A protest has been held in Amsterdam to call attention to a spate of self-immolations in Tibet. The demonstration drew about hundred Tibetan supporters. Despite freezing temperatures, they gathered at Dam Square in the centre of the city to light ritual fires and chant prayers before marching to Central Station. The demonstration was one of a series of coordinated protests held in cities around the world.

The latest self-immolation case was reported on the morning of the 8 February in the Eastern Tibetan town of Ngaba, only hours before the worldwide protests were set to start. It is unclear whether the monk who set himself on fire survived.

This brings the total number of self-immolations to 21 in the past year. The majority of those who set themselves on fire were monks, protesting against the restrictions on their community. Most of the self-immolations took place in the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region, which is held under strict control by the Chinese authorities.

The self-immolations were sparked off by riots in ethnic Tibetan areas in March 2008. Earlier this year, Chinese police opened fire on thousands of Tibetan protestors in Sichuan, killing at least seven and wounding dozens.

China has stepped up security, especially in the heavily Tibetan areas of Sichuan and Gansu provinces, in response to the recent self-immolations and sporadic protests, news agency Reuters reports.

James Renaldi is a Kathmandu based activist who has been involved in Tibetan rights campaigns for more than 20 years. “The western community has failed the Tibetan people when it comes to taking care of them,” he says, “and what you see is this tremendous level of frustration building up among the Tibetan people and there’s an increasing sense of hopelessness.”

Although the Chinese authorities point to the enormous investments they have made in the Tibetan populated areas, Tibetans themselves claim that the few educational and employment opportunities for young people are a severe handicap, and there is a heavy-handed Chinese control over the Tibetan monasteries.

Non-violent
Despite the biting cold on Dam Square in Amsterdam, Dutch people and Tibetans warmly gathered to commemorate the monks that have lost their lives.

Among the people defying the weather was Alejandra. “I am a political refugee myself,” she says. “My family and I came from Chili to settle in the Netherlands. It is not difficult for me to empathise with the Tibetan cause, because of my background. But I especially wanted to come here tonight, because I am deeply touched by the non-violent way Tibetans fight for justice.”

Carrying life-sized pictures of the deceased monks, the group marched the short distance from Dam Square to Central Station. The Tibetan participants led the way while chanting a prayer about death and rebirth.

While holding a torch in his hand, Tibetan refugee Lobsang pointed at the flame. “This protest tonight is like this fire,” he said. “It is our job as Tibetans living in a safe country to spread awareness amongst other people about what is going on in Tibet.”

Foreign pressure
Tibet campaigners from the west want the US and Europe to keep up pressure on China over the alleged abuses committed in the ethnic Tibetan areas.

James Renaldi says that “the world community [needs to be] courageous enough to prioritize human rights issues when it comes to China, and unify as a group or there is not going to be any real change.”

Dutch opposition MP Harry van Bommel joined the protest on behalf of the Socialist Party. He says he is disappointed at in the Dutch government’s involvement so far.

“I think the Dutch government did not do enough to make a statement concerning human rights in China. They had opportunities in the past, during the Olympic Games for example, but they kept quiet. European countries give priority to economic interests when it comes to the trade relationship with China.”

On 11 April the Dutch Lower House will debate human rights issues worldwide. Mr Van Bommel intends to raise the situation in China, as he says it demonstrates the dilemma of choosing between trade interests and basic human values.

“The Dutch government has failed to address the Tibetan issue in the European Parliament,” he says. “They condemn the actions of the Chinese, but refuse to speak out against them. I think this weakens the credibility of the Dutch government.”

With Tibetan New Year on February 22nd and the March 10th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising coming up, there are also reports of build-up of security forces and police in and around the city of Lhasa, and its key monasteries. Furthermore, draconian measures to restrict movement of Tibetans in the capital could further aggravate the tense situation in Tibet. The Central Tibetan Administration based in India, fears further bloodshed and loss of lives.

“Despite the Chinese government’s attempts to close off Tibetan areas and deny access to the world media, the international community must send a clear message to Beijing that the world is watching, and it will not remain silent in the face of the killing of innocent Tibetans who are simply asking for their fundamental right for freedom” stated Dicki Chhoyang, responsible for the Dept. of Information and International Relations for the Central Tibetan Administration. The Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) recently issued a statement calling on the Chinese government to abide by the terms of its agreement with the FCCC and allow media access to Tibetan areas.

“The self-immolations represent an emphatic rejection of the continued occupation of Tibet and repressive policies of the Chinese government. They express a stand firm for the freedom of the Tibetan people” added Dicki Chhoyang.

