environment : The Secret Tibet (The Forbidden world)

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Xinhua: 2007-11-20

LHASA, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, is to see its city area expand by more than 60 percent with the establishment of an urban district for the city's growing population.

The 42-square-kilometer Liuwu New District on the southeastern bank of the Lhasa River will take Lhasa's city proper to about 100 square kilometers from the current 60 square kilometers when the district takes shape in 2009.

Armed troops gather at Drepung on October 17, the day the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal. Picture obtained by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, India, www.tchrd.org

Armed troops gather at Drepung on October 17, the day the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal. Picture obtained by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, India, www.tchrd.org

"Lhasa will look much bigger on the map," said mayor Doje Cezhug.

When the Tibet Autonomous Region was founded in 1965, Lhasa's city area was just five square kilometers.

Today, nearly four-fifths of Lhasa's 600,000 residents live downtown, though greater Lhasa has seven counties and one district covering about 30,000 square kilometers. At least 80 percent of Lhasa's population are Tibetans.

The new district will accommodate 110,000 residents and has welcomed 17 businesses with a total investment of 800 million yuan (US$102.5 million), said Doje Cezhug.

Houses in the new district will be two-story, quake-resistant structures in traditional Tibetan style, said Jiang Feng, an urban planning official from Beijing working in Tibet.

He said the Liuwu New District would become a major hub for finance, real estate and tourism.

ICT report,
November 13th, 2007

Armed troops gather at Drepung on October 17, the day the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal. Picture obtained by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, India, www.tchrd.org

New images just received from Tibet show troops gathered outside Drepung monastery in Lhasa in a show of force after monks whitewashed a wall to commemorate the Dalai Lama being honored with the Congressional Gold Medal on October 17 in Washington, DC.

Drepung monastery was sealed off and surrounded by armed troops after police stopped an attempt by monks to peacefully mark the honor to the Dalai Lama in the week of October 17. The images online at: http://savetibet.org/news/newsitem.php?id=1185 confirm the reports of a buildup of armed police at the monastery, depicting troops in the hills outside the monastery as well as gathered outside in riot gear. One observer reported: "The woods and hills around the monastery were full of police and troops." During the same week, there were checkpoints on roads out of Lhasa, and an order to Lhasa citizens not to carry out any religious or celebratory activities.

People's Armed Police troops moved in to stop the monks from whitewashing the walls on the morning of the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony. The Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that one monk was hit on the head with a baton, while a Tibetan source reported online on a Chinese language website that a monk who had just picked up a tool for stirring the whitewash was hit by a police officer and "then pummeled by punches and kicks." According to the same account, the monks then left the scene, and a large number of People's Armed Police troops entered Drepung, with others doing military exercises in the monastery car park.

Pilgrims and tourists were not allowed to enter the monastery, and monks were not allowed to leave. Most of the monks were not even allowed to go to the canteen to eat or boil water for several days.

According to one report, on October 26, a few pilgrims were allowed into Drepung for the first time since the monastery had been sealed off. The same report, online in Chinese on a blogsite and informed by individuals in Lhasa, stated that on November 7, monks were finally allowed to leave the monastery, but only for a limited time period. The atmosphere at Drepung is reportedly still tense, with monks under continued surveillance.

Celebrations in Lhasa to commemorate the honor to the exiled Tibetan religious leader were more quietly devotional in Lhasa compared to those that took place in parts of eastern Tibet, where Tibetans set off fireworks and fire crackers. Several Tibetans were detained temporarily after celebrations with fireworks and prayers were held at Labrang (Chinese: Xiahe in Gansu province) monastery in the Tibetan area of Amdo.

