02 February, 2010

International Campaign for Tibet

The International Campaign for Tibet welcomes the strong and detailed statement [1] issued today by Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and chief interlocutor with Chinese officials during nine rounds of dialogue since 2002. Lodi Gyari and envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen briefed the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India this morning before issuing the statement which concluded that “we do not see any reason why we cannot find common ground on these issues.” The statement included a proposal for “a common effort to study the actual reality on the ground, in the spirit of seeking truth from facts [to] help both the sides to move beyond each others’ contentions” and an appeal to Beijing to stop mislabeling the Dalai Lama as a “separatist.”

29 January, 2010

International Campaign for Tibet

The Dalai Lama’s envoys traveled to China for talks this week just days after the conclusion of a high-level meeting attended by President Hu Jintao, setting out Tibet policy for the coming years. 

The Fifth Tibet Work Forum, held on January 18-20, is the most recent in a series of rare strategy meetings on Tibet that have now been held just five times since the Chinese took over Tibet in 1949-50. The meeting last week was attended by more than 300 of China’s most senior Party, government and military leaders. Notably, the Fifth Tibet Work Forum concluded days before envoys of the Dalai Lama, led by Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, arrived in China for the ninth round of Sino-Tibetan dialogue, some 15 months since the previous round. Speculation on the timing of the ninth round of dialogue so soon after the Fifth Tibet Work Forum has raised expectation that this could be a pivotal moment for Tibet.

25 January, 2010

International Campaign for Tibet

The Dalai Lama's envoys, led by Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, are to visit China for talks with Chinese officials, the Tibetan government in exile announced today (http://dalailama.com/news/post/484-press-statement).

Results from eight previous rounds since 2002 have failed to meet the expectations of the international community.

Mary Beth Markey, Vice President for Advocacy of the International Campaign for Tibet, said today: "We welcome Dharamsala's announcement as a sign that both sides see some value in continuing their dialogue. But given the context of the continuing repression in Tibet, and an overall backsliding from the Chinese government on human rights, we hope that this time there will be an indication that the Chinese side is interested in engaging in a results-based dialogue."

06 January, 2010

International Campaign for Tibet

Dhondup Wangchen, the Tibetan filmmaker who was arrested by the Chinese government for documenting the current situation in Tibet and Tibetan people's aspiration for return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet, has been sentenced to six years in prison, according to information received by the Central Tibetan Administration.

17 December, 2009

International Campaign for Tibet

Security has been stepped up in of the Tibetan area of Kham, part of present-day Sichuan province, and dozens of Tibetans have been detained and beaten after peaceful demonstrations in support of the imprisoned Tibetan lama, Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, a highly respected religious teacher serving a life sentence. Increased numbers of armed police and troops have been stationed in towns and villages where protests occurred - in an area that is already tense since demonstrations against Chinese rule spread across Tibet in March 2008. The movement of people in protest areas is now restricted and in one area soldiers have warned local people that they will shoot to kill if necessary.

26 October, 2009

International Campaign for Tibet

Two Tibetans were executed in Lhasa for their alleged roles in the protests and rioting in Lhasa on March 14, 2008, according to reports by Tibetan exile organizations confirmed by the Chinese embassy in London on Friday (October 23). Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak were sentenced to death in April 2009 on charges relating to "starting fatal fires," according to a report in the Chinese state media. They are the first known executions of Tibetans in connection with the Lhasa riot on March 14, 2008 although others have been killed following torture in custody.

17 July, 2009

International Campaign for Tibet

Senior Chinese lawyers have been blocked from defending three Tibetans currently in prison in Tibet, including Tibetan film-maker Dhondup Wangchen, detained on March 26, 2008, soon after completing filming of the documentary ‘Leaving Fear Behind’. The film documents Tibetan views of last year’s Beijing Olympics, the current situation in Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet. (See: www.leavingfearbehind.com)

08 July, 2009

Office of HH the Dalai Lama

On 8 July HH the Dalai Lama issued a statement relating to the protests by the Uyghur people and the subsequent crackdown by the Chinese government.

04 June, 2009

International Campaign for Tibet

The Dalai Lama has released a statement on the 20th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Students' Democracy Movement. The Dalai Lama honoured those who died "in defence of the Chinese people's constitutional rights, in favour of democracy". He also expressed his hope that a "policy of openness and realism can lead to greater trust and harmony within China and enhance its international standing as a truly great nation."

01 June, 2009

International Campaign for Tibet

A bold and remarkable new report by a group of Chinese scholars in Beijing challenges the official position that the Dalai Lama “incited” the protests that broke out in Tibet in March 2008, and outlines key failings in the policy of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on Tibet. The report, which is translated into English by ICT below, is the first such analysis from inside China and comes at a time of crackdown in Tibet when the PRC government is taking an increasingly hardline position against the Dalai Lama.

24 May, 2009

Radio Free Asia

Hundreds of villagers in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of western China are facing off against armed security forces at the site of a planned gold mine on what the Tibetans consider a sacred mountain, witnesses say.

21 April, 2009

International Campaign for Tibet

A Chinese lawyer has taken the unprecedented step of speaking out about a trial on Tuesday April 21 of a respected Tibetan lama, Phurbu Rinpoche, detained last May and facing charges that could lead to a lengthy prison sentence. His Beijing-based lawyer Li Fangping told the Associated Press in a telephone interview on Tuesday that Phurbu Rinpoche, who is highly respected in his local community, is accused of illegally possessing weapons but that he believes he was framed. Security was stepped up in the area due to the trial today, and no verdict has yet been reached.

09 April, 2009

International Campaign for Tibet

The Lhasa Intermediate People's Court in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), has sentenced two Tibetans to death on charges relating to "starting fatal fires", according to an official report published yesterday. These are the first known death sentences passed against Tibetans in connection with the Lhasa riots on March 14, 2008. Two other Tibetans were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and one other was sentenced to life imprisonment in a total of three separate cases of arson, reportedly involving the deaths of seven people, according to the state media. The full Xinhua report, published in English but apparently not yet in Chinese, is included below.

01 April, 2009

International Campaign for Tibet

Lodi Gyari, Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, has issued a call for Tibetans, in Tibet and around the world to record their experiences of suffering over the past 50 years. "It is vitally important, especially as a testament to those Tibetans no longer here, that we record our personal experiences of suffering. We should do this, not to fuel resentments but to help the Chinese people understand our true history and to know that we are justified in our hopes for a future Tibet."