Lithuanian President meeting with Dalai Lama highlights importance of EU solidarity
http://www.euractiv.com/global-europe/lithuanian-president-meeting-dal-analysis-530417
Many leaders in the world have met the Dalai Lama in recent years but it is only the second time that the exiled Tibetan religious leader has met the head of the country holding the EU Presidency, writes Vincent Metten.
Vincent Metten is EU Policy Director at the International Campaign for Tibet.
On September 11, 2013 President Dalia Grybauskaite welcomed the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, to Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius. In a moving video, President Grybauskaite told the Dalai Lama she was ‘honored’ to receive him. The Lithuanian leader’s actions were all the more significant as they followed a deep freeze in China’s relations with the UK after UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in London last year. The meeting was also an important signal as Lithuania currently holds the six-monthly rotating Presidency of the European Council.
Two years ago, President Grybauskaite’s Estonian counterpart, President Toomas Ilves, also met with the Dalai Lama. Many other leaders in the world have met the Dalai Lama in recent years such as US Presidents Bush and Obama, German Chancellor Merkel, the President of the European Commission Barroso, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofsadt, the late Czech President Vaclav Havel, and others. But it is only the second time that the exiled Tibetan religious leader has met the head of the country holding the EU Presidency.
In 2008, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who at that time was also heading the EU Presidency, met the Dalai Lama in Gdansk, Poland. It was an encounter with particular political resonance, as it occurred on the margins of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Peace Nobel Prize awarded to Lech Walesa, leader of the Solidarity movement, which played a crucial role in the fight against Communist rule. The Chinese authorities’ reaction was to cancel the EU-China Summit (as well as a Business summit) planned on December 1, 2008 in Lyon.
How will Beijing react this time? Will China once again decide to cancel the next EU-China Summit scheduled for the end of the year in China? Or will China decide to impose political, diplomatic and commercial retaliation measures « only » towards Lithuania, choosing to ignore its status as current head of the EU?
Over the past few years, Beijing has adopted a more aggressive diplomatic position, stepping up its pressure on EU Member states to block meetings between heads of government, ministers and members of Parliament with the Dalai Lama. No opportunity for leverage is too small, or too high-profile. Unfortunately, some European leaders have succumbed to the pressure. This undermines European values of dialogue and conciliation, and ultimately weakens EU leverage rather than contributing to the development of strong EU-¬‐China relations that encourage China to become a better global citizen.
Under Lithuania’s Presidency, it would be appropriate for the EU to issue a statement of solidarity in common response to the bullying of the Beijing leadership of European leaders like President Grybauskaite who show the moral integrity and courage in meeting with the Dalai Lama.
ICT submitted key recommendations to the EU during the Lithuanian Presidency, including the need to ensure the alignment of national positions, stating in an EU common position that it is the right of all EU Member States leaders to welcome and meet with the Dalai Lama and legitimate representatives of the Tibetan movement in whatever manner they deem appropriate and without interference or threats from the Chinese government.
Such a common position would demonstrate the solidarity that binds the 28 Member States on this issue and it would also provide a sort of political umbrella to protect individual Member States from Chinese pressure. It will also send a message that it is not up to the Beijing leadership to dictate a political agenda to democratic European countries.
At the same time, the EU also needs to define a more robust stand in promoting the resumption of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue and reinforcing international cooperation on Tibet with like-minded countries, in particular by using the upcoming Universal Periodic Review on China, in October this year at the UN Human Rights Council, to press the Chinese Government on the situation in Tibet.
The people of the Baltic States, once under Soviet rule, know what it is to face political persecution under an occupying power. In Lithuania self-immolations were also carried out as political protests against Communist rule. In Tibet, more than 120 Tibetans have self-immolated since 2009, asking for more freedoms, the respect of their identity and culture and the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. The Chinese government has responded to the self-‐immolations and unrest in Tibet by intensifying the military buildup and strengthening the very policies and approaches that are the root cause of the acts. The Chinese Communist Party’s erosion of authority and criminalization of self-¬‐immolation also leads to retributive actions against families, relatives, or monasteries associated with those who have self-¬‐immolated, which creates a vicious spiral in which more people are prepared to self-¬‐immolate because of the oppressive conditions.
The need for the Dalai Lama’s involvement in Tibet’s future has never been more urgent. It would be an appropriate moment, under a Lithuanian Presidency, for the EU to facilitate genuine engagement between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese leadership on Tibet’s future. Like the Dalai Lama, the EU is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. This gives the EU even greater authority in its reconciliation and peace-building work and now is the time for this to be applied to the crisis in Tibet.