Police and soldiers were seen gathered on the hillside beside Drepung on October 17, as reported in an online Chinese language blog with eyewitness reports. Prayer flags can be seen and mantras are inscribed on the rocks. Picture obtained by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, India, www.tchrd.org

Monks at Drepung before the whitewashing of the wall was broken up by People’s Armed Police on October 17. The image shows the celebratory mood at Drepung on the day of the Congressional Gold Medal award – the marks on the monks’ robes indicate that tsampa (roasted barley flour) was being thrown in honor of the day. Although it is clear this was a celebration and not a protest, the group was soon broken up by armed police. Picture obtained by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, India, www.tchrd.org

Tibetans mark the Congressional Gold Medal award ceremony outside the Jokhang in Lhasa. Image supplied to ICT by a tourist visiting Lhasa on October 17.

Outside the Jokhang on the day of the Gold Medal award ceremony, October 17. Image supplied to ICT by a tourist visiting Lhasa on October 17.

Tibetans gather at the Jokhang for reverential and muted celebrations of the Congressional Gold Medal award to His Holiness. Image supplied to ICT by a tourist visiting Lhasa on October 17.

Reconciliation With China Urged

POSTED: 12:41 pm EDT October 17, 2007

UPDATED: 11:04 pm EDT October 17, 2007

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush, raising Beijing's ire, presented the Dalai Lama on Wednesday with the U.S. Congress' highest civilian honor and urged Chinese leaders to welcome the monk to Beijing.

With the exiled spiritual head of Tibet's Buddhists by his side, and speaking to a packed Capitol Rotunda, Bush praised a man he called a "universal symbol of peace and tolerance, a shepherd of the faithful and a keeper of the flame for his people."

Dalai Lama Awarded U.S. Congressional Gold Medal

"Americans cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close our eyes or turn away," Bush said at the U.S. Capitol building, where he personally handed the Dalai Lama the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal.

The event marked the first time in history that a sitting U.S. president has met publicly with the Dali Lama.

Beijing reviles the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and claims he seeks to destroy China's sovereignty by pushing for independence for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama says he wants "real autonomy" for Tibet, not independence. He is immensely popular in the Himalayan region, which China has ruled with a heavy hand since its communist-led forces invaded in 1951. He has lived with followers in exile in India since fleeing Chinese soldiers in Tibet in 1959.

China vehemently protested the elaborate public ceremony. But at a news conference earlier in the day, Bush said he did not think his attendance at the ceremony would damage U.S. relations with China.

"I support religious freedom; he supports religious freedom. ... I want to honor this man," Bush told reporters at the White House. "I have consistently told the Chinese that religious freedom is in their nation's interest."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader John Boehner joined Bush and the Dali Lama on the podium.

"Over the years, Congress has conferred the Gold Medal on many great figures in history -- usually at a time when their struggles were over and won. Today Congress has chosen to do something different. It has conferred this honor on a figure whose work continues -- and whose outcome remains uncertain," Bush said.

"In so doing, America raises its voice in the call for religious liberty and basic human rights. These values forged our Republic. They sustained us through many trials. And they draw us by conviction and conscience to the people of Tibet and the man we honor today," he added.

"Your Holiness, you bring luster to this award, and a challenge to the conscience of the world," Pelosi said. "The opportunity to join the President of the United States and Congressional leaders to award His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal is an unsurpassed honor."

McConnell pointed out that the gathering owed a lot to the late Sen. Craig Thomas of Wyoming, "a strong but serene man who admired the Dalai Lama and worked with him closely for a long time as chairman of the Foreign Relations panel that deals with Asia. Along with Senator Feinstein, he introduced the bill that got us here."

The Dali Lama, who stumbled over his remarks in English good naturedly, said the award will bring "tremendous joy and encouragement to the Tibetan people" and he thanked Bush for his "firm stand on religious freedom and democracy."

He said he supports the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the hopes China would become a more open and tolerant country. He also addressed Chinese suspicions of his advocacy for Tibet, saying, "I have no hidden agenda."

The Dalai Lama speaks in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda.

People pray to the Dalai Lama after a speech in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda.

The Dalai Lama shakes hands after a speech in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda.

