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A rare Tibetan critic sues China's government
23/07/08
By Audra Ang
BEIJING (AP) — The poet Woeser has long been a rarity — a Tibetan living in
Woeser's willingness to openly confront authorities makes her stand out. Most Tibetans are reluctant to do that, even more so than environmental and human rights activists. If they complain at all, they often do so in hushed tones and under the cloak of anonymity. Their reticence speaks volumes about the harshness of Woeser, who like some Tibetans uses only one name, says The lawsuit is another way to draw attention to "I'm not expecting to win. But if you don't take action, there's no chance to let the outside world know the truth," Woeser said. "It's an opportunity to talk about the unfair treatment of Tibetans over the years." The 42-year-old woman who stands barely 5 feet tall has sought to be a channel for her people's voices. In 2005, she started blogging on issues rarely discussed in "She went into unknown territory. I think no Tibetan had ever spoken out so openly in print or in the media," said Robbie Barnett, an expert on modern "When she first started to write about these things, I think everyone assumed that her position would be impossible to sustain. But she has never faltered. ... The risks she took were off the chart," he said, calling Woeser "a poet who forgot to be afraid." Her essays and poems are filled with colorful and sometimes brutal detail about the Tibetan way of life. They provide a glimpse into a deeply religious culture that has been shut off to much of the world. Her stance is not without cost: Her books are banned in The fourth was one of the few sources of news coming out of the sealed-off region during the March crackdown. Then hackers posted threats against her on the blog and rendered it unusable. She has since started a fifth blog that is still running — for now. That Woeser has become a symbol of dissent is an unlikely turn. Her parents were loyal communists, and her half-Chinese, half-Tibetan father was a deputy commander in Born in 1966 — the start of Mao Zedong's radical and devastating Cultural Revolution — Woeser spent her childhood in "I was devoted to Chairman Mao," she recalled. She began questioning that view when she left For the first time, she was a minority and often felt discrimination. She read banned translations of the Dalai Lama's autobiography and John Avedon's "In Exile from the "There were things in there that were the opposite of what we had been taught," Woeser said. After school, she became an editor of a literary journal in In 2004, the government literary association expelled her for "political errors" after she published a collection of essays which mentioned that the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader vilified by The stigma and loss of her job drove her to It was in Wang's hometown of When Woeser sent friends to make inquiries, police told them she posed a danger to state security, the reason often given for keeping dissidents in check. Woeser dismisses the label. "I'm an author who writes from home all the time. If I really am posing a threat to society, doesn't it make the great country of For Tibetans, it is nearly impossible to get a passport, and many risk their lives trying to flee across Himalayan mountain passes into "It's hard to say whether she will win or not," said her lawyer, Mo Shaoping, who has made his name defending Earlier this year, Woeser was unable to accept a Freedom of Expression prize from the Norwegian Authors' "I still have hope in On the Net:
China hits out at EU/US Tibet statement
11/06/08
Beijing - China said on Wednesday it opposed a demand from the United States and the European Union (EU) to hold "results-oriented" talks with the Dalai Lama and accused them of double standards on human rights.
"The Chinese side opposes the joint declaration of the EU-US summit on the issue of Tibet," foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said in a statement on the ministry's website.
"Tibet is an inseparable part of China and...the dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama is completely an internal affair of China."
During the annual leader's summit held on Tuesday near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, the EU and United States expressed concern about recent unrest in Tibet and urged Chinese and Tibetans to refrain from further violence.
"We welcome China's recent decision to hold talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives," the EU and United States said in a statement released by the White House.
"We encourage both parties to move forward with a substantive, constructive and results-oriented dialogue at an early date."
Spurred by international pressure concerning deadly unrest in Tibet this year, Chinese officials met the Dalai Lama's envoys in early May for a day of talks.
That led to an agreement to restart formal discussions, which had broken off last year, on June 11.
But those talks were postponed while China focused on relief efforts after the devastating earthquake in the nation's southwest in May.
The EU-US statement also urged China to address "its poor human rights record" and allow its citizens to enjoy "internationally recognised human rights."