Tibetan Prisoner Released Early in ‘Poor Health’
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/released-09102013164154.html
Authorities in western China’s Sichuan province have released a Tibetan prisoner in poor health after he had served all but seven months of a three-year term for staging a protest against Chinese rule, according to Tibetan sources.
Sonam Choegyal, about 20 years old and a resident of Kaka village in the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was released last week, a Tibetan monk living in India told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Tuesday, citing sources in the region.
“He was released on Sept. 7,” the monk said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“His health is reported to be poor, but he suffered no major injuries during his time in jail,” he said, adding, “I have no idea why he was released early.”
Though Chinese authorities did not allow local Tibetans to arrange a convoy of vehicles to welcome Sonam Choegyal home, “relatives and community members received him warmly with [ceremonial] scarves when he returned home at around 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 9.”
“Sonam Choegyal is the son of Tamdrin Wangyal, his father, and Lhaga, his mother. Both are residents of Kaka village in Kardze,” he said.
Sonam Choegyal and a friend, Tenzin Nyima, had staged a protest in Kardze town in 2011 challenging Chinese rule, for which he was detained and sentenced to a three-year term by the Kardze prefectural court, RFA’s source said.
He was then confined in Miyang prison near Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu.
“His friend Tenzin Nyima was released about two months earlier, after serving a little over two years in jail for the same protest.”
Nun also released
In August, authorities in Sichuan released a Tibetan nun, also in poor health, after she had served a one-year jail sentence for protesting China’s rule in Tibetan areas.
Shedrub Lhamo, a 40-year-old nun of the Ganden Choeling nunnery in Kardze had been beaten and tortured in custody, a Tibetan living in Europe told RFA, citing contacts in the region.
During her solitary protest on Aug. 25, 2012, Shedrub Lhamo had called for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and for freedom for Tibet, the source said.
“She also threw leaflets in the air, though witnesses could not see what was written on them,” he said.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing’s rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008.
A total of 121 Tibetans in China have also set themselves ablaze in self-immolation protests calling for Tibetan freedom, with another six setting fire to themselves in India and Nepal.

China:   Nationwide Arrests of Activists, Critics Multiply
Drive to Strengthen One-Party Rule Unhindered by Upcoming UN Rights Council Election
(New York, August 30, 2013) – The Chinese government has undertaken a nationwide crackdown on dissent in an apparent campaign against perceived challenges to one-party rule, Human Rights Watch said today. Since February 2013 the government has arbitrarily detained at least 55 activists, taken into custody critics and online opinion leaders, and increased controls on social media, online expression, and public activism, rolling back the hard-won space China’s civil society has gained in recent years.
The crackdown is unfolding as China campaigns to be elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN’s preeminent human rights body, in November 2013, and prepares for the review of its human rights record before the council in October 2013.
“The Chinese government has embarked on a repressive drive at home that attacks the very freedoms that Human Rights Council members are supposed to protect,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “Every arrest of a peaceful activist further undermines the Chinese government’s standing at home and abroad.”
Seventeen of those arrested in recent months had participated in the New Citizens’ Movement, a peaceful civil rights platform that rejects authoritarianism and promotes freedom, justice, equality, and the rule of law. The New Citizens’ Movement organizes a range of activities, including a nationwide campaign that advocates for the disclosure of assets of public officials as a way to curb corruption, and monthly gatherings over meals for activists around the country to exchange ideas and build solidarity.
On August 2, 2013, the State Prosecution approved the formal arrest of Xu Zhiyong, the most prominent activist detained so far and considered the intellectual force behind the New Citizens’ Movement. Xu has been held since July 16 for “gathering crowds to disturb public order,” even though he has been under house arrest since April. If convicted, Xu faces up to five years in prison. Xu, 40, is a law lecturer at Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications, and was once distinguished by the state broadcaster CCTV as one of the “top ten rule of law people” in China. In 2009 he was forced to disband the legal aid center he helped set up, the Open Constitution Initiative, after police detained him and a co-worker for tax evasion.
“Xu Zhiyong is one of the most important activists behind the birth of China’s ‘rights-defense’ movement that emerged around 2003,” Richardson said. “While Xu’s cautious approach has helped keep him out of jail for the past 10 years, his recent arrest indicates that even safer strategies won’t spare activists from severe consequences.”