The Dalai Lama with actor Richard Gere in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda.

The Dalai Lama stands with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda.

Performers stand in their costumes as they wait for the Dalai Lama to speak in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda.

People wave Tibetan flags as they wait for the Dalai Lama to speak in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda.

Tuesday, 9 October 2007, 4:30 p.m.

Mr Tempa Tsering, Kalon for Department of Information and International Relations addressing the gathering at a seminar on Tibet in New Delhi

Dharamshala: India Tibet Coordination Office in coordination with Prof. Shivaji Sarkar, Head of English Department IIMC organized a half-day seminar on Tibet at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

The seminar was attended by all the four department heads and 50 students from the institute.

Mr Tempa Tsering, Kalon for Department of Information and International Relation gave brief overview on the Sino-Tibet relations from historical times to date.

He also highlighted the issues concerning the environmental destructions, population influx, and militarisation of Tibet under the banner of developments and also pointed out the gradual changes happening within China of post Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Mr Penpa Tsering, Member of Tibetan Parliament in exile and also the director of Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre, New Delhi made presentation on the "Democracy in Exile" and also explained thoroughly the gradual process of democratization in the Tibetan Parliamentary system.

After the speeches the students raises many questions varying from Sino-Tibet politics to Indian security concern in regard to Tibet as a buffer state between the two Asian giants pre-1959. To which both the speakers gave detail explanations to the behest of the enthusiastic students participating in the seminar.

--Report send by India Tibet Coordination Office, New Delhi

(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)

Phayul[Friday, October 05, 2007 18:08]

By Phurbu Thinley

Dharamsala, October 5: Of the many events in the month of October in Dharamsala, probably the most glamorous one demanding much attention could well be Miss Tibet Beauty pageant.
This year, five contestants are vying for the beauty title after testing them through seven competition rounds.

Despite much insisted hype to add more contending beauties to his show by Lobsang Wanagyal, the man behind the pageant, the number remains at dwindling low. In fact, for this year, there is one less in number compared to last year’s.
Nevertheless, Lobsang is adamant and is hopeful to add more contestants in coming years, as he promises to continue with the beauty show.

“The enthusiasm with which more than ten women applied is a clear sign of hope to have even more contestants in the future” Lobsang said at the beauty pageant’s press conference.

Deeki Dolma, 20, from Gangtok, Sikkim; Tenzin Dolma, 21, from McLeod Ganj; Tenzin Pema, 19, from Clement Town, Dehradun; Tenzing Dolma, 25, from Gangtok, Sikkim and Tsering Yangzom, 20, from Kollegal, Karnataka are contesting for this year’s Tibetan beauty title.

“To represent and promote Tibet by taking part in Miss Tibet,” is the sole purpose of taking part in the contest for Deeki Dolma from Sikkim.
Tenzin Pema, a BA first-year student in Delhi

University, on the other, says her participation is “to encourage other young Tibetans to come forward and be expressive of their own”.

Before the actual final competition rounds would begin from 12 to 14 October, the contestants will undergo a week-long training, which among others includes yoga, dance and catwalk, Lobsang said. A week-long training will be accompanied by orientation on Tibetan history, culture and current affairs, environmental issues, human rights and music and, visits to Tibetan Government-in-Exile, NGOs and institutions.

The contestants were yesterday shown "Miss Tibet in Exile", a documentary film on Miss Tibet pageant, directed by Tashi Wangchuk and Tsultrim Dorjee of Tibet Motion Pictures & Arts.

Miss Tibet 2006, Tsering Chungdak successfully participated in the Miss Earth contest last year and won "Miss Good-Will" title of the pageant.

“We hope to produce yet another memorable edition of the Miss Tibet pageant,” says Lobsang.

