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Ramallah / PNN - Hundreds of people took part in Friday prayers in the threatened village of Na’lin. Thousands of dunams have already been confiscated for the Wall and settlements in the area.Leading yesterday’s service was Sheikh Salah Al Khawaja who said that the prayer and ensuing demonstration were not only part of the continuing struggle in Na’lin, but were also being held in solidarity with Jerusalem. He called for full participation in the ongoing campaign to stop the conversion of the city and the attacks on its holy places. The Sheikh added that national Palestinian unity - a full reconciliation between parties - is necessary to combat the policies of occupation.

Reporting from Cairo - He doesn't seem a radical or a troublemaker, but to the Egyptian government, Abdel Fattah Rizk, a surgeon with a graying mustache and hands pink from scrubbing, is a man to be watched.He belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, the most potent opposition group in the country. Hundreds of its members are in prison and many more are lying low. But even as security forces scour the nation for dissent, the Brotherhood is everywhere, from the shacks of handymen to the estates of millionaires and the halls of parliament.The government of President Hosni Mubarak paints the Brotherhood as an extremist organization with terrorist ties determined to impose strict Islamic law across Egypt. The group says it renounced violence decades ago, and its real threat to the ruling party is its appeal to the educated and middle class, who view the regime as corrupt and too beholden to the West. Although there are radicals among its members, the Brotherhood espouses a moderate Islam to reshape Middle East politics.

Under a vast plain of dried mud, set between southern Taiwan's lush mountains, 400 bodies still lie that were buried alive three weeks ago in typhoon Morakot, the island's most recent and deadly natural disaster. The now infamous village of Siaolin — the worst hit by Morakot — was the first stop for the Dalai Lama, Tibet's leader-in-exile, on his visit to Taiwan this week. Wrapped in his saffron and maroon robes, he sat in the traditional leg-cross on a blue and gold straw mat, overlooking the tragic plain, and recited Tibetan prayers. He then stood up to speak to the dead.

Tens of thousands of people in Mali's capital, Bamako, have been protesting against a new law which gives women equal rights in marriage.The law, passed earlier this month, also strengthens inheritance rights for women and children born out of wedlock. The head of a Muslim women's association says only a minority of Malian women - "the intellectuals" as she put it - supports the law.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan's leader said Thursday he has agreed to let the Dalai Lama visit the island to comfort survivors of a devastating typhoon, in a surprising move that could anger China.President Ma Ying-jeou's announcement was unexpected because he has made a priority of seeking better relations with China, and just last December nixed plans for a visit by the Buddhist spiritual leader in what was deemed a move to placate Beijing.But his government has come under fire over its slow response to Typhoon Morakot, which claimed 670 lives when it hit Aug. 8-9, and opposition politicians in the storm zone pointedly invited the Tibetan spiritual leader to the island to console survivors.

A group of about 20 Tibetans protesting the crackdown by Chinese officials in Tibet scaled the walls of the United Nations compound in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday. Tibetan exiles are detained at a protest against China outside the UN office in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Friday.The protesters who made it inside the compound were not immediately detained, but waited in a conference room inside the building, a UN official told the Associated Press.Around 100 other protesters demonstrated outside the compound. Police surrounded the area, arresting around 60 people.

All Tibetan groups say that more than 100 people have died in recent incidents; thousands more have been hurt and arrested. They denounce torture and continued brutality, making pressing appeals to the international community to push Beijing to stop its repression, calling for an enquiry. The peaceful march from Dharamsala (India) to Tibet is suspended.

Chinese riot police opened fire on protestors in Tibet on Friday, killing at least two, according to reports by Radio Free Asia. Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over the past few days have given way to the biggest and angriest demonstrations the region has seen in nearly two decades, with armed anti-riot police patrolling the streets just months before the Beijing Olympics.The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy says that after a small, peaceful protest by monks on Friday morning, hundreds of other monks as well as ordinary people joined in. By the afternoon, protestors were marching through the streets of the capital Lhasa, torching shops and cars in protest of Chinese occupation. That's when the Chinese police allegedly opened fire.

Around 100 monks staged a candle-lit vigil and protest outside the government headquarters in Mangra (Chinese: Guinan) county, Tsolho (Chinese: Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Qinghai on Wednesday, the first day of Tibetan New Year (Losar), according to reports and images received by the Tibetan language service of Radio Free Asia. The images, which can be viewed on ICT's website at: URL) depict monks from Lutsang monastery holding candles in memory of Tibetans killed in the ongoing crackdown following protests across Tibet since March 10, 2008. The monastery is now surrounded by armed police, with an ultimatum issued today for the organizers of the protest to "surrender" within 48 hours, and for any monks who own a portrait of the Dalai Lama to be expelled from the monastery, according to RFA.

Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has urged Beijing to give meaningful autonomy to Tibet and end China's "cultural genocide" in the region.The Nobel Laureate, who won the Peace Prize in 1989 for leading a non-violent struggle for the liberation of his homeland, reiterated his assertion that he was not for a separate Tibet, but, sought meaningful autonomy for Tibet within China. The Dalai Lama led an inter-faith prayer meeting at Rajghat on Saturday in remembrance of Tibetans who lost their lives during their recent protest against China.

A non-violent Greek activist was arrested on Friday May 25, 2007, at a non-violent demonstration in the village of Artas, Bethlehem, Palestine. The demonstration was organized by Palestinians and joined by Israeli and international solidarity activists.On Sunday, May 20, Israeli Occupation Forces uprooted 28 apricot and date trees in order to build a sewage system for the Illegal Israeli colony of Efrata. Israel is also continuing to build the Apartheid Wall right through the center of this village.The Greek activist has been charged with "assault leading to injury" and "disrupting soldiers work," both of which are completely bogus.This demonstration was non-violent. Not a single rock was thrown, yet the soldiers responded to the protesters with force.

 

Over the summer, tens of thousands of Kashmiri protesters jammed the streets demanding independence from India. It was the biggest public outcry since the revolt of 1989, when mass demonstrations were a prelude to years of militancy. The difference today is that a new generation of politically-minded youth is leading the way. While frustrations over the heavy-handed presence of Indian forces and economic inequalities still run deep, they are choosing non-violent means to push for change.

 

This video documents a demonstration and metta meditation in support of justice, democracy and loving kindness in front of the Myanmar (Burmese) embassy in Washington, DC October 4, 2007. The woman speaker is Nnin Nnin Pyne (h2pyne(at)yahoo.com). The man leading the metta mediation is Hugh Byrne, a teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in DC.Democratic rule ended in 1962 when General Ne Win led a military coup d'état. He ruled for nearly 26 years and pursued policies under the rubric of the Burmese Way to Socialism. Between 1962 and 1974, Burma was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general, and almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalized or brought under government control (including the Boy Scouts). In an effort to consolidate power, General Ne Win and many top generals resigned from the military and took civilian posts and, from 1974, instituted elections in a one party system.Between 1974 and 1988, Burma was effectively ruled by General Ne Win through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP)., which from 1964 until 1988 was the sole political party. During this period, Burma became one of the world's most impoverished countries. The Burmese Way to Socialism combined Soviet-style nationalization and central planning with the governmental implementation of what most Westerners would consider superstitious beliefs. Criticism was scathing, such as an article published in a February 1974 issue of Newsweek magazine describing the Burmese Way to Socialism as 'an amalgam of Buddhist and Marxist illogic'.Almost from the beginning there were sporadic protests against the military rule, many of which were organized by students, and these were almost always violently suppressed by the government. On July 7, 1962 the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University killing 15 students. In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976 and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974.In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalized plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989.SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years. The National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 489 seats, but the election results were annulled by SLORC, which refused to step down. Led by Than Shwe since 1992, the military regime has made cease-fire agreements with most ethnic guerrilla groups. In 1992, SLORC unveiled plans to create a new constitution through the National Convention, which began 9 January 1993. In 1997, the State Law and Order Restoration Council was renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).On 23 June 1997, Burma was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The National Convention continues to convene and adjourn. Many major political parties, particularly the NLD, have been absent or excluded, and little progress has been made.[citation needed] On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".In November 2006, the International Labour Organization (ILO) announced it will be seeking - at the International Court of Justice.[40] - "to prosecute members of the ruling Myanmar junta for crimes against humanity" over the continuous forced labour of its citizens by the military. According to the ILO, an estimated 800,000 people are subject to forced labour in Myanmar.The 2007 Burmese anti-government protests were a series of anti-government protests that started in Burma on August 15, 2007. The immediate cause of the protests was mainly the unannounced decision of the ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council, to remove fuel subsidies which caused the price of diesel and petrol to suddenly rise as much as 100%, and the price of compressed natural gas for buses to increase fivefold in less than a week. The protest demonstrations were at first dealt with quickly and harshly by the junta, with dozens of protesters arrested and detained. Starting September 18, the protests had been led by thousands of Buddhist monks, and those protests had been allowed to proceed until a renewed government crackdown on September 26. During the crack-down, there were rumors of disagreement within the Burmese military, but none were confirmed. Some news reports referred to the protests as the Saffron Revolution.Protesters in Yangon with a banner that reads non-violence: national movement in Burmese, in the background is Shwedagon PagodaOn 7 February 2008, SPDC announced that a referendum for the Constitution would be held, and Elections by 2010. The Burmese constitutional referendum, 2008 was held on May 10 and promised a "discipline-flourishing democracy" for the country in the future.World governments remain divided on how to deal with the military junta. Calls for further sanctions by Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and France are opposed by neighboring countries; in particular, China has stated its belief that "sanctions or pressure will not help to solve the issue".