The 38 other activists recently detained were taken into custody for organizing and participating in other public, collective actions not directly related to the New Citizens Movement, including protests, Human Rights Watch said. Many were charged with crimes such as “gathering crowds to disturb order” and “creating disturbances” and of those, 16 have been released, some on bail. But a number of the activists detained have been charged with the more serious crimes of “inciting subversion” and “subversion.” Inciting subversion carries up to 15 years in prison, while subversion can result in life imprisonment.
Among those detained is prominent activist Guo Feixiong. Guo, a 47-year-old Guangzhou-based lawyer, who has been detained since August 8 for “gathering crowds to disturb public order.” Police have denied Guo access to lawyers on the grounds that his case involves national security. Beyond his right to legal counsel, Guo’s lawyers are concerned that denying him access to lawyers makes him more likely to be subjected to torture. Guo was tortured during his previous imprisonment between 2006 and 2011.
Government efforts to curb criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party have widened to individual critical voices on the Internet, Human Rights Watch said. Since August, the government has taken into custody hundreds of Internet users accused of “spreading rumors” online. Most have been released, but some remain detained under criminal charges. The campaign has targeted influential online opinion leaders, or what the state media call the “big Vs” (V for “verified users”).
According to state media, the State Internet Information Office held a meeting on August 10 with some of these bloggers, including liberal commentator Xue Manzi (also known as Charles Xue), “achieving a consensus” that these opinion leaders would not breach “seven bottom lines,” including China’s “socialist system,” the country’s “national interests,” and “public order.” On August 23, Xue, 60, who has 12 million followers on Sina weibo, one of China’s main social media networks similar to Twitter, was detained for “soliciting a prostitute,” an administrative offense under Chinese law. State-owned media harshly criticized Xue while explicitly warning other “big Vs” against becoming the “loudspeakers” for rumors. Since May, the government has closed down more than 100 “illegal” news web portals, citizen-run websites that have provided important channels for citizens to expose government misconduct.
The crackdown on dissent reflects the general hardline shift taken by the Xi Jinping leadership in recent months, Human Rights Watch said. It contrasts sharply with Xi’s rhetoric at the beginning of his presidency in March, when he promised to “uphold the constitution and the rule of law” and “always listen to the voice of the people.”
In April, the office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued an internal directive stressing that the party must eliminate “seven subversive currents” in China today, including those who advocate for “Western constitutional democracy,” “universal values” such as human rights, civil society, and “Western press values.” In June, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued a notice demanding that prosecutors at all levels “combat the crimes of endangering national security” by “resolutely combating crimes such as illegal assemblies, the gathering of crowds to disturb social and public order, and others, which aim to subvert state power.” Reflecting an apparent departure from a rule of law approach, the notice stressed that legal organs should “unify social, political, and legal results” in their work, rather than solely base their decisions on the law.
China is currently seeking a seat at the UN Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental body charged with addressing human rights violations and promoting respect for human rights. In a pledge submitted in connection with its candidacy, the Chinese government said it “respects the principle of universality of human rights,” and that it “has made unremitting efforts for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Chinese people.” The next elections for the council are slated for November.
Human Rights Watch called on the Chinese government to drop all charges against individuals for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and to ensure that they are not subject to torture or other ill-treatment in detention.
“The authorities’ abuse of the law to go after critics is counter-productive, as it closes one of the only effective channels for airing grievances about the government,” Richardson said. “The government’s only ‘unremitting efforts’ on display these days are the denial of universal rights.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on China, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/asia/china
For more information, please contact:
In Washington, DC, Sophie Richardson (English, Mandarin): +1-202-612-4341; or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile); or richars@hrw.org
In Hong Kong, Maya Wang (English, Mandarin): +852-8170-1076 (mobile); or wangm@hrw.org
In Hong Kong, Nicholas Bequelin (English, French, Mandarin): +852-8198-1040 (mobile); or bequeln@hrw.org
In Geneva, Juliette de Rivero (English, French, Spanish): +41-79-640-1649 (mobile); or derivej@hrw.org

Tibetan youth sentenced to two years for self-immolation links

August 23, 2013: A Chinese court has sentenced a Tibetan man to two years in prison in connection with a self-immolation protest by a 43 year old Tibetan named Gudrup in Nagchu on October 4 last year, sources said.
The Tibetan man named Dorjee is from Mopa village in Driru County, Nagchu. He is currently held at a prison in Toelung Dechen County, the source added. The date of the verdict is not known.
