INSIDE TIBET:
ICT Report: Fears for life of Tibetan political prisoner tortured after speaking to U.N. Rapporteur
According to a December 30, 2010 news report from the Tibetan Government in Exile, Jigme Gyatso, a Tibetan political prisoner, who was tortured after speaking to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture during an official prison visit in 2005, is seriously ill in Chushur prison. The report states, "[his] survival is at stake due to his debilitating health condition." Jigme Gyatso, a former Tibetan Buddhist monk, is serving 18 years in prison for "counter-revolution" and "inciting splittism." Read the complete ICT Report ...
Three Tibetan writers sentenced
Three Tibetan writers have been handed jail terms of three to four years for "inciting activities to split the nation." The three writers, Jangtse Donkho, Buddha and Kalsang Jinpa were tried on October 28, 2010 by the Aba Intermediate People's Court, but their sentences were not handed down until December 30. Sources said that none of the writers, nor their lawyers or family members, was allowed to speak in court at the time of verdict, so when the judge ordered the court to rise for the verdict, the three writers remained seated. Read the complete story ...
ICT Report: Senior Drepung monk scholars "with no political record" sentenced to life, long sentences: crackdown continues at monastery
Tibetans in Lhasa are concerned for the welfare and safety of three senior Drepung monks who were detained in April 2008. According to ICT sources, two of them have subsequently received a life sentence and 20 years, and the third is believed to have received 15 years. Charges against the three monks are not known. They were highly respected scholars in their community and their imprisonment soon after the protests is of great concern to many Tibetans, as they are not believed to have taken part in the protests. Read the complete ICT Report ...
Tibetan monk in Machu sentenced to 3 yrs in prison
Sungrab Gyatso, a Tibetan monk of Mura Monastery, Machu County was sentenced to three years in prison on December 16, 2010, for allegedly leading protests by students in Machu County. Earlier last year, on March 14, 2010, the second anniversary of the wide-spread 2008 protests, students of Machu Nationality Middle School carried out a protest that was later joined by hundreds. Read the complete story ...
U.S. GOVERNMENT:
Save the Date for Tibet Lobby Day - February 28 and March 1, 2011
Tibet Lobby Day 2011 will take place in Washington, DC on Monday and Tuesday, February 28 and March 1, 2011. This annual event is a collaboration of ICT and U.S.-based Tibet Support Groups and Tibetan Associations, and we have had great success in the past two years because of the participation and efforts of Tibet supporters like you. It is vital to communicate to your Representatives and Senators that they have Tibetan-American and Tibet-supporting constituencies. A long-term effort to build this domestic political capacity is essential to countering the Chinese Embassy's lobbying might and ensuring that Tibet remains on the U.S. legislative agenda. More information and a link to the online sign-up form for those wishing to participant will be emailed soon - watch for it! We hope you can join us this year. Read about last year's Tibet Lobby Day ...
UNITED NATIONS:
ICT Report: U.N. Special Rapporteur warns of consequences to nomad resettlement
In a report released on December 23, 2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, said: "... While there is little doubt about the extent of the land degradation problem, the Special Rapporteur would note that herders should not, as a result of the measures adopted under the tuimu huancao ('removing animals to grow grass') policy, be put in a situation where they have no other options than to sell their herd and resettle." Since the beginning of the Western Development Strategy in 1999-2000, the Chinese government has been implementing policies of settlement, land confiscation and fencing of pastoral areas in Tibet, dramatically curtailing nomadic herder's livelihood. Report the complete ICT Report ...
NEPAL:
Nepal arrests six Tibetan refugees
Nepalese authorities arrested a group of six Tibetan refugees who escaped into northern Nepal from Tibet on January 2. The Nepalese police said that the four men and two women were travelling without documents and the group was handed over to immigration authorities. This arrest comes less than a fortnight after a set of Wikileaks revealed that the Chinese Government provides "financial incentives to officers who hand over Tibetan trying to exit China." Read the complete story ...
WIKILEAKS ON TIBET:
China pays Nepal police "to catch Tibetan refugees"
According to US cables released by Wikileaks, China pays Nepalese police to arrest Tibetan refugees as they cross over the border to flee Chinese repression. One cable quoted a source saying that China, "rewards (Nepali forces) by providing financial incentives to officers who handover Tibetans attempting to exit China." A spokesman for Nepalese police denied the allegations and said, "We arrest those who enter Nepal illegally and hand them over to Nepal's immigration authority." Read the complete story ...
CANADA:
Canada to facilitate immigration of up to 1,000 Tibetan refugees living in Arunachal Pradesh in India
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism minister Jason Kenney announced on December 18, 2010, that the Government of Canada intends to facilitate the immigration of up to 1,000 Tibetan refugees living in remote and isolated settlements in state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Mr. Kinney, recognizing India's long-standing support for Tibetans in India, said, "This is Canada's opportunity to complement India's support for this vulnerable population." Read the complete story ...
INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS:
Tibet card in hand, Delhi strikes
Sankarshan Thakur, from the Telegraph, writes that during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's 3-day visit to India, India played the Tibet card by omitting its usual affirmation of "One China" from the joint communiqu‚. He writes that the shift in the Indian position, though slight, is pointed and actually predates the communiqu‚. It was first articulated firmly at the Russia-India-China ministerial summit in Wuhan, mid-November 2010 when external affairs minister S.M. Krishna equated Kashmir and Tibet, and made a case for respecting Indian and Chinese sensitivities on these regions. Read the complete story ...
OBITUARY:
E. Gene Smith dies at 74
E. Gene Smith, renowned for his seemingly limitless knowledge of Tibetan literature and his equally limitless fervor for saving it, died on December 16, 2010, at his home in Manhattan. He was 74. A Utah native, Mr. Smith, through persistence, ardor and benevolent guile amassed the largest collection of Tibetan books outside Tibet, saving them from isolation and destruction, making them accessible to scholars and Tibetan exiles around the world. Read more about E. Gene Smith on savetibet.org ...
FROM THE ICT BLOG:
The peaceful transfer of power . . . - January 5, 2011
Become a Friend of Tibet
ICT relies on the consistent support of a special group of supporters called the Friends of Tibet. These automatic monthly gifts provide a steady, reliable source of income and ensure we will have the funds when we need to respond to emergencies and unexpected opportunities as they arise. Click here if you are interested in becoming a Friend of Tibet or would just like to receive more information. Thank you!
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario