‘Leave Permit’ formality hiccup for Tibetan rally

GANGTOK, 25 Nov: The solidarity protest march being undertaken by Tibetans from Sikkim hit a small hiccup when it reached Rangpo yesterday, 24 November. As per reports, the rally comprising of around 150 Tibetans settled in Sikkim, was halted at the Rangpo check post as they had not secured the required permits to leave the State.
It is now learnt that as per directions issued by the Union Home Ministry, Tibetan refugees, if more than a certain number, are required to present a leave permit in order to leave Sikkim. As per SP East, Dr. MS Tuli, he had given permission to the rallying Tibetans for a rally up to Rangpo which is as far as his jurisdiction stretches. At the Rangpo gates, personnel at the Foreigner’s Registration Office directed that the Tibetan Youth Club members produce the Leave Permit. An application was hurriedly written and sent to the FRO office in Gangtok which then proceeded to provide them with the required permit.
Though Tibetan refugees have been settled in Sikkim [as also elsewhere in the country] for more than half a century, they are still, officially, foreigners. Hence, the rule of the Home Ministry on the requirement of a ‘leave permit’ when more than a certain number of Tibetans leave the State. However, it is also understood that this particular rule is not invoked too often by the authorities.

Tibetans come together for solidarity march

GANGTOK, 23 Nov: The Tibetan Youth Club [TYC] and the Tibetan community living in and around Gangtok began their peace march from Chandmari, here in Gangtok, to Salugara in Siliguri, West Bengal this morning after offering prayers at a monastery here.
The five-day march will end on 27 November at Salugara.
Around 150 people from the Tibetan community are participating in the peace march which has been organized to protest against the atrocities being suffered by the Tibetans in Tibet.
The rally will be joined by other Tibetans from Ravangla, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Mirik and Kuresong. While the people from Ravangla will join them today, others will join them during their march to Salugara.

Meanwhile, members of the Tibetan community of Ravangla in South Sikkim also marched off today to join the peace march to Salugara.
President, TYC-Ravangla, Tenzing Bhutia, informed that the march has been organized by the TYC and Tibetan Women’s Association of Ravangla. He explained that the rally was a solidarity march to protest the atrocities being carried out by the Chinese government against Tibetans living in Tibet.
To date, 78 Tibetans are confirmed to have self-immolated inside Tibet since 27 February 2009, of whom 64 are reported to have died following their protest. “There are a number of ways to interpret this ultimate offering of one’s life. One interpretation is that it is an act of utmost hopelessness and the Tibetan Youth Congress completely rejects this suggestion”, he added.
He further said that the Chinese government can no longer view these actions in Tibet as merely uncomfortable and embarrassing incidents but instead as very real and significant threats.
“They should understand the potential for further actions and the magnitude of what they represent. The Chinese government and the world at large should not misinterpret these acts as ethnic conflicts or simply a struggle for religious freedom, so long as China continues to occupy Tibet and oppress the Tibetan people, they will continue to resist the fundamental denial of their freedom”, he further added.
The rally started from the monastery at the Tibetan settlement of Ravangla where they offered prayers and then marched to Ravangla bazaar. They will be covering 25 kilometers per day.

Tibetans to undertake peace march to Salugara

GANGTOK, 21 Nov: The Tibetan Youth Club [TYC] and the 5,000 plus strong Tibetan community living in and around Gangtok will be undertaking a peace march from Chandmari here in Gangtok to Salugara in Siliguri, West Bengal starting 23 November, informs Chung Chung Bhutia [president, TYC], while speaking to the media-persons here today.
“We will begin the peace march on 23 November from here in Gangtok and the five-day march will end on 27 November when we reach Salugara”, he added. Around 150 people from the Tibetan community [young and old] will be participating in the peace march.
“We are holding this peace march to protest against the atrocities being carried out against the Tibetan people in Tibet and also to express solidarity with the people who have self-immolated themselves for the Tibetan cause,” he said and added that the situation in Tibet was going from bad to worse. There is no freedom of religion or education and above all no freedom of speech for the Tibetans in Tibet, said Mr Bhutia and added that there is gross violation of human rights as well.
Speaking further on the peace rally, he informed that the rally will also be joined by Tibetans from Ravangla, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Mirik and Kurseong. While the people from Ravangla will join the rally on 23 November, others will join along the way.
“We plan to cover around 20 to 25 kilometers in a day and will also be making halts during the nights. On the first day we will halt at the Water Garden at 32 Number, the second halt will be at Tarkhola, then at Rimbi, next at Sevoke before reaching Salugara,” he informed. He also stated that such peace rallies were also being organized in the other North East states.
He has further appealed to the people of Sikkim to come forward and support the peace rally and has also asked them to join them in the rally. This is the first time such a peace rally by the Tibetan community is being organized in the state, he added.
“During our march, we will be addressing the people we meet in the different towns and villages we cross in the way and also hand out pamphlets regarding our issues,” he stated. Then on 28 November, we plan to take out a mass procession from Salugara to the SDM’s office situated at Court More in Siliguri.
As on date [till November], a total of 78 people have self immolated themselves since 2009, 17 having set themselves on fire this November alone. In India there have been three deaths and four attempted self immolations till now.