CLICK HERE.....more detials

Phayul[Wednesday, September 26, 2007 15:31]

By Ketsun Lobsang Dondup

"I extend my support and solidarity with the recent peaceful movement for democracy in Burma. I fully support their call for freedom and democracy and take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all over the world to support such non-violent movements,"

Flanked by civilians, thousands of monks march against Burma’s military government. Around 100,000 protestors have taken to the streets in Burma demanding democracy and an end to the military junta (Photo: AFP — Getty Images)

As one commentator noted, Tibet and Burma are linked in many ways. Our peoples and languages are related, and we share a deep faith in Buddhism and the misfortune of brutal dictatorship. Our revered leaders have both won Nobel Peace Prizes, but are exiled or imprisoned. Our countries also both saw widespread protests in the late 1980s, which our respective regimes crushed violently.

With all these connections, it is clear that when something huge is happening in one country, the people of the other country should watch carefully. Right now, the massive protests in Burma hold a lesson for the people of Tibet – if we choose to listen.

What Is Happening in Burma?

Massive nonviolent demonstrations, led by Buddhist monks with the support of the people, are posing the most serious challenge to the Burmese military regime since the 1988 protests almost toppled the dictatorship.

According to media reports, “As many as 100,000 protesters led by a phalanx of barefoot monks marched Monday through Yangon, the most powerful show of strength yet from a movement that has grown in a week from faltering demonstrations to one rivaling the failed 1988 pro-democracy uprising.”

These Burmese protests started about a month ago as a series of small demonstrations against the surge in government-set fuel prices, and quickly evolved into pro-democracy protests. The government arrested the leaders, and sent plainclothes thugs to beat up the protesters. More small protests kept popping up, thanks to information and images spread over mobile phones and the internet, in a way that was technologically impossible in 1988.

A major turning point occurred when three monks were injured at a demonstration in a small city called Pakokku on September 5. Monks in Pakokku briefly took government officials hostage and demanded the government’s apology.

When the government didn’t apologize, an increasingly large number of monks began demonstrating across the country. Tens of thousands of monks are now involved, loosely organized by a group of younger monks called the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks (the senior monastic leadership is seen as more cautious). The opposition National League for Democracy is linking forces with the monks, in what some people are saying is the “perfect storm.”

The Burmese government is in a bind. Monks are so revered that any crackdown on the clergy risks sparking an even larger confrontation with the people. In fact, lay people have recently taken to protecting the demonstrating monks by linking hands to form a human chain, blocking the military from getting close.

Most interestingly, the Associated Press reports that Burma’s “military rulers were showing the unexpected restraint because of pressure from the country's key trading partner and diplomatic ally, China.” Why? Because of the 2008 Olympics.

“‘[Burma] is tolerating the protesters and not taking any action against the monks because of pressure from China,’ the diplomat told The Associated Press. ‘Beijing is to host the next summer's Olympic Games. Everyone knows that China is the major supporter of the junta so if government takes any action it will affect the image of China.’” (China also doesn’t want a massacre interfering with its Burmese oil and infrastructure interests.)

These brave Burmese, although their timing is probably unintentional, are leveraging the unique window presented by the Beijing Olympics to challenge their repressive government in a way they could never do before. With the Olympic spotlight on China, the Burmese government’s protectors in Beijing are constrained. China simply cannot afford to have a massacre on its hands ten months before one of the most important international events in the history of the People’s Republic of China.

What Are The Lessons For Tibet?

There are four lessons relevant to anyone who cares about Tibet.

FIRST, the airing of economic grievances (in Burma, fuel prices) can quickly spiral when there is deep underlying resentment or unhappiness. The 1993 Lhasa demonstration (and the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstration) started out partly as anti-inflation protests.

In Tibet today, especially around Lhasa, the massive and unprecedented influx of Chinese caused by the railroad is increasing economic tensions. The Chinese settlers are seen as taking jobs from Tibetans, and people blame the newcomers for rising crime rates. The surging population is also causing the price of food and other basic necessities to skyrocket.

