Tibet Information Office Australia

DHARAMSHALA:  Expressing her support and solidarity with the Tibetan people, a prominent Chinese research scholar living in Sydney has strongly criticised the Chinese

government’s repressive policies on Tibet for the last six decades.

In an article, Miss Chen Hongxin, a research scholar of Chinese contemporary politics, described the recent self-immolations by Tibetans since March as a way of protest against the Chinese government’s wrong policy on Tibetans and their religious belief.

“At least six Tibetans have died as a result of self-immolation, and they have called for religious freedom, the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom in Tibet,” noted the article, parts of which were translated into Tibetan by an Australia-based Tibetan named Lhadhey Namloyag.

Miss Chen also wrote about critical questions that people might raised why “happy and prosperous Tibetans” are ending their lives through self-immolations. Why the Tibetan monks who respect life and practice Buddhism for millenia by renouncing ill-feelings, are now burning themselves to death one after the another?

“The answers underlying these questions lies in the truth of past 60 years which will bring tears in the eyes of the international community. In fact, through successive generations, the Tibetans have not only etched their history, but also exposed the Chinese government’s propaganda through peaceful protests,” she wrote.

The article contained criticism of China’s draconian measures towards the Tibetan monastic community. “Despite reconstruction of Tibetan monasteries in 1980s, the authorities imposed restrictions on the admission of Tibetans into monasteries, made “patriotic education”, which involves denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a compulsory subject for monks to study. In their White Papers, the Chinese government has claimed of various freedom and happy life enjoyed by the Tibetan people.”

“But in reality, in the so-called “happy life in Tibet”, there was a long period of repression and unlawful measures of imprisonment of Tibetans,” the article noted.

Miss Chen further wrote about her impression of Mr Xi Jinping’s visit to Lhasa this year. “During his visit to Lhasa, the future Chinese president, Xi Jinping, not only did not meet Tibetans, but did not even visit a monastery. On the contrary, he met with officials from the police, army, political and judicial authorities. This act has exposed the Chinese government’s intention of brutal and repressive policy on Tibet,” she wrote.

“Since they rose against the force and oppression of the communist Chinese government in 1950s, the Tibetan people have persistently kept their struggle for their distinct land and faith, and to keep alive their thousands-year-old culture and identity. The Tibetans will continuously keep alive their struggle through many generations to come,” the article noted.

“As 2011 is nearing its end, the sacrifices made by the Tibetans this year will be etched in Tibet’s remarkable history,” Miss Chen wrote.

DHARAMSHALA: Due to the grim situation prevailing inside Tibet in view of the spate of self-immolations by Tibetans, Australian parliamentarians and political parties have urged China to respect the religious sentiments of the Tibetan people and stop the repressive policies being imposed on the monks of Kirti monastery in Ngaba.

The Office of Tibet based in Australia have repeatedly requested the Australian government, the Australian Parliament and Tibet support groups, to talk to China regarding the crisis in Tibet.

The Australian government, the Greens Party and both the upper and lower house of Parliament have recently held serious discussions regarding the matter and urged the Chinese government to address these urgent issues.

On 14 November, Mr Micheal Danby, the chairman of the parliamentary commission of Defense, Foreign Affairs and trade relations, and Mr Laurie Ferguson, chairman of the human rights commission, have released press statements.

The continuous suppression of Tibetan people’s religious freedom and human rights, particularly in northeastern Tibet, have led 11 Tibetans to self-immolate. They called for freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

PRETORIA: In his message to participants at the Global Africa uBuntu conference held in Johannesburg from 9 – 11 November, His Holiness the Dalai Lama underlined that “many of the world’s problems, conflicts and fears arise due to lack our ability to accept the oneness of humanity”.

“Today’s world requires us to accept the oneness of humanity. Many of the world’s problems, conflicts and fears arise because we have lost sight of the common experience that binds us all together as a human family,” His Holiness said in the message, which was read out by his representative to South Africa, Mr Sonam Tenzing.

“We tend to forget that despite the superficial differences between us, people are equal in their basic wish for peace and happiness. In the past, particular communities could afford to think of one another as fundamentally separate. Some could even exist in total isolation,” he said.

“But nowadays, whatever happens on one region eventually affects many other areas. Within the context of our new interdependence, self-interest clearly lies in considering the interest of others,” he added.

A short video message of Archbishop Desmond Tutu was shown to the conference participants, while representatives from various faith groups read their messages on the importance of oneness.

