International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 13 June 2014
Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
Tibetan Government Workers Forbidden to Attend Kalachakra - RFA
11 June | Government employees in a Tibetan prefecture of northwestern China’s Gansu province have been barred from participating in a major Buddhist religious ceremony this week amid heavy security presence, with warnings given of administrative punishment if they ignore the ban, sources said.
Monk tortured in jail as China clamps down on Tibet - CTA
10 June | A Tibetan monk has revealed how he was beaten and tortured in a Chinese jail amid signs of a relentless clampdown by Beijing on the restless region. Sonam Rabga, 42, was arrested when he travelled to his homeland from India, where he had been studying, to visit his mother in 2012.
News
Chinese premier to meet Queen Elizabeth during UK visit - Financial Times
12 June | The Chinese premier is to be given a rare meeting with Queen Elizabeth when he visits the UK next week...Paul Golding, campaigns co-ordinator of the Tibet Society, said: “It would seem the UK are kowtowing to China’s demands in order to curry favour. Such acquiescence must not be at the price of speaking out on Tibet and human rights.”
China Pushes Assimilation to Calm Xinjiang Unrest - VOA News
10 June | Xi called for a strong crackdown on terrorism and the promotion of long-term stability. He also said controls would be tightened on religion. Xi also talked about promoting assimilation, though, between China's Han majority and Uighur minorities.
Border Makes China and India Bristle, Even as They Seek Closer Ties in Trade - NY Times
8 June | Before Mr. Wang arrived, security forces in New Delhi took up positions around a Tibetan neighborhood in north Delhi. Several hundred activists from the Tibetan Youth Congress, who had gathered to stage a protest outside the Chinese Embassy, were locked in and unable to leave.
Harvard Library to Help Preserve Tibetan Literary Heritage - Harvard Magazine
6 June | Harvard Library will upload onto its digital storage system 10 million pages of Tibetan literature that survived China’s convulsive Cultural Revolution, the movement between 1966 and 1976 that led to the destruction of countless Chinese and Tibetan literary texts.
Opinion and Analysis
A Partial Middle Way Campaign Launched in Dharamsala - TPR
9 June | This editorial from TPR discusses the new multimedia format and content of the CTA’s newly-launched Umaylam campaign, and asks several important questions about the relationship between
Suicide Protesters in Eastern Tibet: The Shifting Story of a People’s Tragedy - Asia Pacific Memo
6 June | Professor Antonio Terrone examines available data on cases of self-immolation by Tibetans and notes, “The vacuum caused by the loss of socio-political rights is being filled by renewed identity through the heroic martyrdom for the benefit of their community.” [Interactive graphics/maps/charts]
China Balks at Foreign Calls to Release Prisoners - Wall Street Journal
30 May | Chinese officials have mostly stopped accepting long lists of its prisoners from foreign advocates of their release, said John Kamm, a businessman-turned-human-rights activist. Even when they do, Western diplomats say, Chinese officials often don’t provide information on the cases, much less release the prisoners.