Qin responded, saying: "China's government has all along paid great importance to advancing human rights."
"The Chinese side resolutely opposes the use of human rights as a pretext to interfere into the internal affairs of other nations and opposes the use of double standards in questions relating to human rights," he added.
Deadly riots broke out on March 14 in Lhasa after earlier peaceful protests to mark the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
Beijing says it acted with restraint to quell the unrest, charging rioters with killing 21 people. The Tibetan government-in-exile says over 200 Tibetans were killed in China's crackdown.
Olympic torch in Tibet under close security
11/06/08
By John Ruwitch
(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
SHANGRI-LA, China (Reuters) - China paraded the Olympic torch through the mountain town of Shangri-la on Wednesday, the first of several stops it will make in Tibetan areas despite complaints from overseas rights groups.
Security around the flame was extremely tight, hinting at how nervous the authorities are with reports of unrest and arrests continuing in Tibetan parts of China three months after anti-Beijing demonstrations turned violent in Lhasa, prompting the government to flood troops into the region.
At a monastery on the outskirts of town, some Buddhist monks said they had been forbidden from leaving during the torch run, while others were made to attend a sutra reading session that lasted from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. -- right when the torch was passing.
"Our teacher told us not to go out today," said one novice. Another said police had ordered the monks to stay in their compound.
Paramilitary police lined the streets in town, some kept watch atop buildings and others were posted at intervals on a rural road that the torch and its huge entourage had to drive down to get to the location of the closing ceremony.
The torch was a lightning rod for human rights and free Tibet protests during its international leg after China cranked up security in Tibetan populated areas in response to the unrest in the region.
Those demonstrations, including several attempts to douse the flame, struck a raw nerve with many Chinese.
China has since shortened the Tibet leg of the torch relay to one day from three, and the exact date remains a secret. In May, the torch was lit at the top of the Tibetan face of Mount Everest, in an event exiled Tibetans saw as provocative.
Students for a Free Tibet, a New York-based group, reiterated an appeal to the International Olympic Committee to "avert a further humanitarian crisis" by pressing China to scrap the Tibetan leg of the torch relay.
"By saying nothing and allowing the torch relay to proceed through Tibet under lockdown, the IOC has essentially encouraged Chinese authorities to use whatever force they deem necessary to ensure a successful, protest-free propaganda exercise," Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, said in a statement.
In Shangri-la, known as Zhongdian before 2002, pockets of supporters along the torch route, including many Tibetans, cheered as the flame passed.
The Tibet Autonomous Region, a province-like administration, is often referred to simply as Tibet, but ethnic Tibetans populate wide swaths of land in nearby provinces including Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai.
"I have been really moved to see the Olympic flame in a Tibetan area," said Sunnuo Qilin, a 25-year-old Tibetan man from a village in the hills who was carrying a Beijing Olympics flag.
Asked whether he thought there was merit to the argument that the torch should not be brought into Tibetan areas while there is still tension, he replied: "fei hua" -- the Chinese equivalent of "baloney".
Silan Quzhen, another ethnic Tibetan, took leave from her job in a restaurant and waited for several hours on the street for the torch to go by.
"There was no trouble in Yunnan province when other areas had trouble, so it is not an issue bringing the torch here. I can say 100 percent there wasn't going to be a problem here," she said.
The ruling Communist Party has not taken any chances. Several residents said that thousands of troops were brought into the area.
At the Sumtseling monastery, home to about 800 red-robe wearing monks, one devotee said even if he had been free in the morning he wouldn't have gone to see the flame.
"It shouldn't have come here. It's a little offensive to the Tibetans," he said.
US, Europe to hail China talks with Dalai Lama
10/06/08
LJUBLJANA (AFP) — The United States and the European Union will call on China Tuesday to have "results-orientated" talks on Tibet with the Dalai Lama's representatives, according to a draft joint declaration obtained Monday.
"We welcome China's recent decision to hold talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives. We encourage both parties to move forward with a substantive, constructive and results-orientated dialogue at an early stage," it said.
The declaration, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, was to be released after US President George W. Bush and European Union leaders hold an annual summit near Slovenia's capital Ljubljana.
