Lessons Learned: Remembering Lobsang Dhondup, Taking Action to Free Tenzin Delek

I was attending the World Social Forum in Brazil when the Chinese government executed Lobsang Dhondup and sentenced Tenzin Delek Rinpoche to death. I was checking my email in a small cybercafe in Porto Alegre, surrounded by activists from across the globe, when I heard the news. At first, I just sat there. Stunned. Moments later, I couldn’t fight it back, and I wept. Then, I resolved to fight. It was a defining moment for me as a young Tibetan activist.

Up until that moment, I had somehow been convinced that the Chinese wouldn’t go through with it. They hadn’t dared to execute a Tibetan in such an overtly political and high-profile way for nearly 20 years, not to mention the incredible amount of unwanted attention and government pressure the Chinese were facing as a result of the global outcry and campaign in support of the two men. I was sure it was helping. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

On January 26th, 28-year old Lobsang Dhondup was executed, likely with a bullet to the head, and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s death sentence was upheld, with a two year reprieve. Lobsang’s relatives never got to see his body. Only his ashes were returned to them.

Looking back on that day now, I see how naive I was to think that the Chinese authorities didn’t have the stomach for the fight – that they would somehow be unwilling to risk the negative press and global condemnation – and therefore wouldn’t carry out the sentences. I guess at that time, despite all I knew of their cruelty, all of the horror I had heard about since I was a small child, I had to learn this lesson and never forget it.

Though the Chinese government proved me wrong in my judgment that day, I was neither defeated nor hopeless. In fact, their brutal and heartless treatment of these two innocent Tibetan men only increased my determination to work harder and my conviction in the justice of this fight. And fight we did. In the campaign to stop Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s execution in the years that followed, we did everything we could possibly think of – from street protests and direct actions at Chinese embassies & consulates, to online advocacy campaigns and government lobbying – to gain global public and political support, and to inspire people to take action.

In the end, on January 26, 2005, the Chinese government commuted Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s sentence to life imprisonment for what they said was “good behavior” while in prison. Call it whatever they like, we knew why they did it. And though we were not able to help Lobsang Dhondup, I truly believe we saved Rinpoche’s life. This is the most important lesson. We can make a difference. We must fight. We might not win every battle, but we must always try.

We did our best for Rinpoche then, and we must do it again now. And never ever give up.

Please take action and help us free Tenzin Delek Rinpoche:

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The Dalai Lama, Liu Xiaobo and how the Nobel Peace Prize is Changing our World

Twenty one years ago today His Holiness the Dalai Lama was presented with the Nobel Prize. I was just 13 but I remember well the overwhelming feeling of joy, celebration and vindication in my house – as well as the uncharacteristically optimistic look I saw on my father’s face – when we received news of the Nobel Committee’s decision. At that time, most people had never heard of Tibet, let alone the Dalai Lama, and the slogan “Free Tibet” often led to people inquiring after what we were giving away.

In those days, while pursuing international support for Tibet, Tibetans were often challenged to provide proof of the atrocities taking place there. But other than the eyewitness accounts of escaping refugees, we had none. There were no digital cameras to record the abuses, and no Internet or cell phones to communicate directly with Tibetans inside the country. In the eighties, if we received a simple post card from our family or friends in Tibet, even with most of the text blacked out, it was cause for celebration. This lack of connection and “hard evidence” often left Tibetans feeling helpless and frustrated as we tried to build our movement.

But the Nobel Peace Prize helped to change all that. Along with the protests in Tibet in the mid to late eighties, the award gave global recognition to our struggle, and a kind of validation to our suffering. Most importantly, it helped spark the birth of the modern Tibet support movement which has played a critical role in keeping the Tibetan issue alive in the international community and gives moral support and encouragement to Tibetans still suffering under Chinese oppression.