The Tibetan source said Dorjee was among several others including Tashi Chowang and Aphu Sonam who were arrested from Lhasa on October 6 last year, two days after Gudrub set himself on fire demanding freedom for Tibet and return of the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama.
Since 2009, as many as 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.    WTN

Tibet ‘water grab’ puts Himalayan ecology in danger
August 12, 2013
By John Vidal
August 10, 2013 – The future of the world’s most famous mountain range could be endangered by a vast dam-building project, as a risky regional race for water resources takes place in Asia.
New academic research shows that India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan are engaged in a huge “water grab” in the Himalayas, as they seek new sources of electricity to power their economies. Taken together, the countries have plans for more than 400 hydro dams which, if built, could together provide more than 160,000MW of electricity – three times more than the UK uses.
In addition, China has plans for around 100 dams to generate a similar amount of power from major rivers rising in Tibet. A further 60 or more dams are being planned for the Mekong river which also rises in Tibet and flows south through south-east Asia.
Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world’s deepest valleys. Many of the proposed dams would be among the tallest in the world, able to generate more than 4,000MW, as much as the Hoover dam on the Colorado river in the US.
The result, over the next 20 years, “could be that the Himalayas become the most dammed region in the world”, said Ed Grumbine, visiting international scientist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Kunming. “India aims to construct 292 dams … doubling current hydropower capacity and contributing 6% to projected national energy needs. If all dams are constructed as proposed, in 28 of 32 major river valleys, the Indian Himalayas would have one of the highest average dam densities in the world, with one dam for every 32km of river channel. Every neighbour of India with undeveloped hydropower sites is building or planning to build multiple dams, totalling at minimum 129 projects,” said Grumbine, author of a paper in Science.
China, which is building multiple dams on all the major rivers running off the Tibetan plateau, is likely to emerge as the ultimate controller of water for nearly 40% of the world’s population. “The plateau is the source of the single largest collection of international rivers in the world, including the Mekong, the Brahmaputra, the Yangtse and the Yellow rivers. It is the headwater of rivers on which nearly half the world depends. The net effect of the dam building could be disastrous. We just don’t know the consequences,” said Tashi Tsering, a water resource researcher at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
“China is engaged in the greatest water grab in history. Not only is it damming the rivers on the plateau, it is financing and building mega-dams in Pakistan, Laos, Burma and elsewhere and making agreements to take the power,” said Indian geopolitical analyst Brahma Chellaney. “China-India disputes have shifted from land to water. Water is the new divide and is going centre stage in politics. Only China has the capacity to build these mega-dams and the power to crush resistance. This is effectively war without a shot being fired.”
According to Chellaney, India is in the weakest position because half its water comes directly from China; however, Bangladesh is fearful of India’s plans for water diversions and hydropower. Bangladeshi government scientists say that even a 10% reduction in the water flow by India could dry out great areas of farmland for much of the year. More than 80% of Bangladesh’s 50 million small farmers depend on water that flows through India.
Engineers and environmentalists say that little work has been done on the human or ecological impact of the dams, which they fear could increase floods and be vulnerable to earthquakes. “We do not have credible environmental and social impact assessments, we have no environmental compliance system, no cumulative impact assessment and no carrying capacity studies. The Indian ministry of environment and forests, developers and consultants are responsible for this mess,” said Himanshu Thakkar, co-ordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.
China and India have both displaced tens of millions of people with giant dams such as the Narmada and Three Gorges over the last 30 years, but governments have not published estimates of how many people would have to be relocated or how much land would be drowned by the new dams. “This is being totally ignored. No one knows, either, about the impact of climate change on the rivers. The dams are all being built in rivers that are fed by glaciers and snowfields which are melting at a fast rate,” said Tsering.
Climate models suggest that major rivers running off the Himalayas, after increasing flows as glaciers melt, could lose 10-20% of their flow by 2050. This would not only reduce the rivers’ capacity to produce electricity, but would exacerbate regional political tensions.
The dams have already led to protest movements in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam and other northern states of India and in Tibet. Protests in Uttarakhand, which was devastated by floods last month, were led by Indian professor GD Agarwal, who was taken to hospital after a 50-day fast but who was released this week.
“There is no other way but to continue because the state government is not keen to review the dam policy,” said Mallika Bhanot, a member of Ganga Avahan, a group opposing proposals for a series of dams on the Ganges.
