Tibetans shut China’s “propaganda exhibit”

The "Tibet Today: Exposing the Truth" exhibition opens with photographs of pre-1949 independent Tibet, China's invasion, and recent Tibetan protests for freedom. (Photo/SFT) March 27: The Chinese Consulate at Chicago has packed off their performances and opening ceremony during their exhibit “Tibet Today: Sight of Western China Photo Exhibition” at the University of Minnesota on Monday. "There is a lesson here for China. If you want to improve your image abroad, do it by making genuine change on the ground inside Tibet, not by hosting a propaganda show to mislead the global public," said Tenzin Sonam, Regional Coordinator of SFT-Midwest. Prior to the said exhibit, Tibetan organizations, including Students for a Free Tibet, Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women's Association and Tibetan American Foundation-Minnesota, opened a parallel exhibit ‘Tibet Today: Exposing the Truth’ with pictures of independent Tibet, self-immolations and China’s repression in Tibet. The Chinese opened their “propaganda” exhibition with photographs of smiling Tibetans waving the Chinese flag and other items, which Tibetans feel were “clearly aimed at whitewashing China's occupation of Tibet and misleading Western audiences into thinking Tibetans are happy under Chinese rule.” According to the Tibetan organizers some of them and their supporters went the Consulate's exhibit to question them about China's brutalities in Tibet, the Tibetan protests and self-immolations. The questions were met with blank stares and no answers. However, a Chinese student performer reportedly said "I'm very interested in Tibet now. We were taught different [things]. I was at your exhibition. You Tibetans are very nice people" Hours later, the Chinese exhibit cancelled their performances and opening ceremony. The Tibetan exhibit on the hand over a hundred visitors while the Chinese Consulate's exhibit remained all but with no visitors. The Chinese Consulate’s exhibition has reportedly remained closed for the second day. "Armed with truth, information and nonviolence, we were able to shutdown China's expensive propaganda show in our backyard. This is something every Tibetan community and group can do quite easily every time a Chinese propaganda show comes to town," Tenzin Sonam added. The five-day exhibit will remain open till Friday this week.

China sentences three Tibetans up to 15 years for self-immolation “crimes”

A Chinese court in eastern Tibet has passed down heavy prison terms of up to 15 years to three Tibetans for their “crimes” relating to the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet. An official Chinese newspaper in Kanlho region reported that a court in Luchu carried out the rulings on Thursday. The court sentenced Lhamo Dorjee to 15 years in prison, Kalsang Sonam to 11 years, and Tsesang Kyab to 10 years on charges of “intentional homicide.” According to US based Radio Free Asia, the court hearing was “largely a closed door affair” and was held “under tight security” as opposed to China’s earlier claims of open trials attended by relatives of the accused. "The trial was conducted quietly with a huge presence of security forces in and around the Kanlho Prefecture court. The Tibetans were barred from coming close to the court premises," the radio service quoted a Tibetan source as saying. Although details of the court ruling are not available, it was earlier reported that nine Tibetans were standing trial on the same day in connection with the self-immolation protest of Tsering Namgyal. Phayul had earlier reported on the arrest of eight Tibetans, including a family member of Tsering Namgyal, for sharing information with outsiders. The eight arrested Tibetans have been identified as Kalsang Samdup, Nyima, Lhamo Dhundup, Dorjee Dhundup, Kalsang Kyab, Kalsang Sonam, Kalsang Namdren, and Sonam Kyi. Tsering Namgyal, 31, succumbed to his injuries after setting himself on fire near a local Chinese government office in Luchu on November 29, 2012. He is survived by his wife Choekyong Tso, their two children, Dorjee Kyi, 7, and Kalsang Dolma, 3, and his parents. In the past few months, Chinese courts have carried out a number of rushed hearings and sentenced a Tibetan monk to death with a two-year reprieve and several others to lengthy jails terms. Following the court rulings, the New York based global rights group, Human Rights Watch had demanded the immediate release of the jailed Tibetans arguing that their conviction “relied solely on confessions they gave during five months in detention.” “These prosecutions are utterly without credibility,” HRW said. “The Chinese government seems to think it can stop self-immolation by punishing anyone who talks about it. But in pursuing these ‘incitement’ cases, the government compounds the tragedy of these suicide protests.” HRW noted that it has documented “endemic use of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and coercion of Tibetans in detention.” “Self-immolations take place in the context of the Chinese government’s long-standing repressive policies in the Tibetan areas that have seen severe restrictions on Tibetans’ rights,” the rights group had said.