All of this is creating a direct threat to Tibetan livelihoods. This compounds people’s deep, underlying unhappiness at Chinese rule and attacks on His Holiness. To say nothing of people’s despair at Order Number Five’s control over all Tibetan Buddhist reincarnations. Despite the air of normality, things in Tibet could get out of hand much faster than some of us realize.

SECOND, communication technology is far better today than in the 1980s. People are able to spread information and photos much more easily, even when a repressive government taps phones and censors the internet. Key factors in recent successful pro-democracy movements, such as in Serbia and Ukraine, have been information, inspiration, and coordination. These allowed demonstrations to grow, and also constrained the governments’ ability to crack down because the whole world would witness the violence in real-time.

China obviously tries to control phones, internet, newspapers, and radio in Tibet. But this control is not absolute, and in fact it is weaker than ever before. Even in a remote area of Kham, information and photos about Runngye Adak trickled out. If something similar happened in Lhasa, hypothetically, it would have a far, far larger impact.

THIRD, when the revered monastic community joins hands with lay people, together they are much more of a threat to the repressive government. This is something that Tibetans know well, but it is a useful reminder of our own history.

FOURTH, because of the 2008 Olympics, the People’s Republic of China is more constrained than at any time in its history. Even more so than when Gorbachev’s historic visit to Beijing gave the Tiananmen Square protests the space to grow large enough to almost bring down the Chinese Communist Party.

Obviously, the one thing the Chinese government will not willingly tolerate is a direct challenge to its rule. The Chinese government is not threatened by Burmese protesters in the same way that it would be by protests in Beijing or Lhasa.

Our hypothetical question is, if there were protests in Lhasa now, would the Chinese government hesitate in cracking down? It hesitated in Tiananmen Square, and it is forcing the Burmese government to do so now. Exactly how would China weigh the incalculable damage that a violent crackdown would have on its cherished Olympics, whose importance to the government cannot be underestimated? Would this hesitation be enough to allow a few small protests to spiral into a popular challenge to Chinese rule over Tibet?

By no means is this article meant to incite protests in Tibet. The decision to protest can only be made by Tibetans in Tibet who must face the brutal consequences of speaking out against Chinese rule. We on the outside do not have the right to sit comfortably on the sidelines and ask our countrymen and -women to put their lives on the line. And even if we did, why should they listen to us?

But we do have the right – indeed the obligation – to raise the level of discussion and debate amongst Tibetans both outside and inside of Tibet about strategy, timing, and consequences. Particularly with the lessons being learned right now from our fellow Buddhist freedom fighters in Burma, whom His Holiness supports.

Ultimately, unless the increasingly hopeless “dialogue” between Dharamsala and Beijing leads anywhere (for which we should not hold our collective breath), what we fundamentally need are viable alternative plans. And for this, Tibetans should take a broad perspective and look to the world around us. We have a unique window of opportunity available to us right now that has never existed before and will not come again. All of us – inside and outside Tibet – should take lessons and inspiration from the brave Burmese people, who remind us that faith and freedom, can and must challenge violence and dictatorship.

Ketsun Lobsang Dondup is the author of “Independence as Tibet’s Only Option: Why the ‘Middle Path’ is a Dead End,” published by Phayul.com on January 25, 2007. The author may be reached at KeLoDo@gmail.com.

Phayul[Wednesday, September 26, 2007 15:31]

By Ketsun Lobsang Dondup

"I extend my support and solidarity with the recent peaceful movement for democracy in Burma. I fully support their call for freedom and democracy and take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all over the world to support such non-violent movements,"

Flanked by civilians, thousands of monks march against Burma’s military government. Around 100,000 protestors have taken to the streets in Burma demanding democracy and an end to the military junta (Photo: AFP — Getty Images)

As one commentator noted, Tibet and Burma are linked in many ways. Our peoples and languages are related, and we share a deep faith in Buddhism and the misfortune of brutal dictatorship. Our revered leaders have both won Nobel Peace Prizes, but are exiled or imprisoned. Our countries also both saw widespread protests in the late 1980s, which our respective regimes crushed violently.

