As His Holiness exited with his entourage, he stopped to speak with a few of us. I held out a khata (traditional greeting scarf) and as I greeted him, he held my hands and said, “Don’t give up; you all must continue your work. Never lose hope, because change is definitely coming.”

He went on to say that in light of the increasing pace of change in China, it is important to work with the Chinese people – writers, intellectuals, artists, the opinion-makers of society.

The previous day, I had spoken at a conference bringing together Chinese dissidents, Tibetan activists, Mongolians, Uyghurs, and Taiwanese to discuss opportunities and develop strategies for advancing our respective struggles for freedom, democracy, and human rights.

I explained to His Holiness that our global network was engaging in strategic Chinese outreach by connecting with key democracy advocates, writers, artists, students, lawyers and intellectuals. He assured me our efforts will make a difference and that change is imminent.

In that moment, I felt the immensity of the work ahead of us, but also had the distinct feeling that victory was inevitable.

With your help we can bring about freedom in Tibet. Please donate today to support SFT’s work.

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As we build new and strategic alliances, we must continue to challenge China’s abuses in Tibet at every turn. I was reminded of this minutes after His Holiness left, when I joined Lobsang, the official videographer for the award ceremony.

Lobsang is from Ngaba, the county in Amdo, Tibet that is under attack by Chinese security forces. His 15-year-old cousin, Norbu, was shot dead by China’s armed police on March 16th, 2008 for taking part in a peaceful protest for Tibetan freedom.

Three years after the day Norbu was shot, Phuntsok Jarutsang, a 20-year-old monk, lit himself on fire in an act of protest against China’s repression, and troops have since laid siege on Kirti monastery.

Right now, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, are meeting with Chinese officials in Washington, DC. Urge the U.S. Administration to raise Tibet and human rights during this week’s U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue.

Together, we can ensure that one day soon, people like Lobsang – and all Tibetans – are united with their families and homeland.

Please support SFT today: http://sft.convio.net/site/Donation2?df_id=1345&1345.donation=form1

Thank you for all you do for Tibet,

Tenzin Dorjee (Tendor)
Executive Director

Video: Meeting with Indian MPs to highlight the situation in Ngaba

Meeting with Indian MPs to highlight the situation in Ngaba: Day 2

Chinese troops descended on Kiri Monastery in the days following the self-immolation of a 20-year-old monk, Phuntsok Jarutsang on March 16th, 2011 and continue to beat, detain and intimidate the monks and any Tibetan who dares to protest their repressive actions. Two elderly Tibetans died after being beaten by police for trying to stop the arrest of 300 monks at the monastery on the evening of April 21st.

Tibetans and their supporters worldwide are demanding world government’s immediately condemn China’s actions and call for a withdrawal of troops from the region and for international observers to be allowed into Ngaba.

TAKE ACTION: 10 Ways You Can Help Stop the Crackdown in Ngaba

Update on the Indian Parliament Lobby Effort:

In light of the recent crackdown in Ngaba, eastern Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) – India has spearheaded an Indian Parliamentarian Lobby Effort. Yesterday and today we delivered appeal letters to Members of both houses of Parliament urging the Indian Government to press Beijing to immediately:

1. End the violent crackdown and repressive “patriotic re-education” campaign in Ngaba and withdraw troops from Kirti monastery and surrounding areas.

2. Unconditionally release all Tibetans arrested or imprisoned in Ngaba.

3. Allow an international and independent fact-finding mission to visit Kirti monastery in Ngaba, along with members of the foreign media.

4. Respect the right of Kirti monks to freely practice their religion and respect their right to movement.

“The situation in Ngaba is deteriorating as Chinese authorities continue their blatant violation of Tibetans’ human rights,” said Tenzin Choedon, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet – India. “Everyone we have met in the Indian Government is concerned about the dire situation in Ngaba and has expressed their solidarity with the Tibetan people.”

Over the course of 2 days, SFT – India’s delegation has met with senior parliamentarians from both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha including:

Shri Mohan Singh:
National Spokesperson of Samajwadi party
Hon’ Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.
Mr. C.M. Chang: IAS (Rtd.)
Nagaland People’s Front
Hon’ Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha.

Chaudhary Ajit Singh:
President of Rashtriya Lok Dal
Hon’ Member of Parliament, Lok Sabya
former Union Minister of India

Shri Satyavrat Chaturvedi:
Hon’ Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Former  minister in Madhya Pradesh Government
Former General Secretary and National Spokesperson of Congress

Shri Raghuvansh Prasad Singh:
Rashtriya Janata Dal
Hon’ Member of Parliament
Lok Sabha and former Union Minister of India.
Shri Raghuvansh raised Tibet’s independence during the last Parliament session in March, 2011.