"We are concerned about the recent unrest in Tibet and urge all sides to refrain from further violence," the declaration says.
Spurred by international pressure over seven weeks of deadly unrest in Tibet, Chinese officials met the Dalai Lama's envoys in early May for a day of talks which led to an agreement to restart formal discussions that broke off last year.
A seventh round of long-running talks between China and Tibet scheduled for June 11 has been postponed as Beijing focuses on earthquake relief efforts, an aide to the Dalai Lama said last week.
"We are trying to work out fresh dates in June," said Tenzin Taklha, deputy secretary to the Tibetan spiritual leader, confirming discussions had earlier been set for next week.
"This was before the earthquake. A lot of efforts are now going towards that."
China has been battling to provide relief to victims of a massive earthquake in Sichuan province on May 12 that killed over 69,000 people and left millions homeless.
Deadly riots broke out on March 14 in Lhasa after earlier peaceful protests to mark the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
Beijing says it acted with restraint to quell the Tibetan "rioters" and "insurgents," charging them with killing 21 people in the unrest, which spread to other parts of western China with Tibetan populations.
The Tibetan government-in-exile says 203 Tibetans were killed and about 1,000 hurt in China's crackdown.
Foreigners find Beijing is becoming a forbidden city before the Games
06/06/08
GEOFFREY YORK, from Thursday's Globe and Mail
BEIJING — Daniel Yeung is still trying to understand how it happened. After eight years of steady employment, the Canadian recruitment consultant is being kicked out of China, forced to join an exodus of foreigners streaming out of the host country ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Mr. Yeung is one of thousands of Canadians and other foreign citizens who are being forced to leave China this month because of tougher visa rules.
"A lot of people are being kicked out," he said. "We're still trying to figure out why the authorities are being so strict and so unfair."
The exodus has cast a shadow over the Olympics, making Beijing a less welcoming city at a time when most Olympic host cities are usually gearing up for an internationally flavoured party.
Beijing has not fully explained the crackdown, but it is apparently due to "security" concerns and a fear that foreigners might cause political trouble during the Olympics in August.
This week, Beijing warned that foreigners attending the Olympics will be banned from political activities, demonstrating, carrying banners, damaging "social order," or importing any "printed material" that is "detrimental to China's politics."
The visa crackdown has already triggered a decline in foreign tourists visiting Beijing this spring. Cultural and music festivals have been cancelled for vague "security" reasons, major academic conferences have been scrapped and even foreign investors are finding it harder to enter the country.
Mr. Yeung, a 32-year-old Vancouverite, has held jobs in property and restaurant management in China and worked for three years in immigration screening at the Canadian embassy in Beijing. For the past eight months he has been a consultant at the Beijing office of a recruitment agency.
But when he tried to renew his work visa this spring, the Chinese authorities rejected his application. They said his educational qualifications, a diploma in physiotherapy, were inadequate for his job and he must have a bachelor's degree if he wanted to work as a consultant in China. It didn't matter that his employers were happy with his work, or that he was performing a useful service.
"All sorts of people are being refused visas for the silliest of reasons," Mr. Yeung said in an interview.
"The authorities are finding any little flaw, any little excuse to reject people. I still don't understand why. I think it's really absurd."
One of his friends, a Norwegian businessman who owns his own company in China, is being kicked out this summer after 10 years in China because the government said he must have a graduate degree, Mr. Yeung said.
Canadian investors say they are being hurt by the visa restrictions. Many business executives in Hong Kong are facing serious delays in obtaining visas to visit their factories and offices in mainland China.
"It's been a real hassle for our members," said Andrew Work, executive director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. "It's taking longer to close a deal or conduct business. People are saying, 'It's hurting us, because it's slowing everything down.' Time is money, and anything that slows down movement across the border is costing money."
In response to a survey by the chamber, some Canadian businesses said they were worried they could lose millions of dollars in revenue because their clients might be unable to visit Chinese factories to inspect them before placing orders.
The American and European chambers of commerce in Hong Kong have sent letters to the Chinese government, expressing worry that the visa denials and delays will hurt business.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has acknowledged that a visa crackdown is under way. The approval process has become "more strict and more serious" because of the need to protect the "safety" of the Olympics, a ministry spokesman said.
