From SFGate “Message in the Ice”
Ethnic Tibetans write a Tibetan prayer for good fortune on the surface of a frozen river in Yushu, China. A human rights group accused China of actively trying to undermine the Tibetan language in an effort to assimilate the region’s unique culture.
Original post here
The next level of Chinese virus attacks
I woke up today to find an email in my inbox which looked like it was from an SFT UK member (I’ll call him “C”). It was sent to the SFT UK Board and copied to me. In the email C said he felt badly that he hadn’t been more involved since stepping down from the board a while back (true information) but his work was keeping him busy (work was correctly identified). C said a good Tibetan friend of his had come to him recently and asked him to recommend his young Tibetan nephew “Rinzen” to the SFT UK Board. He said he would be forwarding Rinzen’s CV shortly and ended the email with this:
“p.s. He is a Tibetan friend of mine who I trust, so I trust his nephew.”
India refuses to help Tibetan genocide probe
The Asian Age[Sunday, February 17, 2008 18:25]
By RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN
New Delhi, February 16 - A Spanish lawyer fighting an unprecedented battle against the Chinese authorities for genocide in Tibet is touring India to encourage Tibetans living here to testify before a Madrid court. The lawyer, Dr Jose Elias Esteve, decided to make the journey after India refused to set up a Rogatory Commission that would have allowed the Tibetans to testify here. The Interpol had informed India of the Spanish court’s order to collaborate in the questioning, through a Rogatory Commission, of victims and witnesses.
India, which is home to over one lakh Tibetan refugees, is the only country with a sizeable Tibetan population not to cooperate with the Spanish investigation. The United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands have agreed to assist in the case. "The reply from the Indian government was devastating, as it concludes by saying that India does not recognise the principle of universal jurisdiction. It argued that the apparent crimes had not been committed on Spanish soil, so Spanish courts were not competent to try them," Dr Jose told this newspaper.
"The reply violates the most basic rules of international law and is utterly inappropriate for a democratic country like India," he added.
Dr Jose, who is visiting India with his associate Alan Cantos, Director of Tibet Support Group (Comite de Apoyo al Tibet in Spanish), said that the Spanish court has held that it is competent to judge cases of crimes against the Tibetans. (The case was admitted on January 10, 2006.) There is also a legal precedent of a Spanish court pronouncing the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet guilty, they said.
According to Dr Jose and Mr Alan, their lawsuit is the first case seeking to define the Chinese State’s treatment of the Tibetan people, where it is estimated that over one million Tibetans were murdered or died at the hands of Chinese officials, and over 90 per cent of the religious and cultural institutions destroyed.
Dr Jose and Mr Alan are now trying to arrange plane tickets for the Tibetans living in India, so that they could testify in the Madrid court. They hoped that the elected representatives of the Tibetan government-in-exile or the Dalai Lama could consider testifying if their testimonies were beneficial to the case.
"From a legal point of view, it would be very good for the case and the victims if their testimonies were beneficial to the case," Dr Jose said in response to a question.
So far, one Tibetan victim of genocide has testified in person before the judge. Over 10 victims have deposed before the Rogatory Commissions set up outside Spain. According to Dr Jose, the transfer of civilian population to the occupied territory of Tibet is a flagrant violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. He said that the 1951 agreement between the Chinese and the Tibetans was signed under coercion and is legally not in force. "Therefore Tibet is occupied territory," he added. China has sought to justify the influx of Han Chinese into Tibet as a necessary step to promote economic development. If Dr Jose and Mr Alan are successful, Chinese leaders like Li Peng, Jiang Zemin and five others could be held guilty for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, torture and terrorism committed upon the Tibetan people.
Then if those Chinese leaders travel abroad to any country with which Spain has an extradition treaty, they could be detained, like it happened to General Pinochet. Tenzin Tsundue (33), who was born in India, advocated non-violent, active resistance popularised by Mahatma Gandhi. Tenzin was jailed in 1997 by the Chinese authorities for daring to visit his homeland. He wanted more Tibetans to stand up and speak out against the intimidation and humiliation by China. Dr Jose could not agree more. He hoped more Tibetans like Tenzin would join what he calls "challenge against impunity".
Mr Alan, in turn, felt that Satyagraha is the way forward as it contains the main elements defined and put in practice by the Mahatma.
