10. Oct 2011
Foot-and-mouth disease found in cattle in Tibet
(Xinhua) Cattle in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) have been found with foot-and-mouth disease, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has announced. The virus was detected in seven cattle in the Nyingtri (Chin: Nyingchi) area at the end of September 2011. All infected cattle and another 132 that were raised with them have been culled and appropriately disposed of, the MOA said.
11. Oct 2011
China attacks 'Dalai clique' over self-immolations
(AP) China has accused overseas Tibetans and the Dalai Lama of inciting a string of self-immolations among Tibetans. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said members of the "Dalai clique" not only failed to condemn the incidents, but also publicised them to inspire further such acts. "They publicly played it up, spread rumours and incited more people to follow suit", Liu told reporters at a daily news briefing. Liu said the self-immolations were part of a plan to violently overthrow Chinese rule in Tibet. "That runs against human conscience and morality but also Buddhist doctrine", he said.
11. Oct 2011
Construction of Tatopani dry port to begin
(Myrepublica) The construction of Tatopani dry port on the Nepali side of the Tibet-Nepal border will begin during 2011. Land acquisition, technical studies, the designing of physical infrastructure and an investment agreement with China are already complete. Of the total estimated cost of NRS 300 million (UK£2.4m; US$3.8m; EUR€2.7m) for the construction, Beijing has agreed to provide assistance worth Rs 250 million (UK£2m; US$3.14m; EUR€2.3m). Sharad Bikram Rana, director of Inter Model Transport Development Committee, which falls under Nepal's Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, said the dry port will be spread over 468 ropanies (23.8 hectares) of land and can check 40 containers at any time while around 200 containers can be parked.
12. Oct 2011
High security expenditures in Ngaba and Kardze
(NY Times) Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that expenditure on security-related activity in Ngaba (Chin: Aba) and Kardze (Chin: Ganzi) Autonomous Tibetan Prefectures, both in Sichuan province, has been constantly growing since 2002. Citing official statistics it had examined, the group said that from 2002 to 2006, the public security spending in Ngaba was three times the average for non-Tibetan parts of Sichuan. That went up to 4.5 times in 2006. In 2007, a new "anti-terrorist" unit was established in Aba, and it took part in a "strike hard" campaign.
14. Oct 2011
US urge China to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama
(CECC) The Washington DC based Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC) has urged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives on protecting Tibetan culture, language, religion and heritage. The 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. 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. The report also urged the Chinese government to provide complete details about Tibetans detained, charged and sentenced for protest-related crimes.
15. Oct 2011
Tibetan flag and 'Free Tibet' flyers in Serthar
(Phayul) A large Tibetan flag was hung up in front of the main Chinese security office in Serthar (Chin: Seda) county, Kardze (Chin: Ganzi) TAP, eastern Tibet. Serthar Tsultrim, a former member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile told Phayul that along with the large Tibetan national flag, free Tibet leaflets were also found on the roads leading to the Chinese security office. "As of now, it is not clear if anyone has been arrested or not", said Tsultrim, while confirming that armed Chinese troops were deployed in the region. Based on information received from contacts inside Tibet, the former MP said that the free Tibet leaflets were bilingual and written in Tibetan and Mandarin.
17. Oct 2011
Chinese police shoot two Tibetans
According to reports by Free Tibet (FT), two Tibetans were shot by Chinese security services in a protest. The UK-based group Free Tibet said the Tibetans named Dawa and Druklo were shot outside the local police station in Khekor (Chin: Kege) township, Serthar county, Kardze TAP. The shooting occurred as protesters shouted slogans demanding greater freedom for Tibet and the unconditional return of the Dalai Lama. Free Tibet said Dawa was shot in the leg, Druklo in his torso and that their condition and whereabouts are unknown.
17. Oct 2011
Nepal held senior leaders of Tibetan community
(TibetInfoNet; TNN) Thinley Lama, the current volunteer coordinator for welfare activities for Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu, Nepal, was held for several hours along with his predecessor, Thinley Gyatso, from the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office, by police and taken to a police station for interrogation. This is the second time that Lama has been temporarily arrested in three months. He was detained and intimidated in August 2011 after he had held a press conference to rebut media allegations about his office being involved in providing documents to people travelling abroad on fake passports.