The crackdown is hurting tourism. In April, the number of overseas visitors to China declined by 5.3 per cent, compared with a year earlier. Officials admitted that it was probably a result of the stricter visa rules, although tourism has also suffered from China's ban on foreign travel to Tibet after the recent wave of Tibetan protests.
Even during the Olympics, foreign visitors to Beijing could be fewer than last year at the same time, according to some travel agents. Beijing's hotels, which tripled their prices for the Olympics, are reporting lower-than-expected reservation rates, with many rooms still available.
China's security paranoia has intensified the restrictions on foreigners, who are now required to carry their passports everywhere. Police raids and inspections have targeted nightclubs and apartment buildings with large numbers of foreigners.
Seven runners in an international jogging club, the Hash House Harriers, were recently detained by police for several hours because the police were suspicious of the baking flour that the runners had used to mark their jogging route.
Gunshot fired on peaceful protester in Kardze
29/05/08
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has documented numerous cases of protests particularly led by the nuns of various nunneries in Kardze County in the past few weeks. According to the latest information received by the TCHRD from a reliable source confirmed that, three nuns of Dragkar Nunnery and a female student were arrested by the Kardze County Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials for staging a protest yesterday.
On 28 May 2008 at around 9 AM (Beijing Standard Time) three nuns of Dragkar Nunnery in Kardze County, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) "Tibet Autonomous Prefecture"('TAP') Sichuan Province staged a peaceful demonstration in Kardze County main market square. The three nuns chanted slogans calling for the "swift return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet", "Long Live the Dalai Lama", "Freedom for Tibet" and "Immediate release of all political prisoners". The protesting nuns even distributed pamphlets calling for the "independence for Tibet". After a period of short demonstration they were arrested and taken away by the Kardze County PSB officials for questioning. The names and origins of the three nuns were identified as Ven. Sangye Lhamo, 26 years old from Kyakyatengtsang family of Dungra Village, Serchuteng Township, Kardze County, Ven. Tsewang Kando, 38 years old, Dungra Village, Serchuteng Township, Kardze County, and Ven. Yeshi Lhadon, 24 years old from Tsozhi village, Kardze County. Kardze "TAP" Sichuan Province. The present condition and well-being of three nuns were unknown at the moment.
After about an hour of their demonstration, another solo protest was staged by a 21-year-old female student, Rigden Lhamo of Tapontsang family from Lhakey Village, Thingkha Township, Kardze County, by unfurling the banned Tibetan national flag and shouted similar slogans at the county government headquarters.
According to an eyewitness account from the area, the county security forces fired gunshots and there is no clear information on whether Rigden Lhamo was shot or injured. However, it was confirmed that the County PSB officials detained her after her brief protest in front of the county government headquarters.
According to another eyewitness account from the demonstration site, bloodstains were seen on the body of Rigden Lhamo but it could not be ascertained whether it was from severe beating inflicted on her by the security forces or from the gunshots. There is no information on her current whereabouts at the moment. It was confirmed that she has sustained an injury and therefore should be subjected to immediate medical attention.
The current situation in Kardze is known to be very tense with authorities deploying more security forces into the area to suppress further political dissidence.
TCHRD condemns in strongest terms the Chinese security forces' brutal use of force on the peaceful Tibetan demonstrators. TCHRD also call upon the PRC government to release all those Tibetans who have been arrested and detained for exercising their fundamental human rights enshrined in the UDHR, constitution and many other international covenants and treaties that she is party to.
Film encouraging Olympic protests to air on Qantas flights
28/05/08
A NEW film in which the great Australian sprinter Peter Norman implores the current generation of Olympians to protest against human rights violations will be screened on all Qantas flights carrying team members to Beijing.
The film 'Salute' documents the so-called Black Power Protest during the medal ceremony for the men's 200m at the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games.
In the aftermath of the global Olympic torch relay, which was beset with protests over China's oppression of indigenous people in occupied Tibet, the film and Norman's sentiments could light the fuse for a new Games protest 40 years on.