Two Tibetan teenagers burn selves to death

Tibetan self-immolator Rinchen, 17, in an undated photo. February 20: Two Tibetan teenagers set themselves on fire in Kyangtsa region of Zoege, eastern Tibet on February 19, protesting China’s continued occupation and repressive policies in Tibet. Rinchen, 17 and Sonam Dhargey, 18 have succumbed to their burns. According to the exile base of Kirti Monastery in Dharamshala, the two teenagers carried out their fiery protest at around 9:30 pm (local time) yesterday. “It is not currently known what slogans they raised during the protest,” Kirti Monastery in a release said. “The families of the two teenagers are in possession of their bodies and are hoping to carry out their final rites without any interference from the Chinese authorities.” Rinchen's parents are Dhondup Tsering and late Aadon. Sonam Dhargye's parents are Tsering Dhondup and Takho. Confirming the reports, the Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy today said both Rinchen and Sonam Dhargye attended the local primary school in Kyangtsa. “After finishing his primary school, Rinchen attended another school in Wenchuan for a few years and moved to Qinghai, where he worked,” TCHRD said. “At the time of self-immolation, Rinchen was on his Losar (New Year) holiday visiting his family in Kyangtsa.” With the latest self-immolations, as many as 104 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have now set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Eight fiery protests have already taken place inside Tibet since the beginning of the new year, in addition to Tibetan monk Drupchen Tsering's self-immolation protest in Kathmandu, Nepal on February 13. The global rights group Human Rights Watch earlier this month said the self-immolations in Tibet are taking place in the context of the Chinese government’s "long-standing repressive policies in the Tibetan areas that have seen severe restrictions on Tibetans’ rights.” “To date there has still been no concerted effort from the Chinese government to address the underlying grievances in Tibet, which have contributed to the rising number of self-immolations by Tibetans,” HRW said.

Body of Tibetan self-immolator still with Nepali authorities

Tibetan self-immolator Drupchen Tsering in an undated photo. February 16: The body of the Tibetan monk who set himself on fire in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on February 13 has still not been handed over to Tibetan representatives. Our sources in the city say that Nepalese authorities, acting under the influence of China, have been creating unnecessary obstacles in the process of handing over the body. “This is just like what is happening in China occupied Tibet where the Chinese officials bundle away the bodies of Tibetan self-immolators and carry out cremations in secrecy,” a local Tibetan activist who didn’t want to be named told Phayul. “However, concerned people are still talking with authorities and we hope that Nepali officials will respect the sacrifice of the Tibetan monk and handover the body for cremation.” Earlier, the Tibetan monk was identified as Drupchen Tsering (Druptse), a 25-yea-old monk native of Gyalchung village in Nupsur town of Serta, eastern Tibet. Druptse recently escaped from Tibet and arrived in Nepal in January this year. He was staying at the Tibetan Reception Centre in Kathmandu since his arrival according to Dharamshala based Tibetan news portal Tibet Express. Banners put in Boudha, Kathmandu. “He had earlier told his friends and relatives that he had not been able to do anything for the Tibetan cause in the past but promised to do something constructive for the Tibetan people in the future,” Tibet Express cited sources in Tibet as saying. Druptse had reportedly wrapped his body with a metal wire and doused his body with gasoline before setting himself ablaze in the morning of February 13 near the holy Boudhanath stupa in the heart of the city. He passed away at around 10:30 pm (local time) same day after suffering 96 per cent burns. Druptse is survived by his mother Tselha and father Sangnag Tenzin, who is a reincarnated lama. Nepalese police have since increased restrictions in Tibetan areas in the city. Further aggravating the situation, banners under the name of “Locals and Youth of Boudha” have appeared near the protest site, warning that such acts will “make life even harder” for Tibetans. Calling the self-immolation a “hideous and sinful” act motivated by “dirty politics,” the banner announces: “No more Free Tibet in our holy land.” “The soul of the victim will rot in hell … You want blood, we give you war,” further reads the banner.

Tibet continues to burn, Second self-immolation in the new year

Tsering Phuntsok's body burns on the ground in front of Chinese police station in Drachen village in Khyungchu region of eastern Tibet on January 18, 2013. January 18: The wave of self-immolation protests in Tibet against China’s continued occupation of Tibet shows no sign of abating with reports just in of yet another fiery death in Khyungchu region of Ngaba in eastern Tibet. Initial reports have identified the Tibetan self-immolator as Tsering Phuntsok. According to a Swiss based Tibetan, Sonam, the protest occurred at around 3:15 pm (local time). “Tsering Phuntsok set himself on fire in front of the local Chinese police station in Drachen village of Khyungchu region,” Sonam told Phayul. “He passed away at the site of his protest.” Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene and bundled away Tsering Phuntsok’s body to Barkham, the same source said. Tsering Phuntsok is survived by his wife and two children. Photos of today’s self-immolation protests show the charred body of Tsering Phuntsok, still on fire, lying on the ground. A number of people could be seen surrounding the body. Reports suggest that monks of the Amchok Monastery are currently carrying out a prayer service for the deceased. This is the second self-immolation protest in Tibet since the beginning of the new year. In 2012 alone, as many as 82 Tibetans set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. Chinese authorities in the region have intensified their repressive policies by criminalising the self-immolation protests, arresting family members and friends of protesters and off late, confiscating thousands of satellite TV dishes aimed at creating an information black hole in the region. “Tibet is getting into the global evening news because of self-immolations and so there’s this anxiety to bring it under control,” Michael Davis, a law professor and Tibet expert at the University of Hong Kong told AP. He warned that the new leadership “will be particularly anxious not to have any of these problems blow up in their face.” “I think self-immolations and all of this suggest that they are not winning the hearts and minds of the Tibetan people and in fact the more repressive they are, the more resistance they encounter, so it’s a kind of vicious circle,” Davis said.

