13 September 2008
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Dalai Lama cancels Europe visit
(Tibet.net) The Dalai Lama has cancelled all his engagements for the month of October on his doctors' advice. The 73-year-old had recently undergone medical tests and treatment in Mumbai's Lilawati hospital after suffering abdominal pains. A statement issued by the Dalai Lama's office said that his doctors have advised him to take rest before resuming his schedule. "The physicians have informed His Holiness that his general health condition is good but strongly advised him to curtail his travel schedule". "His Holiness very much regrets the inconvenience it will cause to the organizers of his programs as well as to those who were looking forward to participating in them. We hope everyone will understand the situation", the statement said. The Dalai Lama was scheduled to visit Switzerland and Germany in October.
17 September 2008
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US Senate pass dialogue resolution
(ICT) The US Senate has passed a bipartisan resolution urging substantive negotiations on Tibet between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama. S. Resolution 643 was introduced by Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Russell Feingold (D-WI). It was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate. The bill also calls for China to allow more religious freedom in Tibet, and urges the Dalai Lama, his representatives and the Chinese government "to begin earnest negotiations, without preconditions, to provide for a mutually agreeable solution that addresses the legitimate grievances of, and provides genuine autonomy for, the Tibetan people". Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement posted on the ministry's website that the bill was wrong and supported Tibetan independence. She also wrote: "The Tibet issue is China's internal affair, so is the Chinese government's contact and dialogue with the Dalai Lama".
19 September 2008
Border talks conclude with no agreement
(AT; PTI; Xinhua) The 12th round of Sino-Indian talks concluded with no specific agreements made over the border issue. Discussions between India's National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and China's State Councillor Dai Bingguo were "pragmatic, candid and friendly", according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Beijing said the two countries must "maintain peace and tranquillity along the border to help in a speedy resolution of the protracted problem". However, in India, the sincerity of China's intentions have been questioned following a series of alleged incursions across the eastern sector of the border by Chinese troops and a perceived hardening of Beijing's stance on Arunachal Pradesh, with the area around Tawang a particular sticking point.
20 September 2008
State Department: religious repression increased
(BBC) The US state department's annual report on religious freedom said the level of religious repression in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and other Tibetan areas has increased over the past year. The 2008 International Religious Freedom Report was submitted to Congress by the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said religious freedom was "at the core of our nation". The report said the Chinese government has increased restrictions on religious freedom, including interference with the process of selecting and training reincarnate lamas, stricter control over the ability of monks and nuns to travel between monasteries, and limits on the construction or renovation of monasteries. The report was also critical of the 'patriotic education campaigns', which it said were "major factors that led monks and nuns from a number of monasteries to mount peaceful protests in Lhasa on 10 March 2008". Expressing concern over thousands of Tibetans detained following the unrest, the report said authorities locked down monasteries as well as detained and physically abused an unknown number of monks and nuns, or expelled them from monasteries throughout Tibetan areas. It also noted that the US government continued to encourage greater religious freedom by urging the PRC Government and local authorities to respect religious freedom and preserve religious traditions.
21 September 2008
Kalon Tripa and ICJ call for account of the missing Tibetans
(VOA) The prime minister, or Kalon Tripa, of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, Samdhong Rinpoche has called on Beijing to give an account of all Tibetans missing since the crackdown following the unrest that began in March. In an interview with Voice of America (VOA) he said it was unclear how many Tibetans have been killed, injured or detained by Chinese authorities since March. "A large number of Tibetans are still missing", he said. "A large number of monks and nuns who were taken away from Lhasa are still imprisoned in various untold places. We are hearing the unconfirmed news now they are beginning to release[them] but not allowing [them] to go back to the Lhasa monasteries". The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has also asked China to inform the UNHCR about the March uprising in Tibet and surrounding areas. The ICJ says China's violent crackdown, included arbitrary executions, the use of excessive non-lethal force by the security forces and arbitrary detentions.
21 September 2008
Karmapa airlifted from blocked mountain pass
(IANS) The Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorjee was airlifted to Leh the capital of Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir, India) before travelling on to New Delhi, after he and his retinue were stranded at the 4,883 metre- high Baralacha pass in Lahaul and Spiti district for 48 hours due to heavy snowfall. He had embarked on a trip to Ladakh on 08 September. Apart from Ladakh, his tour was scheduled to visit Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, and he was headed towards the town of Keylong in Lahaul when heavy snowfall forced his 13-person entourage to cut their visit short. The Karmapa's secretary, Gompa Tsering said: "For the time being it has been cancelled. The visit will be re-planned".
22 September 2008
Taskforce on negotiations meets
(CN) A three-day meeting of the Task Force on Negotiations (TFN) began in Dharamsala. The taskforce will chalk out a strategy for the next round of talks with the Chinese authorities, being held to find a mutually acceptable solution to the Tibet issue. The taskforce was established especially to assist the envoys of the Dalai Lama, who are participating in the talks. Although the dates for the next round of talks are yet to be fixed, they are likely to be held in October, according to Lodi Gyari, special envoy of the Dalai Lama.
23 September 2008
Gas pipeline to Lhasa
(Reuters) The Chinese oil and gas company, CNPC is proposing a 1,365-kilometre natural gas pipeline that could pump up to 1.2 billion cubic metres of fuel from Qinghai province to Lhasa. The pipeline would run from Tainan gas field in the Tsaidam Basin in Qinghai and run more than 500 kilometres across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau before reaching Lhasa, a local newspaper in Qinghai reported. A feasibility study of the plan has been submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission for approval, while environmental and safety review procedures were proceeding, reported the Xihai Metropolis Daily. China's military forces built a 1,080-kilometre pipeline in the 1970s that pumps refined oil products from Golmud to Lhasa.
24 September 2008
Tibetan journalist arrested
(TCHRD) The whereabouts of a Tibetan journalist, Rangjung, who was arrested on 11 September 2008 by members of the Sertha county Public Security Bureau (PSB) remains unknown. According to Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) sources, his friends and family have not heard from him since his arrest. Rangjung, who was an employee at the local Sertha television station was detained by security personnel at his home and taken to an unknown location. He was working as a news reporter and a presenter for the Sertha television station. He had also written various articles and had published two books that deal with Tibetan history, culture and the arts. His current whereabouts and the reasons for his arrest remain unknown.
24 September 2008
Beijing white paper praises rule over Tibet
(FT; Xinhua) Beijing has issued a government report praising its rule over Tibet and accusing the Dalai Lama of wanting to restore a backward feudal system in the region. The white paper said its aim is "to give the international community a better understanding of the reality of the protection and development of Tibetan culture". The report, 'Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture', was issued by the State Council, and is divided into six sections, including detailed descriptions of the government's support for the Tibetan language, protection of its cultural heritage and religion, and improvements made to the province's education system. The 'Conclusion' section says: "Facts show that there has been no 'cultural genocide' in Tibet at all over the past half century and more (...) Tibetan culture is blooming with new vigour and energy in the new age".
25 September 2008
Dalai Lama goes back to work
(AFP) The Dalai Lama returned to work four weeks after he was hospitalised suffering from abdominal pains, an aide said. He began teaching sessions in Dharamsala, but his planned trips to Germany and Switzerland in October have been cancelled. "His Holiness is doing very well, he begins public teachings from today. There will be two sessions each day", Samdhong Rinpoche, told AFP.