Paramount have bought 'Salute' for worldwide distribution and Qantas picked up the rights to screen it on all flights from July 24.
The film has been five years in the making but tragically in 2006 Norman died of a heart attack, never having seen the finished product directed and produced by his nephew Matt Norman.
In 2005, Norman showed he was still an activist with a strong social conscience when he told /The Daily Telegraph: "Today there is a whole new generation but someone still has to stand up and make a statement on behalf of the down-trodden.
"Once you've earned the right to stand on that podium you've got that square metre of the world that belongs to you. What you do with it is up to you - within limits.
"I'm not sure a rehashing of what happened in 1968 would have the same impact.
"And if a Chinese gold medallist made a civil rights protest the risk to them would probably be far greater (than it was in 1968 to Tommie Smith and John Carlos) because they're doing it on home turf.
"We're not advocating a repeat of '68 but people should be aware of the civil rights situation in China. It's a wonderful opportunity to do something of a positive nature."
Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Mike Tancred said despite an International Olympic Committee rule prohibiting any form of protest at the Games, Australian team guidelines had been redrafted to permit freedom of expression.
"The team will be able to express a point of view on human rights, Tibet and any other issue in media interviews and, for the first time ever, in blogs," he said.
"However, they won't be allowed to stage demonstrations of political, racial or religious origin - certainly not in venues - and that would include wearing a Free Tibet T-shirt."
Norman set an Australian record - which still stands - in winning the silver medal, splitting two giants of American athletics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos.
As the American national anthem played for the winner Smith and Carlos stood in their long black socks, heads bowed, each with one arm raised with a fist gloved in black leather.
Norman, who empathised with the protest movement of the period, wore a Project For Human Rights button to show his solidarity during the medals ceremony.
'Salute' will premiere on June 8 at the State Theatre during the Sydney Film Festival and will open nationally from July 24.
Controversy during Dalai Lama's visit to Germany
20/05/08
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, on Monday ended a five-day visit to Germany that became mired in controversy because only one government minister agreed to meet with him.
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, the development minister, met with the Dalai Lama on Monday. She apparently did so against the wishes of Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the leader of the Social Democrats, Kurt Beck. Both had said that no senior party leaders would meet with the Dalai Lama.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with the Dalai Lama in the chancellery in September, was on a weeklong tour of Latin America during his latest visit.
The Chinese Embassy in Berlin spoke out against Wieczorek-Zeul's meeting. "We object to a member of the German government receiving the Dalai Lama, and to Germany allowing him to carry out this visit," Junhui Zhang, a Chinese diplomat told The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
He accused the Dalai Lama of "playing politics" ahead of the Olympics, which will be held in Beijing in August. The Dalai Lama ended his visit with a big rally at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of Germany's reunification. There were makeshift posters criticizing Steinmeier and President Horst Köhler, who said he could not find the time to meet the Tibetan, according to his office.
Wieczorek-Zeul said Monday that she was not prepared to follow a party line or bow to pressure from Beijing. Before their 45-minute meeting at a hotel in Berlin, she said: "I don't understand the excitement about the meeting with the Dalai Lama. I regularly talk with religious leaders. Why not with the Dalai Lama?" The original venue was to have been her ministry but that was changed, apparently to play down the official nature of the occasion.
Nevertheless, Wieczorek-Zeul said she was not going to talk to the Dalai Lama as a private citizen. "I am a member of the federal government," she said at news conference.
Wieczorek-Zeul said her meeting with him had been "very good" and "fruitful," adding that it was very important to hear what the Dalai Lama had to say about the recent negotiations with the Chinese authorities.
"I took advantage of the opportunity to let the Dalai Lama inform me about the situation in Tibet, based on his point of view," she said after the meeting. "Of course we discussed the necessity for cultural autonomy in this context, as well as about the dialogue between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama."
The Chinese authorities last month re-opened a dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives in response to the international criticism of its crackdown of anti-Chinese demonstrators in Tibet in March.
Steinmeier, who has cultivated close ties with the Chinese leadership since he was chief of staff for then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from 1999 to 2005, has kept his distance from the Dalai Lama rather than risk offending the Chinese.
