Speaking at a candle light vigil yesterday in Dharamshala, a member of the Tibetan parliament called for massive protests in the exile community in solidarity with the ongoing critical situation inside Tibet.

“While Tibetans in Tibet revolt against the Chinese government risking their lives, it is time for the exile Tibetans to rise up and do what they can for Tibet,” Geshe Monlam Tharchin said.

“Many exiles complain that our Central Tibetan Administration is not doing enough for the plight of the people inside Tibet, but we have already planned a series of activities in the coming weeks,” Geshe Tharchin said. “So, now we need the Tibetan public to participate in all the upcoming activities for Tibet.”

Citing the detention of CNN crew by Chinese security personnel a few days ago in the undersieged areas of eastern Tibet, the Tibetan parliamentarian said that China is trying to hide its atrocities from the outside world.

The Dharamshala based Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile last week said that its members will sit on a day-long fast on the first day of the Tibetan New Year which falls on February 22.

In a show of support and solidarity with the people inside Tibet, the Central Tibetan Administration has called for a global vigil on Wednesday, February 8.

Around five hundred Tibetans, including the speaker of Tibetan parliament, Penpa Tsering, attended the candle light vigil which was organised by the committee of Drango people here in the town.

After the candle light protest, the CNN video clip showing growing security surveillance and increased military crackdown in eastern Tibet was shown.

Following the series of self-immolations and protests that accounted for at least a dozen dead Tibetans due to police firings last week, Beijing has stepped up security in monasteries, villages, and towns in other regions of Tibet.

fonte phayul.com

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A top US intelligence official has said that the Indian Army is preparing itself for a “limited conflict” with China despite their efforts at holding boundary talks and soaring economic relations.

“Despite public statements intended to downplay tensions between India and China, we judge that India is increasingly concerned about China’s posture along their disputed border and Beijing’s perceived aggressive posture in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific region,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in his prepared testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Tuesday.

“The Indian Army believes a major Sino-Indian conflict is not imminent, but the Indian military is strengthening its forces in preparation to fight a limited conflict along the disputed border, and is working to balance Chinese power projection in the Indian Ocean,” he said.

India and China fought a brief but bloody war in 1962. Since then, the two Asian giants have shared uneasy military ties with a series of border talks failing to yield much result.

The latest rough of Sino-Indian special representative talks held mid-January, reportedly ended in a deadlock after Beijing insisted it would settle for nothing less that “its share” of Arunachal Pradesh.

China is the second largest spender on military in world with an official military budget of about US$91.5 billion, a 12.7% rise from 2010.

Clapper in his testimony noted that the Chinese army receives the “funding and political support” to transform it into a fully modern force, capable of sustained operations in Asia and beyond.

fonte phayul.com

• 27 gennaio 2012 -- Kalon Tripa calls for wordwide vigil on Feb. 8, Says entire Tibet under martial law
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• 26 maggio 2011 -- Tibetan exiles repudiate “coerced” agreement of 1951
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A Tibetan lying down on the ground surrounded by armed Chinese security pesonnel in Serthar, eastern Tibet on January 24, 2012.

The photos are from the January 24 protests that engulfed Serthar in eastern Tibet where a large crowd of Tibetans gathered in the central town and started raising slogans calling for Tibet’s independence.

Over 600 Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene of the protests and began firing indiscriminately at the crowd. Sources in exile have said that at least five Tibetans suffered fatal bullet injuries while over 40 Tibetans were seriously injured.

The photos that reached Phayul this morning from two different sources show Chinese police mercilessly beating an unarmed Tibetan protester with batons while he is lying face down on the street.

Another image shows two Chinese security personnel dragging away a Tibetan from his leg and arm down the street.

“We know that this harrowing scene playing out in the images from Serthar is being repeated across Tibet as Tibetans are attacked and harassed by Chinese authorities for simply advocating their basic
rights and freedom,” the Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet, Tenzin Dorjee said.

In another photo, dozens of Chinese police are seen running towards a Tibetan man standing on the street with leaflets spread all around him.

The UK based Free Tibet in a release today said the photos underlined the brutal nature of Chinese occupation in Tibet.

“Despite China’s efforts to control information, these pictures show the determination of Tibetans to expose to the world what China doesn’t want us to see,” Free Tibet said.

“Can the international community continue to turn a blind eye when the ongoing brutality of the occupation is clear for all to see?”

Following the widespread protests that engulfed the entire Tibetan plateau in 2008, the Tibetan region of Serthar has been a centre of Tibetan resistance.

Last year, on October 1, China’s National Day, Tibetans in Serthar unfurled a large painted cloth portrait of the Dalai Lama and raised the Tibetan national flag on the roof of a three-storey building in the
town center. Protests broke out when Chinese authorities removed the portrait and flag.