“In the coming days, we will continue to visit people of influence here in New Delhi and appeal for their help in demanding the Chinese government end the military siege in Ngaba and release all those unjustly arrested,” said Tenzin Jigdal, Project Director of Students for a Free Tibet – India. “We also call on governments’ around the world to intervene before more innocent Tibetan lives are lost.”

SFT – India’s delegation will meet with Indian Parliamentarians in the coming days with the support of the Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Center. We will also be delivering appeal letters to various foreign missions in New Delhi.

As Beijing intensifies its sweeping crackdown on dissent, Chinese troops in Tibet are on the verge of “disappearing” hundreds of monks.

Tibetan monks in Dharamsala, India have received an urgent call for help from Ngaba County (Chinese: Aba County). They are reporting that Chinese troops attempted to storm Kirti monastery this morning. According to reliable sources, residents fear Chinese authorities are planning to forcibly remove all monks between the ages 18 and 40.

Local Tibetans, being alerted to the troops’ arrival, rushed to block the monastery entrance. The armed police and soldiers tried to break through the crowd by beating the Tibetans and setting police dogs on them. In spite of the violent attacks, the Tibetans stood their ground and the troops failed to enter the monastery’s inner gates. As of now, the standoff continues.

TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition to demand Chinese troops immediately stop the siege at Kirti Monastery.

Tibetans fear Chinese authorities are planning to transfer the monks from the monastery into local prisons where they will be subjected to China’s repressive political “reeducation”.

Tension in Ngaba has been high since the self-immolation of Phuntsok Jarutsang (pictured right), a 20-year monk from Kirti Monastery, on March 16, 2011. Chinese forces have been stationed around Kirti Monastery for weeks and more than a dozen monks have been arbitrarily arrested.

According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights & Democracy as of yesterday, troops had completely sealed off the monastery. The monks’ dwindling food supplies are prompting fears of starvation in the monastery. The lives of many Tibetans are at stake.

Take Action: Let the Chinese authorities know the world is watching

1. Sign the petition and demand an end to the siege.
2. Organize a solidarity rally at the Chinese consulate nearest you or at a public landmark in your community. Find details of protests here. Send information about your protest to grassroots@studentsforafreetibet.org so we can alert others.
3. Spread the word. Forward this email to friends & family. Update your Facebook and Twitter status to “I stand with Tibetans in Ngaba”.

For more ways to take action, visit: http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/ngaba

Let’s work together to end the siege at Kirti monastery, and to protect the monks and local Tibetans who are defending the monastery.

For more information, read the reports & articles below:

Chinese armed police cordon Ngaba Kirti Monastery, 2500 monks face food shortage (TCHRD)
http://www.tchrd.org/press/2011/pr20110411.html

Security step-up in Kirti monastery likely to starve monks (Phayul News):
http://is.gd/iaQ7tN

Ngaba Kirti Monastery Under Lockdown (Voice of America):
http://www.voanews.com/tibetan-english/news/Ngaba-Kirti-Monastery-under-Lockdown-119696874.html

More information about the incident on March 16th self-immolation:
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2306

Screenshot of the blogpost on Rangdrol.Net

• Very impressive article, about the police and society, written so clearly.
• Really a touching article.
• It is written smartly and the theme is so precious. It moves my heart, and makes me think and feel sad.
• Really a moving article.
• This is really a striking article. It gives a feeling of happiness, sadness, and anger for days and nights.

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When we were out there in the icy rain marching and protesting, we had no idea our chants and messages would be heard loud and clear by President Obama, the First Lady, and Hu Jintao himself. As the Chinese President’s motorcade pulled up to the White House for the official state dinner – above the noise of the press cameras clicking – our chants were audible and impossible to ignore. “Hu Jintao Failed Leader” “President Obama Speak for Tibet” and “Free Tibet” are the messages heard by Hu Jintao that night.

In that moment, any doubt that I’d ever had about the purpose of street protests was wiped out of my mind. It became clear to me why we do what we do; our street protests make a difference. We shamed China’s leader and reminded our President that Tibet and the issues of human rights will continue to haunt them until concrete actions are taken to change the situation in Tibet.

