Thursday, June 13, 2013

Week Ending June 14, 2013

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 14 June 2013

Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
Two Tibetan singers secretly sentenced but whereabouts unknown - TCHRD
13 June | Singers Pema Trinley (22) and Chakdor (32) from Meuruma nomadic village, had recorded and distributed a music DVD containing songs about current situation in Tibet including self-immolation protests, as well as songs in praise of the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama, Kirti Rinpoche, and Lobsang Sangay. They were detained for 6 months and sentenced to 2 years in prison, but there whereabouts are currently unknown.

Tibetan student leader jailed, Nuns released - RFA
12 June | A court in northwestern China’s Qinghai province has jailed Wangchuk Dorje for helping lead a student protest last year, while authorities in neighboring Sichuan released two nuns and another woman after they completed prison terms for their roles in protests challenging rule by Beijing, sources said.

After serving 5 years, Tibetan political prisoner comes out in poor health - Phayul
11 June | Tsewang Dakpa, a monk at the Jangang Monastery in Drango region of eastern Tibet was released on June 5. According to Tibetan exile sources, Dakpa, who is in his late 20s, is in “poor health” and one of his hands is “severely injured.”

Tibetan nun sets herself ablaze in new self-immolation protest - RFA
11 June | A Tibetan nun set herself ablaze on Tuesday during a large religious gathering in China’s Sichuan province in protest against Beijing’s rule in Tibetan areas, sources said.

Related
Tibetan nun self-immolates in apparent anti-China protest - VOA
11 June | The unidentified nun self-immolated Tuesday afternoon near a monastery in the Tawu district. Her condition was not immediately known, as Chinese security personnel took her to a nearby hospital. Sources say all communications to and from the district have been blocked and travel restrictions have been imposed.

News
Chinese diplomats threaten French journalist after Tibet report - Reporters Without Borders
13 June | Chinese embassy personnel went to the France24’s headquarters in Paris to demand the documentary’s withdrawal from its website. The Chinese embassy in Bangkok then threatened Cyril Payen by telephone after he arrived in Thailand.

Next Dalai Lama could be a woman, Tibetan leader says - France 24
13 June | "If the circumstances are such that a female Dalai Lama is more useful, then automatically a female Dalai Lama will come," he told a press conference in Sydney to launch a 10-day tour of Australia.

Katzenberg’s Tibet film won’t be controversial, he maintains - Contact Music
10 June | Mention Tibet and the image of the exiled Dalai Lama and the brutal suppression of Buddhist protesters comes to mind, but Jeffrey Katzenberg apparently believes he has found a way to skirt the controversy with his upcoming The Tibet Code, based on a ten-book Chinese series of novels that has sold over 10 million copies in China.

Sinopec Southern to explore Tibet’s Lunpola basin - Oil and Gas Journal
10 June | Sinopec Southern Exploration Co. of China and the Oil and Gas Resources Research Center of Geological Survey Bureau of Ministry of Land Resources signed an agreement on joint exploration for oil and gas in selected areas of the Lunpola basin in Tibet.

Climate change on the Tibetan plateau - The Guardian
10 June | Photojournalist Sean Gallagher talks about his latest project, Meltdown: climate change and environmental degradation on the Tibetan plateau, a series of photographs that capture melting glaciers, grassland degradation and the loss of Tibetan culture.

Opinion and Analysis
Questions and concerns about developments in Lhasa - International Tibet Network
14 June | A new report targeting UNESCO on the subject of current ‘development’ construction in Lhasa and how it relates to World Heritage Site guidance. http://issuu.com/internationaltibetnetwork/docs/unesco_lhasareport_2013

Looking back at the past few years of not celebrating Losar - High Peaks Pure Earth
13 June | Woser’s blog from February 2013 discussing the effects of the recent custom of not celebrating Losar since 2009.

An open plea: Xi and Obama can accomplish one thing - Committee to Protect Journalists
6 June | Bob Dietz advocates for Xi Jinping and Barack Obama to agree to release jailed Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen so he can join his family in the United States.


Week Ending June 7, 2013

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 7 June 2013

Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
Fire In The Land of Snow: Self-Immolations in Tibet - VOA
7 June | Combining smuggled videos, first-hand accounts and interviews with experts, scholars, and officials, this film provides an in-depth and comprehensive look at the recent history of Tibet and the powerful forces that lie at the heart of one of the largest waves of political self-immolations in history.

Special Report: The Mother Who Burned Herself to Death for Tibet - Reuters
6 June | A reporter tracks the personal circumstances of Kalkyi, a mother who self-immolated in Barma, looking for clues to what motivated her fiery protest.

Two Monks Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Holding Prayers for Self-Immolator - TCHRD
4 June | On 18 April 2013, the Yazi County People’s Court sentenced Tsondue, about 27, and Gedun Tsultrim, about 30, both monks from Beudo Monastery located in Beudo Township, to three years in prison for holding prayers for a man who self-immolated.

News
Tibetan Prisoner Out in Poor Health After Serving 5 Year Term - Radio Free Asia
6 June | Tsewang Dragpa, who participated in a 2008 protest in Draggo county, was released Wednesday. Dragpa, believed to be about 25, was detained by police on June 6, 2008 after staging a public protest in Draggo in Sichuan's Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

China Looking Forward to ‘Historic’ US Summit - VOA
6 June | When President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping hold an informal summit this Friday and Saturday in California, it will be their first get-together since Xi became China’s president.

Opinion and Analysis
Rangzen in Your Heart? - Shadow Tibet
6 June | Jamyang Norbu writes on comments made by Karma Chophel, a student from Wisconsin, and the Dalai Lama.

Rights Group: Obama Must Turn Up The Heat On Tibet - CNN
6 June | Free Tibet’s new director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren pressures Obama to address the critical situation in Tibet in upcoming talks with Xi Jinping.

The Sinicization of Tibet - Kashmir Times
5 June | Torture and cultural destruction in Tibet as part of China’s ongoing occupation have lasting effects on Tibetans inside Tibet and in exile.

Tashi Delek Comrade? The Sikyong Accepts Communist Rule in Tibet - Tibetan Political Review
4 June | TPR’s editorial board parses comments made by Lobsang Sangay and the CTA’s statements’ implications for the future of the Tibetan struggle.