Preceding the January 24 mass demonstrations, Tibetans in rural villages in Serthar carried out protests on January 18 and 22 while a larger demonstration was also reported on January 23 in Serthar town where a banner reading: “We protest against failed Chinese policies in Tibet” was unfurled.

This is the second occasion when rare photos of the recent protests in Tibet have come out to exile. Yesterday, Phayul released a number of photos of Tibetans killed and injured with bullet marks after Chinese security personnel fired indiscriminately on Tibetan protesters in Drango on January 23.

The entire region continues to remain under heavy military surveillance with phone lines and internet connections cut off.

fonte phayul.com

• 6 aprile 2011 -- China sends its Tibetan specialist to drum up trade opportunities
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The first graphic images of the January 23 protests in Drango, received by Phayul, shows in gory details, bullet injuries suffered by Tibetan protesters following the violent crackdown by Chinese security forces.

The images also show a photo of the blood-soaked face of Norpa Yonten, lying dead after the indiscriminate police firings.

At least two other Tibetans can be seen carrying bullet holes in the stomach area while others have blood coming out of bullet injuries in their arm and legs.

Following the fiery wave of self-immolations, which has witnessed 17 Tibetans set themselves ablaze,

Tibetans came out on the streets, expressing solidarity with the self-immolaters and calling for continued activism and a boycott of celebrations during the Tibetan new year ‘Losar’ later this month.

Protests in Drango flared up on January 23, the first day of Chinese new yeay, after local Chinese Public Security Bureau officials began to arbitrarily arrest Tibetans on suspicion of their involvement in the appearance of leaflets and posters around the town warning of more Tibetan self-immolations if the Chinese government did not listen to Tibetan concerns.

The unarmed protesters, many of whom were farmers and nomads raised slogans calling for freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama.

As the protests grew stronger, the Public Security Bureau and People’s Armed Police intervened by using guns to rein in the protesters.

Earlier information confirmed the death of Norpa Yonten and another unnamed Tibetan. More than 30 Tibetans suffered serious injuries in the indiscriminate firings.

It can be seen from the photos that the injured Tibetans have bare minimum medical resources at their disposal, leaving very little chances of recovery or even survival.

Following the protests, an undeclared martial law situation prevailed in the region as Tibetans were prevented from going out of their houses. According to sources, fearing arrest, injured Tibetans are being forced to remain indoors with no proper medical attention.

Speaking to Phayul, Tibetans from Drango, currently residing in the Drepung monastery in south India said that the region continues to be under strict military clampdown.

“We are receiving information that Tibetans are being strictly barred from visiting the central areas of the town,” the Drepung monks said. “People are being severely beaten and detained and those suspected of taking part in the protests are being arrested.”

Other sources have confirmed the arrest of one hundred Tibetans from Drango in the past few days on suspicion of their involvement in the protests.

One of the pictures received by Phayul shows a Tibetan wounded by gunfire in Drango on January 23, 2012.

The dead body of Norpa Yonten who was killed in Chinese police firings on January 23, 2012 in Drango.

fonte phayul.com

• 14 luglio 2011 -- Black flags mark Global Day of Action in Dharamshala
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• 23 febbraio 2011 -- US envoy rakes up Tibetan refugee issue with PM
• 25 ottobre 2011 -- Documentary on Tibet to premiere on national television

Chinese authorities have arrested a hundred Tibetans from Drango, eastern Tibet on suspicion of their participation in the January 23 mass protests in the region.

Hundreds of Tibetans had come out on the streets on the first day of Chinese new year, calling for Tibet’s freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet, following which the police indiscriminately fired on the unarmed demonstrators.

According to sources, the protests flared after local Chinese Public Security Bureau officials began to arbitrarily arrest Tibetans on suspicion of their involvement in the appearance of leaflets and posters around the town following the wave of self-immolations in the region. The posters had warned of more Tibetan self-immolations if the Chinese government did not listen to Tibetan concerns.

Chinese security personnel are reportedly arresting the Tibetans with the aid of photos and videos taken during the protests.

“We will arrest even if 10,000 people rise up,” US based radio service RFA quoted an unnamed Tibetan as being told by Chinese security officials.

The arrested Tibetans have reportedly been taken to the Ra Nga Kha prison in Bamei, located between Dartsedo [in Chinese, Kangding] and the Tawu [in Chinese, Daofu].

Exile sources say that the entire Drango region remains cut-off from outside world as phone lines and internet connections continue to be inactive.

The protests in Drango were followed by mass uprisings in Serthar and Ngaba. Chinese police again fired indiscriminately on the peaceful protesters, killing and injuring scores of Tibetans.

Beijing has since intensified the security clampdown in the region by deploying a large number of additional armed Chinese security forces.

While the exile Tibetan administration is calling for global protests and sustained campaigns in solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet, governments and rights groups have condemned China for its violent retaliation against the genuine grievances of the Tibetans.