"It takes a lot of courage not to meet with the Dalai Lama these days," said Steinmeier, defending his decision not to meet the exiled Tibetan.
Conservatives said it was the responsibility of the foreign minister to be briefed by the Dalai Lama over the status of the talks with Beijing.
Several conservative regional leaders have held talks with the Dalai Lama over the past few days.
Click here for information on the Dalai Lama and his visit to the UK
IOC briefs athletes over protests
By Karolos Grohmann
19/05/08
LONDON (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has told National Olympic Committees their athletes should refrain from making political statements during the Beijing Games.
As fears of protests against China's human rights record following a military crackdown in Tibet mount, television coverage will also do more to protect the Games from any unexpected protest by fans, athletes or officials.
Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (BOB), a joint venture between the Games organisers and the IOC's Olympic Broadcasting Services, is responsible for producing the images from all Olympic-related venues and feeding them to broadcast rights holders.
"The Olympic broadcaster must protect the Olympics and we are being told that at every Games," a cameraman who has covered several recent Olympics for the host broadcasters told Reuters on condition of anonymity on Monday.
"There is no way a protest will be shown live from Beijing wherever the BOB is in charge," the man said.
In a memo sent earlier this month to all NOCs, the IOC said athletes should adhere to Rule 51.3 of the Olympic charter, which essentially says politics must stay out of the Games.
"The Games are about sport. They are not a stage for different kinds of political statements," the IOC said in the note to NOCs.
"The conduct of participants at all (Olympic) sites, areas and venues includes all actions, reactions, attitudes or manifestations of any kind by a person or group of persons, including but not limited to their look, external appearance, clothing, gestures, and written or oral statements," the IOC said.
Situation extremely tense in Xiahe County, defiant monks in front of media tour disappears
09/05/08
(From the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights & Democracy)
The situation at Labrang Monastery in Sangchu (Ch: Xiahe) County is extremely tense today. Thousands of People's Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) personnels have surrounded Labrang Monastery in the aftermath of arrest of hundreds of monks, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
On 7 May 2008, thousands of PAP and PSB officers (estimated around 5000) surrounded Labrang Monastery and carried a sudden raid in the monastery. During the raid, around 140 monks were arrested and taken away for detention. The next day a large number of monks of the monastery protested calling for the release of the monks arrested on the previous day. The authorities upon fearing the protest to escalate further, released all the detained monks except for 18 monks. However, the monks continued to call for the release of the remaining 18 monks and the authorities gave in by releasing another 11 out of the 18 monks today morning.
Despite additional contingents of armed police arriving at the monastery, monks in large number have again protested against the authorities to release the remaining seven monks but the authorities flatly refused to do so, challenging the monks to take any counter measure. TCHRD fears the protest might intensify and result in bloodshed as the monks are learned to be determined to secure the release of the remaining seven monks at all cost.
Defiant monks dissappear
09/05/08
(From the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights & Democracy)
In another confirmed information received from the area, two monks who defiantly spoke out in front of the government managed media tour in Sangchu County on 7 April 2008, are known to be have been disappeared. Shortly after the media visit to the area, Thabkhey and Tsundue, have disappeared. The local Tibetan residents fear that the police have secretly lifted them for their defiant action which caused major embarrassment to the government of the People's Republic of China. The family members of the two monks have approached the local PSB headquarters regarding their whereabouts, however, the authorities feigned ignorance about the two. Till date, nobody knows about their whereabouts and the family members live in anxiety over fear of them being killed extrajudicially.
TCHRD believes that this is a case of enforced and involuntary disappearance enacted by the state law enforcement bodies. The Centre fears that the two monks might be extrajudicially killed if timely intervention is not effected by the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance (UNWGEID). The Centre appeals the UNWGEID to issue an express intervention on the whereabouts of the two monks.
Tibetan woman succumbs to torture
05/05/08
(From the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights & Democracy)
A Tibetan woman in Ngaba County died after being subjected to brutal torture by the Chinese prison guards, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
A 38 year-old Nechung, mother of four children died days after being subjected to brutal torture in the Chinese prison. She hailed from Charu Hu Village in Ngaba County, Ngaba "TAP", Sichuan Province.