Fight against ‘Dalai Lama clique’ must continue: Politburo member Yu

Yu Zhengsheng,67, Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. January 9: China’s new leadership is showing no signs of softening its stance on Tibet with one of it newly selected politburo standing committee members calling for continuing the “fight against the Dalai Lama clique.” Yu Zhengsheng, one of China’s seven top leaders, who was appointed last November along with Xi Jinping, made those remarks while on an inspection tour in Kardze region of eastern Tibet. "The fight against the Dalai Lama clique should continue in order to create a favorable social and political environment for economic development and the improvement of people's well-being," China’s state news agency Xinhua quoted Yu as saying. His visit to Tibet and comments on the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama marks the first by a member of the newly appointed Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. Addressing a seminar held with “Tibetan Buddhist representatives,” Yu called on monks and nuns to “support the government's efforts to manage monasteries in accordance with the law” and also encouraged them to be “patriotic and observe the law and monastic rules.” "The government should offer public services to monasteries while enhancing their management, as well as help Tibetan Buddhism to correspond with socialist society," Yu said. During his inspection tour from January 6 to 8, Yu is said to have visited “herdsmen, poverty-stricken villagers, and a middle school” and called for the improvement of infrastructure in Tibet and increase in incomes of farmers and herdsmen. Protest against China’s rule in Tibet has escalated over the years with the region witnessing a wave of self-immolations and mass protests. Since 2009, as many as 95 known Tibetans have set themselves in fire in Tibet demanding freedom and return of the Dalai Lama from exile. China’s top leader Xi Jinping, when he visited Tibet’s capital Lhasa in July 2011, had promised to "smash" any attempts to destabilise Tibet and walked the party line of fighting against "separatist activities" linked to the Dalai Lama. Speaking in front of the Potala Palace, which is the Dalai Lama's traditional seat, Xi had called on the country to “thoroughly fight against separatist activities by the Dalai clique by firmly relying on all ethnic groups... and completely smash any plot to destroy stability in Tibet and jeopardise national unity." "The extraordinary development of Tibet over the past 60 years points to an irrefutable truth: Without the Chinese Communist Party, there would have been no new China, no new Tibet."

The Dalai Lama pushes for thorough investigation of Tibet self-immolations

January 7: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has renewed calls for a “thorough investigation” into the causes behind the spate of self-immolations inside Tibet. The Dalai Lama was speaking to NDTV, a major Indian news channel, on its Sunday night talk show ‘Your Call.’ “Last year, when this (self-immolation) first happened, I was in Japan and I said that the time has come the Chinese government must carry thorough investigation and find the cause of these sad events,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said. “These events are symptom of some cause.” He noted that two to three generations of Tibetans inside Tibet have “really suffered a lot” under China’s rule. Since 2009, as many as 95 Tibetans have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. Thousands of Tibetans have carried out mass protests even as Chinese authorities have increased their repressive policies and tightened the noose around self-immolations. Responding to a question on whether he would appeal for the self-immolations to stop, the Dalai Lama said the exile Tibetan administration has never encouraged the protests. “This question is politically sensitive. (Tibetan) political leaders have expressed right from the beginning, very clearly, that we never encourage such acts, but at the same time if we have something to offer them (self-immolators), then I can say, ‘You should not do this,’” the 77-year-old Tibetan leader said. “So, in order to say something I must have something to offer them, but I have nothing. I feel very sorry, I say prayers. Apart from that, I can’t do anything.” The Dalai Lama further added that the Chinese government’s tactics of blaming him for the protests will not solve the problem and urged Chinese leaders to “think more seriously” about the crisis in Tibet. When asked about his optimism on China’s new leader Xi Jinping, the Tibetan spiritual leader said it is “too early to say” and noted that the new leaders have to follow a more realistic approach for their own interest. “Using force is outdated. More violence, more suppression, more resentment, that's illogical,” the Dalai Lama said. “Therefore, I'm quite sure the new leadership will seek truth from facts and sooner or later follow a more realistic approach.” Responding to a question on the possibility of seeing an independent Tibetan nation, the Dalai Lama said that although historically Tibet was an independent nation, it is more important to think ahead and look at the future. “Yes, we were a separate nation but we should not necessarily just insist on that,” the Nobel peace laureate said. “Let us try to build a new kind of genuine union. If that fails then it's something different.” His Holiness pointed out that the exile Tibetan administration’s policy of middle-way approach, which seeks autonomy for Tibet, has so far won a lot of support from the Chinese people. “Emotionally, many young people say, "Oh we want independence" (but) they have never shown us how to achieve independence step by step,” the Dalai Lama said. “How much support from the Chinese people? How much support from the Indian government? How much support from the European Union? How much support from the United States? Thinking realistically is important.”