Human Rights in China in a release last week said escalating repression and failed official policy were the root causes of the recent surge in protests and urged Beijing to address them.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International called on China to avoid using excessive force in response to protests while expressing fear of further violence and bloodshed in Tibet.

Since Tapey’s self-immolation in 2009, 16 Tibetans have set themselves on fire calling for the return of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

fonte phayul.com

• 29 marzo 2011 -- The Untouchables of Dharamsala
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• 14 novembre 2011 -- Exile monk attempts self immolation in Nepal – updated

In a clear sign of China’s fear and weakness in maintaining its iron grip over Tibet, a top party official in Lhasa has asked for stringent security measures aimed at containing the spread of popular protests that has engulfed eastern Tibet.

“Lhasa officials and functionaries at all levels, especially the police, must increase … efforts to rationally dispatch police forces and step up registration and inspection work along national roads, at key monasteries and among leading suspects,” Qi Zhala, Lhasa’s Communist Party chief said in a speech posted on the Lhasa government website.

The kneejerk speech comes days after a Tibetan man was arrested for shouting free Tibet slogans and distributing leaflets at Barkhor Square, the heart of the Tibetan capital city Lhasa.

Speaking at an inspection tour on a key highway leading to eastern Tibet, Qi went on to order a crackdown on “separatist” activities he linked to Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and said maintaining stability in the city would be hard.

“Strive to realise the goal of ‘no big incidents, no medium incidents and not even a small incident,” Qi told police officers.

“We must strike hard at all the separatist, destructive and criminal activities of the Dalai clique and make efforts to realise our goal of not letting any incident, big or small, occur,” he said while warning officials and clerics at monasteries that they would be dismissed if any trouble arose.

Exile sources earlier told Phayul that Lhasa has been placed under a strict security clampdown with monasteries in the region facing increased surveillance and Chinese soldiers performing military drills to intimidate local Tibetans against carrying out demonstrations.

Since March 2011, 16 Tibetans have set themselves ablaze calling for the return of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and protesting China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

Following the fiery wave of self-immolations, Tibetans have come out on the streets, expressing solidarity with the self-immolaters and calling for continued activism and a boycott of celebrations during the Tibetan new year ‘Losar’ next month.

At least a dozen Tibetans are feared to have been killed in Chinese police firings on unarmed Tibetan demonstrators in three separate incidents in Serthar, Ngaba and Drongo region of Tibet, last week.

fonte phayul.com

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Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived back in his exile home of Dharamshala after a successful minor eye surgery in the Indian capital New Delhi today afternoon.

The Tibetan leader was resting in New Delhi for the past few days following the removal of a cataract from his left eye on the 22nd of this month.

The whole procedure had lasted not more than half an hour according to doctors at the AIIMS hospital where the Dalai Lama underwent surgery.

Dr R V Azad, chief of Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS had earlier told reporters that the surgery was conducted by a team of doctors led by Dr J S Titiyal and involved removing the cataract in the left eye and replacing it with an artificial lens.

“The process was completed within half an hour and the leader was discharged after that,” Azad was quoted as saying.

The Dalai Lama had recently concluded his 32nd Kalachakra teachings at Bodh Gaya, attended by over 200,000 devotees from all over the world.

Young at 76, the Tibetan spiritual leader maintains a hectic schedule, travelling and speaking all over the globe. Last year alone, the Dalai Lama visited over a dozen countries in Europe, the North and South Americas and Asia.

His Holiness is scheduled to give a short teaching from the Jataka Tales in the morning on March 8 at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple.

However, according to his official website, there will be no spring teachings this year.

fonte phayul.com

• 26 febbraio 2011 -- Greens threaten to boycott China
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Lobsang Yeshi was sworn in as the newest member of the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) at a ceremony held at the Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat yesterday in Dharamshala.

Yeshi took oath of office from Speaker Penpa Tsering at a ceremony attended by standing committee members of the TPiE and staff of the parliamentary secretariat.

Yeshi’s swearing in comes after Geshe Yungdrung Gyaltsen, a sitting member from Do-Toe province submitted his resignation dated January 1, 2012 citing personal reasons. Yeshi had secured the stipulated 33 per cent of votes from Do-Toe province during the last general elections in March 2011.

A former president of the Tibetan Youth Congress and a long time activist, Yeshi currently resides in the largest Tibetan settlement of Bylakuppe, working as a teacher.

Speaking to Phayul after his swearing in ceremony, Yeshi said that the Tibetan Parliament is “an important and a sacred platform” and the responsibility of being a member is “huge.”

“To get this invaluable opportunity to serve ones people and the struggle at a time when Tibet is passing through its most critical stage is an overwhelming privilege and honor as well as a huge challenge,” Yeshi said.