TALKING TIBET
New Delhi, 12 February - "Our ideas of development are so different, they are opposites; for China digging mountains and building tinted glass towers is modernization, while for the Tibetans developing our mind for mental peace and happiness is the end of life" said Tibetan poet and activist Tenzin Tsundue while lecturing on "Tibetan Cultural Resistance, a Native response to China's Corporate Designs at the Political Science Department of Delhi University yesterday.
Brushing through the history of Tibetan struggle for freedom since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949, he presented a different narrative of the struggle- a strong but silent, almost invisible, under the surface movement for Tibetan Identity.Citing the example of last years Ganden monastery monks white-washing the walls of their monastery at an unusual timing - only to celebrate the awarding of the Congressional gold medal - as an example of native response to oppose what he called China's "highly sophisticated mechanism of control" using army, police and the law.
He said that it was important for China to epitomize Tibet as a land of barbarians with no sense of culture and civilization, that's what they called the Tibetans and the Mongolians, and fearing invasions by "Barbarian Mongolians" they built the Great wall of China.Today the biggest man-made monument remains only a historical facade because China's political border has expanded beyond the walls, to occupied countries like Inner Mongolia, East Turkestan (Xinziang) and Tibet.
Showing an image of a Chinese woman tourist wearing a bright red Tibetan woman's costume and posing for a photograph, Tsundue said this is how Beijing sells Tibet, the exotic Tibet, and Tibetans as orthodox with no sense of modern education and incapable moving with modern times.
Interestingly, Tibetans have silently appropriated the Chinese propaganda and intelligently subverted this by infusing Tibetans messages of loyalty to the Dalai Lama and the love for Tibetan race. Tsundue said that many of the modern Tibetan pop music from Tibet are replete with songs reinforcing collective aspirations of the Tibetans, singing in admiration of symbols like snowland, snowlion and the race of red-face (Tibetan).
"All colonial powers invent excuses for invasion and colonization, for the United States it was WMD to invade Iraq and for China it was to liberate it from the clutches of western imperialists and the traditional Tibetan feudal society." Tsundue quickly added: "but, by now Tibet is liberated enough and I think China should leave Tibet. The invaders never leave even after championing the "cause" they always create a new reasons to maintain their control condescendingly saying they need our help."
Studying the role of Tibet in today's China Tsundue said: "The important role Tibet could play in the hugely industrialized China is by supplying it with fresh water. The war that goes on for oil today would be about fresh water tomorrow, and Tibet remains one of the most important resource of it in the heart of Asia.
Tsundue's busy schedule took him to JNU the same evening. JNU is known for its riotous after-dinner talks by politicians, academicians and intellectuals of all possible issues and causes. Tsundue didn't fit into any of the usual speakers, he was calm, collected but stern in his messaging while sharing his concerns about a young Tibetan born and brought up in India with "Indian education".
After relating his story of college education with fellow Indian students, and communicating his identification with young Indians, he has said for Tibet he has double concerns both as a Tibetan and as an Indian. And expressed his frustration with India's indecision and inadequate support for the Tibetan freedom struggle. He said "India cannot have China on the other side of the 4075 Kms of Himalayan border forever." Therefore Recreating Tibet as the buffer zone that it is, is essentially important.
Comparing Beijing Olympics to Berlin Olympics he said "when Hitler was growing as a dictator some of the most powerful countries including USA was appeasing Hitler as to maintain their trade relations" saying business and politics are separate. Infact the United States sent the biggest ever Olympics contingent to Berlin Olympics. Well that's happening in China today. China is a rogue state denying freedom to its millions and millions of silent citizens and all the people in its occupied countries like Tibet. And they do not deserve the Olympics."
Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement to reinvigorate the Tibetan freedom movement
For Immediate Release
February 17, 2008
Deckyi Tsering Hall,
Forty grassroots activists representing twenty-five Tibetan communities all over
Recent Comments
- pato
on "On Lies": A Poem by Tibetan Female Blogger Namtso
- Language Awards, Lhakar, and Tibetan Education « Lhakar on Language Awards, Lhakar, and Tibetan Education
- polo shirts
on NEW PHOTOS, NEW PROTESTS, AND A NEW GENERATION
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