Governments have tried to calm people by saying that many of the dams will not require large reservoirs, but will be “run of the river” constructions which channel water through tunnels to massive turbines. But critics say the damage done can be just as great. “[These] will complete shift the path of the river flow,” said Shripad Dharmadhikary, a leading opponent of the Narmada dams and author of a report into Himalyan dams. “Everyone will be affected because the rivers will dry up between points. The whole hydrology of the rivers will be changed. It is likely to aggravate floods.
“A dam may only need 500 people to move because of submergence, but because the dams stop the river flow it could impact on 20,000 people. They also disrupt the groundwater flows so many people will end up with water running dry. There will be devastation of livelihoods along all the rivers.”

Dalai Lama’s Chinese website hacked and infected
By Joe Miller BBC News
13th August 2013
The Chinese-language website of the Tibetan government-in-exile, whose spiritual head is the Dalai Lama, has been hacked and infected with viruses.
Experts at computer security company Kaspersky Lab warned that the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) site had been compromised.
It is believed the malicious software could be used to spy on visitors.
Technical evidence suggests the hackers carried out previous cyber-attacks on human rights groups in Asia.
Tibet.net is the official website of the CTA, which is based in Dharamshala, northern India.
The organisation’s spiritual leader is the 14th Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed anti-Chinese uprising, and set up a government-in-exile. China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist threat.
Constant threat
Kaspersky says the CTA website has been under constant attack from the same group of hackers since 2011, but previous breaches have been quietly identified and repaired before attracting significant attention.
Other Tibetan organisations, such as the International Campaign for Tibet, have also been targeted.
Kaspersky Lab researcher Kurt Baumgartner says the hackers used a method known as a “watering-hole attack”.
A security bug in Oracle’s Java software might have been exploited, giving hackers a “back door” into browsers’ computers.
“This is the initial foothold,” Mr Baumgartner said. “From there they can download arbitrary files and execute them on the system.”
Kaspersky’s education manager Ram Herkanaidu said the discovery of the attack came after an “email account of a prominent Tibetan activist was hacked”.
Mr Herkanaidu added: “The likely actors behind the sustained campaign against Tibetan sites are Chinese speaking, as in many cases we have seen log files written in Chinese.”

New Crackdown by China on Dalai Lama Photos
2013-07-22
Chinese authorities in Tibetan-populated counties in Qinghai province are placing new restrictions on the display of photos of the Dalai Lama, searching personal vehicles and beating and detaining those who resist the photos’ confiscation, Tibetan sources say.
The move follows reports in June of a relaxation on the ban of images of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader in Qinghai and neighboring Sichuan. The reports were rejected by Chinese authorities, saying there will be no softening in the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s “struggle” against the Dalai Lama.
“On July 15, the police were stopping all vehicles in the Yulshul [in Chinese, Yushu] area and checking for photos of the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa,” another senior Tibetan religious figure, a local resident told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
“Photos of Buddhist protector deities were also confiscated,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Those who tried to resist were severely beaten up,” he said.
“These days, all vehicles owned by common Tibetans are being stopped by the police and searched for photos of the Dalai Lama,” a U.S.-based Tibetan named Lobsang Sangye told RFA, citing contacts in the region.
“If they find any photos of the Dalai Lama, those are confiscated,” he said, adding, “In Chumarleb [Qumulai] county in Yulshul, two monks who attempted to resist were detained and taken away.”
Policy shift?
The move appears to reverse a policy shift reported in June, and described as “experimental,”  in which authorities are said to have told Tibetans in several parts of Qinghai that photos of the Dalai Lama could be openly displayed.
“From now on, photos of the Dalai Lama can be displayed, and no one is permitted to criticize him,” officials told Tibetan monks at a June 19 meeting held in Qinghai’s Tsigorthang (Xinghai) county, according to a Tibetan resident of the area.
A public notice titled “Don’t Listen to Rumors” has now been widely circulated by government departments in Qinghai’s Golog (Guoluo) prefecture, however, declaring there has been “no change” in China’s policy regarding the Dalai Lama.
“You must fight against the Dalai Lama’s efforts to split the Motherland and damage the work of the leadership of [the ruling] Chinese Communist Party and socialism,” says the notice, a copy of which was obtained by RFA’s Tibetan Service.
Chinese leaders regularly accuse the Dalai Lama of trying to “split” Tibet away from China, whose troops marched into the self-governing Himalayan region in 1950.
But the Dalai Lama denies seeking independence for Tibet, saying that he seeks only a “greater autonomy” that will preserve Tibetan religious and cultural freedoms for his homeland as a part of China.