This year, the Nobel Peace Prize gives global recognition to the aspirations of the Chinese people for human rights and democracy — aspirations that the Chinese government, and many in the Western world, have claimed they don’t have or need. Thanks to Liu Xiaobo’s fearless words and tireless advocacy for change in China – and the Nobel Committee’s courageous decision to honor him – the world is, at long last, paying attention to the human rights crisis inside China. And there is no question that something is very wrong, indeed Liu Xiaobo’s harsh prison sentence and Beijing’s hysterical response to his award is proof of this.

By imprisoning Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese authorities have done exactly what they were trying to stop – they have spread his ideas and his writings across China and around the world, and far from silencing his voice, they have ensured that he is being heard by people everywhere. Far more dangerous for them though, Liu Xiaobo’s words are inspiring and invigorating a new movement of Chinese, Tibetan and other rights advocates. This is the key to change in China and this is why they are terrified.

Back in 1989, on that beautiful day when His Holiness received his medal in Norway, we couldn’t have imagined that the Dalai Lama would become a household name, one of the most recognized and popular global leaders of our time and a serious challenger to the Chinese government’s influence in the world. And now, as we stand at yet another historic crossroads in the epic battle for rights, freedom and global peace, I cannot help but feel real optimism for what the future may hold, for Liu Xiaobo, for the Chinese people, for Tibetans, for all of us.

Chinese rescue workers stealing prized Tibetan Mastiff puppies from Quake zone?!

Here’s a post from Woeser’s blog about Chinese rescue workers in the earthquake zone stealing valuable Tibetan Mastiff puppies from the earthquake zone in Kyegundo. Interesting to note that she says: “The big stores selling Tibetan Mastiff dogs near Lhasa are all owned by the members of the Fire Department and Border security department.”

Rescue workers steal Tibetan Mastiff puppy

Some rescue team members steal Tibetan Mastiff puppies from the Quake struck area. Yushu area’s Tibetan mastiff is very famous and raised in many Tibetans homes there. The first photograph, taken at 4:23 p.m. on the April 17, shows three “Fire Rescue” members in orange clothing and smiling, preparing to put a Tibetan Mastiff puppy in a car.

The second photo, shows seven “Fire Rescue” members in orange clothing pointing to and talking about the stolen Tibetan mastiff puppy, as an armed soldier grins nearby.

Some Internet users who read the message on my Twitter, responded saying that there is a news piece about the rescue of Tibetan Mastiff dogs. According to me, this news is a bit illogical. Even if the Tibetan owners of the Tibetan Mastiff dogs have perished from the disaster, they can be given to another surviving Tibetan from that area. Who does not know the worth of the Tibetan Mastiff dogs? The big stores selling Tibetan Mastiff dogs near Lhasa are all owned by the members of the Fire department and Border Security department. They sell the Tibetan Mastiff dogs at a very high price. Last year in September, a Chinese businesswoman from Xi’an spent four million yuan (more than US$500,000) on a Tibetan Mastiff dog and had 30 Mercedes-Benz cars to escort it from the airport. (http://www.wayangtimes.com/rich-chinese-woman-pays-more-than-us500000-for-rare-tibetan-mastiff-dog.html ) This news was circulated all around. The Tibetan mastiff dog is extremely coveted by so many people.

A friend who just left Yushu called me to say that in the morning, he came very close to being a bitten by a big and fierce Tibetan Mastiff but, fortunately, a Tibetan person was able to drive it away and save him. He also added that in the affected area, there were many Tibetan Mastiff dogs running around everywhere.

Tibetan Mastiff dogs are the most loyal dog to its owner. In the earthquake, so many people were killed and the surviving Tibetan Mastiff dogs are becoming almost mad with sadness. At the same time, these Tibetan Mastiff puppies are helpless like a surviving child but it’s beyond comprehension how they have become a coveted object for these people, who turned out to be the members of the rescue team. The rescue team members, instead of the digging out people from the rubble, are stealing Tibetan Mastiff puppies. This is very infuriating.

These days in the Yushu, Tibetan people are talking about these rescue members stealing Tibetan mastiff dogs. They are very dissatisfied with this.