Within a month’s time, I was back in our nation’s capital. I’d exchanged my worn winter garb for a suit for the 3^rd annual Tibet Lobby Day 2011. What better way to follow up on the protests from January than with meetings with our political representatives? Check out photos from Global Tibet Lobby Day 2011.

We took our activism from the streets of D.C. to the halls of Capitol Hill – and this time we advocated for Tibet as constituents of American politics.

More than a hundred Tibetans and Tibet supporters took time off work and school to be part of the third annual Tibet Lobby Day. SFT’s young leaders from California, Kentucky, Utah, New York, Virginia, DC, Maryland, New Hampshire, Florida, Maine, Wisconsin and Massachusetts made their presence felt and their voices heard in the halls of political power.

In advance of Lobby Day, SFT held a 2-day training at American University to prepare. Over 25 participants attended workshops on Public Speaking, Teaching Tibet, Media & Messaging and we were lucky to get the lowdown on Understanding Why We Lobby with International Campaign for Tibet’s (ICT) president Mary Beth Markey.

The purpose and goal of Lobby Day extends beyond the “asks” we bring up with our Members of Congress. We meet with our political representatives to thank them for their support and to encourage greater political and programmatic support for the Tibetan people. At the same time we are fostering invaluable relationships with our nation’s decision makers and building the voice and presence of Tibetan-Americans as a critical constituent base. Most importantly, we are empowering our next generation of young leaders to assert themselves in the struggle for Tibet’s freedom.

I can remember my first year lobbying in 2009. I was a bundle of nerves and three years on I still felt that rush of nervous energy as I climbed the stairs of the Senate building. But one thing I’ve learned ­– and reminded myself in that moment – is that I have agency. Unlike my fellow countrymen and women in Tibet, I am free to speak up and I have a responsibility to share the dreams and desire of my people for freedom – wherever and whenever I can; whether in the streets or in the offices of my elected leaders.

If you are a Lobby Day veteran, I encourage you to participate next year and the year after. It might make not make a difference today, or tomorrow, but when a decisive moment for Tibet’s future comes – and we know it will – our friends in the U.S. Congress can help tip the balance in favor of freedom. And for those of you who haven’t taken the blue pill, I strongly urge you to give it a try and challenge yourselves to experience this next level of outreach and advocacy for our cause. You’d be surprised how great you’ll feel!

Tibet has no freedom I sing. And I'll sing it throughout my life. For which even if I am killed. I have no regrets. – Lyrics from Tashi Dhondup's "No Regrets"

Tashi Dhondup, a popular Tibetan musician is free!

We’re excited to share with you news that Tashi Dhondup has been released after serving most of his 15-month prison sentence.

He was detained at gunpoint in December 2009 and accused of “composing subversive songs” following the release of his popular album “Torture without Trace”.

Tashi Dhondup is part of a growing wave of Tibetan writers, musicians, and intellectuals who are boldly defying Chinese authorities by openly expressing their loyalty to the Dalai Lama and desire for freedom.

Radio Free Asia has reported that he has safely returned to his home county of Yuglan, in eastern Tibet, and was warmly received along the way by locals with scarves and greetings. Read more about his release.

A new translation of Tashi Dhondup’s song “Waiting with Hope” is now available on the Tibetan blog High Peaks Pure Earth.
Join us in celebrating his release by viewing and sharing this video:

The price for defying Chinese rule is steep. There are more than 800 known political prisoners in Tibet today. In spite of the risks, Tibetans across Tibet continue to resist against all odds.

Your actions do help! Please keep the pressure on the Chinese government to release Tibetan prisoners of conscience.

SFT has highlighted the works of Tashi Dhondup, and those by many other detained Tibetan writers and artists, as part of the Renaissance Series, a monthly event aimed at amplifying the songs, poems, and writings banned in Tibet.

Join us in calling on China to release Norzin Wangmo, a female cadre and writer from Ngaba, in eastern Tibet.

Following the widespread protests in 2008, she was sentenced to 5 years in prison for speaking on the phone and on the Internet about Chinese government abuses in Tibet.

Take Action: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5380/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5485

The Chinese government’s harsh reaction to Norzin Wangmo’s actions demonstrate how threatened it is by the growing resistance movement inside Tibet. As we watch the revolution unfolding in Egypt, the Chinese censors are working double time. Hu Jintao knows that freedom is contagious and that no dictatorship lasts forever.

Through our collective efforts, we can support and encourage Tibetans, Chinese, Uyghurs, Mongolians and everyone who is fighting for their freedom.

Thank you for standing with Tibet.

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche in Lithang, eastern Tibet

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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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.