Resistance on Tibet Worries China

By BRIAN SPEGELE, Wall Street Journal

ASIA NEWS, JANUARY 9, 2012

DAOFU, China-Shortly after Palden Choetso doused herself in gasoline, gulped several mouthfuls, and set herself ablaze in November, friends ofthe Tibetan nun found a list of names pinned above her bed in the small, wooden hut where she lived.

The 35-year-old nun at the Gaden Choeling nunnery was compiling a tally of Tibetans who had set themselves on fire, all in the same corner of western Sichuan province, in protest of China’s policies in the region-adjacent to the Tibet Autonomous Region and heavily populated by ethnic Tibetans. Among the names was Tsewang Norbu, a 29-year-old monk at the local Nyitso monastery.

The self-immolations returned to the headlines this weekend as China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that a former monk had died and another was injured after they set themselves on fire in Sichuan. Xinhua said the men were former monks from Kirti monastery, another center of Tibetan political activism that has come under siege from police in recent months.

Their acts bring the number of ethnic Tibetans known to have self-immolated in Sichuan since March to 13, at least seven of whom have died, according to accounts in Chinese state media and by international rights groups. Another Tibetan has also burned himself to death in Tibet itself.

On Sunday, a separate Xinhua article, which made no mention of the self-immolations, said that senior Tibet officials pledged stepped-up efforts to strengthen the management of monasteries, saying that promoting harmony in Tibet is a top priority because it concerns the stability of the nation.

The unprecedented wave of self-immolations represents a new challenge both to Chinese authorities-by drawing attention to dissent in the area-and to the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, who doesn’t want to be seen as encouraging such gestures.

The self-immolations come just as Beijing has launched a nationwide crackdown on religious activity in recent months, and is reminding Communist Party members they aren’t allowed to worship. Religious experts say Buddhism and Christianity in particular have grown in popularity among party officials in recent years, a trend the government fears could one day subvert their faith in the party’s supremacy. Most of the self-immolators are young, part of a new generation of Tibetans who revere the Dalai Lama but whose actions conflict with his advocacy of peaceful protests. The Dalai Lama does not condone suicide.

The Chinese government has long spurned direct contact with the Dalai Lama, despite the appeals of exiled Tibetans, some world leaders and even a few liberal Chinese scholars who believe he may be Beijing’s best hope to help pacify the vast Tibetan regions of western China. The Dalai Lama is 76 years old: After him, many have warned, young Tibetans may beattracted by more extreme forms of protest.

Analysts say that rising desperation over government restrictions on religious activity is already pushing the resistance in a new direction.

In the town of Daofu, where Ms. Palden and Mr. Tsewang self-immolated, they have become martyrs to some. Their photographs are displayed in Daofu’s mud-brick homes. A video circulating on the Internet shows Ms. Palden’s body engulfed in flames, and as she struggles to stay upright, a young woman runs toward her and casts a white scarf at her feet in a gesture of respect.

Tibetans living in Sichuan face higher levels of detention than Tibetans in any other area, including Tibet itself, according to the U.S. government’s Congressional-Executive Commission on China, set up to monitor human rights in China. In a December report, it said that since protests swept the Tibetan plateau in 2008 Beijing has stepped up its campaign against the Dalai Lama as well as measures that “intrude upon and micromanage Tibetan Buddhist monastic affairs,” such as “legal-education” programs for monks and nuns.

Government officials in Daofu haven’t responded to requests to comment on the self-immolations, or on events leading up to them. However, China’s state-run media has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of inciting the acts.

“People are repulsed and angered by the masterminds, supporters and eulogists of the self-immolations, as they feel sad and sorry for the loss of young lives,” wrote Zhang Yun, a researcher with the state-backed China Tibetology Research Center, in a commentary published last month by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

A thwarted birthday celebration for the Dalai Lama in July was a defining event in the final months of the lives of Ms. Palden and Mr. Tsewang, according to detailed accounts by several participants.

