TIBET UPDATE

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Dear Söpa,

I recently wrote about the difficult situation Tibetan refugees are facing now. As this year draws to a close, I hope we can count on your help because so many are counting on us.

Tibetans at Risk We are witnessing one of the most dangerous times for Tibetans in decades.  Even the basic cultural identity of Tibetans is coming under attack. In recent months:

• Tibetans have been excluded from the reconstruction process following the Kyegundo earthquake in April.  There are growing fears that many families in the area will not survive the winter.
  
  
• Nepal recently facilitated the hunt of Tibetan refugees by Chinese armed police.  In a separate incident, three Tibetan refugees were handed over to Chinese border police - the first public incident of forced repatriation from Nepal in seven years.
  
  
• China has announced plans to restrict Tibetan language in schools, requiring all students to transition from being taught in their mother tongue to being taught in Chinese.
  
  
• The founder of an influential literary website dedicated to protecting Tibetan culture was sentenced to 15 years in prison on trumped up charges of "disclosing state secrets."

The freedoms and very lives of Tibetans are on the line and our work as advocates is more critical than ever. 

Action Needed Now

ICT is working hard to support and assist the Tibetan people as they struggle for their basic rights and freedoms.  But simply put, we need the help of all our supporters at this time of year to:

Protect Tibetan refugees. We must be prepared to launch advocacy and public information campaigns when refugees are threatened.  And we must help direct aid for the rehabilitation of Tibetan refugee settlements.  

Advocate for the release of political prisoners. We must galvanize the international citizens' movement for Tibet to gain the release of political prisoners. 

Increase international cooperation on Tibet. We must work through our Washington, DC, Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussels offices to build coordinated, international advocacy on behalf of the Tibetan people.

Tell the world what's happening in Tibet. We must capture accurate on-the-ground accounts and keep international media attention focused on Tibet through our research and communication efforts.

Our efforts are ambitious, but we cannot strive for less when so many Tibetans are at risk. And we can't do any of it without your help.

Please respond today with a generous, tax-deductible contribution to help us battle the forces that endanger Tibetans and Tibetan refugees, and to help secure humanitarian assistance for their immediate needs this winter.

And if you are able to make a gift of $100 or more, I'll also send you ICT's 2011 "Tibet: A Treasured Land" wall calendar as an additional thank you for your commitment to Tibet and the Tibetan people.

In thanks for your generosity and with best wishes for the new year,

Mary Beth Markey
President

A Provocative Untitled Poem by Tenzing Rigdol

Dalai Lama’s visit to the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh

Samdhong Rinpoche tells AsiaNews that Beijing’s criticism of the Dalai Lama’s visit to the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh “should not even be taken seriously”. For Beijing, the Dalai Lama is a liar. For Indian Prime Minister Singh, he is “a religious, not a political leader, and an honoured ...
Wednesday, November 04, 2009By Asia News


New Delhi – Chinese comments about the Dalai Lama’s visit to the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh “should not be taken seriously.”All they show is that Beijing is edgy because of the lack of legitimacy of its claim to the territory. This is forcing Chinese leaders to make false and fabricated accusations, this according to Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of Tibet’s government-in-exile. The prime minister spoke to AsiaNews about China’s reaction to the Dalai Lama’s planned visit to the border State on 8 November.
Government newspaper China Daily said the Dalai Lama “lies and often engages in acts to sabotage China's relations with other countries,” the newspaper wrote.
“We have expressed our grave concerns. We believe that this once again exposes the nature of the Dalai Lama as anti-China," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said. "We firmly oppose the visits of the Dalai Lama to the border regions [. . .] this is a separatist action."
Manmohan Singh responded in person to China’s criticism. “I explained to Premier Wen that the Dalai Lama is our honoured guest and he is a religious leader,” and that “We do not allow Tibetan refugees to indulge in political activities”.
Since Mao’s takeover in 1949 and the Dalai Lama’s flight in 1959, he and his government have operated out of the Indian city of Dharamsala.
Arunachal Pradesh has been at the centre of a dispute between the two countries. Beijing has long claimed that it belongs to China.
According to Rinpoche, “this is the fifth visit of the Dalai Lama to the State, actually the sixth, if you count the time when he went through the State on his way to Dharamsala. It is a routine visit, planned long time ago. The Dalai Lama will inaugurate a hospital, and the local population wants to receive his dharshan (blessing). It is clearly a religious trip, nothing political about it.”
Speaking about the crackdown in Xinjiang, the Tibetan prime minister said, “The Chinese know no other way but to use repressive measures against minorities. Through them, they try to control the minorities, but the human spirit will resist. Still, the Chinese will intensify their brutality and repressive policies towards others.”
“It is worrisome to see the world keep silent when human liberties are crushed and human rights violated anywhere on the planet. Regrettably, we are now witnessing the rise of a new world order dominated by violence and trade at the cost of human values, dignity of the person.”
For the general director of India’s Foreign Ministry in New Delhi, Nirupama Rao, Indo-Chinese relations are not tense. For him, the Indian government’s position is clear since it does consider the Dalai Lama a political prisoner but a guest, free to move in the country wherever he wants because he also does not indulge in politics.