On May 3, 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastated the country when winds of up to 215 km/h (135 mph) touched land in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division. Reports estimated that more than 130,000 people are dead or missing from Cyclone Nargis that hit the country's Irrawaddy delta. Damage totaled to 10 billion dollars (USD); it was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history. Adds the World Food Programme, "Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out." The United Nations projects that as many as 1 million were left homeless; and the World Health Organization "has received reports of malaria outbreaks in the worst-affected area.Yet in the critical days following this disaster, Burma's isolationist regime complicated recovery efforts by delaying the entry of United Nations planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies into the Southeast Asian nation. The government's failure to permit entry for large-scale international relief efforts was described by the United Nations as "unprecedented.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma

 

Nepalese police detain a Tibetan protester near the Chinese consulate in Katmandu. Photograph: Binod Joshi/APHuman rights campaigners scaled up anti-China protests today with demonstrations around the world and an unauthorised broadcast from inside Beijing as the Olympic opening ceremony began. While a heavy police presence ensured the streets of the host city remained calm, Chinese authorities were unable to stop the pirate radio transmission by media group Reporters Without Borders in the capital.Using transmitters and a homemade antenna, the message, broadcast in Mandarin, English and French, urged the government to relax state control of the media and called for the release of imprisoned journalists. Meanwhile, large protests were held in cities including London, Hong Kong, Delhi and Kathmandu.In London, around 200 protesters converged on the Chinese Embassy in Portland Place, shouting anti-China slogans and waving "Free Tibet" placards.Demonstrators from Tibet, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Burma joined forces to protest against human rights violations and China's hosting of the Olympics. Beating drums and chanting, the group unfurled banners attacking China for supporting the Burmese regime while another flag read "End murder, rape and torture in Zimbabwe". In a small side-street away from the main protest, pro-China demonstrators in smart suits held a smaller, more muted gathering in support of the games, waving Chinese and British flags.In Delhi as many as 3,000 Tibetan monks and refugees shouting anti-Chinese slogans clashed with police as they braved heavy rains to protest next to India's parliament.Hundreds of protesters dressed in yellow and green "Free Tibet" T-shirts stamped on posters of the Chinese president, Hu Jintao. In Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India, 3,000 Tibetan monks and exiles took to the streets, demanding an end to Beijing rule in their homeland.In the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, more than 1,300 Tibetans, including nuns and monks, shouted and wept as they marched on the Chinese consulate. Protesters chanted "China out of Tibet" and "Stop cultural genocide". Many wore red and blue ribbons emblazoned with "Free Tibet" around their heads.Police said they detained more than 400 people, many of them women, but that they were likely be freed later in the day.And in Hong Kong, Matt Pearce, from Bristol, England, hung two banners on road signs on the Tsing Ma bridge. The banners read "We want human rights and democracy" and "The people of China want freedom from oppression".Officials shut down traffic on the bridge's upper deck where Pearce was protesting. Television footage showed Pearce wearing a horse's head mask and a white shirt bearing the Olympic rings, while carrying a guitar. His protest ended after about an hour when men in plain clothes bustled him away.Hong Kong police said in a statement that officers arrested Pearce for causing a public nuisance and he was being held for questioning.A Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator, Emily Lau, and a Hong Kong group critical of China's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989 were expected to protest later near the Olympic equestrian venue.Olympic organisers moved the equestrian event from Beijing to the former British colony of Hong Kong because of a rash of equine diseases and substandard quarantine procedures on the mainland.The Beijing games have become a focus for activists critical of China on issues ranging from its human rights record and heavy-handed rule in Tibet to its abortion policies and repression of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.Beijing considers the games - which cost billions of dollars and took seven years to prepare - a huge source of national pride, and is desperate to ensure they go smoothly. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/08/china.tibet

