Strong support for Tibet from next US President

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) congratulates Barack Obama on his election to be the 44th President of the United States and anticipates strong support from the Obama Administration for Tibetan issues.

"The Tibetan people will have a friend and strong supporter in President-elect Obama," said John Ackerly, President of the International Campaign for Tibet. "This is a critical time for the Tibetan issue and we are confident that the Obama Administration will continue the existing support for Tibet and provide new energy for the efforts of the Dalai Lama to engage with the Chinese government. If we build on what Senator Obama has said about Tibet in the past, then we can expect even stronger initiatives from the Untied States in the future," Ackerly concluded.

Senator Obama has a strong record of support for Tibet and has met with the Dalai Lama to discuss human rights issues. Senator Obama attended a private Senate Foreign Relations Committee briefing with the Dalai Lama in November 2005 and has featured a photograph of himself with the Dalai Lama from that briefing in the media section of his presidential campaign website. Senator Obama has personally urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to resolve the situation in Tibet through dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, and this spring, when demonstrations spread across the Tibetan plateau, Senator Obama telephoned the Dalai Lama in India to discuss the situation. The Senator subsequently called on the Chinese to show restraint in dealing with the protests. Comments by the Senator on his phone call are available on the ICT website at http://www.savetibet.org/. Senator Obama was also a Senate sponsor of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Congressional Gold Medal Act, which awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to the Dalai Lama in October 2007.

The Obama-Biden campaign has pledged to actively engage China on a number of issues, including human rights in Tibet and China's crackdown on democracy and religious freedom activists. The campaign has pledged to "be frank with the Chinese about such failings and will press them to respect human rights."

Among the senior foreign policy advisors to the Obama campaign is Gregory B. Craig, the first U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, appointed by then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 1996.

As a long-serving member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Joe Biden has been a consistent voice in support of Tibetan issues and a force behind the establishment of Radio Free Asia which is crucial to disseminating news unfiltered by Chinese state media to communities inside Tibet.

The International Campaign for Tibet thanks Senator John McCain for his support for Tibet in this campaign year and especially for his public appeal for the fair treatment of Tibetan political prisoners.

Senator McCain held a highly publicized meeting with the Dalai Lama in Aspen, Colorado in July, commenting afterwards that the Dalai Lama’s "nonviolence approach and his lifelong approach of seeking common ground around cultural and religious divides are an inspiration for all of mankind and to millions of Americans."

In

http://savetibet.org/news/newsitem.php?id=1379

China re-arrests monk who exposed Chinese crackdown to foreign media

Jigme, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, who provided a rare first-hand account of China's crackdown on Tibetan protesters to foreign media has been arbitrarily arrested by Sangchu County People's Armed Police(PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) this afternoon from one of the Tibetan homes in Labrang for unknown reason according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) from reliable sources.

According to the source, " Around fifty People Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials in several military trucks came to Labrang this afternoon at around 1:00 PM (Beijing Standard Time) and barged into a Tibetan home from where they arrested Jigme and took him away in a military vehicle. And nobody knows where he was taken to and for what reason".

Jigme a.ka. Jigme Guri, a monk of Labrang Monastery in Sangchu County (Ch: Xiahe Xian) Kanlho "Tibet Autonomous Prefecture" ('TAP'), Gansu Province, was earlier arrested on 22 March 2008 by four armed forces while returning to his monastery from a market and he was known to have been detained and tortured for two months in the detention centre for his suspected role in one of the biggest protests that took place in Labrang on 14 March 2008. He was released on medical ground after months of detention where he was intensively interrogated to extract confession by means of torture that he was left unconscious twice from injuries he suffered.

At the beginning of September, the Voice of America's Tibetan Service in its Wednesday program Kunleng aired a video from Jigme giving detail accounts of Tibetan people's aspiration, torture and inhumane treatment meted out to monks of Labrang Monks who were detained during March Protest at the County government headquarters. In a telephone interview with the Associated Press on 12 September, Jigme gave detail accounts of the Chinese crackdown on Tibetans which is still going on months after the events. He later went into hiding fearing authorities' repercussion for exposing Chinese brutal crackdown on Tibetans.

Monks of Labrang Monastery and other Tibetans in Sangchu took to the streets in large numbers in March to show solidarity with Tibetans demonstrating in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. On 9 April, monks at Labrang Monastery disrupted a government-sponsored media tour and afterwards two monks who defiantly spoke in front of the media have disappeared since then. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) expresses it strongest condemnation of Chinese security officials' arbitrary arrest of Jigme for airing the grievances and peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression and opinion. The Centre expresses its deepest concern on the prevailing circumstances on many parts of Tibet, which have been active in the past protests across Tibet.