Somber 23rd birthday celebrations for ‘missing’ Panchen Lama

GANGTOK, 25 April: Tibetans celebrated the 23rd birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the second-highest Tibetan religious leader, with prayers here at the Sera-jey Dho-phenling Monastery at Chandmari. The mood was somber, given the fact that the Panchen Lama is “missing”, not having been seen for the past 17 years ever since he was abducted by the Chinese authorities along with his family shortly after his recognition by the Dalai Lama in 1995. This is the status which explains why even on his 23rd birthday, the Tibetans have only a photograph of him as a six year old to keep among them.
Today’s observation was organized by the Tibetan Youth Club and Tibetan Women’s Association of Gangtok. More than 300 people including Tibetan school children participated in the celebrations.
“Today is the 23 birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama, and we are celebrating it by holding prayers here,” informed the TYC president, Chung Chung, while speaking to NOW! The Panchen Lama was born on 25 April, 1989 and recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 on his sixth birthday. His recognition was officially announced by the Tibetan Government in Exile on 14 May, 1995, and three days later, on 17 May, 1995 the Chinese government took the six-year-old and his family into custody. None of them have been seen or heard of since then although the Chinese government has made vague references about his receiving modern education and being under “protective custody”.
Meanwhile, China has foisted its own Panchen Lama in Tibet with obvious plans of having him replace the Dalai Lama in the minds of the Tibetans. The Panchen Lama, as mentioned, is the second-highest ranking reincarnate of the Gelugpa Sect and also then the Tibetan Government.
The Chinese candidate does not however evoke much support among Tibetans anywhere and the fate of Gedun Choekyi Nyima continues to excite strong emotions.
“We don’t know if he is alive or not. The only information we have had about him has been through vague references by the Chinese government at different times,” the Gangtok TYC president highlights.
“He is 23 today, but still we have not been able to meet him, so we are holding prayers on his birthday to pray that he is released from his confinement as soon as possible and his followers allowed to meet with their guru,” he adds.
He also reiterated the appeal of all Tibetan, their organizations and well-wishers to the United Nations Organisation to take up this issue with China. “We want the UNO to work on the release of our gurus and other rimpoches who have been imprisoned in Tibet by the Chinese government, so that their followers can meet them,” he added.
The Chinese crackdown following the Dalai Lama’s recognition of Gedun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama did not end with the abduction of the child 17 years ago. Ten years since the completion of his six-year prison sentence in May 2001, the fate of Chadrel Jampa Thrinley Rinpoche, the former abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery [the Panchen Lama’s seat in Tibet] and the head of the Search Party to identify the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama remains unknown.
Chadrel Rinpoche was arrested on 14 May 1995, the day the Dalai Lama announced the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama. After being detained incommunicado for two years, on 21 April 1997, the Intermediate Court of Shigatse Prefecture sentenced the Rinpoche to six years imprisonment and three years deprivation of political rights on charges of “plotting to split the country” and “leaking state secrets” during his search for the 11thPanchen Lama.
There is no information on Chadrel Rinpoche except for an unconfirmed report in November 2011 that said Chadrel Rinpoche had died of poisoning. The Chinese government continues to maintain a deafening silence on Chadrel Rinpoche’s whereabouts and current condition.

