SFT in DC
Hey everyone! Elyna here.
I know that its been a while since I’ve posted an entry, but we’re all still recuperating from our trip to Washington, DC and the utter chaos that is Kalachakra 2011. Overall, it was a great, stressful, scorching hot success; thousands of people from all over the world came out in the DC heat to support SFT, Tibet, the Tibetan community, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
As a volunteer, I was able to attend some of the teachings. The earth ritual dance – contrary to what Tendor told me – was nothing like “The Lion King”. It was, however, incredibly beautiful. I found myself in sort of a trance as I sat through the dance; other parts of the dance inspired me to meditate. Many people were prostrating toward the mandala, and others I spotted were fast asleep. But despite the faint snoring coming from the upper levels of the Verizon Center, the arena was filled with peace and compassion.
This spirit of Kalachakra really translated into our “Free Tibetan Heroes” campaign. I spent most of the time standing next to three huge, 6-feet tall posters of Tibetan political prisoners, getting people psyched on signing petitions to set them free. My success probably had something to do with the silly vest I was wearing to gather donations.
Rungye Adak was the political prisoner I spent the most time gathering signatures for. In 2007, Adak openly announced at the Lithang Horse Racing Festival that Tibet will not be free unless HHDL returns home. He then proceeded to call for the release of the Panchen Lama and other Tibetan political prisoners. Just a few moments later, the Chinese government arrested him for attempting to “subvert state power”. Yeah, right. But with the notion that Tibetans inside Tibet are willing to risk their lives for freedom, we were able to obtain thousands of signatures for the release of Adak, and several other political prisoners, too. To learn more about Rungye Adak and other political prisoners inside Tibet, visit freetibetanheroes.org.
We’re all settling in the office now, getting back into the swing of things. Stef and TenDolkar are preparing for Action Camp in Germany, and there’s going to be a bunch of really awesome Lhakar Wednesday events coming up! Keep coming back to stay posted.
Take care!
~Elyna
Nap time! Tsonam attempts to recover from the Kalachakra heat and hard work.
TOURISM IN TIBET | OCCUPATION IS NO VACATION
St. Regis Lhasa opened in November near Lhasa's Barkor.
In November 2010, the St. Regis Lhasa Resort opened its doors to guests, boasting 200 luxury rooms, an on-site butler, a spa, numerous restaurants, and countless amenities. This would be considered luxurious in anyplace but in Tibet, a formally independent country occupied by China in 1949. Occupation is no vacation and tourist operators need to understand that business in Tibet is not business as usual.
Under Chinese occupation, Tibetans’ basic human rights are regularly violated, including their internationally recognized right to control their own land and resources. Since 1999, the Chinese government has pursued its “Western Development Plan,” encouraging large-scale migration of Chinese settlers into Tibet and extending business opportunities to foreign companies. This plan is intended to help China consolidate control over Tibet and attract foreign direct investment to finance its occupation.
The operation of the St. Regis Lhasa could exacerbate the abuses that Tibetans face unless immediate measures are taken to ensure business is conducted in compliance with their needs and interests.
Students for a Free Tibet has contacted the CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Fritz van Paasschen, and the owners of the St. Regis property with our concerns. We requested more information on the St. Regis Lhasa’s operation to determine if this luxury hotel could truly be part of the solution in empowering Tibetans in Tibet, rather than part of the problem in contributing to their further marginalization under Chinese rule.
Discrimination and intimidation tactics on the part of Chinese officials has made it increasingly difficult for Tibetan guides and tour operators to compete with Chinese businesses. In 2010, Dorje Tashi, a successful Tibetan hotelier, was sentenced to life imprisonment following a closed-door trial. Chinese authorities have yet to publicly release the details of his alleged crimes. No tourist operator should collaborate with the Chinese government in repressing the basic rights of Tibetans – or others – and Starwood’s executives need to think carefully about the implications operating in a conflict zone could have on their brand name and corporate reputation – especially in the event of another popular uprising in Tibet.
