The Secret Tibet (The Forbidden world)

on the occasion of the Chinese New Year

Dharamshala: TibetPost-25-January-2009-(tibet.net)-On the occasion of the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, I extend my affectionate greetings to all our Chinese brothers and sisters across the globe, including those living in Mainland China.

The past year witnessed many developments throughout the world and particularly in China, at times worrying us while at other times filling our hearts with happiness. Besides having to bear the brunt of natural disasters and other problems that hit the country, China also had the proud moments like hosting the world's greatest sporting event, the Olympic Games. The year that ended is, therefore, marked with great changes taking place everywhere.

These days, due to the global economic meltdown, the people of the world in general, and of the developing countries in particular, are plunged into an abyss of anxiety and suffering. To pray for the end of all sufferings of humanity, as well as for their happiness and well-being, is a responsibility that rests on all believers.

Besides having a long history of over 5000 years and a splendidly rich cultural heritage, China is also the most populous nation in the world. Moreover, it is emerging as a super power in terms of political, economic and military might. However, China cannot perform the responsibility of a super power in this modern and progressive world if there is no freedom, rule of law and transparency in the country.

President Hu Jintao's policy of creating a harmonious society is indeed laudable. Such a policy is indispensable for China as well, if it were to make a mark globally. Harmonious society should, however, come about through mutual trust, friendship and justice. It cannot be brought about by brute force and autocracy.

Not only should the Chinese citizens have economic facilities, but they should also enjoy the freedom of conscience, education and to know what is actually happening around the world. These freedoms are indispensable for human societies. If - in this fast-changing modern world - one does not keep abreast of the daily happenings

around the globe, then it goes without saying that one will be naturally left behind. In China today, popular news outlets such as television, radio and Internet - including the best international news services like the BBC and CNN are blocked - thus preventing its people from knowing the true information about the world's events. I am immensely disappointed by such negative actions of the Chinese government, which greatly hamper the fundamental rights as well as the short and long-term benefits of the Chinese people.

The 21st century is regarded as a century of information revolution. And yet some countries of the world, which includes China, impose restrictions on the free flow of information. Such actions are anachronistic and hence there is no way that these can be sustained in the long run. Therefore, I believe that China too will soon become more liberal in terms of disseminating and sharing information.

Last year, many Chinese intellectuals came out with a number of articles and other campaign activities, calling for freedom, democracy, justice, equality and human rights in China. Particularly in a recent development, we saw an increasing number of people from all walks of life signing up to an important document called the Charter '08. This is indicative of the fact that the Chinese people, including the intellectuals, are beginning to demonstrate their deep yearnings for more openness and freedom in their country. It is, therefore, a matter for all of us to take pride in.

While once again extending my warm greetings to the Chinese people, I hope and pray that in the coming year the People's Republic of China will be able to create a meaningful harmonious society by ensuring equality, justice and friendship among all its nationalities.    

The Dalai Lama
25 January 2009

Dharamshala: TibetPost-24-January-2009-Beginning on 18 January, Chinese authorities launched a 42-day winter "Strike Hard" campaign in Lhasa to tighten the grip on Tibetans. China has claimed the campaign is to ensure safety and stability in the region. The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has said that the campaign is a specifically targeted prior measure to any major event in Tibet.

In the first three days of thorough searches after the launch of the winter "Strike Hard" campaign, the Lhasa City Public Security Bureau (PSB)  amassed 5766 suspects for questioning: "Lhasa City PSB office had deployed 600 officers, around 160 police vehicles and conducted raids on 7 housing blocks, 2922 rented houses, 14 guest house and hotels, 18 bars and 3 internet cafés in Lhasa," the official report read. There was no mention of the number of people detained or released following the raid.

Prior to this campaign, all outside Tibetans planning to remain in Lhasa City for more than three days to less than one month were required to apply for a temporary-stay permit from the PSB. There was warning that strong legal actions would be taken against any Tibetan without a permit.

Although China claims the campaign is to ensure stability and security in Tibet, the TCHRD believes that the raids and searches are more specifically targeted at Tibetans suspected of involvement in the protests last spring, ex-political prisoners, and Tibetans from outside of Lhasa without temporary-stay permits.