With all these connections, it is clear that when something huge is happening in one country, the people of the other country should watch carefully. Right now, the massive protests in Burma hold a lesson for the people of Tibet – if we choose to listen.

What Is Happening in Burma?

Massive nonviolent demonstrations, led by Buddhist monks with the support of the people, are posing the most serious challenge to the Burmese military regime since the 1988 protests almost toppled the dictatorship.

According to media reports, “As many as 100,000 protesters led by a phalanx of barefoot monks marched Monday through Yangon, the most powerful show of strength yet from a movement that has grown in a week from faltering demonstrations to one rivaling the failed 1988 pro-democracy uprising.”

These Burmese protests started about a month ago as a series of small demonstrations against the surge in government-set fuel prices, and quickly evolved into pro-democracy protests. The government arrested the leaders, and sent plainclothes thugs to beat up the protesters. More small protests kept popping up, thanks to information and images spread over mobile phones and the internet, in a way that was technologically impossible in 1988.

A major turning point occurred when three monks were injured at a demonstration in a small city called Pakokku on September 5. Monks in Pakokku briefly took government officials hostage and demanded the government’s apology.

When the government didn’t apologize, an increasingly large number of monks began demonstrating across the country. Tens of thousands of monks are now involved, loosely organized by a group of younger monks called the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks (the senior monastic leadership is seen as more cautious). The opposition National League for Democracy is linking forces with the monks, in what some people are saying is the “perfect storm.”

The Burmese government is in a bind. Monks are so revered that any crackdown on the clergy risks sparking an even larger confrontation with the people. In fact, lay people have recently taken to protecting the demonstrating monks by linking hands to form a human chain, blocking the military from getting close.

Most interestingly, the Associated Press reports that Burma’s “military rulers were showing the unexpected restraint because of pressure from the country's key trading partner and diplomatic ally, China.” Why? Because of the 2008 Olympics.

“‘[Burma] is tolerating the protesters and not taking any action against the monks because of pressure from China,’ the diplomat told The Associated Press. ‘Beijing is to host the next summer's Olympic Games. Everyone knows that China is the major supporter of the junta so if government takes any action it will affect the image of China.’” (China also doesn’t want a massacre interfering with its Burmese oil and infrastructure interests.)

These brave Burmese, although their timing is probably unintentional, are leveraging the unique window presented by the Beijing Olympics to challenge their repressive government in a way they could never do before. With the Olympic spotlight on China, the Burmese government’s protectors in Beijing are constrained. China simply cannot afford to have a massacre on its hands ten months before one of the most important international events in the history of the People’s Republic of China.

What Are The Lessons For Tibet?

There are four lessons relevant to anyone who cares about Tibet.

FIRST, the airing of economic grievances (in Burma, fuel prices) can quickly spiral when there is deep underlying resentment or unhappiness. The 1993 Lhasa demonstration (and the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstration) started out partly as anti-inflation protests.

In Tibet today, especially around Lhasa, the massive and unprecedented influx of Chinese caused by the railroad is increasing economic tensions. The Chinese settlers are seen as taking jobs from Tibetans, and people blame the newcomers for rising crime rates. The surging population is also causing the price of food and other basic necessities to skyrocket.

All of this is creating a direct threat to Tibetan livelihoods. This compounds people’s deep, underlying unhappiness at Chinese rule and attacks on His Holiness. To say nothing of people’s despair at Order Number Five’s control over all Tibetan Buddhist reincarnations. Despite the air of normality, things in Tibet could get out of hand much faster than some of us realize.

SECOND, communication technology is far better today than in the 1980s. People are able to spread information and photos much more easily, even when a repressive government taps phones and censors the internet. Key factors in recent successful pro-democracy movements, such as in Serbia and Ukraine, have been information, inspiration, and coordination. These allowed demonstrations to grow, and also constrained the governments’ ability to crack down because the whole world would witness the violence in real-time.