Economic development that brings an end to the decades of marginalization and repression suffered at the hands of the Chinese government and respects their right to control this development is welcomed by Tibetans. However, businesses that fail to both address the deep-seated inequalities Tibetans face under Chinese occupation and respect Tibetans’ political, cultural, and religious rights, will only intensify the injustices that Tibetans suffer. The Holiday Inn, British Petroleum, and KFC are amongst the corporations that have canceled their business plans or withdrawn from Tibet after facing intense public campaigns from Tibetan rights organizations.
We hope Starwood and the St. Regis owners’ will do the right thing.
Read More:
Tibetans Target Starwoods AGM Over New St. Regis in Lhasa
A Joint Open Letter to Investors of IHG from Free Tibet Campaign and Students for a Free Tibet:
http://www.freetibet.org/campaigns/letter
Tibetans and Tibet Supporters Target InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG)’s AGM
Read more about this effort led by Free Tibet Campaign:
http://freetibet.org/campaigns/no-intercontinental-tibet
http://www.freetibet.org/campaigns/occupation
http://www.freetibet.org/campaigns/resources
http://www.freetibet.org/campaigns/social-responsibility
A Colorful Day in Union Square
Hey readers! My name is Elyna. I’m interning at the SFT headquarters this summer. Just bringing you all up to speed with what we’ve been up to.
If you haven’t already heard of Lhakar (“White Wednesday”), it is a Tibetan-born, non-violent form of protest that promotes Tibetan culture. Every Wednesday – in honor of the Dalai Lama’s soul day – Tibetans make a special effort to, essentially, be Tibetan. This summer, Tenzin and I plan to do celebrate Lhakar by spreading awareness regarding the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
Last Wednesday afternoon, I was standing in the middle of Union Square wearing the Tibetan flag as a cape, and a sign around my neck, reading, “CHINA: STOP FORCING TIBETAN NOMADS OFF THEIR LAND”. It was most certainly not a familiar feeling for me. In fact, I don’t think it was for anyone who passed by me, either, considering how many funny looks I received from the countless New Yorkers passing by. Zaeda and Tenzin wore paper-constructed yak masks along with their flag-cloaks.
I wasn’t even aware of the nomad rights violations taking place in Tibet until the four of us starting researching about it. In 1998, Qi Jingfa, China’s Agriculture Vice Minister, announced “all herdsmen are expected to end the nomadic life by the end of the century”. That goal was not met, but the Chinese government is still doing what they can to force Tibetan nomads – who have lived nomadically for approximately 9,000 years – to settle.
We were able to collect 80 signatures in Union Square supporting Tibetan nomadic rights. Those signatures were signed on postcards, all of which are addressed to Ban Ki-moon, the current secretary general of the United Nations.
We’re planning on doing something a little more creative with the postcards than just simply mailing them, but that’s something we’ll keep you updated on. As far as our Lhakar Wednesday goes, I’d say it was pretty successful. After all, it’s always fun making friends with perfect strangers!
If you’re at all interested in learning more about what’s happening in the world of Tibetan nomads, visit http://nomadrights.org/ for more information.
For more information on Lhakar, visit http://lhakar.org/.
Preparing for take off!
Tibetans speak out against mining in Gyama: Add your voice!
A Petition from Gyama, Tibet
Today Meldro Gongkar valley, especially Gyama township, has been ravaged by mining operations that are now owned by China Gold International Resources, a Vancouver-based company partly owned by the Chinese state. The company’s executives are using Canada’s name, reputation, and money to steal copper and gold from Tibetans in Gyama (Ch: Jiama), near Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. Tibetans in Gyama are telling us that China Gold is polluting their rivers and ripping apart their ancestral grasslands.
Tibetans in Gyama sent a petition to Chinese authorities in 2009, a copy of which can be viewed on this page. Scroll down to read a summarized translation of the petition’s contents.
Students for a Free Tibet is calling for divestment from China Gold International Resources and their unconscionable mining project in Tibet. Join the protest and help deter shareholders as well as other Canadian corporations from doing unethical business in Tibet.