Stand By the Tibetans

This time, four years ago, Bhaichung Bhutia had done Sikkim proud and earned some semblance of virtue for the nation at large, when, on 31 March 2008, he wrote to the Indian Olympic Association communicating his refusal to be part of the Beijing Olympics torch relay when it jogged through India. “Given my understanding of Tibet, its people, the situation there and Tibetan aspirations in India, my conscience would not allow me to carry the Beijing Olympic torch,” Bhaichung had shared in explanation, stressing that it was a personal decision in response to the call of his conscience. With his stand, Bhaichung had underlined the role that citizens of a free country need to play – exert moral pressure on the powers-that-be to discover some spine and make the citizens proud. His stand had received wall to wall coverage in the media and the Tibet issue, had, for once, figured in television news studios. Four years to the day, and the situation in Tibet is even worse and now the hysteria and dejection has spread to the community in exile as well. Unfortunately, no celebrity [in the Indian context] has spoken up for Tibet of done something as exceptionally earnest as Bhaichung did in 2008. As a result, the media at large goes about acting as if nothing has happened even as a Tibetan youth has immolated himself to attract attention to the Tibet issue and lakhs of Tibetans have marched across India in the hope that their hosts will listen. No one, unfortunately, appears to be paying heed and one is left with the ignominy of the Chinese patting India for its forceful controlling of Tibetan protests against China. In their earnestness to please China and slap down Tibetan protests, the authorities have targeted everyone in Delhi who looks ‘Tibetian’, and this includes the entire Himalayan span bordering China.
Governing a population which is intuitively suspicious of China and by extension thus, sympathetic towards Tibet, it is expected of Delhi to at least conduct itself with more self respect when dealing with its northern neighbour. Do we need to appear desperate to please China at all costs? Unfortunately, Delhi believes so. They cracked down so hard on the Jantar-Mantar protest rally [in which Jamphel Yeshi immolated himself] that they rounded up more people than the jails could accommodate. They had displayed similarly embarrassing obsequiousness in 2008 when the Beijing Olympic torch ran in Delhi with burly Chinese security and with the people barricaded a safe distance away. The DD cameras beamed only tight shots of the torch relay and a mistaken wide angle shot revealed that the sponsored celebs were waving to people more than 20 feet away from the torch. As an Indian, one would have wanted Delhi to prove that people of this free land, its citizens and guests alike, were free to protest, demonstrate and criticize. But Delhi did not. It granted this right only so long as it was not in the line of sight of its Chinese guests. But Delhi has made it a habit of being disgustingly inconsiderate, and although it does not excuse either the governmental insensitivity or the media thoughtlessness, the Tibetans can draw solace, if at all it is possible, from the fact that Indians too have similarly suffered. The dismissiveness with which arguments against the Armed Forces Special Power Act continue to be handled by the government and the media and the hilarity with which attempts are made to police the internet, suggest that instead of China learning from India, the lessons are travelling the other way round. Instinctive compassion is enough for everyone to sympathise with the Tibetan cause; this is one issue which does not demand expansive arguments to win support. But now, the time has come for more Indians to stand up in support of the Tibetans and their right to continue aspiring for a Free Tibet and express it at every forum, street or meeting. The protest by a group of Indian students in support of Tibet had only a handful of participants in Delhi recently and the Tibet peace rally even in Gangtok was an almost exclusively Tibetan affair. The Americans have a strong people’s lobby for Tibet, as does Europe and hence their governments do from time to time take a stand and comment. In India, the Tibet support groups remain mostly fringe players, meeting and preaching among the already converted. They should spread their activities wider or we stand at risk of becoming the most ungracious hosts to one of the longest-suffering people. What is worse, if governmental intolerance to the Tibetan right to protest and the media’s blindsiding of the Tibet issue continue to be sanctioned [with our silence and non-involvement], we will be subjecting the Tibetans to double subjugation – one inside Tibet and one in Free India. More of us need to stand alongside Tibetans, do a Bhaichung, and get their situation noticed and addressed.

