self-immolations, the whereabouts and conditions of five young monks are still not known.

52 years of Chinese subjugation of Tibet and the beefed up violent clampdown on Tibetans inside Tibet in the aftermath of the 2008 peaceful protests inside Tibet, have aggravated the growing resentment and frustration in

Tibetans who, out of sheer desperation resort to desperate measures such as taking one’s previous human life, to express their true aspirations: the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet, freedom to practice their religion and greater degree of freedom inside Tibet.

News have also emerged that on October 16, Chinese police fired gun-shots at seven Tibetans who protested in front of a police station in Kham Serta.

The Tibetan Women’s Association expresses its deepest concern for the catastrophic conditions in Tibet and the heightened suppression in Tibet amidst an overwhelming presence of armed security personal in Tibet, particularly in Amdo Ngaba.

The TWA and its 16,000 members urge the Chinese government to withdraw the troops from Tibet and allow Tibetans their basic human right: the freedom of speech, movement and religious practice.

We call on China to withdraw their 52 years of failed policies on Tibet and instead heed to the genuine aspirations of the Tibetans inside Tibet and accordingly engage in meaningful negotiations with the exile leadership to peacefully resolve the long -standing issue of Tibet.

Press contacts:

Samten Chodon, Vice president, TWA: 9418936118

Tseyang Oshoe, General Secretary, TWA: 9418413625

Email: twa@tibetanwomen.org