TAKE ACTION: We can help by showing global support for this divestment campaign.
1) Send a letter to the President and CEO of China Gold International Resources, Mr. Xin Song.
2) After you send a letter to the CEO, please pick up the phone and call China Gold’s headquarters at +1-604-609-0598 to convey your opposition to mining in Tibet. Helpful talking points are included below.
3) You can also take action by posting a comment on the company’s website here: http://www.chinagoldintl.com/s/SendMessage.asp
GYAMA’S SURVIVAL AT STAKE
As we petitioned many years ago, I would like to state again that in Meldro Gongkar county’s Gyama township, mining operations have shown utter disregard to the grasslands, forests, mountains, rivers, wildlife, environment, local people’s life and livelihood. The mining operations have caused great destruction to our farmlands, mountains and rivers. With factories that contaminated the water, killed many cattle and continues to cause severe damage, causing severe disputes between local Tibetans and Chinese factory workers.
In 2009, June 19th, Nyima Tsering, Passang, Phuntsok, Kalsang Dhondup and other local villagers went to the village and township authorities to appeal that the mining facilities are harming the farmers and damaging the farmland. They were told to go to the facility’s authorities, but they could not find the authorities. In the end the local villagers were so desperate that they blockaded the facility’s trucks to find the company authorities.
A company leader of work unit 18 shouted, “Kill some of the farmers, the price of their life is cheap, so I will pay for it.” Immediately some Chinese factory workers brought sticks and metal beams and started severely beating Nyima Tsering, Passang, Phuntsok and Kalsang Dhondup. The local villagers and Meldro Gongkar county’s policeman Jampa witnessed that Passang and Lobsang were most critically injured. The local people understand that some leaders in the Gyama township’s government are guilty of corruption and embezzlement, receiving bribes from the company.
The mining company’s leaders made some people collaborate with them in their sinister plot to deceive the nation and terrorize the public to achieve their own selfish interests. Following this incident, instead of helping 20 of the beating victims including Phudup, Penchung, Tenzin Dawa, the authorities detained and jailed them for up to a month. Further due to the mining operations, the local population of 4,000 Tibetans in Gyama have been turned into an insignificant and voiceless minority by the nearly 10,000 Chinese miners who have arrived in Gyama only because of the mining operations.
Due to all the problems created for us through the mining operation’s devastation of the rivers and the land and the communal disputes, the villagers finally gathered in front of the facility and protested against the mining authorities. This is how desperate we became.
Tashi Rabten’s sentence, and his poetry
Tashi Rabten, poet and political prisoner
My Tibet
Is it you, the flame that burns in the middle of a storm?
Is it you, the boat that rocks in the sea?
Is it also you, who offers the torch of life in the darkness of night?
Is it you, where there is no freedom?
Is it also you, who is chained and shackled?
Is it you, who writes history in blood?
Are you a warrior?
Where are your battlefield and the weapons?
Are you a prisoner?
What crimes have you committed?
Is it your sky that the sun shies away from?
Is it your vow to let yourself be silent?
Are these your border guards, the long guns surrounding you?
Freedom is different from restrictions
Because of which you move,
Because of which they tie and bind you, isn’t it?
Isn’t it you who is being murdered?
Isn’t it you who is being arrested?
Isn’t it you who is being tortured?
Why is it that you still want to move?
Do you want to move amidst shadows of guns?
No.
Isn’t it you who can never be cowed down?
Isn’t it you who fiercely burns with passion?
Isn’t it you who marches ahead into history?
Don’t you need to move even more?
Don’t you need to move till the time runs out and the life ends?
