SFT India Lobbies MPs to Take Action for Ngaba

SFT India’s Tenchoe and Jigdal are in New Delhi to lobby Members of the Indian Parliament to increase the pressure on China to end the military siege in Ngaba, eastern Tibet, and to release all those detained in recent weeks, including 300 monks from Kirti Monastery whose whereabouts remain unknown.

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.

SFT’s March 10th Press Release: Global Protests Mark Tibetan Uprising Day

STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET

For Immediate Release:
March 10th, 2011

Contact: Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director, +1 646-724-0748
Kate Woznow, Deputy Director, +1 917-601-0069
Tenzin Dolkar, USA Director, +1 917-664-5530

GLOBAL PROTESTS MARK TIBETAN UPRISING DAY AS CHINESE FORCES CLAMPDOWN IN TIBET
New Generation of Tibetans Lead Nonviolent Resistance Movement in Tibet

New York – Thousands of Tibetans and Tibet supporters in dozens of countries will take to the streets today, March 10th, to commemorate the 1959 National Uprising when tens of thousands of Tibetans rose up to demand an end to China’s occupation. Chinese forces intensified security measures in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital in advance of the sensitive anniversary, barring foreign visitors and conducting late-night raids on hotels. In spite of China’s military stranglehold on their nation, a new generation of Tibetans is embracing nonviolent resistance tactics that defy Beijing’s authority, strengthen Tibetan identity, and inspire hope.

“50 years on, an entirely new generation of Tibetans – in Tibet and in exile – is rising up,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “Young Tibetans are taking leadership of our movement by engaging in bold political acts and expressing their desire for freedom through music, literature, and social media; this generation is determined to finish what began a half century ago.”

A homegrown grassroots movement has gained momentum in Tibet in the past year, as a growing number of Tibetans engage in simple yet powerful actions – speaking only in Tibetan, eating in Tibetan-owned restaurants – particularly on Wednesdays, a day believed to be auspicious for the Dalai Lama (1). Well-known Tibetan musicians and intellectuals have also been boldly asserting their political views, prompting Chinese authorities to ban popular songs and detain more than 60 Tibetan cultural figures.

“The recent uprisings in the Arab world, along with the growing dissent in China itself, has further galvanized a new generation of Tibetans committed to taking nonviolent action to end Chinese rule,” said Tenzin Dolkar, Students for a Free Tibet’s USA Director. “The Chinese government has tried – and failed – to crush the Tibetan spirit. As we see people around the world rising up for freedom and democracy, we know it is only a matter of time before change comes to Tibet and China.”

In advance of the sensitive anniversary, the Chinese government has heightened security measures in Tibet in an attempt to deter Tibetans from engaging in any form of dissent. Three years ago today, Tibetan monks marching for the release of fellow monks were violently stopped by Chinese forces, sparking the largest and most widespread demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet since 1959. Chinese troops have been permanently stationed throughout Tibet since.

“The Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom has long enjoyed the support of the global community and we urge our government leaders to follow suit by pressing China to commit to a just and lasting resolution for Tibet,” said Kate Woznow, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet.

Tibetans and Tibet supporters in at least 100 cities worldwide today, including in the USA, Poland, UK, France, Germany, Canada, India, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan, are demonstrating their support for the Tibetan freedom struggle through rallies, marches, candle light vigils, and government lobbying initiatives.

Note to Editor:

1) More information about the nonviolent resistance movement in Tibet can be found at http://www.Lhakar.org a website launched on March 9, 2011 by a diverse coalition of Tibetan writers, artists, and activists.

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Help SFT Honor His Holiness on His 75th Birthday by Investing in Tibet’s Future

His Holiness the Dalai Lama turns 75 years old today. This is not only a personal milestone for His Holiness but also an historic day for the world.

We are constantly humbled and inspired by the monumental contribution this single individual has made to social justice, religious harmony, environmental conservation, and universal responsibility.

Today, as we join people worldwide in celebrating this auspicious day, His Holiness will dedicate another day of work to his people, especially those living in Tibet. 

Together, we can give His Holiness a birthday gift that will complement his tireless work for Tibet: an investment in Tibet’s future.

Please donate $75 or more to SFT’s Tibetan Youth Leadership Program to honor His Holiness on his 75th birthday, and we will send you a limited-edition 11×17 color print of A Vision in the Lake Lhamo Latso, a momentous painting that reflects the aspirations of the Tibetan people.