In
http://www.tchrd.org/press/2008/pr20081103b.html

China Hits Back at Dalai Lama

China today accused the Dalai Lama of playing tricks of ‘retirement’ and called “groundless” his disappointment. A commentary on Xinhua, the official news agency said the Tibetan leader’s statements on Sunday “confound black and white and disregards facts” and were made to gain “public attention and sympathy.”

"My trust in the Chinese government has become thinner, thinner, thinner," the Dalai Lama said Sunday in Tokyo at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondent's Club. "Suppression is increasing and I cannot pretend that everything is OK."

Xinhua added that the Dalai Lama's remarks came at a time when China's central government 'is to' arrange another round of contacts and negotiations with his private representatives. However, the Tibetan delegation headed by Lodi Gyari began talks this morning with Chinese representatives.

The Tibetan delegation will return to Dharamsala on November 6 after the latest round of talks, the third since the uprising in Lhasa in March, Tibetan government's Information Secretary Thubten Samphel told PTI.

China said the accusations of ‘cultural genocide’ and ‘handing down death sentence’ were intended at ‘arousing concerns over Tibet to add weight to his separatist ambitions.’

Media reports from Japan indicate that the Dalai Lama has acknowledged his approach of obtaining genuine autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule has failed."

Our approach failed to bring some positive change inside Tibet," the Dalai Lama said. "I have to accept the failure.""My trust in the Chinese government has become thinner, thinner, thinner," he said.

The Dalai Lama also admitted that criticism among Tibetans of his negotiating approach toward China was growing.

The Tibetan leader said that it is for the Tibetan people now to decide future strategy for Tibet. "There are no alternatives except to ask people. I remain myself completely neutral," he said.

In

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=23147&article=China+Hits+Back+at+Dalai+Lama

Diálogo entre Pequim e Dalai Lama fracassou

"Fracasso."

Foi assim que o Dalai Lama qualificou ontem, em Tóquio, o resultado do diálogo com a China sobre a autonomia do Tibete. O líder espiritual tibetano, que já há dias se afirmara desiludido com a atitude de Pequim, adiantou que tenciona manter o silêncio até ao encontro especial com os tibetanos no exílio, agendado para a segunda quinzena deste mês.

"As coisas não estão a correr bem. Tenho de admitir o fracasso", disse o Dalai Lama em conferência de imprensa na capital nipónica. O líder tibetano, de 73 anos, adiantou que tenciona manter-se "completamente" neutral. "Se eu disser que prefiro esta [solução], isso pode tornar-se um obstáculo para que outras opiniões apareçam livremente."

O Dalai Lama aproveitou a ocasião para, mais uma vez, pedir aos tibetanos que estejam abertos a todas as opções, já que a exigência de uma maior autonomia acabou por ser rejeitada por Pequim, a mesma Pequim em que o líder religioso confia cada vez menos.

"A minha confiança no Governo chinês tornou-se cada vez mais frágil. A repressão no Tibete aumentou e eu não posso fingir que tudo está bem", disse o Prémio Nobel da Paz de 1989, que admitiu ainda um aumento de críticas por parte da própria comunidade tibetana, descontente pela ausência de resultados nas negociações com Pequim.

Na véspera, numa declaração aos jornalistas que o aguardavam à sua chegada a Tóquio, o Dalai Lama foi frontal ao denunciar a situação no terreno: "Os tibetanos são condenados à morte. Esta antiga nação e a sua herança cultural estão em vias de morrer."

No próximo dia 17, na cidade indiana de Dharamsala, todas as correntes tibetanas no exílio deverão reunir-se para debater a estratégia a seguir face à política chinesa no Tibete.

O Dalai Lama, que esteve recentemente internado num hospital de Nova Deli em Outubro e foi objecto de uma cirurgia para lhe serem retiradas pedras dos rins, foi inquirido sobre a eventualidade da sua reforma. O líder espiritual não iludiu a resposta. "Há pessoas que me dizem ser impossível o Dalai Lama reformar- -se. Respondo-lhes que a minha reforma é o meu direito como ser humano. E tenciono fazê-lo", garantiu. Mas o líder tibetano que partiu para o exílio em 1959, onde, desde então, mantém a luta política e religiosa pelo seu povo, acaba por explicar a razão pela qual se mantém no activo: gostaria de passar a autoridade para um governo local quando uma solução fosse alcançada, algo que se torna cada vez mais longínquo face à intransigência demonstrada pelos responsáveis chineses que não só recusam a independência do Tibete como também uma autonomia alargada.