Lhasa-Gormo Railway
This is a road
A recently-completed road
A road that is well traveled
A road of rock mixed with steel, men with demons
A road connecting Beijing and Lhasa
Holy Lhasa is at one end of the road having old dreams
At the other end is Beijing, reading an incomplete plan of action
Between Lhasa and Beijing, this road
Runs like a tongue of a poisonous snake
On this road
The life-soul of Lhasa and its wealth
Is being transported, day and night
Nearby this road
Are terrified wild animals of Tibet
Running, running, dying, dying
This road, like the butcher’s knife,
Drills through the hearts of the mountains
This road, like an axe in the robber’s hand,
Cuts across the chest of Tibet’s grassland
On this road they come, the guests with greedy minds
On this road they run away with the hosts’ wealth
At the end of this road are the satisfied faces of the bosses in Beijing
At the other end are dusty faces of the people of Lhasa
In the night this road kills my quiet dreams and my sleep
In the daytime it murders my thoughts and drives me restless
Every so often this road boils my heart with anger
Suddenly I Remembered Lhasa
The sound and the vibration of the train
Suddenly shakes the computer
And the fingers do not have control over the words
At such times I suddenly, suddenly
At the end of the railway track
With a moving train
I remember Lhasa
The statues and butter lamps of Tsuglakhang
The golden roofs of the Potala Palace
Even the faces of the old women on the road
Flashes like the computer facing me
Anyone remembers them
With sounds of trains coming and going
Ah how remembering Lhasa suddenly
Is like remembering to get up
And shout out in freedom.
A Secret Petition to the Government Penned in a Computer
One dead body, ten dead bodies, one hundred dead bodies, one thousand dead bodies
One news, ten news, one hundred news, one thousand news
truth – 0, false – 9, truth – 20, false – 900
Red hands that take out the innards
If you are not on our side punish us
Black boots that crush heads
If you don’t understand then just imprison
freedom, harmony, equality, democracy
open the door, open the constitution and look inside
freedom? harmony? equality? democracy?
My government, if you suspect that your faces will burn with brightness
Accuse me of everything and punish me
Because I am your citizen,
Like a bird that flocks to the cliffs
I am a loyal citizen who will say ‘yes’ to everything you say.
Monologue In Hell
First
Today, if the radiant hands scratch the face of darkness
Tomorrow, will the world of dawn lift from amidst the darkness
Two
If a few ready-to-gallop horses
Went missing along with their saddles and reins
Is there any horse owner who is ready to point at the thief?
Three
If a well-planned wolf jumps onto the shepherd’s dog
The unarmed shepherd, of course, can loudly shout out everywhere
Four
Don’t lie when the ears are listening to the truth
When the able eyes are watching do not create disharmony
The people are watching you, even the natural world is sighing at you
Fifth
Even though I do not own the five physical senses
And the five meanings and six vessels are stolen
I permanently own the five pure visions of the senses
Sixth
Long live freedom, long live nationality
Long live truth, love live democracy
Long live the blood that runs in my veins
Long live! Long live!
Prisoner in Hell
Hell is a fortress made from iron and steel
A doorless fortress of shackles and handcuffs
Freedom-loving people are the prisoners of this fortress
Or they are criminals seeing the darkness of the hell
These people have fallen to the darkness of hell wanting to see freedom
They are the ones who blew vapour from their mouths outside the door
They are the ones who raised their fists up in the air
However, according to the decree from the hell
Each of them are considered criminals in prison shackled and handcuffed
The crime they are accused of is ‘love for freedom’
Mother says amongst the prisoners is
A very young kid brother of mine
The youngest prisoner in the world
If the crime that this kid has committed is not made
When he was piling stones to play with
Then this kid is truly an innocent kid
Freedom, equality, democracy, livelihood
One prisoner, two prisoners, three prisoners, four prisoners
Hell is really a hell
Freedom, equality, democracy, livelihood
Will there come a time when everyone will be free from the fortress of hell
News from Hell
Because of intense cold wind in hell
Those in hell experience disturbance in the temperature
Many in hell suffer from diseases
Yet, the news from hell is always fine and good
The news from hell is a newspaper
A newspaper that has lost the word ‘democracy’
A newspaper filled with secret numbers and —
Under the volatile weather of the hell
The hell’s news comes as a medical prescription to those who are suffering from cold
Prescription that charges money but gives no medicine
A prescription with stamp of approval from the authorities
News from the hell is contagious
That is transmitted through people’s mouths and ears
Those who suffer from this disease are servants in the hell
The hell is basically a sick person carrying his shit in his pants
Isn’t the newspaper in hell that paper which one uses to wipe one’s bottom?
