Tibetan Headlines
Jan 30: European Campaign
The Tibetan communities in Europe have launched a campaign "Europe Stands with Tibet" which will cumulate in a rally at the Eiffle Tower in Paris on March 14, Tibetan National Uprising day. Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected Tibetan political leader, will address the rally. A declaration “Europe stands with Tibet – On the Freedom Struggle of the Tibetan People” will be signed by prominent European public figures.
Jan 30: Eleven Arrested
Eleven Tibetan nomads have been arrested in Chengdu in the Sichuan province after protesting against what they say was an illegal land grab. They protested near a Communist Party meeting, holding banners and asking that their complaint should be resolved, their land returned and their nomadic way of life protected. They say they are now homeless. Police arrived within minutes and took them away.
Jan 29: Tibetan School Closed
A privately run Tibetan school in Chungnyin Township in Yazi County in the Qinghai Province has been closed by the Chinese government. The school was started two years ago by a Tibetan woman, Yangmo Kyi, using her own money when the original local school closed and some children had to abandon their education. The government has now ordered parents to send their children to a Chinese government run school.
Jan 28: Prisoner Released
Jamyang Tenzin, 41, a Tibetan political prisoner has been released after completion of his three year sentence. A monk at the Yonru Geyden Rabgayling monastery in Lithang, Kardze, in the Sichuan province, he was detained in 2007 for resisting a political re-education campaign at his monastery. Jamyang was released in 2010 in poor health following torture in prison, but later re-arrested and sentenced to three years in prison.
Jan 27: Eight Detained
Eight Tibetans have been detained in Kyegudo. They are involved in the evictions which are taking place there (see Headline for Jan 23) over peoples' inability to pay the government for the costs incurred over their resettlement after their homes were destroyed by the earthquake in 2010. The eight have not been named and there is no information about where they are currently being held.
Jan 27: TYC Campaign
The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) has launched an environmental campaign inspired by the Swach Bharat Abhiyan mission, or Clean India campaign of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tenzing Jigme, President of TYC said, “India is a home to the largest Tibetan population in exile and as Tibetans living in India, we have even a bigger responsibility to keep the... environment... that we live in clean.”
Jan 26: Republic Day
The leader of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, raised the Indian flag to celebrate Republic Day, and expressed pleasure at United States President Obama's visit to India, saying it "is a celebration of the two largest democracies that we are witnessing today”.
Jan 25: 10 Year Sentence
Tsewang, 27, a Buddhist monk from Drildha Monastery in Sog county in the Nagchu Prefecture in Tibet, has been sentenced to ten years in prison. He is accused of inciting others to protest against Chinese rule. He was one of four monks from Drildha detained in March last year for "political reasons" or on suspicion of having "outside contacts". Their current condition and whereabouts are unknown.
Jan 24: Workshop Closed
The annual winter workshop at Dhondupling monastery in Kyegudo in Yulshul in the Quinghai province has been shut down by the Chinese authorities. The four-month workshop teaches Tibetan grammar, logic, and other traditional forms of Tibetan traditional sciences to over a hundred Tibetan children. The school provides free textbooks and stationery and has never been involved in any ilegal activities.
Jan 24: Chinese Influx
China has announced its decision to increase the permanent urban population of Tibet by 30% by 2020 — this will mean approximately 280,000 new Chinese immigrants to Tibet when Tibetans are already marginalised in their own country. The Chinese authorities say this will boost the economy, while the exile Tibetan administration says that Tibetans are being increasingly marginalised in economic, educational, political and social spheres.
Jan 23: Evictions
Tibetan families are being evicted from their homes in government-built housing projects in the town of Kyegudo in Qinghai province, built following the town's destruction in the 2009 earthquake. The occupants had requested exentions to their houses which were too small, but having lost everything in the 'quake could not pay the costs demanded by the government, hence the evictions which are being carried out by armed police.
Jan 23: Dhongthog Rinpoche
Dhongthog Trulku Tenpai Gyaltsen, also known as Dhongthog Rinpoche, a widely respected Tibetan scholar who was also a reincarnated lama died earlier this month in Seattle aged 82. He was author, translator and editor of many important Tibetan literary works, including “New Light English-Tibetan Dictionary” and “The History of Tibet”. He left Tibet in 1957, and later served the Tibetan Government-in-Exile for 13 years before moving to the United States in 1979.
Jan 22: Bokar Rinpoche Recognised
The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, has formally recognised Karma Palden Lodrö Chökyi Gyaltsen Chok Tamche Le Nampar Gyalway Lha as the Third Bokar Rinpoche. He comes from the village of Dilkhyim in the North Sikkim District of India, his father is Tensang and his mother is Yardren, also known as Jama Ama.
Jan 21: Raise the Flag!
Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) has launched the Tibet Flag Challenge, a new campaign asking Tibetans and Tibet supporters to raise the Tibetan flag in different locations, and to post pictures online. The Tibetan flag is banned in Tibet and SFT says “In exile, the flag is a symbol of freedom and resistance”, and that it should be raised in the most creative ways possible - crazy, fun, and daring - to raise awareness around the world.
Jan 21: Date Fixed
Pope Francis has said that he will meet the Dalai Lama, and that his refusal to meet His Holiness in December was due to Vatican protocol and not fear of upsetting China. Pope Francis said "a date has been fixed, we are in contact". When Pope Francis was elected Pope, His Holiness wrote: “May I offer you my greetings and sense of joy on your historic election as the Pope.”