Just after 2 a.m. on July 6, monks and nuns from Daofu set off to climb a nearby hill as they had in years past to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s birthday and other holidays. They hoped the darkness would shield them from police, but soon security forces surrounded the group and ordered them to turn back at gunpoint.

As punishment, local officials cut off water and electricity supplies to Nyitso monastery and electricity to Gaden Choeling convent, which has its own water supply.

Experts say the reported reprisals fit into a pattern. “We seem to be seeing new tactics toward certain monasteries in these areas,” said Robert Barnett, an expert on modern Tibet at Columbia University in New York. “These seem to be control measures, stranglehold measures, to break resolve or spirit or collective force.”

In pictures, Mr. Tsewang doesn’t fit the stereotype of a Tibetan monk. He favored aviator sunglasses and had a considerable girth about him. “He loved the monastery. He loved Buddhism,” said a Nyitso leader. “He didn’t love China.”

Mr. Tsewang set himself on fire in August. A woman on the third floor of a building along Daofu’s main road shot photos of his death with her husband’s cellphone, and keeps the memory card hidden in a jewelry box. The photos show Mr. Tsewang’s charred body, his hand clasped as if in prayer.

Tibetan residents, armed with stones, formed a circle around his charred corpse and refused to let police take it away, according to Tibetans in Daofu. They later carried it up to Nyitso.

Several months after Mr. Tsewang’s death, Ms. Palden asked for a few days sick leave from the nunnery to return home.

Her fellow nuns, who say Ms. Palden loved to sing and often serenaded them with Tibetan folk songs of the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet, describe how she had sunk into despondency. On the morning of Nov. 3, she asked her younger sister to go with her to the hospital. They caught a cab into town. Ms. Palden Choetso asked the driver to stop.

“Wait here a minute,” she told her sister, according to the monks and nuns who knew Ms. Palden.

She walked along the town’s main road and doused herself in gasoline, close to the spot where Mr. Tsewang took his life. “Long live the Dalai Lama,” she screamed as flames towered over her head.

The immolations have again spurred calls for talks with Beijing by supporters of the Dalai Lama, who are struggling to find a way to keep the Tibetan movement unified after he passes away.

“It’s important to meet and find ways and means to defuse the very tense situation inside Tibet,” said Kelsang Gyaltsen, a senior official with the Tibetan government-in-exile. He was speaking during a visit by the Dalai Lama to Prague in December.

These younger “generations of Tibetans are much more politically conscious and assertive,” he added. They are “much more inclined to express their resentment and genuine grievances through public protests.”

High-tech surveillance equipment around the Nyitso monastery, a set of buildings surrounding a courtyard, highlights the constant presence of the Chinese state. Nyitso’s leaders avoid stepping into the courtyard, instead huddling against its walls for privacy. “They can see us so clearly,” said a Nyitso leader, gesturing across the street where police have erected a camera to spy on Nyitso’s 250 monks. More cameras line the streets outside the monastery’s gates, which Tibetans say were all installed after the 2008 protests.

Inside Nyitso’s main gathering hall, photos of Mr. Tsewang and Ms. Palden are displayed in memorials. In the days following Ms. Palden’s death, Gaden Choeling’s nuns found her list of names on a piece of notepaper. At the bottom of the page, one of them added Ms. Palden’s name and the date of her death. Then she pinned it back above the bed.

CTA Urges Chinese Govt to Ensure Safety of Tibetan Students in China

DHARAMSHALA: The Central Tibetan Administration said it is deeply  disturbed and concerned by recent reports of confrontations between  Tibetan and Chinese students at a school in Chengdu, which led to  several Tibetans being hospitalised after they were beaten by an  overwhelming number of Chinese students.

“The Central Tibetan Administration is deeply disturbed and  concerned by news of confrontations, on  December 14th 2011, between  Tibetan and Chinese students at the Railway Engineering School in  Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan,” Information &  International Relations Kalon Dicki Chhoyang told Tibetan reporters  today.