Beijing publicizes Tibet torture video

By protesting the video put out by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile that shows Tibetans being beaten and tortured in Tibet last year, and then blocking YouTube to make sure that nobody in China’s borders sees the footage, the Chinese government made international headlines and ensured that millions more people will see and hear about the footage.

BBC: China says Tibet video is ‘a lie’
Associated Press: China blasts video claiming to show Tibet violence
Telegraph: China says Tibet torture video is ‘a fake’ as it blocks YouTube
CNN: YouTube blocked in China
New York Times: YouTube Being Blocked in China
Reuters: “Unafraid” China apparently fears YouTube
Wall St Journal: China’s YouTube Block: A Tibet Connection?

This is the beauty of a lying, paranoid force like that of our friends in Beijing - they just can’t help themselves. It’s like my friend said to me the other day: “They’ve already lost, it’s just a matter of time.”

That’s just how it goes in Tibet these days

Rare footage of a protest made it out of Tibet this past weekend. The Tibetans who sent it will likely be caught, and if they are, they will definitely be tortured and imprisoned. That’s just how it goes in Tibet these days.

Click here if the embedded video does not work.

Tibet is under de-facto martial law. The plateau has been virtually sealed off from the outside world, and Chinese troops and security forces are in the streets everywhere. All communication is strictly monitored, and in some places mobile phone service has been shut down completely.

As Tibetans mark the 50th anniversary of the March 10th, 1959 Uprising that led to the escape of the Dalai Lama into exile, the Chinese government is doing everything it its power to intimidate Tibetans into silence and prevent the world from witnessing the extreme and brutal measures they have taken to enforce this silence.

But despite the intense repression in Tibet at this time, Tibetans refuse to give up. In spite of the troops, tanks and snipers, in spite of the the beatings, arrests and disappearances – Tibetans continue to resist.

Tibetan monks, nuns, and lay people, both young and old, continue to go into the streets to voice their opposition to Chinese rule. Sometimes it’s one person, other times it’s a handful. This past weekend in a remote town in eastern Tibet, it was more than a thousand.

The protest in Ragya started after a young monk, 28-year old Tashi Sangpo, jumped into the Machu river (Yellow river). When he jumped, Tashi had just escaped from police custody. He was being held for reportedly raising the banned Tibetan flag atop the main prayer hall at Ragya monastery and distributing pro-independence leaflets on March 10th.

We don’t know if Tashi was trying to escape from his captors or if he was trying to take his life. Witnesses saw his body pulled under the water and swept away. And although Tashi remains missing, Tibetans from Ragya say it is unlikely he survived.

The footage of the protest, though shaky and unclear, gives us a sense of the local people’s reaction to Tashi’s desperate act. They gathered together, sounding the traditional rallying cry, raised their fists and shouted slogans like “Bod Gyalo” and “Lha Gyalo,” or “Victory to Tibet” and “Victory to the Gods,” and marched on the local police station.

Reports indicate that some in the crowd threw stones, and at least one official was badly beaten. The last we heard on Saturday was that the area was flooded with troops and Ragya monastery was surrounded by military. But we can’t get any more information now because the phones are monitored and people are fearful of retaliation by the authorities. It’s a serious crime to pass information to the outside world. Recently, 30-year old Norzin Wangmo was sentenced to five years in prison for sending information out about the situation in Tibet by phone and internet.

Officially, the Chinese state-run media is saying that the Ragya protest was nothing more than a violent riot where Tibetans attacked the police station. They say the Tibetans were “deceived by rumors” about Tashi, a prisoner who escaped from the police station and “went missing” after swimming across the Yellow River.

So now it’s our word against theirs. But at least this time we have some proof of what happened.

If you ask any Tibetan what would have compelled Tashi to jump into a rushing river, what punishment could be so bad that this was the better option, they will likely sigh and shake their head in sadness. Tashi was in detention for suspicion of engaging in an act of protest, and every Tibetan knows what that means – he would undoubtedly be tortured and imprisoned. That’s just how it goes in Tibet these days.

But our people keep on fighting.