Tibet Information Office Australia

On behalf of the Australia Tibet Council (ATC) I am delighted to endorse the 12-hour symbolic fast and prayers on 30th August 2008. ATC members and supporters will be joining Australia’s Tibetan Communities at many locations across the country to observe the fast and join in this very timely and important peaceful action.

Over the coming weeks, as international attention on China subsides after the Olympic Games and we move into a new phase in the Tibetan struggle, it is more important than ever to maintain the international support for Tibet. It is timely for Tibetans and Tibet supporters to re-affirm their commitment to peace and non-violence.

For many Tibetans 2008 has been a year of tremendous hardship. Yet despite the immense challenges of recent months we remain convinced that under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and through a steadfast commitment to truth and non-violence, the coming months will mark the beginning of a brighter future for Tibet.

ATC is calling for substantive, results-orientated and time-bound negotiations on the future of Tibet to begin immediately. We are urging the Australian government to be forthright with the Chinese leadership and to encourage President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to enter into direct negotiations with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. ATC continues to call for full media access to Tibetan areas and for the release of the more than one thousand monks and lay Tibetans unaccounted for since March.

ATC sends its heartfelt support and encouragement to all the Tibetans, Tibet supporters and peace-loving people of the world who will be observing the 12-hour fast and prayers.

Paul Bourke
Executive Officer

11 August 2008: Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County, Ngaba “TAP”, Amdo Province (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - Three youths arrested for their suspected involvement in March protests

County Public Security Bureau (PSB) arrested Jampel and Lama, an elder and a younger son from Tarring family, and Jigme from Gaenyug family, in Charuwa village, Cha township, Ngaba county on 11 August for their suspected involvement in March protests.

10 August 2008

Karze (Ch: Ganzi) County, Karze “TAP”, Kham Province (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - A nun severely beaten for merely shouting slogans at the county government office

At around 8 a.m. on 10 August, People’s Armed Police severely beat and then arrested Dolma Yangzom (about 34), a nun from Tapon family in Lhopa village, Karze county, for shouting slogans such as “His Holiness the Dalai Lama must be invited to Tibet, the political prisoners including His Serenity Panchen Lama must be released immediately” at the county government office.

No Specific Date

Sera Monastery, near Lhasa, “TAR” - Few additional names of monks arrested from Sera monastery in March can be confirmed

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama will participate in a 12-hour prayer service and symbolic fasting to be observed by the Tibetans and peace-loving people around the world to reinforce their commitment to non-violence.

Dharamshala: It will be one of the most important non-violent campaign by the Tibetan Solidarity Committee to get support from the world community for world peace and fight against oppression in the world in general and particularly in Tibet.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaches from the text of Nagarjuna’s Treatise on the Middle Way, in Nantes, western France, on 20 August 2008.

Around the world, the synchronized 12-hour campaign will begin at 7 a.m. and go on till 7 p.m. on 30 August.

The Tibetan Solidarity Committee - convened by the Kashag and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile - is leading exile Tibetans’ activities under its unified leadership based on non-violent and Middle-Way Approach to bring an immediate end to the ongoing Chinese repression in Tibet.

The committee has appealed to the Tibetan supporters, champions of truth and non-violence around the world to join in this non-violent effort to reduce one’s defilements and to create wisdom and compassion in the minds of the oppressor.

It aims to bring solace to the departed souls of all those Tibetans and who are still enduring atrocities under the brutal Chinese oppression from their sufferings, and for the truth of Tibetan issue to prevail soon.

While observing the fast, people will recite prayers to enhance the collective merits of the Tibetan and Chinese people and long and healthy life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

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The UN’s Committee against Torture (CAT), an independent body of experts asked China to provide a complete list of all Tibetan detained following the March 2008 demonstration in Tibet. This request also includes information on their current location, convictions, etc. The independent body of experts monitors the implementation of the UN,s Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State parties.

The experts questioned China about what the secret regulations were applied in these cases and why? It further said, “In view of allegations that lawyers who offered to defend Tibetan protesters were warned that they would have their professional licenses suspended if they attempted to do so, please clarify what counsel was provided and whether the defendants were permitted to meet with that counsel in private, in advance of their trials.”

The experts also questioned why a detainee does not have the right to access to an independent doctor during pretrial detention or after conviction.

They also sought information from China about the 30 Tibetans who were sentenced between three years to life imprisonment. The experts asked China to clarify the basis of the sentences and how many cases involved confessions from the defendants. And whether the Tibetans had opportunities to appeal against the verdicts and if independent review or oversight board were assigned to these cases.

The UN’s independent body also sought information on any investigations into those deaths and whether there will be a transparent public inquiry into a number of deaths in connection with the unrest in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and neighboring prefectures and counties. Concerning administrative detention for re-education through labor, the committee sought information on other administrative detention centers as well as on persons detained under the 1997 Law on Administrative Penalties. The Committee also sought information on the whereabouts of Genden Choekyi Nyima - the Panchen Rinpoche was arrested by Chinese Security forces in May 1995 and since then there has been no information of his whereabouts.