SFT & TYC join Tiananmen Commemoration event in NYC
Dr. Yang Jianli and Xu Liping
Speakers included well known democracy activists along with others who have taken part in the 1989 protests in Beijing. Fang Zheng and Xu Liping are people who survived Tiananmen but not without losing their limbs and their family. Both were in attendance today, and spoke movingly about their experiences. Both SFT and Tibetan Youth Congress were there to represent Tibetan support for the Chinese democracy movement.
Today Beijing remains the single-biggest enemy of freedom worldwide. From Tibet to East Turkestan to Southern Mongolia, from Burma to Sudan to North Korea, China’s top export is not shoes or electronics but oppression! Appeasement of Beijing raises the global freedom deficit. So it’s indeed everyone’s business to root for Chinese democracy.
"The Embarrasing State of Modern Tibetan Art" By Kaka21
Whilst modern Tibetan art may be becoming more visible on the international market, it is still fairly rare to find critical commentaries on modern Tibetan art written by Tibetans. Last year's commentary piece on "Scorching Sun of Tibet" by Woeser was a very popular post on High Peaks Pure Earth and below, Kaka21 offers a rather different perspective on modern Tibetan art. For readers interested in seeing more art, visit the Sweet Tea House website or Mechak Center for Contemporary Tibetan Art.
A few years ago, in a coffee shop in Lhasa I accidentally bumped into two members of the Tibetan artistic community. We instantly recognised each other, having encountered one another before in the past and so began to discuss the topic of art. I don’t know why, but I have always loved asking questions, testing my own ability to examine and understand things from a different artistic perspective. Perhaps it was because I asked too many questions, but soon enough the two Tibetan artists seemed to grow distant, simply agreeing with everything that I asked with a “Yes, yes... of course!” After a while, we all eventually drifted into silence, and the discussion stopped.
“We don’t need to spend ages thinking about how to paint a painting or finish a piece of art. All you need to do is to pick up a pencil and draw, that is modern art.” This is what they ultimately summarised as their creative motivation. I think that maybe “unconscious art” should be a sub-category of Tibetan modern art, or to put it in another way, works of art which are “intellectually simplistic”. This kind of art has only value in terms of its form, as there has been no thinking behind it. When looking at a particular style of art, it is vital to take into consideration the culture, environment and society that shape it because ultimately, what is art but a reflection of this? Especially when considering modern Tibetan art, I think it is something that we modern artists need to carefully investigate and analyse. On countless occasions, when discussing ideas with other artists, even though we all respect one another immensely, we always end up talking about things in such a cynical, joking way.
I believe that modern artists have a different set of values when judging the past and present, the modern and the traditional. The question is how can we determine modern values, when we don’t even understand traditional values? Is there even a correct system of evaluation with which to improve your creativity? In terms of artistic creativity, to blindly go against something has no merit or future, and does not allow room for progression. For modern Tibetan art, religion is a way for us to express the importance of our unique heritage and background. A lot of work nowadays is based upon the modern interpretation of religion. However, in these works, the presence of a religious element always appears to be distant and hidden to the audience, as if mourning the loss of a beautiful but fading scenery, helpless to stop it. At the same time, in many of these works modernity and its markings are always portrayed as being in opposition to this beautiful scenery, instrumental in bringing about its demise. Are we condemning modern society for its advances, or ashamed of our own incompetence? Maybe it is both. If people take religion to be the most defining part of their lives, then its power and greatness is as strong nowadays as it has ever been, and we should not take such a lamenting, defeatist approach towards it. Religion’s real demise will only happen if it is fading within the hearts of the people. I remember an article in a magazine introducing modern Tibetan art, that once said “In our works, the Buddha will always be the symbol for life’s emotions.” From what I understand of religion, especially Buddhism in particular, the Buddha transcended our kind of human suffering, so this kind of artistic symbolism is not really applicable to the situation. Suffering is something which affects everyone’s lives, is it not possible for us to just face the reality of the situation and address it head on?