More than 800 participants from different parts of the world attended the three-day conference, which was organised by Oneness Africa organisation based in Johannesburg.

DHARAMSHALA: Echoing Australian government’s deep concern about reports of self-immolations by Tibetan monks and nuns in Tibet, Mr Michael Danby MP in the Australian Parliament has appealed to the Chinese authorities to respect the religious rights of Tibetan monks and to cease their repressive actions against those in the Kirti Monastery.

Following is the full text of the speech of Michael Danby MP, Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party and also Chairman of the Australian All Party Parliamentary Group For Tibet in the Australian Parliament, on 3 November 2011:

Earlier this year I visited the seat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamsala is the headquarters of eight Tibetan exile settlements in India. Many young Tibetans starved of their culture and facing repression make the heroic trek across the Himalayas to India to the Tibetan community that lives in freedom there.

Since March this year, 10 young Tibetans, including seven monks from the Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, have set themselves alight to protest the Chinese government’s restrictions on their religious and political freedom. Chinese authorities are using extreme force in the crackdown on the Kirti Monastery, where they are enforcing a ‘patriotic re-education campaign’ and have imposed an indefinite ban on religious activities at that critical monastery. The number of monks in the monastery has gone from 2,500 to around 400. Since March Ngaba has seen the presence of civilian and military personnel patrolling the area.

Yesterday the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion, Heiner Bielefeldt, said: “Intimidation of the lay and monastic community must be avoided, and the right of members of the monastic community and the wider community to freely practice their religion, should be fully respected by the Chinese Government.”

The restrictive and repressive measures enforced on the monks at Kirti include security raids and surveillance with police presence inside and outside the monastery to monitor religious activities. Over 300 monks have been disappeared by the Chinese authorities for “patriotic re-education” and many of them remain missing and unheard from by their families. A recent Human Rights Watch study found that per capita annual spending on public security in Ngaba was five times the average spent per person on public security in non-Tibetan areas of Sichuan.

The US State Department has called on China to respect human rights and the rights of Tibetans since the nine young Tibetans have set themselves on fire as a result of these restrictive Chinese practices. The US State Department said: “We urge Chinese leaders to address counterproductive policies in Tibetan areas that have created tensions; and to protect Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity.”

The crackdown on Tibetan monks since 2008 has been brutal. Beijing continues to restrict foreign journalists from travelling to Tibetan areas, jam radio broadcasts of Voice of America and Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan and Chinese language services. This is part of a strategy to eliminate the remnants of Tibetan identity and cultural heritage. The Chinese authorities continue to repress Tibetan culture.

On 19 October 2010, a decision was made to replace Tibetan with Mandarin as the main medium of instruction in Tibetan schools in the Qinghai province. Freedom of movement of monks and nuns is extremely limited within Lhasa and Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan. Last year in the Tibetan areas of Sichuan province, the Chinese government reportedly continued to remove monks under the age of 18, unregistered monks and monks and nuns from outside the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The process of eliminating Tibetan culture and the removal of monks and nuns is a direct violation of the freedom of religion. The Australian government is deeply concerned about reports of self-immolations by monks and nuns. Australian officials last week made renewed representations in Canberra and Beijing to their Chinese counterparts about these reports. Our embassy in Beijing has raised our concerns about reports of the continuing crackdown around the monastery and the province and increased security measures in the Tibetan areas. I entreat the Chinese authorities to respect the religious rights of Tibetan monks and to cease their repressive actions against those in the Kirti Monastery.

SYDNEY, Australia: A Tibetan Film and Art Festival, organised by The Tibet Effect and singer Tenzin Choegyal was held in Sydney, Australia from 3 November to 6 November.

The festival was inaugurated at the Sydney Opera House with singer Tenzin Choegyal singing various Tibetan songs while Maharishi and Tom Petty played musical instruments.

A discussion on, “ Is Tibet a Hopeless Cause” was also held at the inauguration where Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan freedom activist from Dharamshala was the invited guest. Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mr Dagpo Sonam Norbu and renowned human rights activist, Dr Howard Bill also participated in the dialogue.

The participants opined their views at the discussion on the causes of the spate of self-immolation protests that have taken place this year and expressed their solidarity while condemning the failed policies of the Chinese government that have led to the urgent situation inside Tibet.

The inauguration drew a large number of people and information about Tibet and the drastic situation prevailing inside Tibet has been successfully disseminated to the audience.

A total of six films about Tibet has been showcased at the Manly Theatre during the festival.