"Strike hard" campaign was first launched in China in 1983 with primary objective of fighting corruptions and crimes However, the motive of launching this campaign in China and in Tibet is totally different. In China, the official objective of this campaign is to crack down severely on general crime and end corruption practices. However, in Tibet the motive is to intimidate and eliminate those supporting Tibetan independence and human rights activists in Tibet. "

Dharamshala: TibetPost-01-24-January-2009-Many Tibetans in the exile community are abstaining from celebrating the Tibetan New Year (Losar) this year to commemorate the suffering in Tibet and the 50th anniversary of the Chinese occupation, while China is aggressively encouraging a lively celebration of their recently instated "Serfs' Emancipation Day" in Tibet for 50 years of "liberation".

The amendment to the usual celebration is partially in observance for the deaths and suffering as a result of China's crack-down in Tibet last March. Lhakpa Tsering, Cultural Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) explained to Tibet Post International Tibetans are also abstaining because "this year is a special year: this year, 2009, is the year that we lost our capital city fifty years ago and when our leader came into exile. Because of this, Tibetans are not celebrating."

TYC's regional chapters have announced that they will not be celebrating New Year this year. The Central Executive office has not made a definitive decision as of yet, but will announce their decision in the next week. "We have to decide very carefully how we will take a stand," Tsering said. He has said that he is sure that whatever TYC's decision is, it will be supported by the Tibetan community. "It is a democratic system, so they will do as they wish, but a majority won't celebrate this Losar, that I am sure."

Sonam N. Dagpo, Secretary of the Department of International Relations of the Tibetan government-in-exile, also remarked that exile Tibetans are free and allowed to celebrate however they want. However, he feels that the celebration, for the most part, will be shorter and more geared towards the religious celebrations. Other than that, there won't be much of a "fanfare" and will be very "low-profile", he told Tibet Post International.

Since last year, the Tibetan government-in-exile has been planning and preparing their observance of the 50th anniversary of the Chinese occupation, including the decision to play-down Losar. China has only instated the "Serfs' Emancipation" holiday recently, a move Dagpo says is a reaction to Tibet's decision. China has also been applying strong pressure to Tibetans to celebrate this newly-established holiday.

Tsering says the TYC says he is actually gaining courage from this Chinese imposed holiday and their encouragement to celebrate because China is obviously afraid: indirectly, they are showing the world that they are doing no good inside Tibet if Tibetans don't want to celebrate the holiday. He says that the Tibetan cause is actually benefitting from this.

Dagpo calls the Serfs' Emancipation Day "ridiculous": "It is not a liberation, it's a subjugation. It's China's rhetoric of trying to whitewash their misdeeds."

Dagpo cited many other instances of a "stage-management" by China in Tibet: when the Olympic torch was brought through Lhasa, some Tibetans were forced to go out into the street and celebrate while most were ordered not to leave their houses. At one point, His Holiness requested that Tibetans not wear animal furs on their clothing. When Tibetans followed this, China ordered Tibetans to wear fur. He says that this Serfs Emancipation Day and the strong encouragement to celebrate New Year is a response to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the government in exile. He commented that Tibetans are not able to show how they feel: "People will only see China's side of the story," he said.

Dagpo questioned the Chinese argument, asking "if Tibetans were really all slaves and serfs in the past, and China 'liberated' them, then why are the sons of those slaves and serfs rising up against the Chinese? Why do so many Tibetans live outside of Tibet?" He says although there may have been "lots of wrongs and defects" in the old system, establishing a functioning, working, democratic government-in-exile shows that they want a free and democratic Tibet, not the old system. Regarding the March protests, he remarked that the people who protested last year were from the younger generation who were born and raised under communist China, so the protest was not connected with the old social system in Tibet: it was about their unhappiness with the current situation, regardless of what the past was.

In response to China's allegations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his supporters "sabotaging" Tibet, both the TYC and the Tibetan government-in-exile reiterated their statements that they and the so-called "Dalai-clique" did not have a hand in inciting or orchestrating the uprisings in Tibet: "Tibetans rose against the Chinese because of their oppressive policies," Dagpo says.

Both the TYC and the Tibetan government-in-exile maintain that the fraudulence of China's allegations is clear to the world. "Even the world doesn't accept this, but the world doesn't say it. They have to keep a relationship with the Chinese government. But, they know these kinds of things are untrue. We cannot force them to say it. Because of the Chinese power and influence, the Chinese economy has captured the world's information. Even many people within China know what China says is untrue," Tsering commented.

