Sunday 30 October 2011

Germany calls on China to act against self-immolations over Tibet

 

Just a few days ago, a young nun set herself on fire in protest against China's policies in Tibet. Tenzin Wangmo, who was 20 years old, died of her injuries shortly afterwards. She became the ninth Tibetan in Sichuan province to commit self-immolation this year and the first woman. According to the organization Free Tibet and the International Campaign for Tibet, five of them at least have died.

"There have been calls for the return of the Dalai Lama, for religious freedom and for freedom for Tibetans in Tibet," Kai Müller from the International Campaign for Tibet told Deutsche Welle, adding that five of the self-immolations occurred in October alone.

Free Tibet said in a press release this week that Tenzin Wangmo had killed herself in protest against two Tibetans being shot by Chinese security forces. It pointed out that the incident was not isolated and that self-immolations were being used increasingly to protest against Chinese policies in Tibet.

International concern

On Friday, a German foreign ministry spokesman told reporters that the German government was appealing "to China to change its policy in Tibet to reduce tensions." Berlin has already called on Beijing to ensure greater transparency over the situation at the Kirti monastery in the city of Ngaba, which has been under virtual lockdown since a young monk named Phuntsog set himself on fire in March. The incident sparked mass protests and led to a police crackdown. There is now a significant police presence in the area and according to Free Tibet and the International Campaign for Tibet several monks from the monastery have been detained by the authorities.

On Wednesday, the US State Department expressed similar concerns about the reports that a Tibetan nun had set herself on fire. "These acts clearly represent anger and frustration with regard to Tibetan human rights, including religious freedom, inside China," its statement read.

China blames Dalai Lama

The Chinese government has accused exiled Tibetans of encouraging the self-immolations, and said they are "terrorism in disguise." It says the "Dalai group" has "played up such issues to incite more people to follow suit," beatifying instead of criticizing the protests.

"We don't encourage these really drastic and desperate acts, but at the same time we understand the motivation behind them," responded Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Meanwhile, Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of the government-in-exile, paid tribute to the "courage" of the nine protestors and said exiled Tibetans "stand in solidarity with their indomitable spirit."

Tsegyam, the head of the China Desk at the Private Office of the Dalai Lama, told Deutsche Welle that the Tibetan spiritual leader, who has condemned self-immolations in the past, would not hold a public speech about the incidents, and would instead call on Tibetans to fast for a day in solidarity and protest.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

25 October, 2011

NGOs Appeal to UN Human Rights Chief over Tibetan Self-Immolation Protests

25 October, Amsterdam - Yesterday on the the occasion of the United Nations Day, 27 NGOs from 17 countries submitted the following urgent appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights seeking  intervention with the Chinese authorities over the recent self-immolation protests by Tibetans in Tawo and Ngapa:

24 October, 2011

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from various parts of the world, seek your immediate intervention with the Chinese authorities in view of the alarming and very disturbing news that has emerged from Tibet about the tragic self-immolation protests by nine Tibetans in Tawo and Ngapa, notably monks and one nun, which resulted in several of them dying.

We believe these acts of desperation are the direct results of the heightened intensity of China’s control and contraints on fundamental freedoms in Tibet.


While being gravely concerned about these new developments as well as by the overall deplorable human rights situation faced by the Tibetan  people, we in particular request the High Commissioner to intervene by calling upon the Chinese authorities to immediately:

1.Withdraw military and other armed personnel from Kirti Monastery, Ngapa and hand over the entire day-to-day management of the monastery to the monks and allow unhindered atmosphere of religious activity at the monastery for both the monks and lay people.



2.Put an end to the so-called "patriotic education campaign" currently imposed on the monks of Kirti Monastery who have been compelled to follow communist ideology indoctrination sessions since April, 2011.



3.Provide a full clarification on the status of the 300 monks who were taken away from Kirti Monastery in April, 2011 about which several Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, including the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances have intervened.



4.Release information on all those detained in Ngapa since 16 March, 2011, especially about their current whereabouts and well-being.

5.Release all Tibetan political prisoners.

6.Account for the status of those Tibetans who have been "hospitalised" after their self-immolation protests, including their access to adequate medical treatement.



7.Lift the military siege in Ngapa, Sichuan Province and allow independent observers to the region.