17. Oct 2011
More Self-immolations in Ngaba
(AP; TCHRD) There have been two more self-immolations in the Ngaba region, bringing the total to nine during the year 2011. Norbu Damdrul, a 19-year old former monk from Kirti monastery, set himself on fire in the Ngaba town market. He was seen shouting slogans such as "Freedom in Tibet" and "Return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet". Chinese police, who routinely patrol in the area, rushed to the scene where they extinguished the fire and took him away in a police car. Eyewitnesses told the Tibetan Centre for Human Right and Democracy (TCHRD) that Damdul was severely burned but did not die at the scene. There has been no information as to his condition or whereabouts. In a separate incident, Tenzin Wangmo, a 20-year old nun from Mame Dechen Chokorling nunnery (also known as Mame nunnery), called for the return of the Dalai Lama and freedom for Tibet when she set herself on fire. She was reported to have died at the scene. Choepel, the 19-year old monk who set himself alight earlier in October, succumbed to his injuries on 11 October 2011.
17. Oct 2011
US dollars seized on Nepal-China border
(My Republica) The police at the Nepal-Tibet border at Larcha in Nepal has seized US $235,031 (UK£147,345; EUR€169,160) being smuggled into the People's Republic of China (PRC), via Khasa, TAR. During a routine check, police recovered the foreign currency hidden in a cavity over the wheels of a sports utility vehicle. The driver, who was the only person in the vehicle, which is known to regularly make Tatopani-Kathmandu trips, has not been arrested with police claiming that he managed to escape. Chief of the District Police Office, Sindhupalchowk DSP Basanta Kumar Lama said the cash would be handed over to the Department of Revenue Investigations (DRI) and investigation would be initiated into the vehicle owner and the driver. American dollars have been illegally smuggled to Tibet through Tatopani along with red sandalwood, pangolin scales and parts of other wild animals with the police recovering dollars twice in the past. Involvement of Chinese citizens (reports do not specify their ethnicity) was established in those cases with Nepalis just transporting the currency.
18. Oct 2011
South Africa court action over Dalai Lama visa dispute
(BBC) South Africa's opposition has called for a judicial review of its government's failure to give the Dalai Lama a visa in order to attend Archbishop Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday celebrations. The ANC government denied it had bowed to pressure from China to block the trip. The opposition has filed papers in the High Court to demand a review of the decision. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Congress of the People (Cope) said Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma acted unlawfully by referring the visa application to the Department of International Relations and Co-operation. The government has not yet commented. The IFP said its leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, had since invited the Dalai Lama to visit South Africa during Human Rights Day celebrations in March 2012.
19. Oct 2011
US lawmaker and Nepal's PM talk Tibet
(HT) US Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner called on Nepali Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai in Kathmandu and expressed deep concern about continued restrictions on the activities of Tibetan refugees in Nepal, the Himalayan Times (HT) reported.
According HT, the foreign ministry was kept in the dark about the meeting. During the meeting, the Congressman expressed concern about Nepal Police's recent crackdown on Tibetan refugees' activities. He also reminded the PM to stick to the 'Gentleman's Agreement' to facilitate safe passage for those refugees travelling from Tibet to Dharmashala.
In response, the PM apprised the Congressman about Nepal's very "sensitive position" on this issue.
20. Oct 2011
Tibet Buddhist Theological Institute opened
(Xinhua) The Tibet Buddhist Theological Institute, which aims to promote the study of Tibetan Buddhism, has opened in TAR. More than 600 people, including 150 newly-enrolled students as well as Buddhist delegates and government officials, attended an opening ceremony held in Lhasa. The first 150 students belong to various Tibetan Buddhist schools. The institute provides three programmes. Two programmes focus on studies of non-tantric Buddhism and tantric Buddhism, respectively, while the other is tailored to incarnated lamas (Tib: tulku; referred to by Xinhua as 'Living Buddhas'). All students are required to attend classes on Buddhist, cultural and legal studies, the latter likely to involve the study of Chinese regulations related to religion. The lengths of the programmes range from two to four years.
20. Oct 2011
Arrests continue in Ngaba as Beijing pledges tougher measures
(AP; Phayul) Two more monks have been arrested in the Ngaba region of eastern Tibet as a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters that local authorities will take "tough measures" to ensure "stability" in the region. Speaking at a regular news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu denied the existence of a "Tibet problem", but pushed for tougher security measures in the restive region. "The local government will also take vigorous measures to ensure the safety of people and their property and normal social order", she said. The latest videos released by Associated Press (AP) reporters, who were able to gain rare access to the region, show Ngaba county under siege with heavy security surveillance and large contingents of Chinese security personnel in full riot gear manning the streets, carrying automatic weapons and iron batons.