In

http://dn.sapo.pt/2008/11/04/internacional/dialogo_entre_pequim_e_dalai_lama_fr.html

Tibetans will decide strategy with democracy: Dalai Lama

The people of Tibet should and will decide negotiation strategy with China later this month through a genuinely democratic manner, the Dalai Lama said Sunday.

Dalai Lama The Tibetan spiritual leader, accused by Beijing of masterminding a separatist movement, is in Japan for a week at the invitation of a Fukuoka-based Buddhist organization

During a joint interview with Japanese media at a Tokyo hotel, he explained that envoys from Tibetan communities will meet for a week at Dharamsala, India, beginning Nov 17, and international groups supporting Tibet will gather in Delhi later in the month to decide Tibet's approach toward achieving "realistic autonomy" from China.

Envoys for Tibet's government in exile left India on Wednesday for talks with officials in Beijing, but the Dalai Lama said he hasn't received word yet on how the meeting has been going.
While he said he hasn't given up hope or resigned from his position, the Dalai Lama said he could no longer take direct responsibility for discussions with Beijing, and decisions will be made based on a consensus of the people through a democratic process.

The meeting of Tibetan communities and international organizations could alter Tibetans' strategy with China, and the Dalai Lama said he intends not to talk of his preferences until the meetings are over.

Tibetans believe in genuine democracy "unlike the communist democracy in China," he said, explaining that "people may not express (their thoughts) freely" if he were to voice his position.
However the Dalai Lama repeated during the interview that his ultimate goal is not to gain independence from Beijing but to make sure Tibet's cultural and religious heritage is not destroyed.

"We are not seeking separation from China" because remaining a part of the rapidly growing economy will help Tibet's development, he said.

Preserving Tibetan Buddhism and its ideology will benefit China as well, where "very dirty, corrupted capitalism" is emerging, he added.

"But the Chinese (government) ignores these things, continues to accuse us, and is full of suspicion," the Dalai Lama said, criticizing the regime for having "no ear but only mouth."
China has controlled Tibet since invading the region in the 1950s. Beijing has ruled its people through what the Dalai Lama described as "use of force to keep stability," which has caused scores of riots. Frustration reached its peak this spring, when antigovernment monks rioted.

The Dalai Lama criticized Beijing's crackdowns on the Tibetan people during and after the clashes. Tibet "very much hoped that the Chinese government may see reality, and how many grievances are in Tibetan mind," the Dalai Lama said, but he expressed disappointment that China has only continued to blame him as the mastermind of separatists and the riots.

"There is an iron curtain within their minds, never seeing reality. Never seeing others' views," he said.
"It is important to know the limitation of material value," the Dalai Lama said, explaining that repletion of the mind is far more valuable than financial wealth.

The Dalai Lama's health has been a concern after the 73-year-old underwent surgery for gallstones last month, but he said that although the operation was complicated, he has surprised his doctors with his quick recovery.

In

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20081103a3.html

Kirti Monastery Still Tense After September Beating Incident

The International Campaign for Tibet has said the situation at Kirti in Ngaba county is tense a month after the September 24 incident in which monks were severely beaten up. The Washington D.C. based NGO said on its website that Monks had been under lockdown in the monastery since mid-March following a protest in which at least 10 people were shot dead by security forces. Kirti monastery was at the center of the protests in eastern Tibet following the March 14 unrest in Tibet.

Citing various sources, the ICT said the incident last month at Kirti was followed immediately by setting up of nine security checkpoints around the monastery. The checkpoints are reportedly positioned close to the demarcation of the monastery’s perimeter, said ICT. "The clash on September 24 appears to have been triggered when a Kirti monk was beaten up by security personnels for allegedly crossing the monastery perimeter. Sources told ICT that police officers from a checkpoint to the north of the monastery fired live warning shots in the air, and also into the ground immediately in front of the monk whom they apparently thought had crossed the monastery perimeter line. Sources also told ICT that the Chinese guards asked the monk to go back to the monastery, but the monk did not understand as he did not speak Chinese.

Citing sources in exile who have contacts there, the ICT said around 100 officers arrived at the scene, armed with weapons including clubs, shovels, and even meat cleavers. It said many of the monks immediately sat down and took off the outer cover of their robes to show they were showing they were unarmed and had no intention of resorting to violence.

In

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=23122&article=Kirti+Monastery+Still+Tense+After+September+Beating+Incident

Tibete está a ser "condenado à morte" - Dalai Lama

O regime chinês está a "condenar à morte" o Tibete, declarou hoje em Tóquio o Dalai Lama, chefe espiritual tibetano, que anunciou igualmente ter entrado em "meia-reforma".