Sincerely,



Signed by:




1. Mahatma Gandhi International, Belgium

2.  Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié les peuples (MRAP), France
3.  International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), France
4. Forum Human Rights, Germany
5. Society for Threatened Peoples, Germany
6. World Uyghur Congress, Germany
7. Marangopoulos Foundation for Human Rights, Greece
8. Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network (AITPN), India
9. Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), India
10. South Asia Network against Torture & Impunity (SANTI), India
11. No Peace Without Justice, Italy

12. Nonviolent Radical Party, transnational and Transparty, Italy

13. Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), Netherlands
14. International Campaign for Tibet-Europe, Netherlands
15. Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Nigeria

16. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
17. Law and Society Trust, Sri Lanka
18. Saami Council, Sweden

19. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), Switzerland

20. Rencontre Africaine de Défense Pour les Droits de l'Homme (RADDHO), Switzerland

21. Forum Asia for Human Rights and Development, Thailand
22. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), UK

23. Mapuche Inernational Link, UK
24. International Educational Development, USA
25. Association of Humanitarian Lawyers, USA
26. Human Rights in China (HRIC), Hong Kong SRA and USA
27. World Sindhi Institute, Canada-USA

Tuesday 18 October 2011

The Irish Times - Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Tibetan nun's self-immolation ninth in protest over China rule

CLIFFORD COONAN in Beijing
 
A YOUNG nun became the ninth member of the Buddhist clergy to set themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule in the remote Himalayan province of Tibet, while two protesters were shot and wounded by police during a protest outside a police station, human rights groups said yesterday.

The nun, Tenzin Wangmo (20), died after setting herself on fire on Monday outside Dechen Chokorling nunnery in Sichuan province’s Aba prefecture where a number of other self-immolations have taken place this year, the Free Tibet group said.

So far, seven of the nine clergy who have set themselves on fire have been monks from Kirti monastery in Ngaba, a couple of miles from Tenzin Wangmo’s nunnery. Up to four are believed to have died. The Free Tibet group said she chanted slogans as she set herself alight calling for greater religious freedom and the return of Tibet’s exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.

“Those monks are not doing anything against Buddhism by self-immolation. In Buddhism, one person cannot give up for their own reasons, but it is a good thing if a person gives up his or her life for many lives. Their actions look like suicide, but they died for many other people’s lives and freedoms, because they are not allowed to attack and kill anyone else,” said one former monk based in China.

The self-immolations are a powerful protest against China’s administration in Tibet.
The Chinese response to Tibetan dissent has been swift and harsh since the March 2008 riots in Lhasa.
While self-immolation has been a high-profile act of defiance for many years, it is not really a Tibetan thing. At the same time, a total of nine monks and nuns have set themselves on fire since March in what are considered desperate acts to draw attention to repression of Tibetan Buddhism.

They tend to be accompanied by calls for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

China insists it is the rule of law in Tibet and the only public response to the self-immolations has been to jail those assisting the monks in acts of self-burning.

A Chinese court sentenced Tsering Tenzin to 13 years and Tenchum to 10 years for assisting in the death of a colleague, Rigzin Phuntsog (16), who set himself on fire in March. They were convicted of hiding Phuntsog after he lit himself on fire and depriving him of medical attention for 11 hours.

And yet the sheer number of self-immolations is making it difficult for the Communist Party to ignore. By adding nuns to the equation, the humanitarian impact is even higher among the Tibetans.

Chinese media are tightly controlled by the Communist Party, and the succession of self-immolations has made no impact on the mainstream media, and all other sources of information have been deleted – all blog entries, commentaries, everything.

The government-run newspaper China Daily carried a story on October 8th in which it said two Tibetans were “slightly injured” after a self-immolation attempt.

Friday 14 October 2011

US urges China to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama

Phayul[Friday, October 14, 2011 23:58]
By Tendar Tsering

DHARAMSHALA, October 14: Amidst a fiery episode of self-immolations inside Tibet and growing protests by Tibetans in exile, a group of US Senators, Members of House of Representatives and senior officials appointed by President Obama has called on the Chinese government to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

The Congressional Executive Commission on China in its annual report released on Wednesday said "the Dalai Lama’s withdrawal from exiled Tibetan administrative affairs has the potential to alter dialogue dynamics by eliminating the basis for the government and Party to characterise him as a ‘political’ figure."