As stated by Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay, the elected leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, “to genuinely resolve the Tibet issue, and bring lasting peace, China must respect the right of the Tibetan people and engage them in dialogue rather than respond to protests with further repression.”

To demonstrate solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet and stand for truth and justice, the international community is invited to join a worldwide vigil on Wednesday, February 8, 2012.

Tibet groepen wereldwijd houden op woensdag 8 februari een wake uit solidariteit met het Tibetaanse volk. In Amsterdam, Tilburg en Breda komen Tibetanen en Tibet supporters samen om de slachtoffers van de zelfverbrandingen te herdenken en aandacht te vragen voor het toenemende Chinese geweld tegen ongewapende Tibetanen.

De International Campaign for Tibet, de Tibet Support Groep en de Tibetaanse gemeenschap houden op de Dam in Amsterdam een wake waarbij honderd Tibetanen en supporters samenkomen en kaarsen aansteken voor een boeddhistisch altaar.

Tsering Jampa, directeur International Campaign for Tibet Europe: ‘We vragen de Nederlandse regering om bij de Chinese regering aan te dringen op de terugtrekking van de veiligheidstroepen rond de kloosters en te stoppen met het gebruik van geweld.‘

Door de toenemende repressie en mensenrechtenschendingen van de Chinese veiligheidstroepen is het aantal protesten in Tibet de afgelopen maand toegenomen. Op 24 januari heeft de Chinese politie het vuur geopend op ongewapende Tibetaanse demonstranten en zes mensen gedood. Onderzoekers en journalisten worden in Tibet niet meer toegelaten; de regio is hermetisch afgesloten.

In januari hebben vier Tibetanen, als een extreme daad van wanhoop, zichzelf in brand gestoken. Zij riepen hierbij op tot de terugkeer van de Dalai Lama en vrijheid voor Tibet. Sinds 2009 hebben er in totaal zeventien zelfverbrandingen plaatsgevonden in Tibet.

De international Campaign for Tibet-Europe, de Tibet Support Groep en de Tibetaanse Gemeenschap vragen Westerse democratieën om een publieke verklaring uit te brengen tijdens de EU-China top van 14 februari in Peking, en bij de Chinese regering aan te dringen op:

1. het stoppen met geweld tegen ongewapende Tibetanen.
2. terugtrekken van de veiligheidstroepen rond de kloosters.
3. toelaten van internationale onderzoekers in Tibet.
4. hervatten van de dialoog tussen de Chinese regering en de afgevaardigden van de Dalai Lama.

The photos are from the January 24 protests that engulfed Serthar in eastern Tibet where a large crowd of Tibetans gathered in the central town and started raising slogans calling for Tibet’s independence.

Over 600 Chinese security personnel arrived at the scene of the protests and began firing indiscriminately at the crowd. Sources in exile have said that at least five Tibetans suffered fatal bullet injuries while over 40 Tibetans were seriously injured.

The photos that reached Phayul this morning from two different sources show Chinese police mercilessly beating an unarmed Tibetan protester with batons while he is lying face down on the street.

Another image shows two Chinese security personnel dragging away a Tibetan from his leg and arm down the street.

“We know that this harrowing scene playing out in the images from Serthar is being repeated across Tibet as Tibetans are attacked and harassed by Chinese authorities for simply advocating their basic
rights and freedom,” the Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet, Tenzin Dorjee said.

The UK based Free Tibet in a release today said the photos underlined the brutal nature of Chinese occupation in Tibet.

“Despite China’s efforts to control information, these pictures show the determination of Tibetans to expose to the world what China doesn’t want us to see,” Free Tibet said.

“Can the international community continue to turn a blind eye when the ongoing brutality of the occupation is clear for all to see?”

Following the widespread protests that engulfed the entire Tibetan plateau in 2008, the Tibetan region of Serthar has been a centre of Tibetan resistance.

Last year, on October 1, China’s National Day, Tibetans in Serthar unfurled a large painted cloth portrait of the Dalai Lama and raised the Tibetan national flag on the roof of a three-storey building in the
town center. Protests broke out when Chinese authorities removed the portrait and flag.

Preceding the January 24 mass demonstrations, Tibetans in rural villages in Serthar carried out protests on January 18 and 22 while a larger demonstration was also reported on January 23 in Serthar town where a banner reading: “We protest against failed Chinese policies in Tibet” was unfurled.

This is the second occasion when rare photos of the recent protests in Tibet have come out to exile. Yesterday, Phayul released a number of photos of Tibetans killed and injured with bullet marks after Chinese security personnel fired indiscriminately on Tibetan protesters in Drango on January 23.

The entire region continues to remain under heavy military surveillance with phone lines and internet connections cut off.

