NPR: Protests, Self-Immolation Signs Of A Desperate Tibet

[ellisonz]

This photo, provided to freetibet.org, shows a man being forcibly detained by security forces in the town of Serther in Tibet following a clash with protesters and police.


Hundreds of Tibetans gather on the side of a main street in Nangqian county, China's Qinghai province, on Feb. 8. AP

By Louisa Lim

February 21, 2012

In a monastery on the Tibetan plateau, monks swathed in crimson robes chant under silk hangings, in a murky hall heavy with the smell of yak butter. Photos of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama — seen by China as a splittist — are openly displayed, as if in defiance. But Chinese security forces have tightened their grasp on this region, and monasteries appear to be emptying out, gripped by an atmosphere of fear and loss.

In one town, monks boycotted the usual Chinese New Year celebrations at the end of January as a mourning gesture, refusing to set off fireworks.

"Too many of our people died this year," one monk told me, referring to nearly two-dozen Tibetans who have set themselves on fire as a protest against Chinese repression. Identifying details have been removed to protect those who talked to NPR.

Police cars patrol the streets here, and on the morning of the new year, security forces took pre-emptive action.

More: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/21/147170229/protests-self-immolation-signs-of-a-desperate-tibet?ft=1&f=1004

Media access to inner Tibet is non-existant. Reporters are only gaining access to outer Tibet by entering without permission and avoiding authorities. The PRC has officially closed Tibet to all foreigners until the end of March: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57361662/china-to-again-close-tibet-during-sensitive-period/

This report is perhaps the best journalism I've seen coming out of Tibet.

[ellisonz]

1. Kick for human rights.

[ellisonz]

2. One more kick for daring journalism.

[riderinthestorm]

3. Louisa Lim is a rare treasure. This article really deserves more eyes... K&R.

NPR had a story about Louisa Lim and her reporting on Tibet. They interviewed her and how close they came to being arrested several times during their extensive foray into Tibet, to the monasteries in order to talk to the monks there (who are the leaders of the rebellions).

She and her team are amazing. Thanks for posting an important story

[ellisonz]

4. Thank you for kicking.

I think recent events in conflict areas around the world show the extent to which journalists lay their lives on the line to get the story.

This is probably the story you reference (audio at link):

On Tibetan Plateau, A Sense Of Constant Surveillance
by Louisa Lim

February 22, 2012

Wednesday marks the traditional Tibetan New Year, but many Tibetans won't be celebrating. They'll be mourning the almost two-dozen people who set themselves on fire in the past year as a protest against Chinese rule. Eyewitnesses say the town of Aba, site of many of the self-immolations, resembles a Chinese military camp, with soldiers and riot police every few feet. NPR's Louisa Lim traveled elsewhere on the Tibetan plateau to cover the story and sent this dispatch.

It was going to the bathroom that almost got us busted — or , to be precise, my going to the men's bathroom. We were at a gas station on the highway. The women's was out of service, so the attendant told me to go to the men's.

While I was there, a local official pulled up in his black car. He got out – with a slam of the door – yelling in that unmistakable "I'm-an-official-get-a-move-on" tone of voice. Then he headed straight for the men's bathroom where I was.

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Visiting Tibetan areas nowadays is a risky venture. There is nothing in the Chinese regulations explicitly forbidding journalists, but the unspoken dangers deter many. One colleague told me it wasn't worth bothering; the monasteries are full of spies, he said, you won't get anything anyway.

More: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/22/147256506/on-tibetan-plateau-a-sense-of-constant-surveillance?ft=1&f=2

[ellisonz]

5. Three Tibetans begin indefinite fast at UN headquarters

Phayul[Thursday, February 23, 2012 08:20]

DHARAMSHALA, February 23: Tibetan Youth Congress, the largest pro-independence group in exile launched an indefinite fast in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York on February 22, the first day of Losar – Tibetan New Year.

Three Tibetans, including a high reincarnate lama are taking part in the ‘Indefinite Fast for Tibet’ to show solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet and to “amplify their call for freedom.”

His Eminence 11th Shingza Rinpoche, 32, a well known political and literary activist, Dorjee Gyalpo, 59, a Tibetan-American, and Yeshi Tenzing, 39, a long-time TYC activist are the three Tibetans undertaking the indefinite fast.

The three are directly appealing the United Nations to immediately send a fact-finding delegation to Tibet, put pressure on China – to stop the undeclared martial law in Tibet, to allow international media inside Tibet, to release all political prisoners including Gedun Choekyi Nyima and Tulku Tenzin Delek, and to stop the “patriotic re-education” campaign in Tibet.

More: http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=30950&article=Three+Tibetans+begin+indefinite+fast+at+UN+headquarters&t=1&c=1

[white_wolf]

6. Something really needs to be done here.

China needs to get out, though I have to be honest. I don't want a restoration of the Lamaist rule in Tibet. It was a theocracy before China invaded, that doesn't justify their actions, but I don't think the people of Tibet will be much better off going back to the old ways either. Even the Dali Lama approved of some of Mao's reforms, but not his heavy handed approach in implementing them. I say let the Dali Lama return as the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism and let the people create their own secular government.

[ellisonz]

7. Agreed.

I would note that if the governance of the Central Tibetan Administration is any sign, that if Tibet were to ever be free, the goal would be democratic government. I would also note though that constitutional monarchy in principle is not at odds with the basic idea of democracy. However, it must be said, that whatever criticisms one may have of Tibetan society before 1950, the invasion and occupation of Tibet by the PRC was illegal, immoral, and unjust. The PRC had no right to ransack Tibet and impose a new social order. Moreover, although the claim is counter-factual, I don't think it is unreasonable to judge that there very likely may have been democracy and social reform in Tibet in time, likely led by the current Dalai Lama, had the PRC not attacked.

The CTA operates under the "Charter of the Tibetans In-Exile", adopted in 1991.[12] Executive authority is vested in the Kalon Tripa (chairperson of the cabinet, often translated as prime minister), an office currently held by Lobsang Sangay, who was elected in 2011. The Kalon Tripa is supported by a cabinet of ministers responsible for specific portfolios. Legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration.

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At the time of its founding, the Dalai Lama was the head of government and head of state of the Central Tibetan Administration. Over the ensuing decades, a gradual transition to democratic governance was effected. The first elections for an exile parliament took place on September 2, 1960. The position of kalon tripa was later empowered to share executive authority with the Dalai Lama. The kalon tripa was initially appointed by the Dalai Lama, but, beginning in 2001, this position was democratically elected by the Tibetan exile voters. The first elected Kalon Tripa was a 62-year-old Buddhist monk, Lobsang Tenzin (better known as Samdhong Rinpoche), to the position of Prime Minister of the CTA.[14] On 10 March 2011, the Dalai Lama proposed changes to the exile charter which would remove his position of authority within the organisation. These changes were ratified on 29 May 2011, resulting in the Kalon Tripa becoming the highest-ranking office holder.[15]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_Government_in_Exile#Internal_structure