The US report urged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives on protecting Tibetan culture, language, religion and heritage.

Referring to the sequence of self-immolation cases inside Tibet, the 2011 report pointed out that dialogue can result in a durable and mutually beneficial outcome for the Chinese government and Tibetans, and improve the outlook for local and regional security in coming decades.

The report noted that the economic and technological progress in China has not led to commensurate gains in China's human rights and rule of law record.

The US condemned China for misusing its law to violate fundamental human rights by cracking down on peaceful protests to prevent Tibetans, Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities from exercising autonomy despite guarantees in Chinese law.

Members of the US Congress and Administration officials called for international attention on China’s continued insistence that its restrictions on freedom of expression are consistent with international standards.

"Chinese government’s position undermines international human rights standards for free expression, particularly those contained in Article 19 of the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Articles 19 and 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," said the US annual report.

The US further condemned China for the use of 'strike force' security campaigns to suppress human rights and urged the Chinese government to provide complete details about Tibetans detained, charged and sentenced for protest-related crimes.

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China was created by Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China, and to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress.

Sunday 9 October 2011

Tibetan protests against China take a deadly new turn

Breaking their vows, young monks are self-immolating
By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi and Saransh Sehgal in Dharamsala
Monday, 10 October 2011
A candle-lit vigil in Dharmsala, India
AP
A candle-lit vigil in Dharmsala, India

The young monk sits in the front of a truck, the skin on his chest charred and mottled. As the camera pans, you can see that his head is badly burned as well. There are pink splotches on his body where the skin has apparently disappeared entirely and the flesh is exposed. The young man doesn't appear to make a sound.
Lobsang Phuntsog, a Tibetan Buddhist from Ngaba, set himself on fire on the afternoon of 16 March in protest at China's continued occupation of his homeland. After a scuffle between monks and police, the young man, believed to be 21, was eventually taken to hospital. He died from his burns at around 3am the following morning.

His actions that day, the aftermath of which was captured on video footage seen by The Independent, was the first in a series of self-immolations in eastern Tibet that has now turned into nothing less than a wave. In the past two weeks, at least five young Tibetans are known to have set themselves on fire, a macabre and markedly new episode in the struggle for autonomy, and a tactic that could force the Chinese authorities to review their behaviour.
"The monks are taking extreme steps, sending across messages to the world as to the reality and situation inside Tibet," said Kusho Kanyag Tsering, a monk who fled Tibet as a young boy and who now lives in Dharamsala, in northern India. "They [give] their lives to show the suffering of the Tibetan people... They pay [with] their lives for the things they expected and what they want – freedom and justice."

Six of the seven immolations that have been recorded this year have centred on the Kirti monastery in Ngaba, the site of a vociferous anti-Chinese protest by monks in the spring of 2008 that the Chinese crushed with force. Many monks were killed. Since then, the authorities have tightened security and put in place measures the monks say stop their way of life. Messages and footage smuggled out of the region and passed to colleagues in Dharamsala – the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile and home for more than half a century to the movement's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama – suggest that several thousand monks have been forced from the monastery in recent months and that those remaining struggle to conduct their usual religious rituals. Monks have been forced to participate in "patriotic re-education" sessions led by Chinese officials.
"The policies are against the monks' traditional ways which is why the monks get frustrated and are compelled to do such an act," said Lobsang Yeshi, a senior monk at one of the Kirti monastery's sister complexes, established in Dharamsala. "Nowadays, almost one day or the other, we are hearing news of the grim situation that is surrounding the monastery."

The most recent immolations took place last Friday when two teenagers, former monks from Kirti, set themselves alight in a main street in Ngaba. According to information collated by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), 19-year-old Choephel and 18-year-old Kayang – other reports give different names – clasped their hands together before setting themselves on fire. The flames that engulfed the two men, who had reportedly been disrobed by the Chinese authorities earlier this year, were extinguished by security forces and they were taken to the Ngaba County People's Hospital. There are no confirmed details about their condition and there are reports that one of them may have died.

Kate Saunders, a spokeswoman for the London-based ICT, said reports from Tibet suggested that in the days before the two young men acted, pamphlets had been distributed in the town. They warned that if Chinese actions continued, "more people were prepared to give up their lives in protest". Ms Saunders said: "This has become a life-and-death struggle. It's about sheer survival."