Tibetans observe 53rd Tibetan National Uprising Day with peace rally and hunger strike

GANGTOK, 11 Mar: On the occasion of the 53rd Tibetan National Uprising Day, members of the Tibetan community in the capital came together for a rally and token hunger strike on Saturday.
More than 300 people including monks carrying banners and placards joined the rally which started from Sera Monastery in Chandmari and travelled through the route of White Hall, Zero Point, Hospital Dara and Paljor Stadium Road finally concluding at the Fish Pond there.
Likewise, 49 persons sat on the hunger strike at the Fish Pond to extend their support to three Tibetans who are also on hunger strike at New York and also to condemn the recent incidents in Tibet. The hunger strike began at 8 AM and continued till 6 in the evening amidst chanting of prayers.
Tibetan Youth Club general secretary, Sonam Gyaltsen informed that this hunger strike is mainly in support of the three Tibetans, Shingsa Rinpoche, Dorji Gyalpo and Yeshi Tenzing, who are on a hunger strike since 22 February, the first day of the Tibetan Losar, at New York. He further informed that it is also to denounce what is happening in Tibet at present.

Losar dedicated to Tibetans inside Tibet

GANGTOK, 22 Feb: Tibetans here today joined their compatriots in exile across the world in observing their New Year, Losar, bereft of any celebrations and with solemn and somber gestures of solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet. The community, it may be recalled, has resolved not to celebrate Losar this year in light of the crisis inside Tibet which has seen a rash of self-immolations by Tibetans in protest against continuing Chinese occupation. These self-immolations have triggered stronger protests by the people inside Tibet which have been greeted with a severe crackdown and more lives lost to Chinese police firings.
In Gangtok, the Tibetans took out a Solidarity Rally organized jointly by the Tibetan Youth Club and Tibetan Women’s Association of Gangtok. More than 500 people participated in the rally which started from Sera-jey Dho-phenling Monastery at Chandmari, came down  Tibet Road passed through Kazi Road and ended at Chokasum at Nam Nang.
The Tibetan New Year officially begins with Tsedhor, the religious ceremony attended by officials of the Central Tibetan Administration and presided over by the Dalai Lama. Tsedhor was held at the rooftop of Tsuglha khang, Main Cathedral in Dharamshala, but the dances and music, which usually form part of this celebration, were not performed this year.
After the religious ceremony, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile started a daylong Solidarity Hunger Strike for the victims of Chinese police firing and Self Immolations in Tibet at the Tsuglha khang courtyard. Head of the three pillars of Central Tibetan Administration, Parliamentarians, officials of Central Tibetan Administration, and hundreds of public gathered to observe the hunger strike. The Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Penpa Tsering delivered the Losar Message [turn to pg2 for complete message].
As mentioned, the mood was as somber in Sikkim as well.
“We are not celebrating Losar with gaiety and fanfare this year and are instead taking out a Solidarity peace rally to protest Chinese crackdown in Tibet and in support of the people who have given up their lives for the sake of a Free Tibet,” explains Chung Chung, president of TYC, Gangtok.
“All of the people who set themselves on fire were very young - between the ages of 18 to 25 - and have not even seen a free Tibet,” he added.
“We lost our freedom in 1959 and since then there is no freedom of religion, democracy or women’s rights in Tibet. We are being supressed by the Chinese government from doing anything,” he said, adding that the people, especially the younger generation in Tibet want the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet as he is also their spiritual leader.
On 23 January, people of Amdo and Kham in eastern Tibet had taken out a peace procession, but the Chinese government opened fire on them without giving any reason, thereby killing 07 on the spot and injuring more than 70 persons, he further informed. The people who had come from Tibet for the Kalachakra prayers in Bodh Gaya have still not been allowed to return to their homes and have been forced into reeducation camps in Tibet Autonomous Region by the Chinese Government, he added.
He further informed that the rally taken out today was also to bring awareness amongst the Tibetans as well as the other communities about the plight of the Tibetan people inside Tibet.
Tibetans in Darjeeling sat on a one day hungerstrike, while in Kalimpong they are sitting on a relay three day hunger strike. The decision to tone down Losar celebrations here was also in solidarity with the loss suffered by Sikkim in the 18 September 2011 Earthquake, members of the Tibetan community add.
“We were earlier planning to take out a candle light rally in the evening here in Gangtok, but instead of the rally now all the Tibetans have been advised to light butter lamps infront of their respective homes in the evening,” the TYC president further informed. As per plans, Tibetans around the world will be switching off the lights in their respective homes at 9 p.m. to pledge solidarity with their compatriots inside Tibet.
“Tibetans in exile have reacted to the pain and suffering inside Tibet, while the monks and nuns who immolated theselves were sacrificing their bodies to draw the world’s attention to Chinese repression in Tibet”, the TYC president stated.
“In exile, we support those in Tibet who are on the front line of protecting our religious and cultural integrity; we try to ensure that their voices are heard by the world community. It is our responsibility to make sure that the calls of those Tibetans for restoration of freedom are heard, and their sacrifices are not in vain,” he further added.