Reported by Lumbum Tashi, Dorjee Tso, and Guru Choekyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Free Tibet media release: 17 July 2013
Immediate use
Tibetans tortured in detention following shooting at Dalai Lama birthday celebrations
Free Tibet has obtained further, confirmed information about the shootings in Tawu, eastern Tibet, on 6 July and events that followed. In at least one confirmed case electric shock was used on a 72 year-old man in detention. Many people were severely beaten during the incident with some, subsequently, requiring hospitalisation. A large protest was staged by the local community following the incident, which secured the release of many detainees. As previously reported (1), monk Sonam Tashi was shot in the head during the incident and hospitalised: no information has been released to friends or family about his current condition.
The shooting incident
As previously reported, members of the local community, including many monks and nuns, gathered on 6 July to celebrate the birthday of the Dalai Lama. New and reliable information has now emerged about the sequence of events leading to the shooting.
Around 3:00 pm, Tibetans started to go home, but armed security forces surrounded the area and prevented people from leaving. Security personnel stopped cars (picture available, 2) and, when people verbally protested, members of the security forces threw stones at the leading car.
Attendees at the event then protested that their gathering was legal and that the security forces were acting illegally when they damaged the vehicles. Security personnel then privately offered apologies and agreed to compensate the car owners for the damage but the Tibetans insisted that the compensation and the apology should be official.
An argument ensued and some members of the security forces began to beat some of the Tibetans, two severely. Other Tibetans responded by throwing stones. At some point during the altercation, security forces opened fire, leading to an unknown number of injuries. Free Tibet can confirm the names and some details of injuries for 14 of those injured during the incident and three injured following the incident (3, selected portrait and injury photos also available).
Detentions
At least twenty people were arrested, including some of those injured in the shooting. Free Tibet has confirmed the names of 14 detainees (4). Many detainees were severely beaten and 72-year-old Yama Tsering, who had sustained an arm injury during the incident, had four ribs broken and was also subjected to shocks from an electric prod (names of those confirmed injured, 3). There are unconfirmed reports that other detainees were also subjected to electric shocks. Lobsang Choedon, a nun, was beaten in detention and has been hospitalised as a result of serious injuries sustained.
Protest
Later on 6 July, approximately 3000 people gathered at Tawu Monastery to protest and appeal to the authorities to release the detainees. They threatened to remove their children from school and to stop cultivation of farm land. Local truck drivers also threatened to strike.
At around midnight, the detainees were released and authorities offered a total of 13,000 yuan (£1,400/ US$2,100 approx) to compensate for the injuries. The injured victims refused the offer of compensation on the grounds that it was inadequate and did not address the broader political problem.
Hospitalisation
Eleven people reported serious head, leg and arm injuries at the hospital, but others did not seek treatment for fear of being detained. Authorities have prevented family and friends from visiting those in hospital and their current conditions are unknown. Wanchen, a nun from Gedun Choeling nunnery who attempted to visit her friend in the hospital, was turned away. On her way back, Chinese security forces intervened and beat her, resulting in a broken arm.
In remarks made at a high level meeting at the US State Department last week, a member of China’s ruling State Council claimed that people in Tibet are “enjoying happier lives, and they’re enjoying unprecedented freedoms and human rights” (5).
Free Tibet Director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren said:
“This incident is confirmation that China under Xi Jinping will still use potentially lethal force against unarmed Tibetans defending their rights to follow their beliefs and will still use torture without hesitation against those in detention. The litany of gross human rights abuses arising from this single incident should be a wake-up call to world leaders that China’s PR on Tibet is as cynical as it is false. It is gravely concerning that more than a week after it was widely reported, Western governments have failed to make any public comment or condemnation of this severe and unjustifiable use of violence by the state.”