China obviously tries to control phones, internet, newspapers, and radio in Tibet. But this control is not absolute, and in fact it is weaker than ever before. Even in a remote area of Kham, information and photos about Runngye Adak trickled out. If something similar happened in Lhasa, hypothetically, it would have a far, far larger impact.

THIRD, when the revered monastic community joins hands with lay people, together they are much more of a threat to the repressive government. This is something that Tibetans know well, but it is a useful reminder of our own history.

FOURTH, because of the 2008 Olympics, the People’s Republic of China is more constrained than at any time in its history. Even more so than when Gorbachev’s historic visit to Beijing gave the Tiananmen Square protests the space to grow large enough to almost bring down the Chinese Communist Party.

Obviously, the one thing the Chinese government will not willingly tolerate is a direct challenge to its rule. The Chinese government is not threatened by Burmese protesters in the same way that it would be by protests in Beijing or Lhasa.

Our hypothetical question is, if there were protests in Lhasa now, would the Chinese government hesitate in cracking down? It hesitated in Tiananmen Square, and it is forcing the Burmese government to do so now. Exactly how would China weigh the incalculable damage that a violent crackdown would have on its cherished Olympics, whose importance to the government cannot be underestimated? Would this hesitation be enough to allow a few small protests to spiral into a popular challenge to Chinese rule over Tibet?

By no means is this article meant to incite protests in Tibet. The decision to protest can only be made by Tibetans in Tibet who must face the brutal consequences of speaking out against Chinese rule. We on the outside do not have the right to sit comfortably on the sidelines and ask our countrymen and -women to put their lives on the line. And even if we did, why should they listen to us?

But we do have the right – indeed the obligation – to raise the level of discussion and debate amongst Tibetans both outside and inside of Tibet about strategy, timing, and consequences. Particularly with the lessons being learned right now from our fellow Buddhist freedom fighters in Burma, whom His Holiness supports.

Ultimately, unless the increasingly hopeless “dialogue” between Dharamsala and Beijing leads anywhere (for which we should not hold our collective breath), what we fundamentally need are viable alternative plans. And for this, Tibetans should take a broad perspective and look to the world around us. We have a unique window of opportunity available to us right now that has never existed before and will not come again. All of us – inside and outside Tibet – should take lessons and inspiration from the brave Burmese people, who remind us that faith and freedom, can and must challenge violence and dictatorship.

Ketsun Lobsang Dondup is the author of “Independence as Tibet’s Only Option: Why the ‘Middle Path’ is a Dead End,” published by Phayul.com on January 25, 2007. The author may be reached at KeLoDo@gmail.com.

KATHMANDU (AFP) — China has put in place tougher rules on access to the Tibetan side of Mount Everest next year as part of preparations to take the Olympic torch to the summit of the world's highest mountain.

The new regulations, which include stricter background checks on foreign climbers, follow threats by Tibetan independence activists to step up protests against China's presence in the Himalayan region during the 2008 Summer Games.

Chinese officials "will not limit expeditions, but they will strictly vet the expedition teams," the head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Ang Tsering Sherpa, told AFP.

Everest next year as part of preparations to take the Olympic torch to the summit of the world's highest mountain.

The so called Chinese volunteers pose by the Olympic Rings at the opening of an exhibition on the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch, in Beijing, in June, prior to the 130 day, 137,000 kilometre (85,000 mile) torch relay which will begin on March 31, 2008. China has put in place tougher rules on access to the Tibetan side of Mount Everest next year as part of preparations to take the Olympic torch to the summit of the world's highest mountain.

He said China plans limit the number of different nationalities represented in each climbing team, demand climbers' documents two-and-a-half months before the trip and prohibit substitutions or last-minute additions to an expedition.

"The main purpose is to run the Olympic expedition smoothly without problems. That is their main concern," said Sherpa, who was informed of the new rules during a recent meeting with Chinese representatives on planning for the 2008 Everest climbing season.