“About 3,000 Chinese students are reported to have entered into a  fight with a few hundred Tibetan students. Several Tibetan students  are said to have been hospitalized due to injuries,” the DIIR kalon  said.

Kalon Dicki Chhoyang expressed concern over similar reports of  tensions between Tibetan and Chinese students in the Chengdu area  in 2010, when a Tibetan student named Pasang was stabbed to death  at the Light Engineering School in Zigong city. “It remains unknown  whether the assailant(s) were arrested and prosecuted,” she added.

“In light of these recent events, we encourage Tibetan students to  focus on their studies and maintain cordial relations with other  fellow students in keeping with our traditional values. Our pride  in our Tibetan identity and heritage does not rest on a show of  physical force, but through academic excellence,” Kalon Chhoyang  said.

“With Tibetan students reported to study in 12 cities in mainland  China, the Chinese government must ensure their personal safety,”  she said.

“In keeping with its claim to build a harmonious society, we hope  the PRC government will take the necessary measures to promote good  relations between Chinese and Tibetan people. Consequently, such  efforts will facilitate positive interactions between Chinese and  Tibetan students,” she added.

“The Kashag of the Central Tibetan Administration would like to  reiterate that the Tibetan struggle is neither anti-China nor anti-  Chinese. We strive for the restoration of freedom in Tibet through  peaceful dialogue,” the DIIR kalon said.

Media contacts:

Thuten Samphel, Secretary 98050 24662

Lobsang Choedak, Press Officer 98822 32476

As a refugee living here, India’s rising power is very reassuring’

Dec 16, 2011, 12.00AM IST

Tibetan poet and activist Tenzin Tsundue shot to fame when in 2002, he scaled 14 floors of Mumbai’s Oberoi Towers – where the then Chinese PM Zhu Rongji was addressing Indian business magnates – to unfurl a Tibetan flag. Known for his impassioned writing, the activist also described as one of India’s most stylish people, Tsundue spoke with Amardeep Banerjee about the recent Global Buddhist Conference that became controversial, Buddhist monks immolating themselves – and how the Dalai Lama’s retirement has impacted the Tibetan movement:

The recent Global Buddhist Conference attracted Chinese criticism with President Pratibha Patil and PM Manmohan Singh opting out apparently due to China’s objections – your view?

The fact that India stood its ground in hosting the Buddhist congregation and also having the Dalai Lama as chief guest at the valedictory function is a matter of pride. Unlike the Beijing 2008 Olympics period, the Indian government this year is much more confident about not submitting under Chinese pressure. As a refugee living here in India, India’s rising power is very reassuring.

But many are not reassured – more than 10 Tibetan monks have attempted self-immolation in the past one year. Do you see self-immolation as a legitimate form of protest?

Ever since the 2008 Tibetan uprising, the Chinese government has become insecure in its control over Tibet. Inter-national media and tourists cannot travel freely in Tibet, peoples’ movement is curtailed. It is this draconian police rule that’s suffocating the Tibetans, pushing them to self-immolation. These are desperate acts to protest against Chinese police brutality and demand freedom. Living in India, i have no moral right to question its legitimacy.

Meanwhile, how has the Dalai Lama’s retirement from politics impacted the Tibetan movement?

The devolution of political power from the Dalai Lama should be looked at as an act of renunciation. The Dalai Lama’s decision made the Tibetan people elect their own leadership and be accountable in all political matters. This is our answer to Chinese propaganda which says that exiled Tibetans only want to recreate the old feudal society. But more than that, we’ve had the success of 50 years of experimenting with democracy.

How do you view current Sino-Indian relations?