Sources told TCHRD that she was involved in peaceful protests on 16 and 17 March 2008 in Ngaba County. Later on 18 March, she was arrested by the Chinese security forces for allegedly being the first person to pull down the door plate of the Township office.
On 26 March 2008, she was released from the prison. She spent nine days in prison undergoing brutal torture in the hands of Chinese prison guards. At the time of her release from the prison, her health was in an extremely critical condition. There were many bruise marks on her body, she was unable to speak and eat food, constantly vomiting and could hardly breathe properly.
After the release, her relatives immediately took her to the County government hospital for treatment. However, the County government hospital refused to admit her to the hospital to receive timely medical treatment, apparently under influence and intimidation of the local Chinese authorities. She was completely denied from accessing timely medical treatment in the hospital.
After remaining in critical condition for 22 days without medical treatment she died on 17 April 2008 in abject state of neglect, pity and apathy of local Chinese authorities. Even after her death, the Chinese authorities issued terse warning to Tibetan monks for offering prayers and ritual rites for her deceased soul. This goes to show that the Chinese authorities traverse extreme lengths to deprive Tibetan people of their basic and fundamental human rights in a cruel and bizarre abuse of power.
She is survived by her four children, all minors. Her husband has been on the run since her arrest, apparently to avoid being arrested by the Chinese security forces.
TCHRD expresses its serious concern at the cases of Tibetans tortured to death by the Chinese security forces in recent months. This is a clear indication that China still continues to resort to widespread use of torture in prisons to deal with the Tibetan prisoners of conscience. TCHRD urges the Chinese government to immediately put an end to torture tactics to extract confessions in the detention centres. TCHRD also calls upon the international bodies and vital organs to the UN to protect the basic and fundamental rights of the Tibetan people in Tibet.
worldbridges: http://www.worldbridges.com/
China jails 17 Tibetans in a "swift and quick" court proceeding*
29/04/08
The Xinhua report stated, "Two men, including a Buddhist monk identified as Basang (Passang), received life sentences... Basang was accused of leading 10 people, including five other monks, to destroy local government offices, burn down shops and attack policemen... Of the five monks, two were sentenced to 20 years, and the other three to 15 years in jail." "The other man who received a life sentence was identified as Soi'nam Norbu (Sonam Norbu), a driver for a Lhasa real estate company". No details were given on the 10 other people sentenced.
The Chinese authorities have arbitrarily arrested thousands of Tibetans following the pan-Tibet protests in March 2008. While the official media claims 2300 Tibetan protesters were arrested, The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) fears the actual number of arrests can be manifold.
On several occasions, the "Tibet Autonomous Region" ("TAR") Communist Party and Government officials have called for a swift and quick judicial process to strike back at the "separatists" and the "Dalai clique". On 4 April 2008, Lhasa City Deputy Party Secretary said that amongst the protesters arrested in Lhasa, 800 Tibetans would be brought before the court. During a conference of "TAR" court officials in the evening of 2 April 2008, "TAR" government Vice-Chairman, Pema Thinley, urged "the usage of law as a tool to strike back at the enemies". He called for a "swift and quick judicial proceedings" for those involved in March protest. Jampa Phuntsok, during his briefing at the Foreign Ministry of the People's Republic of China on 9 April told reporters "953 have been arrested out of which 328 have been released where as 403 will be carried forward for sentencing by the court."
There are currently thousands of Tibetan protesters under detention in Tibetan areas outside the "TAR". In the aftermath of the mass uprising by the Tibetan people, Chinese People's Armed Police and Public Security Bureau officials arrested thousands of Tibetans particularly from Kardze (Ch: Ganzi), Ngaba (Ch: Aba), Sangchu (Ch: Xiahe) and Kanlho (Ch: Gansu).
In the absence of any independent media and monitoring agencies in Tibet and the use of judicial proceedings as an official reprisal instead of protection of fundamental human rights of the Tibetans, TCHRD expresses its concern at the sub-standard legal proceedings in Chinese occupied Tibet and fears the worst scenarios for the Tibetan protesters last month who exercised their fundamental human rights of freedom of opinion and expression.