The incident on Friday followed a similar event a week ago when Kalsang Wangchuk, an 18-year-old monk from Kirti, set himself alight close to a vegetable market in Ngaba, called Aba by the Chinese. He was said to have been holding a photograph of the Dalai Lama and shouted slogans and he set himself on fire, reportedly incurring serious burns before the flames were extinguished. Before that, two more young monks, Lobsang Kalsang and Lobsang Konchok, both believed to be 18 or 19, set themselves on fire on 26 September. They had reportedly waved a Tibetan flag and chanted, "Long live the Dalai Lama". Activists say their condition and location is unknown.

While the flurry of immolations has centred on Kirti, in August, 29-year-old Tsewang Norbu drank petrol, sprayed it on himself and set himself on fire in Tawa, about 100 miles from Kirti. On that occasion the monk was reportedly heard shouting slogans including "We Tibetan people want freedom" and "Long live the Dalai Lama" before he lit the flame. He is believed to have died at the scene.

Observers say the self-immolations represent a distinct new chapter in the struggle by Tibetans against Chinese rule that has continued since Beijing seized control in 1950. With the exception of an incident in Delhi in 1996 and one in Tibet two years ago – that itself at Kirti – there is no known history of self-immolation and suicide is deeply frowned upon. Stephanie Brigden, a director of Free Tibet, a campaign group, said: "It is now evident there are many courageous young Tibetans who are determined to draw global attention to one of the world's greatest and longest-standing human rights crises, no matter the cost to themselves. Tibetans are sharing news of this in online chat rooms and through word-of-mouth, images are being exchanged via text messages; Tibetans are determined that these acts do not go unnoticed."

If the immolations continue, they will present a challenge not just for the Chinese authorities, who have yet to comment on the most recent incidents, but for the broader Tibetan community. 

During his years as both the spiritual and political leader of Tibetan Buddhists – the latter a position he handed over to an elected prime minister earlier this year – the Dalai Lama has always promoted a moderate, non-violent "middle way". Last night, a spokesman for the Nobel Peace laureate said he was fully aware of the immolations and was "concerned" but had yet to make a public statement.

But Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the Karmapa, the third most senior figure within the Tibetan Buddhist community, has spoken on the issue. He recently told Time magazine: "Monks take a vow that says they are not allowed to end their lives. But on the other hand, these actions are not for an individual, they are for a people."
Lobsang Wangyal, a Tibetan entrepreneur who lives in Dharamsala, in the foothills of the Himalayas, said of what was happening in Tibet: "It is a desperate act by people who are suffering inside Tibet. It only reflects total failure of Chinese government policies. The monks are just asking simple things – to pray and to live with their own culture."

Sunday 2 October 2011

Large portrait of the Dalai Lama displayed on China’s National Day
Phayul[Monday, October 03, 2011 11:20]
By Sherab Woeser

A large portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a huge Tibetan national flag were publicly displayed in Serthar County in Karze, eastern Tibet on October 1, 2011. (Photo/woeser.middlay-way.net)
A large portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a huge Tibetan national flag were publicly displayed in Serthar County in Karze, eastern Tibet on October 1, 2011. (Photo/woeser.middlay-way.net)
DHARAMSHALA, October 3: In reports coming out of Tibet, over 200 Tibetans in eastern Tibet took out a peaceful protest demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and freedom for Tibet on October 1 – the 62nd founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in a brief report said that the protest took place in front of the main entrance of Serthar County in Karze in eastern Tibet at around 12:30 pm (local time).

According to eyewitnesses, the protests flared after a photo of the Dalai Lama and a huge Tibetan flag were removed from a four-storey building and “thrown in the street.”

This sparked off an immediate protest and the crowd swelled as more and more Tibetans joined the slogan raising for the long life of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Leaflets carrying slogans for the long life of the Dalai Lama and urging Tibetans to fight for their freedom were also distributed.

A photo of the leaflet urging Tibetans to fight for their freedom on the force of truth dated August 25 that were distributed during the protests. (Photo/woeser.middle-way.net)
A photo of the leaflet urging Tibetans to fight for their freedom on the force of truth dated August 25 that were distributed during the protests. (Photo/woeser.middle-way.net)
As of now, there are no reports of detention following the protest.