-ends-
For further information or comment, contact campaigns and media officer Alistair Currie:
E: alistair@freetibet.org
T: +44 (0)207 324 4605
M: +44 (0)780 165 4011
Notes for editors
(1)  Free Tibet press release, 9 july 2013: http://www.freetibet.org/news-media/pr/chinese-forces-open-fire-following-prayer-gathering-tibet
(2)  Picture available from Free Tibet
(3)  Names of people confirmed injured during the incident
1.    Tashi Sonam, monk, bullet wound in head (photo of serious head wound)
2.    Aga Tashi, layperson, multiple bullet wounds on back. Other injuries indicative of being beaten (photos of wounds)
3.    Sangpo, layperson, shot in leg (portrait and leg injury photos)
4.    Tsewang Choepel, monk in charge of monastery finances, bullet wound in leg (portrait and leg injuries photos)
5.    Tashi Gyaltsen, lay person, nature of injuries unconfirmed (portrait photo)
6.    Jangchup Dorjee, monk, nature of injuries unconfirmed (portrait photo)
7.    Lobsang Dorjee, monk, nature of injuries unconfirmed (portrait photo)
8.    Nyendak, layperson, bullet wound in leg (photo of wound)
9.    Gyamtso, disciplinarian at the monastery, nature of injuries unconfirmed
10.  Dolma, nun, nature of injuries unconfirmed
11.  Gyaltsen, two ribs broken
12.  Yama Tsering, 72, arm injury from incident; four broken ribs and electric shock during detention
13.  Dokapa Choedon, severely beaten, nature of injuries unconfirmed
14.  Karnga Ngawang, severely beaten, nature of injuries unconfirmed
Names of those confirmed injured following the incident:
15.  Lobsang Choeden, nun, severly beaten in detention, hospitalised (portrait photo)
16.  Wanchen, nun, beaten after visiting hospital
17.  Dickyi Gonpo, beaten, lost hearing (wound photo)
4. List available from Free Tibet
5. US State Department, 11 July 2013 http://www.state.gov/s/d/2013/211850.htm
Free Tibet is an international campaigning organisation that stands for the right of Tibetans to determine their own future. We campaign for an end to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and for the fundamental human rights of Tibetans to be respected.
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Campaigns and Media Officer
T: +44 (0)20 7324 4605
Free Tibet
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Tibetans in critical condition after Chinese armed police shoot into crowd celebrating Dalai Lama’s birthday
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
Several known Tibetans are in critical condition and many more injured after Chinese armed police fired into a crowd of Tibetans gathered to celebrate the 78th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 6 July in Tawu (Ch: Daofu) County in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
According to information received by TCHRD, at least nine Tibetans have sustained serious gunshot wounds and are believed to be in critical condition.  Many others, both monastic and lay Tibetans, whose exact numbers cannot be determined immediately, have been injured after paramilitary forces from People’s Armed Police (PAP) lobbed teargas shells and beat them. The injured are mostly monks from Nyatso Monastery, nuns from Geden Choeling Nunnery and a considerable number of lay Tibetans in Tawu County.
Gyen Tashi Sonam, a monk and teacher at Nyatso Monastery, who was shot in his head, is being treated along with others at a hospital in Dartsedo (Ch: Kangding) County. Graphic photographs show the bullet wound on Gyen Tashi Sonam’s head, a gaping hole on the front left part of his head. The condition of Ugyen Tashi, a layman, is said to be serious with hopes of his survival receding fast given his severe injuries.   According to latest information, Ugyen Tashi was shot at with at least eight bullets. He was first taken to County hospital where doctors, failing to handle the case, referred him to a provincial hospital in Chengdu where he is now being treated.
Gyamtso, a monk disciplinarian (Tib: Gekyo) at Nyatso Monastery was injured along with fellow monks, Jangchup Dorjee and Lobsang.  Jangchup Dorjee is a brother of Palden Choetso, a nun from Dakar Choeling Nunnery who died of self-immolation protest on 3 November 2011 in Tawu. Laymen injured by gunshot wounds included Tashi from Khoro nomadic camp, Nyendak from Dukya nomadic camp, Sangpo from Kyasor nomadic camp. Dolma is the only injured nun identified so far. She hails from Dunkye nomadic camp.
Chinese armed police arrive to surround the venue of birthday celebration.
Chinese armed police arrive to surround the venue of birthday celebration.
Local Tibetans in Tawu County including monks and nuns from Nyatso Monastery and Geden Choeling Nunnery had gathered on the morning of 6 July 2013 to celebrate the 78th birthday of the Dalai Lama. As Tibetans stood on the hillside – worshipped by Tibetans as the home of Machen Pomra, one of the most popular mountain gods in Kham – burning incense, hanging prayer flags and making offerings in front of the Dalai Lama’s portrait, vehicle loads of armed police arrived at the scene and attempted to cut short the birthday celebration. Armed police then surrounded the hill.