The 60-year relationship bet-ween India and China that started after the Chinese occupation of Tibet has been marked mostly by fear and suspicion earlier. It’s now characterised by economic competition and misplaced diplomacy. One of the main issues is the 4,057-km border. India’s claim to Arunachal Pradesh is based on the 1914 McMahon Treaty while China doesn’t recognise this treaty.

When the basic approaches are different, a solution is un-likely to come by anytime soon. Today, India is under pressure because of China’s humongous military build-up in Tibet, its control of the Himalayan rivers and China’s instigation of Pakistan. Because of the friction, both countries are militarising the Himalayas from either side – unless Tibet is restored as the buffer zone as before, India and China are forever going to be at cold war.

However, is the ‘Free Tibet’ demand practical?

From India, we see only China’s money and military might. We do not see the 80,000 protest incidents that rock China each year which are beaten down with brutality. And this is getting worse, so much that the Dalai Lama recently observed China’s internal security budget is higher than its external defence budget, meaning they have more enemies on the inside than the outsidea¦their rigidity about control is pushing the country to the brink of an implosion.

Tibet Leaders Seek Talks on Suicide Protest

Dec 12

By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH

PRAGUE—Exiled Tibetan leaders, alarmed by a wave of suicide protests andwhat they view as deteriorating human-rights conditions for Tibetans inside China, want to restart negotiations with the Chinese government, a senior Tibetan official said.

Tibet’s India-based government-in-exile floated its proposal for talks at the end of November, the official, Kelsang Gyaltsen, said Monday during a visit here by the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhists’ spiritual leader. He said there has been no response from Beijing.

“It’s important to meet and find ways and means to defuse the very tense situation inside Tibet,” Mr. Gyaltsen, a Tibetan diplomat involved in past negotiations with China, said in an interview. “We are ready anytime, anywhere.”

Tibetan leaders say they seek to resolve grievances against Beijing’s policies on religious, cultural and other issues.

Chinese officials weren’t immediately available to comment.

Beijing has in the past blamed unrest in Tibet on the Dalai Lama, who earlier this year said he was stepping down from his political role, and other exiled Tibetans. The two sides last met in early 2010.

In October, two teenaged monks set themselves on fire near a monastery, Tibetan activists said. It was the latest in a series of self-immolations this year by Tibetans that the exile community says are a protest against restrictions on Tibetans’ civil rights and religious freedoms in China.

On Monday, the Dalai Lama, who was visiting Prague for a conference on human rights in Asia, declined to comment on the self-immolations. “At this moment, the best thing is silence,” he said, later adding: “It is very much a political question.”

When protests erupted across Tibetan-populated parts of China in 2008, Beijing responded with large-scale arrests and the deployment of security forces. Mr. Gyaltsen said “intensified repression” was the likely cause of suicide protests, which have tended to involve younger Tibetans.

These younger “generations of Tibetans ate much more politically conscious and assertive,” Mr. Gyaltsen said. They are “much more inclined to express their resentment and genuine grievances through public protests.” The protests result in crackdowns, leading to a “vicious cycle,” he added.

China has made large investments in infrastructure in Tibet in an effort to raise standards of living there. But many Tibetans are unhappy with Chinese policies which, among other things, place limits on religious practices.

In 2008, Tibet’s exiled leaders laid out a blueprint for what they considered an appropriate level autonomy for Tibet under which the region would remain part of the People’s Republic of China. Beijing wasn’t receptive.

Statement of the Kashag on the 22nd Anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama

10 December 2011

Today, we have gathered here to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1989. On this auspicious occasion, the Kashag extends warm greetings to fellow Tibetans in and outside Tibet and all friends of Tibet and supporters of human rights around the world.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in the name of scientist Alfred Nobel to honour leaders who have made  outstanding contribution to “fraternity between nations, abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace.” His Holiness the Dalai Lama was recognized by the Nobel committee for his “consistent resistance to the use of violence in his people’s struggle to regain their liberty.” This recognition enhanced, in an unprecedented way, the international visibility of the issue of Tibet and for this reason we remain eternally grateful to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and re-affirm our steadfast commitment to non-violence. This year His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in his own words, “voluntarily, happily and willingly” devolved all his political powers to a democratically elected leader, thereby fundamentally transforming the 369-year-old institution of the Dalai Lama. His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision is of a secular democratic Tibetan society, which can stand on its own feet, strengthening and sustaining the movement. This agnanimous decision to separate political and spiritual authority sends a strong message of true leadership. This gesture of the great 14th Dalai Lama is all the more respected around the world and has further strengthened his place among the pantheon of world’s great leaders. The Kashag fully supports the historic statement issued by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his reincarnation on 24th September 2011. The Kashag believes, in the eyes of Tibetan people and the world, the Chinese government has no legitimacy, credibility and authority with regard to reincarnation. Tibetans have absolute faith and loyalty to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and we believe he alone has the right and authority to determine his reincarnation, which is reinforced by the resolutions adopted during 11th Bi-annual Conference of Buddhist leaders in September 2011.

Today, as we also mark the 63rd Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is unfortunate that conditions in Tibet have significantly worsened in recent times. The Chinese government continues to violate the most basic human rights of Tibetans enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Due to the occupation of Tibet and the crackdown that ensued the 2008 peaceful protests, civil and political rights of Tibetan people are repressed, not to mention economic marginalization, social inequality, cultural assimilation and environmental destruction. The human rights situation in Tibet has deteriorated so significantly that Tibetans are resorting to desperate and unprecedented acts. In 2011 alone, twelve Tibetans are known to have committed self-immolation out of which seven have died.

Kalon Tripa in his first official visit to the USA and Europe briefed prominent leaders and officials about the tragic situation in Tibet. They were greatly disturbed and expressed deep concern for the suffering of the Tibetan people and the urgent need to resolve the Tibet issue through peaceful dialogue. Accordingly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that USA was “alarmed by recent incidents in Tibet of young people lighting themselves on fire in desperate acts of protest. “During these visits, Kalon Tripa reiterated His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s unequivocal and long-standing position that as a Buddhist, life is precious and thus, he has always discouraged drastic actions inside and outside of Tibet, as he did during the peaceful protests in 2008 and

several unto-death hunger strikes in exile. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is also deeply concerned about these tragic developments. Similarly, Kalon Tripa appealed Tibetans to end their unto-death hunger strikes in May this year in India, because we need to live and lead our movement. In the long-term interest of the Tibetan cause, we urge Tibetans to focus on secular and monastic education to provide the necessary human resources and the capability to strengthen and sustain our movement. As a gesture of mourning for the self-immolators and their families, the Kashag organized a day-long prayer on Wednesday, October 19, which was graced by the presence of His Holiness Dalai Lama and other important lamas. The Kashag urges Tibetans everywhere to recite mani or other prayers every Wednesday for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the victims of human rights violations in Tibet, including the self-immolators and their families. On Wednesday, January 4, 2012, during the Kalachakra teachings in Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment, the Kashag will also organize a mass prayer so that the truth may prevail in Tibet. Human Rights Day is a time for people and governments to reflect about the meaning, importance and need for basic rights. To the government of China, we want to say that the only way to bring about real peace and stability in Tibet is by respecting the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people. We call upon China to release all political prisoners who are sentenced under various pretexts without fair trial and to stop all repressive policies currently being implemented across Tibetan areas, and to resolve the Tibetan issue peacefully through dialogue.We would like people and governments everywhere to recognize and reward the long-standing and genuine commitment of Tibetans in democracy and non-violence. Such expression of support will go a long way in encouraging other movements and freedom struggles to follow suit, thereby paving a path to a more democratic and peaceful world for the 21st century. Lastly, we urge the United Nations and the international community to send fact-finding delegations to Tibet and assess the gross human rights violations and ground situation firsthand. Independent media and liberal Chinese intellectuals should also be allowed access.As always, we take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the government and people of India for their hospitality and generosity to Tibetans for more than five decades.