Chinese officials will meet representatives of the Dalai Lama, according to Xinhua news agency
25/04/08
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese officials will meet representatives of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism whom China blames for a wave of unrest, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, citing official sources.
The move marks a change in tactics on the part of Beijing, which has stepped up its vilification of the Dalai Lama since anti-government protests hit Tibet and rippled across ethnic Tibetan parts of China in the past weeks.
In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days," Xinhua quoted an official as saying.
A spokesman for the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, said he had not received any communication from China about a meeting and China's Foreign Ministry said it had no details.
China denounces the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Communist rule, as a traitor and has accused him of orchestrating the unrest, a charge the 72-year-old Nobel laureate denies.
But Tibet has become a flashpoint for anti-China protests that have dogged the Olympic torch relay around the world and has led to calls for state leaders to boycott the Beijing Games, which open on August 8.
It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks," the official was quoted as saying.
China has also been under pressure from abroad to resume dialogue with envoys of the Dalai Lama as a way of achieving stability in Tibet, a remote, mountain region which Communist troops entered in 1950.
The Olympic torch is supposed to enter Tibet in early May to ascend Mt Everest and is to travel to Tibet's capital Lhasa on June 19.
The Dalai Lama says he is seeking meaningful autonomy for the strategic border region, but China denounces that as a sham and says he is bent on splitting the country.
Dalai Lama will appear before a committee of MPs to give evidence about human rights in Tibet.
24/04/08
The meeting on Thursday May 22 will be the first time the spiritual leader of Tibet has appeared before a parliamentary committee.
Commons officials expect the hearing to attract considerable interest, and arrangements are in hand for an overspill room to be set up in case there is insufficient space in the committee room to accommodate all of the members of the public who want to attend.
The cross-party foreign affairs committee invited the Dalai Lama to give evidence as part of an ongoing inquiry into human rights. He is likely to be asked in detail about the violent suppression this year of protests in Tibet against Chinese rule.
"Given the particular interest in China's human rights record in 2008, the committee has requested to take oral evidence from His Holiness the Dalai Lama on a range of human rights issues when he visits the United Kingdom in May, and His Holiness has agreed to this request," a committee spokesman said.
Gordon Brown will also meet the Dalai Lama during his visit, although the prime minister only confirmed a meeting would take place after pressure from campaigners.
Brown has been anxious to maintain good relations with the Chinese, who firmly reject calls for Tibetan independence and resent external interference in its affairs.
In its annual report on the state of human rights around the world, the Foreign Office said "violations of human rights" continued in Tibet.
It went on: "We continue to make clear our view that the best way to improve the situation in Tibet is to achieve a long-term peaceful solution acceptable to the people of Tibet."
Tibetan theme song reaches top of Dutch charts
23/04/08
The singles 'If You Can Ever Return' [Als je ooit nog eens terug kan] is a number one on the latest Dutch Single Top 100. It is also number one in the iTunes download in the Netherlands. It is a song dedicated to the Tibetan people by a group of top Dutch artists in collaboration with Tibetan singer Loten Namling from Switzerland.
On Sunday 20th April the biggest Tibet-related concert ever held in the Netherlands took place in Amsterdam with 10, 000 visitors who enjoyed the day of warm sun shine, multi cultural shows, political debates of all Party Representatives and great music from some of the biggest bands here.
The highlight of the evening was live performances of current top singles by Peter Slager (Bløf), Anneke van Giersbergen (Agua de Annique), Bas Kennis (Bløf), Loten Namling, Bart van der Weide (Racoon), JW Roy, Dennis van Leeuwen (Kane), Jeroen Goossens (JW Roy) en Gerard.
The song 'If you can ever return' is about returning to one's own land. It is a beautiful pop song with a lot of emotions and a clear message of the wishes of an exiled people.
The management of the festival Ticket for Tibet want to organize an even bigger and more international event next year. The turn-out of the public was immense, signaling the huge interest and support for Tibet in Holland.