It is impossible to try and remove religion from Tibetan life and culture, yet presently, the modern Tibetan society that artists are trying to portray is also changing day by day. Tibetan culture is evolving, and the changing attitudes towards religion have become a main point of contention for many artists. Because the majority of modern Tibetan artists take religion as their main inspiration, the current crisis in belief within society has meant that consequently, the state of the art scene is also becoming rather problematic. Modern artworks are beginning to take on a rather embarrassing creative direction. Religious belief should not be just concerned with celebrating the beautiful and sublime; it is also about being ignorant and ignorance, fear, the strange and the uncanny. For such an ancient civilisation such as Tibet, we already bear so many countless examples of beautiful treasures and art, created and inspired by the unwavering beliefs of those before us. So much art nowadays has just become fickle, impatient and unfocused. We cannot deny or try to hide the fact that the modern age has shaped and forced our creativity and art into this manner, and left us with no other choice. On September 10, 2010 there was an exhibition of modern Tibetan art in Beijing entitled “Scorching Sun of Tibet”, which was received extremely well, with many people confessing that it “exceeded all expectations”. I think many people would have been surprised to find that when those artists who had been silent for so long, finally let their voices be heard, the things they had to say was actually quite informed and progressive. In addition, there have been two more exhibitions in Beijing related to Tibetan art, one called “Big and Beautiful Tibet” and another “Fascinating Tibet”. From “Beautiful” to “Fascinating” to “Scorching”, all these exhibitions seem to represent a kind of Tibet that has been negotiated and interpreted through art and creative process. However, we should pay more attention to what the purpose of these exhibitions are, and how others are engaging with them.
We still need to observe and take note of the many unique qualities of the Tibetan modern art community. There are two communities in Tibetan art; one which is involved with the Chinese Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC), and the other, an autonomous and independent collective, made up of artists such as the Gedun Choephel Artists' Guild, in spaces such as the the Melong Modern Art Space. The latter represent a much more organic and spontaneous representation of the Tibetan art community. All these communities have their own ways and characteristics, and artistic differences. From my experience of Tibetan culture, I can feel the multicultural conflict between the art, social environment and the freedom of artistic expression. This conflict and collision shows us in a visible or invisible manner, modern art in the context of frustration and helplessness.
The story China wants to kill
First they killed Kelsang Namtso, then they tried to kill the story.
In September 2006, Chinese border patrol fired at a group of Tibetan refugees escaping over the Himalayas into the uncertain exile of Nepal. One of the bullets hit 17-year-old nun Kelsang Namtso, who bled to death in the snow. The story would have died, like many other stories of Tibetans who never make it to freedom, in the Himalayan darkness had it not been for a Romanian climber with a camera who caught everything on tape.
Dolma Paklyi, survivor of the Nangpa la atrocity and Kelsang Namtso’s best friend, eventually made it to Nepal and then to India. She carried the story with her, and in a way, gave life to the memory of Kelsang Namtso.
“Murder in the High Himalaya” by Jonathan Green is the story of Dolma and Kelsang’s friendship, their journey to freedom, their sacrifice and solidarity, and their hopes and dreams. Here is a trailer about the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5EBDZU8uuo&feature=share.
This book is finally coming out in paperback. I highly encourage everyone to buy the paperback at Amazon, or in Barnes & Nobles or any other major book stores. Let’s help bring the Nangpa la story to life. This is the only way to bring justice, if it’s ever possible, to Kelsang Namtso.
- polo shirts
on NEW PHOTOS, NEW PROTESTS, AND A NEW GENERATION
- NYC Summer Lhakar Actions « Lhakar Diaries on SFT in DC
- Jurmedth Khampa Lotay
on “Ngapo Ngawang Jigme: The Death of an Historical Figure” by Woeser
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