He said the restrictions did not apply to the Nepali side of the mountain.

The organisers of the Beijing Olympics plan to bring the Olympic torch to the top of the 8,848-metre (29,198-foot) peak as part of a relay that will also take in the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

The torch summit bid by a team of hardened Chinese climbers is expected to take place in early May, slightly earlier than the traditional window when lines of mountaineers often queue for access to the summit, Sherpa said.

China asserts Tibet, a vast Himalayan plateau which it has ruled since sending troops in to "liberate" the region in 1951, is an "inseparable part" of its territory.

Beijing has been targeted by "Free Tibet" protests involving foreign mountaineers over the past year.

In April, five Americans were expelled from China after staging an illegal "Free Tibet" protest at Everest base camp. The demonstration prompted Beijing to lodge a formal protest with Washington.

In 2006, China also came in for international criticism after foreign climbers witnessed, filmed and photographed the shooting of Tibetan refugees by Chinese border guards who killed a Buddhist nun.

Tibetan independence campaigners say the new Everest regulations are clearly aimed at them.

"In taking the torch to the summit, China wants to convey a message of ownership over this most potent symbol of Tibetan land," said Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet.

"The new restrictions represent a more systematic attempt to control and manage the presence of international expedition teams on Everest at a crucial time for China," she added.

"Chinese officials are acutely aware that mountaineers carry the latest communications technologies and are therefore capable of transmitting information directly to the outside world."

The head of the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet claimed China was displaying a "paranoia that something will go wrong that will show they don't legitimately rule" Tibet.

"The closer the time draws for the ascent (of the Olympic torch), the tighter the Chinese are going to get," said Lhadon Tethong, vowing that activists "will do whatever we can during the time of the torch relay."

19 September 2007, 9:00 a.m.

Left: Abbot Georg of Melk-Abbey/right: Abbot Burkhar, former Abbot of Melk-Abbey(Photo: The Tibet Bureau, Geneva)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in front of the main church of Melk-Abbey

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with other religious leaders and speakers / from left to right: G. Schatz (Organizer), David Rosen (Israeli, President of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations), Abbot Georg of Melk-Abbey, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Philip of Poltava and Kremenchug, Dr. A. Salcher (Organizer) and Ahmed Mohammad El-Tayyib (Egyptian, Rector of Al-Azhar University in Cairo)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with William E. Strickland American, President and CEO Manchester Bidwell Corporation

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Alan M. Webber (Master of Ceremony of the Waldzell Meeting)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the library of Melk-Abbey

Dialogue with the religious leaders at the Wadzell meeting in Melk Abbey, Austria, from 17-19 September

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Isabel Allende, Chilean, writer and niece of Chile’s President, Salvador Allende killed during the military coup in 1973. Author of the international bestseller The House of Spirits

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the Abbots of Melk-Abbey

(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)

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The Secret Tibet (The Forbidden world)

Unfree thinker

Newsletter

Last updated weblogs

Popular tags

Categories

Recent Posts

Cyberdissidents

The Tibet Post International

May 2008

Photo Albums

Recent comments

Archives

11/21/2007

Lhasa plans homes for 110,000

11/14/2007

New images confirm security buildup at Drepung on day Dalai Lama awarded the Congressional Gold Medal

10/20/2007

Dalai Lama Honored With Congressional Medal

Reconciliation With China Urged

10/18/2007

USA Dalai Lama in Washington, DC

10/09/2007

Seminar on Tibet at Indian Institute of Mass Communication

10/06/2007

Five contestants vie for the Miss Tibet 2007

09/27/2007

A Lesson from Our Burmese Brothers and Sisters

A Lesson from Our Burmese Brothers and Sisters

China to tighten Everest access for Olympic torch relay

09/20/2007

Photo News: His Holiness attends Waldzell meeting in Melk Abbey Wednesday,