O laureado com o prémio Nobel da Paz, 73 anos, que vive exilado na Índia desde 1959, chegou sexta-feira ao Japão para uma visita de uma semana para conferências sobre espiritualidade, sendo a sua primeira viagem desde que recentevente enfrentou problemas de saúde.

O Dalai Lama esteve internado em Outubro passado durante cerca de uma semana num hospital de Nova Deli devido a complicações renais.

"Os Tibetanos estão a ser condenados à morte. Esta antiga nação e a sua herança cultural estão prestes a morrer", declarou o chefe espiritual tibetano a jornalistas em Tóquio.

"A situação no Tibete é hoje similar a uma ocupação militar de todo o território. É como se estivéssemos sob a lei marcial. O medo, o terror e as campanhas de reeducação política causam muitos sofrimentos", acrescentou.

O Dalai Lama manifestara recentemente poucas esperanças no diálogo com o regime chinês, em vésperas de uma nova ronda de discussões em Pequim entre os representantes seus e responsáveis chineses.

Após várias décadas de combate político e religioso, o Dalai Lama anunciou hoje que entra em "meia-reforma" e que a futura linha política face às autoridades chinesas será discutida numa reunião no próximo dia 17, em Dharamsala (Índia), entre todas as correntes da comunidade tibetana no exílio.

"Vamos ouvir as sugestões do povo e depois as coisas vão tornar-se mais claras", afirmou.

"Não penso reformar-me totalmente, mas de momento não posso continuar a assumir uma responsabilidade directa nas negociações com o poder central chinês. A minha posição é totalmente neutra", precisou.

"Acredito na democracia, acho que as pessoas devem exprimir os seus sentimentos. Não devo impedi-las de expressarem as suas opiniões", sublinhou o responsável tibetano.

O regime chinês acusa o Dalai Lama de militar pela independência do Tibete, mas este afirma que apenas reivindica uma autonomia do antigo reino himalaio no contexto da China.

In

http://www.lusa.pt/lusaweb/user/showitem?service=310&listid=NewsList310&listpage=1&docid=8962695

'A choked silence'; images from Tibet of crackdown

New images and footage from Tibet depict the continuing crackdown in Tibet and convey an atmosphere of fear and intimidation across the plateau. Although Beijing has sought to impose an information blackout, reports on the situation on the ground in Tibet continue to emerge following six months of protest across Tibet since the March 10 anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising. In some areas, there have been reports of a continued or even increased presence of troops and security personnel on the ground after the 2008 Summer Olympics, which supports fears that repression would intensify once the global focus shifted away from the Beijing Games. This photo-story presents new testimony from Tibet indicating the scale of the continued repression.

News of Tibetans facing trial in Tibet following the protests continues to filter through despite the dangers of passing on such information to outside sources, and despite the restrictions imposed on internet and cell phone communications. According to reports received in the last few days, two monks from Kirti monastery in eastern Tibet are appearing in Ngaba county [Chinese: Aba] court this week to face charges linked to dissent in recent months, together with Jamyang Nyima, a 30-year-old monk from Thongri monastery in Ngaba who was arrested on March 30 and several other lay people, whose names are not known. The two Kirti monks, Dorjee and Kungar, are both in their early twenties and were detained on April 23. According to the same reports from reliable exile sources, families of the defendants have not been informed of their whereabouts or status and fear that legal representation is not being made available to them. The same sources said that since the March protests began, around 20 people in the Ngaba area have been sentenced on charges believed to be related to their participation in protests and dissent.

Images taken by a Taiwanese-American tourist in eastern Tibet featured with this report show a heavily armed police presence in summer in the Tibetan area of Kham in the towns of Lithang (Ch: Litang) and Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) in Sichuan province. The visitor described the area as being "like a war-zone". Images of military on the streets of Lhasa in September are also shown with this report, together with further evidence of continued disappearances and detention, with Tibetans experiencing extreme brutality while in custody.

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Três monges Tibetanos detidos

Três monges Tibetanos foram recentemente detidos pela polícia Chinesa devido ao seu alegado envolvimento numa explosão, ocorrida no mês de Setembro.


Tenzin Rinchen, 17 anos, foi detido a 24 de Outubro e Ngawang Tenzin, 20 anos, juntamente com Tenzin Norbu, 19 anos, foram detidos a 30 de Outubro.

A explosão aconteceu no condado de Markham, na região de Chamdo, e levou à interrupção de transmissões televisivas.

In
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=23123&article=Three+Monks+Arrested+For+Alleged+Bombing+in+Markham