Created by Tibetan artist and SFT India board member Karma Sichoe in the traditional thangka painting technique, this artwork depicts His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama seated on the lion throne in the Potala Palace in a future free Tibet. Lhamo Latso is Tibet’s holiest lake, where historically senior monks meditated for visions regarding Tibet’s future.

Help SFT turn this vision into a reality by supporting our programs to train and empower the next generation of leaders of the Tibetan movement.

His Holiness has emphasized the importance of education and encouraged young Tibetans to develop skills that will benefit the Tibetan nation. SFT’s Tibetan Youth Leadership Program has trained, mentored, and motivated more than 500 young Tibetans, empowering a new generation with the necessary tools to serve their country and shape its future.

We envision a future in which the Tibetan youth have taken on the political, economic, and social responsibility for the nation and His Holiness is finally reunited with his people in his homeland. Help us realize this vision by supporting SFT’s Tibetan Youth Leadership Program. 

Please join all of us at SFT in wishing His Holiness the Dalai Lama a Happy 75th Birthday.

-Tendor, Kate, Tendolkar, Mary-Kate, Schuyler and all of us here at SFT HQ

Will the Next Nation Please Stand Up

Read Lhadon and Choeying’s analysis of the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh and call to other countries to stand up to China’s bullying.

By Lhadon Tethong and Tenzin Choeying

An analysis: Indian government brushes off China’s opposition to Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh

Tibetans across India and around the world this week applauded the Indian government’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh in the face of Chinese opposition. But contrary to what people may believe, we did so not just because Tibetan interests are at stake, but because we know the security of India itself rests on standing up to the Chinese government.

Make no mistake, Beijing is playing a long-term game in pushing its claims to Arunachal and other areas along the border with India. Less known is that China’s geographical ambitions extend beyond the sub-continent. Extraordinarily, their claims on a part of South Korea are based on almost mythological past events. Chinese historians have been commissioned to write articles and books on the area, which at some point in the future will undoubtedly be used by Chinese leaders as evidence to back their claims.

Tibet stands as a contemporary case in point. Over the past 60 years Beijing has effectively rewritten the history of Tibet and its relations with China and the world. And in a rush to secure their economic interests the world has acquiesced. Only last year the British government quietly sold out to China by formally recognizing their sovereignty over Tibet—a move achieved by describing Britain’s former recognition of China’s “suzerainty” of Tibet under the 1914 Simla Convention as an “outdated concept.”

But simply rewriting history neither reflects the reality nor does it do enough to legitimize the occupation of Tibet. The 2008 protests in Tibet awakened the Chinese leadership to the fragility of their hold over the region. This, alongside the leverage of their perceived economic advantage in the global financial crisis, put Beijing on an even more determined mission to weaken once and for all global support for the Tibet issue. Only last month they achieved a clear victory when President Obama declined to meet the Dalai Lama on his visit to the United States—the first time since 1991 that an incumbent U.S. President has failed to meet him even informally. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd soon followed, saying he also would not meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to Australia next month.

Tibetans have long looked on in horror as the international community has bent over backwards to appease the Chinese government. This shortsighted and naïve policy to promote their economic interests is only emboldening and sanctioning Beijing’s bullying, as well as its geo-strategic ambitions. This is the debate the world should focus on. China’s aggressive response to the Dalai Lama’s trip to Arunachal—indeed, to his trips anywhere in the world—is above all a reflection of its imperialist and expansionist nature.

Now is the time for India to recognize that a free Tibet is its best insurance against Chinese aggression. If Tibet remains a part of China, Beijing will continue to strengthen its Himalayan military advantage over India and control the increasingly valuable water resources that much of Asia depends upon. Tibetans know China perhaps better than any other people. In our long history as neighbors we have been both the conquerors and, as most know us now, the conquered. But most relevant to India and the world today are the terrible lessons we have learned through our first hand experience over 50 years of occupation—of what lies underneath the veil Beijing draws over its true ambitions.

In standing up to China, India has charted a course that the rest of the world should follow. Meaningful engagement with China should not depend upon compromising on integrity or national interests. As long as China wants to play a leadership role on the global stage it needs to be a responsible actor. For this, the world needs to hold China to account, and Tibet is a critical place to start.

Tenzin Choeying is the National Director for Students for a Free Tibet India and Lhadon Tethong is the Director of Tibet Action Institute.

FINDING THE LOST HORIZON: Update from the March to Tibet

“When the clouds part, you can see Tibet on the horizon,” said Ven. Ngawang Woeber.