Speaker Penpa Tsering and Deputy Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel announced a series of other solidarity campaigns at a press conference yesterday held at the Tibetan headquarters in Dharamshala.

“Tibetan parliamentarians will sit on fast on the first day of the Tibetan New Year, and we urge all Tibetans to observe fasting to show solidarity and support with the Tibetans inside Tibet,” Speaker Tsering said.

In the coming days, a four-member delegation of Tibetan parliamentarians will be travelling to the Indian capital New Delhi to meet representatives of the United Nations and various countries including those of the Chinese embassy.

Working through its network of support groups in over 20 parliaments worldwide, Tibetan lawmakers will strive to see that new resolutions on Tibet are tabled in their respective parliaments.

In a four-page press release in Tibetan, the parliamentarians noted that during the upcoming March session of the Tibetan Parliament, a special resolution will be tabled, coinciding with the one year anniversary of monk Phuntsog’s self-immolation on March 16, 2011. The parliamentarians will debate on the critical situation inside Tibet in the course of the discussions.

Speaker Tsering said the TPiE neither encourages nor discourages Tibetans inside Tibet from carrying out protests.

“They (Tibetans inside Tibet) are far more innovative than us in organising protests. They use slogans and organise protests in a way that we in exile can barely think of,” the Speaker said.

The parliamentarians made a strong appeal to world leaders for their intervention in deescalating the prevailing critical situation inside Tibet.

“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,” the Speaker noted.

The Tibetan law makes also released an open letter addressed to the president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hu Jintao urging him to withdraw the large reinforcement of military from Tibetan areas and take measure to give due consideration to the aspirations of the Tibetan people.

“As President of PRC, you have professed harmonious relationship between nationalities as one of the cardinal principles for nation building. However, what you said and what is being implemented is self contradictory,” the letter noted.

“We have heard your leaders, over and over again that the western world does not treat China on an equal footing. And may we ask, do you treat your nationalities on an equal footing?”

The letter urged President Hu to “stop policies and programmes aimed at destroying the identity of the Tibetan people” and called for a “Tibetan fact finding delegation” to be allowed to visit Tibet.

The Tibetan parliamentarians also urge the Chinese President to “resume dialogue with the Tibetans with the commitment and conviction to seek a lasting solution to the issue of Tibet.”

“We express the above sentiments with hope in our hearts that positive sense will prevail over you and your colleagues and immediately respond to the legitimate concerns, failing which you and your government will be held solely responsible for any adverse consequences if the matter are not addressed in a humane way,” the letter read.

Following the fiery wave of self-immolation that has seen 16 Tibetans set themselves on fire since March 2011, at least a dozen Tibetans are feared to have been killed in Chinese police firings in three separate incidents in Serthar, Ngaba and Drongo region of Tibet, this week alone.

“The Chinese government should immediately investigate shootings of Tibetan protesters by security forces, open Tibetan areas to international observers, and engage with representatives of the Tibetan community to address grievances and growing violence,” Human Rights Watch said today.

Reports coming from Tibet say Ugen, aged 20, was killed after police fired into a crowd which tried to block them from arresting a Tibetan named Tharpa in Dzamtsang county in Ngaba. Reports say Tharpa pasted leaflets demanding the Chinese authorities to address the grievances of those who have self-immolated. He has written his name on the leaflet and dared the Chinese authorities to come and arrest him if they wanted.

Later, as the security were taking away Tharpa from his Ripung Normotsang house in Dzamtsang, the local people blocked the security forces and warned them with mass protest. The confrontation prompted the security forces to open fire on the crowd, killing Ugen and wounding several others. The names and other details of those wounded are not yet known.

“In the current very volatile situation, it is especially important for Chinese forces to refrain from using disproportionate force,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.

“Measures that violate human rights and reinforce the population’s grievances won’t achieve China’s goal of ‘restoring order;’ however, they will aggravate and prolong the tragic cycle of violence that is taking hold,” she said.

Human Rights Watch said that the number of protests across the region appears to be rising rapidly, with other incidents reported this week in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces, which have large Tibetan populations.

Sixteen Tibetans, all current or former monks and nuns, have set themselves on fire since March 2011, four of them in January 2012. Twelve of the sixteen have died from their injuries. Most of the incidents have taken place in western Sichuan province, but immolations have now spread to places in the Tibet Autonomous Region on December 1, 2011, and in Qinghai Province on January 8, 2012.

“The Chinese government should immediately investigate the response of security forces to the protests and open Tibetan areas to access by international media and observers, including United Nations rapporteurs,” Human Rights Watch said.