This provoked the crowd as Tibetans objected and questioned the armed police about the legality of their actions. “They asked why it was illegal to conduct religious rituals and under what national laws it was illegal to hold rituals,” a source told TCHRD quoting local eyewitnesses in Tawu. A former administrative staff (Tib: chanzoe) of Nyatso Monastery (name withheld) who participated in the celebration later recalled that the monks tried to negotiate with the armed police to avert bloody confrontation but were rebuffed.  “They [armed police] didn’t listen to us at all. They just started beating and shooting,” a source quoted the monk as saying.
The same source said armed police stoned the vehicle of Jangchup Dorjee as he attempted to drive up the hillside to reach the celebration venue. Armed police also used teargas shells to break up the crowd and beat the Tibetans. Sources say hundreds of Tibetans in Tawu attended the celebration although it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of those injured in armed police excesses.
Armed police stop cars driven by Tibetans to reach the celebration venue.
Armed police stop cars driven by Tibetans to reach the celebration venue.
Many Tibetans were detained the same day but were released after lay Tibetans and monks gathered at the courtyard of Nyatso Monastery and called for their immediate release. When armed police reached the courtyard full of local Tibetans at Nyatso Monastery, they expressed their apology and promised to bear responsibility if anyone died or sustained life-threatening injuries. But according to a source, local Tibetans believe that the armed police were just executing orders from above and that the apology must come from the prefectural government of Kardze.
So far Nyatso Monastery has borne all costs associated with the treatment of injured Tibetans, the source told TCHRD.
The situation has eased a little after staff and monks at Nyatso Monastery mediated with the security forces, who no longer surround the monastery as they did since 6 July.  But local Tibetans continue to face restrictions on their movement and the situation is said to be tense.
Last year on 6 July, armed police stopped local Tibetans from celebrating the Dalai Lama’s birthday on the same spot, a source with contacts in Tawu told TCHRD.

China vows to step up fight against Dalai Lama 
Yu Zhengsheng’s comments indicate China’s new government has not softened stance towards exiled Tibetan leader
Reuters in Beijing, Tuesday 9 July 2013 12.11 BST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/09/china-dalai-lama-tibetan-leader
China’s leading official in charge of religious groups and ethnic minorities has vowed to step up the fight against exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, as a rights group reported police shootings of monks marking his birthday.
The comments by Yu Zhengsheng, number four in the ruling Communist party’s hierarchy, appeared aimed at thwarting speculation that China’s new leadership could take a softer line on the Dalai Lama.
Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, to be a violent separatist. The Dalai Lama, who is based in India, says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.
Visiting a heavily Tibetan area of the western province of Gansu, Yu told local officials and religious leaders that the Dalai Lama’s separatist activities ran counter to the country’s interests and to Buddhist tradition.
“For the sake of national unity and the development of stability in Tibetan regions, we must take a clear-cut stand and deepen the struggle against the Dalai clique,” the official Xinhua news agency cited Yu as saying.
Buddhist leaders must be guided to oppose separatism and any efforts to damage the Communist party’s leadership, added Yu, who is head of a largely ceremonial advisory body to parliament that aims to co-opt religious and minority groups.
Yu repeated that ties with the Dalai Lama would improve if he openly recognised that Tibet had been a part of China since ancient times and abandoned his Tibetan independence activities, Xinhua reported.
“The Dalai Lama’s ‘middle way’ aimed at achieving so-called ‘high-degree autonomy’ in ‘Greater Tibet’ is completely opposite to China’s constitution and the country’s system of regional ethnic autonomy,” Yu added, according to Xinhua.
Speculation China would take a softer line towards the Dalai Lama had been fuelled in part by an essay written by a scholar from the Central Party School, who said that China could take some steps toward resuming talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives, which broke down in 2010.
Rights groups also say there has been some discussion about lifting restrictions on public displays of the Dalai Lama’s picture in his birthplace of Qinghai province.
Despite a heavy security presence, protests and resistance against Chinese rule in Tibetan areas have continued.
Police in a restive Tibetan part of Sichuan province opened fire on a group of monks and others who had gathered to mark the Dalai Lama’s birthday over the weekend, seriously injuring at least two, the US-based International Campaign for Tibet said.
While Chinese security forces often use heavy-handed tactics to stop protests in Tibetan regions, they rarely use guns.
Officials reached by telephone in Ganzi said they had no knowledge of the incident.
China’s foreign ministry said it was also unaware of the reports, but said the Dalai Lama was using the opportunity of his birthday to promote his separatist agenda.
At least 119 Tibetans have set themselves alight in protest against Chinese rule since 2009, mostly in heavily Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces rather than in what China terms the Tibet Autonomous Region. Most have died from their injuries.