Dagpo commented about the lack of media in Tibet, saying: "If Tibetans are really happy to be celebrating the end of being serfs and slaves then the international media should be allowed to come to Tibet to see if they are really celebrating or if they're actually mourning the demise of an independent Tibet."

Dharamshala: TibetPost-24-January-2009-The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) releases it 2008 Annual Report: Human Rights Situation in Tibet both in Tibetan and English language. The annual report focuses on three spheres of human rights violations in Tibet viz. Civil and Political Liberties, Right to Information and Religious freedom.

In retrospect, the year 2008 witnessed unprecedented violations of Tibetan's human rights and freedoms in the so called "Tibet Autonomous Region" ('TAR') and the Tibetan areas outside the "TAR"; Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and Yunnan. Chinese authorities continue to practice a systematic denial of human rights of the Tibetan people. The pan-Tibet political uprising in the spring of 2008 is an eruption of popular resentment against the Chinese authorities' five decades of misrule in Tibet which saw systematic gross violations of human rights in every sphere of life.

TCHRD received information on more than 120 known Tibetans who were killed in the recent series of protests across the "Tibet Autonomous Region " ('TAR') and the Tibetan areas outside "TAR" since 10 March unrest. Beijing has repeatedly downplayed the nature of the Tibetan protests through the prism of criminal activities such as looting, smashing, arson, theft and rioting and refuses to see the reality of the political nature of the pan-Tibet popular protests with different magnitudes covering 90 counties in the "TAR" and non "TAR" areas. More than 6500 Tibetans were arbitrarily detained or arrested for their participation in the pan-Tibet protest of suspected of political activities;

There are at least more than a thousand Tibetans whose current whereabouts and well being remains completely unknown to their family members and their close associates or affiliated monasteries. The XIth Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, has been missing for the past thirteen years along with his parents. There has been no information about his well-being and whereabouts to date;

The year witnessed one of the most ruthless and repressive crackdowns by the Chinese law enforcement agencies in detention centers, police stations, prisons and at the site of demonstrations. Tibet witnessed one of the highest numbers of death from torture this year. There were reports of Tibetans having been shot dead by firing live ammunition, beaten to death or released on their near death condition, for solely raising slogan in support of the Tibetan leader and calling for his swift return to Tibet or for freedom and human rights. There were a few cases of people committing suicide due to the atrocious repression and others who became mentally unstable following inhumane torture;

The Chinese authorities following the March Protest in Tibet dismissed several interventions made by high profile entities entrusted with protecting human rights. In early April 2008, a request made by the then United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Louise Arbour, to visit Tibet to independently assess first-hand the situation on the ground was declined by the Chinese government citing that 'the timing was not convenient.' Additionally six UN Special Procedures mandate holders issued a joint statement expressing their deep concern over reports of security forces firing on peaceful protesters. The statement called for "restraint and non-violence by all parties, greater and unfettered access to the regions for journalists and independent observers, guarantees for the free flow of information, and full implementation of international standards in regard to the treatment of protesters and those detained," but all of these demands were ignored. The International Committee of the Red Cross which has the mandate to visit detention facilities and check on the well being of prisoners worldwide has never been given access to Tibet. The Chinese government non-cooperation with the UN Committee against Torture during the examination of the fourth periodic review of China's compliance to the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment exposed her total disregard of the UN human rights mechanism to protect people against torture despite being a state party to the Convention.

According to the Centre's documentation, there are hundreds of Tibetans who are still held without any charges and at least 190 Tibetans were known to have been sentenced so far by various county level courts in "TAR" and Tibetan areas outside "TAR" for their participation in the series of protests in 2008. Of these 7 Tibetans were sentenced to life imprisonment for their participation in Tibet protests whereas 90 Tibetans were sentenced to 10 years and more of imprisonment. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy believes that the actual figures could be manifold in light of the magnitude of the protest in Tibet. The government severe blockade of information, which is often linked to 'leaking state secrets' and punishable by lengthy prison terms under the charge of 'endangering state security' for what is a standard practice of reporting human rights violation, has enormously stifled the flow of information.

In the sphere of right to information, China continues to keep a firm grip on the media outlets and censors their news reports as a matter of routine and Tibet remains virtually sealed off with imposition of communication blackout following major protests in Tibet. Jamming and strict control of foreign radio, TV and news broadcasts in Tibet continued to be stringent.