May His Holiness the Dalai Lama live long and may all his wishes be fulfilled.

Tibetans Burn for Their Faith and Freedom

The Communist Party cannot understand the meaning, or the power, of a believer’s sacrifice.

By TSERING WOESER

Leaving Lhasa for Beijing one month ago, I was relieved to no longer be living under martial law, with soldiers and police everywhere. But for Tibetans the pain follows wherever we go: The news that another Tibetan has set fire to herself arrives.

Thirteen monks and nuns have committed suicide as a protest since 2009. Most distressing of all is the sight of Palden Choetso, a 35-year-old nun, burning herself last month. The video runs no more than three minutes, and as soon as it begins one is surprised. The young woman’s entire body is wrapped in flames, but she stands erect, looking like a burning torch. I covered my face with my hands because the tears flowed like rain.

At first I imagined that she’d actually walked forward from within the flames, at the same time calling out the Dalai Lama’s name. Only after looking more closely did I realize that she had not moved a single step, but was bending from the waist while doing her utmost to stand straight. Meanwhile, the people on the street were screaming, looking on helplessly as the raging fire sapped her strength. When the young nun fell, she still held her hands together devoutly.

I wish I was the girl in the video wearing the Tibetan clothes who never screamed. Instead she proceeded toward Palden Choetso, who was engulfed in flames, and she threw a pure white khata to her as a sign of respect.

The Communist Party does not understand why this is happening. The despots only believe in guns and money. They not only have no faith themselves, they can’t even understand the power of faith to motivate acts of great selflessness.

Tibetans are not so foolish that they value their lives lightly. Rather it is the despots who have ignited the flames that engulfed these monks and nuns by pushing them to the point of desperation.

When a truly great disaster threatens any religion, there will always be a few believers who take the responsibility of becoming a martyr to protect it. During the Cultural Revolution, monks at the Famen Monastery near Xi’an committed self-immolation to stop the Red Guards from destroying their pagoda.

The Chinese cadres and police are in all of the monasteries of Tibet. They were sent by the Party to brainwash all the monks and nuns, make them denounce the Dalai Lama as a demon, and raise their hands to recognize the Communist Party as their savior.

The Chinese government is afraid that Tibetans who sacrifice their lives will inspire the living to resist. But no matter how it tries to hide the self-immolations and distort their meaning, the truth continues to get out. Even in that high elevation, where Tibet stands at the end of a muzzle of a gun, there will always be Tibetans ready and willing to become “burning martyrs.”

Their sacrifice has two meanings, one to protect their beliefs and the other to fight for their freedom. As they died, the burning Tibetans shouted, “Tibet needs to be free!” “Let the Dalai Lama return home!”

Ms. Woeser, a Tibetan poet, writer and blogger, lives in Beijing. This article wastranslated from the Chinese by Paul Mooney.

China objects to Dalai meet, calls off boundary talks

Indrani Bagchi, TNN | Nov 27, 2011

NEW DELHI: China demanded that India cancel a Buddhist conference in Delhi which the Dalai Lama was xpected  to address. The conference coincided with the boundary talks between Dai Bingguo and Shivshankar Menon also to be held here. India refused. China cancelled the talks.

Last week, China sent a message to India asking that the government prevent the Dalai Lama from speaking at the  Buddhist conference in the national Capital. A surprised government said the Dalai Lama was a spiritual leader and free to speak on spiritual matters, refusing to agree to China’s request.

The Chinese side upped the ante, demanding the Indian government cancel the conference. India refused to comply, saying this was a spiritual conference and the freedom was an essential part of New Delhi. The Indian side even promised full security to the Chinese delegates. Beijing refused and called off the talks. Although later Chinese officials said they wanted to hold the talks “very soon”, India has reacted coolly. The ball, said sources, is in Beijing’s court.