He dipped his face in the river at Baanspatan, and joked that monks don’t need to use soap because they have renounced vanity. A couple of hours later, Ven. Woeber was arrested. A former political prisoner, he is the president of Gu Chu Sum, one of the five organizations coordinating the historic March to Tibet, which started in Dharamsala on March 10th. Along with him, five other leaders of the march were also arrested on Tuesday and formally jailed yesterday afternoon in Haridwar Jail. The other detainees are Tsewang Rigzin, President of Tibetan Youth Congress; B Tsering, President of Tibetan Women’s Association, Chime Youngdroung, President of the National Democratic Party of Tibet, Tenzin Choeying, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet India, and Lobsang Yeshi, Coordinator of the March to Tibet.

The last few days have been tense and painful for the marchers. Hours after the arrest of the march leaders on Tuesday, the police confiscated their trucks and intensified the restriction on movement to and from the site, effectively cutting the marchers off from food and other supplies. The marchers are now considering the possibility of eating only one meal a day so that they can hold the ground for a little longer.

The day before yesterday, nearly one thousand police marched to the marchers’ camp and blocked the entrance. Sensing the likelihood of arrest, the marchers sprung into action, staging a Gandhian style sit-in while chanting prayers and singing the Tibetan national anthem. After a stalemate that lasted about an hour, the police retreated. Yesterday, the same thing happened again. Today, more buses and trucks brought more police reinforcements including a bus full of policewomen.

In the evenings, the atmosphere grows light again. Most Tibetan monks and nuns seem to have an uncanny ability to remain calm and happy even under great pressure. Or may be it’s because most of these marchers are actually Tibetans raised in Tibet who came to India in their late adolescence or early adulthood, and the problems they have faced so far on this march are nothing compared to what they had experienced growing up under Chinese rule in Tibet.

Most marchers and volunteers get to take a little breather in the evening, but one person never stops. Lobsang Army, so called because of his past stint in the military, is busy stitching shoe after shoe under a small blue tent. He is the march’s unofficial shoemaker. When he was in the army he had taken a shoe repair class – a skill he had forgotten and had to relearn once he realized that walking twenty kilometers a day was rough on people’s shoes. Lobsang has so far repaired about 200 shoes.

There is little doubt that the police will eventually arrest them, but the fact remains that no one can stop these marchers. “The police may arrest us today, but we will continue the march tomorrow,” said Tenzin Tsundue, a leading youth activist, who has lost much weight since I saw him last. “I heard that people have set off from parts of India to join us. We can’t wait to see them. The more people we have with us, the stronger our message to Tibetans inside Tibet, to China and to the world – we are committed to return and will never give up our struggle for freedom and justice.”

As the Chinese authorities work overtime to ensure a smooth Olympics, and attempt to hide the reality of their rule in Tibet behind a wall of silence and deceit, the movement of this group of unarmed men and women threatens Beijing’s massive propaganda exercise. They are a nonviolent force dedicated to their people, their nation and the truth. They refuse to be silenced at a time when China’s long arm of oppression and manipulation stretches around the world. Their journey north – towards the border across which so many Tibetans have crossed in search of freedom – demonstrates their commitment.

As the stand-off continues, marchers are calling for Tibetans from throughout India to join them in spirit and in person. And they are appealing for support from people around the world who value freedom, justice and peace. Visit www.tibetanuprising.org to follow news about the March. Send a message of encouragement to the marchers. Tell your friends and family about it. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. And keep the marchers in your prayers.

–dispatch from SFT’s Tendor, writing from Nainital, Uttaranchal, India

Tibetans to run parallel torch relay in Delhi

Times of India
April 14, 2008

NEW DELHI (IANS) - As the Beijing Olympics torch relay takes place in the capital on Thursday, protesting Tibetans will run a parallel torch relay for a “free Tibet” on the other side of the city at the same time.

To be run from Rajghat to the Jantar Mantar observatory, the Tibetan torch relay will have an estimated participation of nearly 5,000 people, its organisers claim. (more…)

Videos from the India March

Watch video posted from the mobile video phone

[youtube 4iC6qJE8hH4]

Watch more videos from the Live Archive on YouTube or check if the live stream is active here

http://tibetanuprising.org/live/

CNN Video of Arrests in India

[youtube rt3sLLtiPmc]

View the full press release here

Many thanks to CNN for their amazing reporting. Origina link: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/03/13/vo.tibet.india.protest.clash.cnn