STATEMENT OF THE TIBETAN PARLIAMENT IN EXILE ON LOSAR

International community urged to register concern, intervene to de-escalate crisis inside Tibet

INTRO: Speaker, Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) , Penpa Tsering, read out the statement of the TPiE during the Solidarity Hunger Strike observed by the Tibetan Parliamentarians on the first day of Tibetan Losar at Tsuglhakhang, Dharamshala...

Amongst the patriotic Tibetan men and women who have been committing the heroic act of self-immolations in Tibet under the two main slogans demanding “the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet” and “freedom and human rights for the Tibetan people”, Venerable Tapey of Kirti Monastery set the trend on 27th of February, 2009. Since then, between the 16th of March, 2011 and 19th of February, 2012, some 23 Tibetans both lay and ordained, have committed self-immolation in Tibet for the sake of Tibet and its people. Two Tibetans have done the same outside of Tibet totalling 25 so far. Fifteen of them including three nuns have lost their precious lives in the process and we have not been able to ascertain the condition and whereabouts of the rest.
We have also come to know from reliable sources that on the 23rd of January, 2012 which was the occasion of the celebration of the Chinese New Year, Tibetans in Tibet observed it as a day of mourning by holding peaceful demonstrations. But the Chinese police and the militia opened indiscriminate gun-fire on them and 4 Tibetans in Draggo, 2 in Serta and 1 in Zamthang totalling 7 were massacred. We have further come to know that on the 8th of February of this year, the same type of peaceful demonstrations had taken place in other places like Nangchen, Trindu, Zatoe, Golok, Chuchen, Chabcha etc while observing ‘White Wednesday’ which is the favourable prayer day for the long life of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. However, as the Chinese government had sealed of all internet and phone connection in most of the places in Tibet and especially those where demonstrations had taken place, we have not been able to ascertain the scale of oppression and the number of people killed, tortured or arrested. There is in effect, an unapparent military rule in Tibet at present and the Chinese government has declared an open “war” on the Tibetan people as whole.
The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile has continuously been appealing to the Government of China and the International Community regarding the urgent situation in Tibet through its series of press statements. Recently, a special delegation of the TPiE travelled to New Delhi to brief a number of Embassies of different countries about the fast deteriorating conditions in Tibet. We also wrote an open letter to the Chinese President.
Through this statement, we once again appeal to the Government of China and the International Community as follows:
Appeal to the Chinese leaders:
1. Withdraw the large reinforcement of military to reduce tension immediately and take measures to give due consideration to the aspirations of the Tibetan people.
2. Allow independent, non-partisan fact finding delegations to ascertain the ground realities. If you have issues with that, allow a Tibetan fact finding delegation to visit Tibet.
3. Stop the policies and programs aimed at destroying the identity of the Tibetan people. Provide religious freedom and undertake reconciliation measures to assuage the hurt sentiments of the Tibetan people.
4. Stop sedentarization of Tibetan nomads and include Tibetan participation in environmental stewardship by using their centuries old wisdom of having lived on the Tibetan Plateau.
5. All developmental activities in Tibet must give due consideration to Tibet’s fragile environment and should accrue due benefit to the native Tibetans.
6. Release all political prisoners including Panchen Rinpoche Gedun Choekyi Nyima, just as Burma did so to create more trust between the people and the government.
7. Resume dialogue with the Tibetans with the commitment and conviction to seek a lasting solution to the Issue of Tibet, and peace and stability in the whole geo- strategic region.