For a Chinese communist leadership in the throes of a leadership transition, the optics of Dai Bingguo breathing the same air as Dalai Lama may be difficult to sell at home. Sources said, this could have been the reason behind China calling off the talks.

The Chinese approach appeared to have hardened after the recent East Asia summit in Bali, where they showed their disapproval of India’s presence in the South China Sea. In recent months, China has successfully prevented the Dalai Lama from being present for an event in South Africa, by pressuring the South African government.

The Buddhist conference, being organized by the Ashoka Mission, will be held from November 27 to 30 to celebrate 2, 600 years of Buddha’s enlightenment and will host scholars and thinkers from 32 countries. The conference plans all-faith meetings, a dhamma yatra etc. The conference is being held in India because of the nation’s unique position as the birthplace of Buddhism.

Buddhism is also a new element of India’s Look East policy, with Nalanda university and a Buddhist outreach, New Delhi has successfully integrated its soft power with the religion to engage countries in southeast Asia as well as China, Japan, Mongolia and Korea. If India acted against the conference at the last moment, it would be counterproductive, apart from inviting collective wrath that it could not withstand Chinese pressure.

While China has promised $1million for the Nalanda University, it also proposed a “Lumbini project” at Lumbini in Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha. Earlier this year, a Chinese organization believed to be close to the party elite, had promised a $3 billion investment in Lumbini (which would translate roughly to 10% of Nepal’s GDP) with an airport, hotels, highways and a university.

While seemingly innocuous, India suspected that this could be used to promote China-friendly Buddhist leaders in all the three main schools of Buddhism – Mahayana, Hinayana and Tibetan Buddhism. Under Indian pressure, Nepal agreed to cut the Chinese links to the project. Sources here said, China wanted Lumbini to be the focal point for Buddhists in the world. At present, Buddhist travel to India to meet Dalai Lama and to visit Sarnath and Bodh Gaya. Besides, through a project like Lumbini, China may reckon it would be easier to “control” both religion and religionists.

While China is a communist state, its Buddhist traditions remain alive and well. Recent reports said Xi Jinping, who is scheduled to succeed Hu Jintao next year, was born of a Buddhist mother, close to the Dalai Lama, who was even given Buddhist funeral rites. Yet as the party boss next year, Xi has taken a harsh stance on Tibet, vowing to stamp out Tibetan “separatism”.

The recent dissonance between India and China have spanned everything from oil exploration in South China Sea to boundary issues, post-retirement sinecures for diplomats and Chinese stapled visas for Kashmiris.

Dalai Lama Questions Self-Immolations

VOA Tibetan

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama expressed his worries about the increasing self-immolations by young Tibetan monks and nuns in eastern Tibet.

In an interview with the BBC Saturday, the Dalai Lama said he doesn’t encourage Tibetans to set themselves on fire and questioned the effectiveness of self-immolation as a form of protest against China.

“There is courage — very strong courage. But how much effect? Courage alone is no substitute. You must utilize your wisdom,” the 76 year old Buddhist leader told the BBC.

In eastern Tibet, 11 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since March, demanding greater religious freedom and return of Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

China has blamed exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for inciting the violence and called the self-immolation demonstrations immoral. The Dalai Lama on November 7 said hard line Chinese policies is the cause of a wave of self-immolations by Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns.

The Dalai Lama has blamed hard line Chinese policies, which he describes as “cultural genocide,” for a wave of self-immolations by Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns.

The exiled spiritual leader also said hard line Chinese officials have been sent to govern Tibetan areas over the past 10 to 15 years. He said that accounts for the desperate acts of the monks and nuns.

Most of the self-immolations have been centered around the Kirti monastery in Sichuan, where the first self-immolation took place in March.

The action prompted a harsh Chinese crackdown in which the monks and nuns have been subjected to re-education programs and armed security forces patrol the surrounding streets.

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.