During the UN Human Right session in November 2008, China,s fourth periodic report is schedule to review by the Committee. Tibetan NGOs will submit a shadow report on China’s violation of the convention’s articles. China as a signatory of the convention is obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented.

PARIS: International Herald Tribune: The Dalai Lama has accused China of torturing Tibetans, sometimes to death, during the Olympic Games.

Asked in an interview Saturday with TF1 television about the situation in Tibet during the Games, the Tibetan spiritual leader responded, “Unfortunately, the Olympic spirit is not all respected by Chinese officials inside Tibet.”

He said there was “very strong censorship” by Chinese authorities.

“And often civilians are arrested and tortured very violently, to the point where they die,” he said. “It’s very, very sad.”

The Dalai Lama’s comments were dubbed into French by the network, and a transcript of his original English-language comments was not immediately available.

The Dalai Lama is in France for most of the duration of the Olympics, for a visit focused on spiritual matters, but there have been a few political meetings as well.

French lawmakers who were briefed in private by the Dalai Lama last week said he spoke to them of ongoing “arbitrary arrests, summary executions and torture to death” inside Tibet.

( Reproduced from International Herald Tribune article published online August 17, 2008. | Link )

– By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

China’s cup runneth over. The Olympics are a milestone in Chinese history, a celebration of the Middle Kingdom’s return to international greatness after nearly two centuries of torpor and humiliation.

Yet the Olympics could end up being the second-most-significant event in China this year.

The Chinese leadership and the Tibetan government in exile have delicately discussed a possible visit by the Dalai Lama to China, nominally to commemorate the victims of the earthquake in Sichuan Province in May. That would be the first meeting between the Dalai Lama and Chinese leaders in more than 50 years and would give enormous impetus to resolving the Tibet question.

The opportunity arises in part because of the Dalai Lama’s public acknowledgement last week for the first time that he could accept Communist Party rule for Tibet. Previously, the Dalai Lama had seemed to demand something like the “one country, two systems” model of Hong Kong, and his concession was a courageous signal of his yearning to reach a deal with the Chinese government.

“The Dalai Lama has taken the kind of courageous step that great political leaders make at crucial turning points in history,” said Melvyn Goldstein, a prominent historian of modern Tibet and a professor at Case Western Reserve University. “After more than 20 years of stalemate, the Dalai Lama, at great risk to his standing in the West and among Tibetans in exile, has unilaterally sent Beijing a clear signal that he is now ready to accept the kind of difficult compromises that are needed to resolve the conflict.”

“For the first time in decades, reconciliation is now genuinely possible,” Professor Goldstein added.

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Dear Friends,

You might have seen the Appeal issued by the Tibetan Solidarity Committee to request all Tibetans, Tibet Support Groups and peace-loving people of the world to observe a 12-hour symbolic fasting and prayer on 30th August 2008 for world peace and, particularly, for the departed souls of the Tibetan people in recent months in Tibet. The appeal also re-commits ourselves to the path of non-violence. The objectives and how to observe the fasting are mentioned in detail in the appeal. If you have not received the appeal as yet, please visit our official website www.tibet.net and www.stoptibetcrisis.org.

We consider this as extremely important non-violent action taken by Tibetans under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a very critical period for Tibet, particularly the post-Olympic period. I personally request you and your organization to kindly participate in this fast and prayer and encourage many other people to join us in this effort to reduce our own defilements and to create wisdom and compassion in the minds of the oppressor. I believe you will cooperate us in this non-violent action.

With my warm personal greetings,

Your sincerely,

Samdhong Rinpoche
KALON TRIPA

The Sydney Morning Herald: August 8, 2008 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao have agreed to pursue discussions on human rights in China in the next round of bilateral talks later this year.

Mr Rudd said he raised the issues of human rights, Tibet and religious and internet freedom with Premier Wen during a 45-minute meeting in Beijing.

“I said to the Chinese leadership that on questions of human rights, of religious freedom, of Tibet, of internet freedom, that these continue to be concerns, that we would continue to prosecute these concerns, both through the discussions we have just had and through the bilateral human rights dialogue which lies ahead between Australia and China,” he told reporters in Beijing.

“We agreed that these matters will be pursued further in the continuation of Australia’s bilateral human rights dialogue between Canberra and Beijing, and we believe the next round of that dialogue will be scheduled for later this year.”

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To the Editor The New York Times:

I do not wish to respond to the entirety of Nicholas D. Kristof’s Aug. 7 column, “An Olive Branch From the Dalai Lama.” Mr. Kristof himself says that both sides will surely flinch at some terms, and he is correct about that.

The one point that needs immediate clarification is on the autonomous rights of the Tibetan people. The way it is presented, the reader may get the impression that the Tibet issue is only one of education, culture and religion.

Even according to Chinese law as spelled out in the White Paper on the Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet issued by the Chinese government in 2004, Tibetans are entitled to the following rights: full political right of autonomy; full decision-making power in economic and social development undertakings; freedom to inherit and develop their traditional culture and to practice their religious belief; and freedom to administer, protect and be the first to use their natural resources, and to independently develop their educational and cultural undertakings.

Lodi Gyari
Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Washington, Aug. 7, 2008

Reproduced from the online edition of The New York Times, published 8 August 2008.