There are still many Tibetans serving lengthy sentences in various prisons during the past years, there was no development on sentence reduction or early release from imprisonment. The nature of the court proceedings and the official interpretation of the Tibetans' activities obviously bring forward questions of the competency of the court and the official downplaying of the nature of the Tibetan activities. The legitimacy of the court sentencing procedure raised big question as the Tibetans were denied access to a meaningful defense and many were tried secretly. There are hundreds of Tibetans who are still held without any charges.

In the religious sphere, addition to the last year's implementation of the "Tibet Autonomous Region Implementing Measures for the Regulations on Religious Affairs" on 1 January 2007("Implementing Measures"), and the more specific Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism (the Reincarnation Measures), the Chinese authorities launched a stipulated two-month' renewed "Patriotic education" campaign at the beginning of April 2008 following unprecedented protests across the Tibetan plateau. The campaign was reinvigorated and targeted not only the monastic institutions, which were long considered as the bastion of political dissidence, but also government employees, security forces, farmers, nomads, private entrepreneurs, and educational institutions with more rigor and intensity. The Centre recorded a large number of Tibetans arrested or detained simply for opposing the campaign which requires denouncing their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and pledging their allegiance to the Communist Party;

Sweeping new measures were introduced by the People's Government of the Kardze "TAP" in Kardze to purge hundreds of monasteries, and to strike hard at heart of the Tibetan monastic communities and its identities, and to restrict religious practice in the wake of protests across the plateau that reveal a systematic new attack on Tibetan Buddhism;

As observed and recommended by the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) to PRC to probe the deaths of Tibetans killed, missing in the spring 2008 protests in Tibet and to adopt measures to prohibit and prevent enforced disappearances, TCHRD wants to reiterate that China should ensure that all persons detained or arrested in the aftermath of the Spring 2008 events have prompt access to an independent lawyer, prompt medical care and the right to lodge complaints free from official reprisal or harassment. It should immediately end the practice of enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture, information blackouts, and respect and comply with international standards of human rights practices and its own constitutional guarantees. It is not enough for China to ratify international human rights conventions or offer verbal commitments to adhere to human rights laws alone, it is high time for the people in China to see concrete improvement and a genuine level of respect and action in the promotion and protection of their human rights.

Along with the 2008 Annual Report, TCHRD also releases two special reports entitled "Uprising in Tibet 2008: Documentation of protests in Tibet" which is a compilation of the events in chronological order since 10 March 2008 till 16 July 2008 and revised version of the "Briefing Paper for Travellers to Tibet."

Dharamshala 23-January-2009-Pressure brought by the Chinese government on organizers of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho prompted them to withdraw an invitation for the Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness  the Dalai Lama to attend the Feb. 7 opening ceremony, said Lobsang Nyandak representative for H.H the Dalai Lama's office in New York.

Special Olympics officials in Washington, D.C., had previously said Chinese pressure didn't play a role in the canceled visit.

Mr Lobsang Nyandak, former finance minister of exiled Tibetan government, representative for His Holiness the Dalai Lama's office in New York, told that the Chinese had threatened to shutter training centers for athletes with intellectual disabilities and to have Chinese athletes boycott the games, if His Holiness the Dalai Lama attended.

After the threats, organizers suggested he skip the opening ceremony and instead watch events the final two days, Feb. 12 and Feb. 13. That wasn't possible due to prior commitments in the United States and Germany, he said, and the original invitation was withdrawn.

Mr Lobsang Nyandak said his office attempted to work with games' organizers and understood their concerns, but said His Holiness the Dalai Lama was disappointed that pressure led to the changes.

"Succumbing to pressures would mean we are encouraging the Chinese leaders," Nyandak said in an interview. "Certainly, we were disappointed. His Holiness is always concerned about the inconvenience. He always tries to be careful not to put the organizer in any difficult situation. Therefore, we did insist upon keeping the original invitation. The alternative arrangement didn't work."

Mr Lobsang Nyandak said it was his understanding that national Special Olympics organizers, not local Idaho organizers, altered the invitation.

On Wednesday, a Special Olympics spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., denied the Dalai Lama's invitation had been withdrawn as a result of Chinese pressure.

Kirsten Suto Seckler told The reporters the invitation was still open, though she didn't specify if it was for the opening ceremony or to attend events on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13. Seckler didn't return multiple phone calls seeking comment on Thursday. Justine Sgalio, a spokeswoman for the 2009 World Winter Games in Boise, also didn't return phone calls.