“It should also send high-level officials to engage directly with Tibetan community representatives about the issues underlying the self-immolations and popular protests,” it said.

“As protests and immolations increase in number and spread geographically, the Chinese government must engage in serious discussion about Tibetans’ fundamental grievances,” Richardson said. “The Obama administration should make this issue a priority during Vice President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States next month, urging restraint and the establishment of genuine dialogue.”

US to raise Tibet issue with Chinese Vice FM

A US State Department official said Thursday that Under Secretary Maria Otero would reiterate their grave concerns on the critical situation in Tibet to the visiting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai.

During a regular press briefing on 26 January, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland was asked by a reporter about what message would Under Secretary Sherman would give to the visiting Chinese vice foreign minister on the recent protests in Tibet and Chinese reaction to those protests. Ms Nuland said: “Well, we’ve spoken out very strongly in the last couple of days. We have from this podium. We’ve also issued a statement from Under Secretary of State Otero expressing our grave concerns about the reports of unrest and violence. So I would guess that she will reiterate those concerns.”

“We are honored that Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay will deliver this spring’s President’s Lecture,” said WCSU President James W. Schmotter. “Dr. Sangay will provide insights about the political and human rights dimensions of Tibet’s complex status today.”

An alumnus of Harvard University, Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay is an expert on Tibet, international human rights law, democratic constitutionalism and conflict resolution.

Prior to his election as the Kalon Tripa, Dr Lobsang Sangay has lectured at various universities, think-tanks throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

The lecture, entitled “Democracy in Exile: the Case of Tibet,” will be free and is open to the public.

Some twelve heavy security checkpoints have been placed from Zhangmu at the Nepal-Tibet border till Lhasa. Extra units of personnel from the Public Security Bureau were posted to stop and search Tibetan devotees returning to Tibet from India through Nepal.

Medicines and religious artifacts brought by the Tibetan devotees from their pilgrimage are being forcefully confiscated. Even rosaries which is carried by almost every Tibetan are being snatched away, a source said.

It is also reported that the Chinese security guards resort to verbal abuse and physical threats when asked about reasons for frisking them without any official warrants.

Around 8000 Tibetans from Tibet had come to India to attend the recently concluded Kalachakra initiations by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Bodh Gaya.

“The human rights climate has always ebbed and flowed in China, up and down, but we seem to be in a down period and it’s getting worse,” Ambassador Gary Locke told interviewer Charlie Rose on US public television earlier this week.

The timing of Ambassador Locke’s comments is being considered critical as it comes days after the 17th Tibetan self-immolated protesting China’s rule over Tibet and weeks before China’s heir apparent Vice President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit America. In fact, the ambassador was in Washington to hold discussions ahead of Xi’s visit.

Ambassador Locke said that the increasing detentions of democracy activists, dissidents, and lawyers in China, following the “Arab Spring” were clear pointers at the threat the country’s communist leaders felt from mass pro-democracy uprisings.

“The Chinese leaders are very fearful of something similar happening within China,” Locke said.

“So there’s been a significant crackdown on dissension, political discussion, even the rights and the activities of lawyers who advocate on behalf of people who have been poisoned from tainted food and medicines.”

Before his appointment in July last year, Ambassador Locke, appearing before the US Senate confirmation hearing had said he will “work closely with the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues and her office to ensure that Tibetan issues are raised frequently and candidly with China’s leaders”.

“If confirmed, in consultation with the Special Coordinator, I will support further dialogue between China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama to resolve concerns and differences, including the preservation of the religious, linguistic and cultural identity of the Tibetan people,” Ambassador Locke had stated.

‘The drastic actions taken by the protesters reflect the failed policies of the Chinese government in Tibet. We urge the United Nations and the world community to exert more pressure on China to reform its failed policies especially with regard to human rights in Tibet’, the press release said.

‘Tsultrim and Tennyi, both in their early 20s, self-immolated on 6 January in Ngaba, eastern Tibet calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet’.

Tsultrim died on the spot while Tennyi died the following morning from injuries sustained from the self-immolation.

‘Another Tibetan, Sonam Wangyal/Sopa Rinpoche,(42), a venerated spiritual figure from Golok Darlag county in eastern Tibet, died after he set himself on fire on 8 January. He was also calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the restoration of freedom for Tibet’, the press release noted.

Norbu Damdul, who set himself on fire in Ngaba on 15 October 2011 also passed away on 5 January. His last remains,after being cremated had been handed over to his family by the Chinese police, the press statement further said.

A total of 15 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in protest against the Chinese government in Tibet since March 2011. Out of which 11 have died and the rest were severely injured or their whereabouts are yet to be ascertained.