Similarly to the International Community, we call upon the leaders of the free world to not only express your concern but also seek your intervention in de-escalating the prevailing dangerous situation inside Tibet and help find a lasting solution to the Issue of Tibet for a mutually beneficial agreement through dialogue.
We are confident that while engaging constructively with China, you will not refrain from voicing your concern for the values of democracy, equality, justice and basic human rights that you so very much cherish.
Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile
Dharamsala: Dated: February 22, 2012

Tibetan Parliament urges World to take concrete step on Tibet

GANGTOK, 21 Feb: “We strongly urge the international community to take more responsibility and leaders and countries of the free world to take concrete steps in helping to end the crisis in Tibet,” the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile appealed through a press statement today detailing the critical situation inside Tibet which has convinced Tibetans across the world not to celebrate their new year, Losar, as an expression of solidarity with their compatriots inside Tibet.
“News is also emerging of the arrest of many Tibetan writers and intellectuals from all across Tibet. Tibetan parliament in exile is deeply concerned and worried about the critical situation in our homeland. We once again fervently urge the Chinese government to give serious consideration to our legitimate demands and appeals we have made so far,” the statement reads.
On 19 February 2012, eighteen-year-old Nangdrol set himself on fire in front of the Samdrupling Jonang monastery in Barma village, Zamthang county, Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.  He died on the spot.
Chinese police officers attempted to take away his body, but were prevented from doing so by the monks of Zamthang Jonang monastery. The monks later cremated him and performed all the necessary rituals and prayers for the deceased.
 According to eyewitnesses, while setting himself on fire Nangdrol folded his hands in a gesture of peace, calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. Nangdrol was the son of father Chensig and mother Nyingmo. Of the eight siblings, he was the fourth oldest.
On 26 January 2012, Tibetans living in Barma, Zamthang county participated in a widespread demonstration against the Chinese government. The Chinese police responded by firing indiscriminately on the protestors, killing a Tibetan named Ugen and critically wounding several others. Since then the county has been kept under severe military restrictions.

Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s statement on the recent self-immolation of 3 persons in Tibet

GANGTOK, 08 Feb: Three Tibetan livestock herders set themselves on fire on 03 February in Seda county, known as Serthar in Tibetan, in Sichuan province, calling for freedom for Tibet and the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. While one person died, the other two were seriously injured.
Seda was among the three sites of violent clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Sichuan in late January that marked the bloodiest spate of Tibetan-linked violence in China since early 2008. Riots and protests erupted then in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and spread to other restive regions in China's western border regions including Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu province.
A statement on the incident by Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje issued by the Karmapa Office of Administration reads thus;  “Reports have just emerged that three more Tibetans set themselves ablaze within a single day in eastern Tibet. This comes shortly after four Tibetans immolated themselves and others died in demonstrations in Tibet during the month of January. As tensions escalate, instead of showing concern and trying to understand the causes of the situation, the Chinese authorities respond with increasing force and oppression. Each new report of a Tibetan death brings me immense pain and sadness; three in a single day is more than the heart can bear. I pray that these sacrifices have not been in vain, but will yield a change in policy that will bring our Tibetan brothers and sisters’ relief.
Having been given the name Karmapa, I belong to a 900 year old reincarnation lineage that has historically avoided any political engagement, a tradition I have no intention of changing. And yet as a Tibetan, I have great sympathy and affection for the Tibetan people and I have great misgivings about remaining silent while they are in pain. Their welfare is my greatest concern.
Tibetan demonstrations and self-immolations are a symptom of deep but unacknowledged dissatisfaction. If Tibetans were given a genuine opportunity to lead their lives as they wished, preserving their language, religion and culture, they would neither be demonstrating nor sacrificing their lives.
Since 1959, we Tibetans have faced unimaginable loss, yet we have found benefit in adversity. Many of us rediscovered our true identity as Tibetans. We rediscovered a sense of national unity among the people of the three provinces of Tibet. And we came to value a unifying leader, in the person of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. These factors have given us all great grounds for hope.
China speaks of having brought development to Tibet, and when I lived there it was materially comfortable. Yet prosperity and development have not benefited Tibetans in the ways that they consider most valuable. Material comfort counts for little without inner contentment. Tibetans live with the constant suspicion that they will be forced to act against their conscience and denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Chinese authorities persistently portray His Holiness as the enemy. They have rebuffed his repeated efforts to find a peaceful and negotiated solution to the Tibetan-Chinese problem. They dismiss the heartfelt faith and loyalty with which the Tibetan people universally regard His Holiness. Even Tibetans born in Tibet decades after His Holiness the Dalai Lama had gone into exile still regard him as their guide and refuge not only for this life, but for life after life. Therefore, constantly depicting His Holiness the Dalai Lama in hostile terms is an affront that benefits no one. In fact, striking at the heart of Tibetan faith damages the prospect of winning Tibetans' trust. This is neither effective nor wise.
I call on the authorities in Beijing to see past the veneer of wellbeing that local officials present. Acknowledging the real human distress of Tibetans in Tibet and taking full responsibility for what is happening there would lay a wise basis for building mutual trust between Tibetans and the Chinese government. Rather than treating this as an issue of political opposition, it would be far more effective for Chinese authorities to treat this as a matter of basic human welfare.
In these difficult times, I urge Tibetans in Tibet: Stay true to yourselves, keep your equanimity in the face of hardship and remain focused on the long term. Always bear in mind that your lives have great value, as human beings and as Tibetans.
With the prospect of the Tibetan New Year in sight, I offer my prayers that Tibetans, our Chinese brothers and sisters, and our friends and supporters across Indian and around the world may find lasting happiness and true peace. May the New Year usher in an era of harmony, characterized by love and respect for each other and for the earth that is our common home.”

