TIBET UPDATE

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The Tibet Update eNewsletter is a bimonthly summary of news and governmental actions related to Tibet. Past issues in PDF format are located at http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/tibet-weekly-updates/.

INSIDE TIBET:

Hundreds killed in earthquake in Kyigundo, eastern Tibet: emergency appeals launched

Hundreds have been killed in the Tibetan area of Yushu, Kham (Tibetan: Kyigundo, also known as Jyekundo) in present-day Qinghai, when a series of strong earthquakes measured at magnitude 6.9 hit the region this morning. Reports in the state media say that at least 400 people have been killed and thousands of others injured, and it is not known how many are still buried in the rubble. Aid workers in contact with the region, which is in the eastern Tibetan area of Kham, say that the death toll is certain to rise, with one official saying that in the last few hours it has exceeded a thousand, although this is currently impossible to confirm. Read the complete ICT report . . .

Three Tibetans arrested in Sertha for protests

On April 2, a 20 year old Tibetan, Ugyen Namgyal from Choksang village of Sertha County, carried the banned Tibetan national flag and raised slogans demanding independence for Tibet, religious freedom and return of the Dalai Lama. Sources said that the Chinese police arrived on the scene, beat him severely and then arrested him. Read the complete story . . .

Chinese court sentences Tibetan monk to seven year prison term

According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, a Chinese Intermediate People's court in Sichuan province has sentenced 39 year old Ngagchung of Larung Gar Monastery, Sertha, to seven years in prison and deprivation of political rights for one year. Ngagchung was arrested by Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials on 8 July, 2008, along with two other monks. Although the two others were released after interrogation, Ngagchung continued to remain in detention and every request made by family to visit him were turned down. Read the complete story . . .

Tibetan Middle School students in Machu stage a peaceful protest again

Tibetan middle school students in Machu County in Gansu Province (traditionally in Tibet's Amdo Province), staged yet another peaceful protest against government controls on April 3. The students were protesting the firing of the school's headmaster, Kyabchen Dedrol and two of his Tibetan Assistants, Do Re and Choekyong Tseten by Chinese authorities in March 2010 following a pro-independence protest by students. Read the complete story . . .

U.K.:

U.K. Foreign Office releases 2009 Annual Report on Human Rights

On March 17, the British Foreign Secretary, released the 2009 Annual Report on Human Rights covering the Foreign Office's work in 22 countries including China. The U.K. Report raised concerns about the restrictions on religious freedom and freedom of speech and association. It said that while Chinese authorities say Tibet is now stable and secure, the security presence in Tibet and nearby provinces suggests underlying tensions. Foreign Office Minister said of his September visit to Tibet, that he saw social and economic development but also also left with the impression that the extremely important underlying human rights there - regarding freedom of religion and expression, cultural and linguistic rights, or the rule of law - are yet to be properly addressed. Read the complete ICT report . . .

DALAI LAMA:

The Dalai Lama offers his condolences to the Polish people

His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered his condolences to the people of Poland for the loss of President Kaczynski, and all the others who died in a tragic air crash in a letter to the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sent on April 10th, 2010. His Holiness recalled having been privileged to meet the President when he visited Poland and expressed his admiration for the late President's dedication to the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights.

From the ICT Blog:

Chinese media's selective reporting on Tibet - March 31, 2010