Woeser, the Beijing based Tibetan writer, on her blog posted photos of the protest as well as the leaflet that was distributed during the protest.

The leaflet, dated August 25 and translated by High Peak Pure Earth, urged “Tibetan brethren” to “fight for your religion, language and customs” based on the “force of truth.”

“We do not enjoy the freedoms enjoyed by human beings. We want freedom of belief. We want freedom of speech, freedom to use our language. We want freedom of movement. We want the freedom that is enjoyed by others,” stated the leaflet.

Tibetan Flag Removal Triggers Protests

2011-10-02
Renewed tensions after self-immolation by monks.
AFP
A Tibetan in-exile shouts anti-China slogans at a protest march in New Delhi on Sept. 30, 2011 following the self-immolation of two Tibetan monks.
Protests flared in a Tibetan area in China's southwestern Sichuan province at the weekend after a photo of the Dalai Lama and a huge Tibetan flag were removed from a building and thrown in the street, eyewitnesses said.
The protests by several hundred people in the Serthar (Seda in Chinese) county city in the Ganzi Tibet Autonomous Prefecture also called for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile and demanded freedom for Tibet.
Police tried to intervene but withdrew as the crowd swelled, according to Sertha Tsultrim Woeser, a native of Serthar and a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile based in India's Dharamsala hill town.
"The detail identification of the protesters are not known but the original protesters were all lay Tibetans," he told RFA, quoting reports from eyewitnesses.
The protests on Saturday came amid tensions following the self immolation of two more Tibetan monks—the fourth such burning protest in six months—from Sichuan's troubled Kirti Monastery last week.
The monastery has been besieged by Chinese security forces who had taken away more than 300 of its monks and detained them.
Saturday's incident sparked off at midday after someone hung a huge Tibetan flag and a photo of Dalai Lama on a four-storey building in Serthar.

Freedom demands
After a while, the flag and the photo of Dalai Lama were pulled down and thrown in the street, triggering immediate protests from a group of Tibetans, Woeser said.
"They called for the return of Dalai Lama to Tibet and complained that the Tibetans don’t have freedom and demanded freedom. This group protested for about 15 minutes," he said.
"A group of about 30 police personnel arrived to intervene and they attempted to detain them. However, at that time more Tibetans gathered and the crowd grew in number. So the police could not detain the earlier protestors."
The Tibetan parliament-in-exile said "over 200 Tibetans, including monks and laymen" took part in the "peaceful" protests in front of the main entrance of Serthar county at around 12:30 pm (local time).
Further details about the protest were not available, said the Central Tibetan Administration in a brief report on its website.
"During the widespread protests in Tibet in 2008, a series of peaceful demonstrations against the wrong policies of the Chinese government also occurred in Serthar county and were brutally suppressed by the Chinese security forces," it said 
The Tibet Express, a Tibetan newspaper published in India, had also reported about the protests.
Eyewitnesses told Woeser that an unknown number of pamphlets with the photo of the Dalai Lama were distributed in Serthar on Sunday, calling for the return of the Dalai Lama and for freedom for Tibetans.
Woeser said such pamphlets had also been distributed last week in three sub-districts in Serthar.
No arrests had been reported so far, Woeser said.

Unaccounted
Beijing has rejected calls from a U.N. human rights panel to provide information about the whereabouts of more than 300 of Kirti's monks who remain unaccounted for since the monastery was raided in April.
China’s Foreign Ministry said only that the monks are undergoing "legal education."
Chinese authorities frequently carry out "political re-education" of Tibetan monks, who are put under pressure to renounce their allegiance to the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama, who fled to India after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese occupation, has been the face and symbol of the Tibetan freedom struggle for more than five decades.
But in recent years he has taken steps to prepare Tibetans for governance without his leadership and to make the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala more democratic.
In May, he relinquished his political role as the leader of the government-in-exile, ending the 369-year old tradition of the Dalai Lamas holding both spiritual and political authority.
Now most of the administrative and political powers rest with an elected prime minister known as the Kalon Tripa—currently the 43-year-old Lobsang Sangay, a Harvard-educated lawyer.

Reported by Chakmo Tso for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.