Sikkim Tibetans come together to protest Chinese repression and demand UN Intervention in Tibet

GANGTOK, 11 Nov: The Tibetan Youth Club and Tibetan Women’s Association took out a rally here in Gangtok today seeking justice and in support of the 11 Tibetans who had set fire to themselves, six of whom have died in eastern Tibet since March this year in protest against the Chinese occupation.

An Appeal by the Tibetan Associations in Sikkim

Eleven Tibetans have set fire to themselves in eastern Tibet since March. Six have died. The Chinese government describes them as “terrorists in disguise”.

Tibetan arrested at Rumtek after two and half month walk which started in Amdo

GANGTOK, 31 Aug: Karma Gelek walked all the way from Amdo in the Tibet Autonomous Region through Bhutan right up to the Rumtek Monastery gates where he was apprehended by the police. While Tibetan Refugees are usually pushed back from the border regions itself, the route taken by Karma Gelek to enter Sikkim [through Bhutan and from Rangpo] has made his case different and he has been sent to judicial custody under the 14 Foreigners Registration Act for having illegally entered the country. This is because Karma entered India via Bhutan and made into Sikkim without the required travel documents.
SP East, Dr. MS Tuli, confirming the arrest of the Tibetan national, stated that since he entered Sikkim through the Rangpo check-post without valid documents or a passport, he had to be booked under the Foreigners Registration Act.

TYC marches to save Kriti Monastery from Chinese crackdown

GANGTOK, 22 April: A peace rally was taken out today by the Tibetan Youth Club from the Chokasum Hall in Namnang. The rally was to protest against the Chinese crackdown on the Kriti Monastery at Gnaba in the Sichuan Province of China which has been targeted with vicious reprisals ever since a 20 year old monk immolated himself there to protest against Chinese occupation of Tibet. The Chinese authorities are reportedly attempting to empty the monastery of its monks and the residents there have already thwarted such attempts once.

Tibetans in-exile vote in Gangtok and Ravangla to elect new Parliament

GANGTOK: Tibetans-in-exile residing in Sikkim cast their votes to elect the Kalon Tripa [Prime Minister] and members of the 15th Tibetan Parliament on 20 March, Sunday.
Voting took place in Ravangla and at the Cho-Ka-Sum, Namnang here in Gangtok.

Sikkim’s Tibetans want Dalai Lama to reconsider

A NOW! file foto of the Dalai Lama speaking to Tibetans at Tsuklakhang, Gangtok

“AS FAR AS WE ARE CONCERNED, NO ONE AND NO POLITICAL PARTY CAN FILL THE VACUUM HIS HOLINESS LEAVES”

ANAND OBEROI
GANGTOK, 15 March: The formal proposal of the Dalai Lama to retire as the political head of the state and the decision of the Tibetan Cabinet to accept his resignation to retire as the political head of the exiled Tibetan government has raised a stir of reactions from the Tibetan community in Sikkim. Joining Tibetans across the world, Tibetans here have beseeched the Dalai Lama to reconsider, pleading that they do not know how and do not want to continue without their Kundun as their religious and titular head.
Emotional outcry from various sections, including the Tibetan Settlement, Gangtok [earlier known as the Tibetan Welfare Office], the Tibetan Youth Club and the Tibetan Women’s Association started coming in soon after the Tibetan Cabinet today accepted the Dalai Lama’s decision.