“I will shoulder these responsibilities to the best of my ability and try to do justice to the trust and the responsibility bestowed on me.”

TPiE recently announced a series of diplomatic and political initiatives in solidarity with the ongoing critical situation inside Tibet.

The parliament is scheduled to meet for its next session on March 14.

fonte phayul.com

• 3 giugno 2011 -- Tortured Tibetan women released in Ngaba, man expected to be sentenced
• 6 aprile 2011 -- China sends its Tibetan specialist to drum up trade opportunities
• 6 maggio 2011 -- Arunachal CM’s chopper crash site located
• 1 luglio 2011 -- Kardze Saka Dawa protests, pictures depict tense situation in the area
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Hundreds of Tibetan pilgrims returning to Tibet from Nepal have been arrested by Chinese security personnel and forcibly taken to an undisclosed location.

Citing sources from inside Tibet, the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said that the detained pilgrims were whisked away in a train bound for China.

“At around 10 am (Tibet time) January 31, Chinese security forces surrounded those Tibetans at the railway station in Tibet’s capital Lhasa and then put them in a train bound for China,” CTA said.

There were earlier reports that many Tibetans returning from pilgrimage in Nepal and India had gone missing and were yet to arrive at their homes.

CTA further said that the arrested Tibetans will face interrogation at an unknown location.

China has specially set up 12 security checkpoints from the town of Dram (Ch:Zhangmu) at the Nepal-Tibet border all the way to Tibet’s capital Lhasa. The checkpoints manned by Public Security Bureau officials were placed to scrutinise and investigate Tibetan pilgrims returning back from India and Nepal.

A Tibetan from Tibet had earlier told Phayul that the pilgrims were being “stopped, harassed and threatened at gun point.”

In an earlier report the CTA had said that Chinese security officials were “forcefully confiscating medicines and religious artefacts being carried by the pilgrims” including even rosaries which are carried by almost every Tibetan.

Adding to the fears of arrest and interrogations at the special security checkpoints, China has already announced plans of once again shutting down Tibet from the outside world.

The duration of the ban, from mid-February to late March, encompasses two important events; the Tibetan New Year from February 22-24 and the Tibetan national uprising day commemorated on March 10.

As of now, there are no further details are available on the current whereabouts and well being of the arrested Tibetans.

fonte phayul.com

• 4 febbraio 2012 -- CNN crew detained and thrown out of restive Tibetan region
• 4 febbraio 2012 -- Gory images of Tibetans killed and injured reach exile
• 15 ottobre 2011 -- Lutto per tre giorni dopo l’auto-immolazione di due monaci tibetani
• 2 novembre 2011 -- The Dalai Lama concludes Vajra Dhatu empowerment
• 3 dicembre 2011 -- India puts off border talks with China over Beijing’s Dalai Lama remarks

Pechino invia nella regione un milione di bandiere cinesi, i ritratti dei leader al potere e circa 20mila funzionari di etnia han con lo scopo di “insegnare ai villaggi tibetani l’amore per la madrepatria”. I monasteri sfidano l’ordine e non espongono le insegne cinesi.

Per festeggiare il Nuovo anno lunare, Pechino ha inviato in Tibet circa un milione di bandiere cinesi e decine di migliaia di ritratti dei leader del Partito, con l’obbligo di esporle nei templi buddisti, nelle scuole e nei luoghi di riunione della popolazione. Inoltre, denuncia il Phayul, sta per iniziare il nuovo esodo forzato di 20mila cinesi di etnia han nell’altopiano: devono “insegnare ai tibetani l’amore per la patria”.

Dopo le 16 auto-immolazioni di monaci buddisti e le diverse manifestazioni soffocate nel sangue, il governo centrale cinese sembra aver deciso di provare la strada della propaganda di stampo maoista. Alcuni analisti avevano riposto delle speranze nel nuovo segretario comunista della zona, Chen Quanguo, ma l’invio di questo materiale dimostra che la politica dei “9 obblighi” rimane in vigore.

Questa politica consiste in una lista di oggetti che tutti i luoghi di culto e di istruzione devono esporre all’ingresso: fra questi ci sono appunto la bandiera, i ritratti dei leader e una copia del Quotidiano del Popolo. Secondo i tibetani, però, si tratta di una violazione della propria identità e di un’offesa alla loro religione: molti, dicono alcune fonti, sfidano il governo e non espongono questi oggetti.

La cosa che preoccupa di più, però, è l’invio di 20mila dirigenti comunisti di etnia han nei villaggi tibetani. Secondo gli ordini di Pechino, questi rimarranno nella zona almeno un anno per “insegnare l’amore per la patria” e “ricondurre al giudizio la mente dei tibetani”.

fonte asianews.it

• 26 maggio 2011 -- Tibetan exiles repudiate “coerced” agreement of 1951
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