Global Uprising to Include Exiles' March to Tibet New Delhi -- Five leading Tibetan organizations announced today the launch of the "Tibetan People's Uprising Movement", a new coordinated Tibetan resistance effort in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Games will take place only months before the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising against China's invasion of Tibet. The movement's organizers are calling on Tibetans worldwide to join protests during the Beijing Olympics and support a return march of exile Tibetans to their homeland. "Today, in the spirit of the 1959 Uprising and in memory of the courageous Tibetans who sacrificed their lives for Tibet's independence and continue to resist China's brutal occupation, we are launching a unified movement to bring about an end to Chinese rule in Tibet," said Tsewang Rigzin, President of Tibetan Youth Congress.The organizing committee that China's leadership is using the Beijing Olympics as a platform to gain international acceptance and to legitimize its illegal rule in Tibet. After almost five decades of oppression and cultural assimilation, the situation inside Chinese occupied Tibet is dire. "We are calling on Tibetans worldwide to join us at this critical moment when China is trying to spread its Olympics propaganda," said B. Tsering, President of the Tibetan Women's Association. "Together, we will seize this unprecedented opportunity to voice Tibetan resistance and reinvigorate our freedom struggle." The march to Tibet is an initiative by exile Tibetans to strengthen Tibetan resistance by taking the struggle home. The march will commence on March 10th, the 49th commemoration of the Tibetan National Uprising in Tibet. Tibetans worldwide will engage in non-violent direct actions and mass protests during China's Olympic torch relay and the Games themselves. "Our message to China's leadership is loud and clear that after fifty years, Tibetans in exile are determined to return to our homeland and be reunited with our Tibetan brothers and sisters," said Ngawang Woeber, President of the Gu Chu Sum, the ex-political prisoners' association. Members of the organizing committee: Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women's Association, Gu Chu Sum Movement of Tibet, National Democratic Party of Tibet, and Students for a Free Tibet, India.

 

Dear friend:*Now Tibet is not so far*When I packed my sleeping bag that early morning before sunrise for this long journey, I placed a white khatak at the altar of His Holiness and said I have decided, whatever happens, I will make my way through. Walking for almost 70 days with 300 people covering more than 900 kilometers hrough Himachal, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, we reached Almora town yesterday in the Kumaon Mountains in the north Indian state of Uttrakhand. From here Tibet is not very far.The March to Tibet began from Dharamsala on 10th March, the same day similar uprisings happened all around the world, organized by Tibetans and Tibet supporters, even in Tibet -- a global Tibetan uprising. We started with 100 core marchers, on our way many more joined us. As we leave Almora tomorrow into the high mountain valleys towards Tibet, we are 300 marchers and 8 support marchers who are foreigners from different countries, some of whom have been with us all the way from Dharamsala.All along the route, the Indian people have welcomed us with warmth, cheered our spirit and in some places offered us water and shelter. At most places we spent our nights in ashrams, Gurudwaras and schools, sometimes on empty grounds on the roadside, where the local municipality provided water in tankers driven by tractors. Indians have a culture of going for long journeys across their country for pilgrimages and therefore hospitality is a natural custom. The police have been sending an escort all along the route in jeeps or on motorbikes passing the security duty from one district to the next.You must be aware that we were arrested by Indian police in Kangra District on the 13th March and jailed us for 14 days. The second batch of the March was launched 3 days later and that carried on the March spirit. After our release, all 100 of us rejoined the March, but there is already a court case slapped on us. At the end of the last month, Choeying, Lobsang Yeshi and I had to appear in Dehra court and will have to do the same again in June. I learned that some people had the impression from various media reports that the March had been canceled. I myself received phone calls from few people whose doubts I cleared. Seeing an imminent confrontation at the border, His Holiness did advise the organizers against the continuation of the March, but after seeing the courageous non-violent uprisings that happened all over Tibet and the ongoing Chinese crackdown on our people in Tibet, our commitment was revitalized by their sacrifice and inspired us. Now we can't stop it. So we re-launched the March to Tibet from Delhi on the 19th April after a temporary halt.The journey from Delhi passing through UP was difficult; it was extremely hot, dry and dusty. The trucks and buses on the highway threatened to run over us sometimes rushing by our ears, and sometimes stopping by to pick our campaign flyers that we were handing out on the road. We walked, one after the other in a long single file like the multiple legs of a millipede -- one long body. Even when the head has taken the next turn, the tail is still trailing behind from the last corner.The Marchers wake up at 4 am, after washing and packing sleeping bags, tents and mattresses, we have breakfast and start walking at 5 am. Usually walking for 6 to 7 hours a day we cover a distance of 20-25 kilometers, sometimes walking even 27 or 28 kilometers. The logistics and kitchen team move ahead in trucks and set up the camp. At many places water is luxury. We bathe under hand-pump water taps on the roadsides; scores of monks bathe together sometimes in wheat fields. It's a great experience answering nature's calls in open fields under the moonlight with a jug of water by your side. Most of the marchers are Buddhist monks from the 3 monastic universities in south India; some old people who escaped from Tibet along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1959, the eldest one being 78. The youngest are wo 17-year-old boys, born and brought up in India and have never seen Tibet. There are several young mothers who left behind their family in the care of their husbands. Our communication team tries to reach out to the outside world and also arranges opportunities to talkto local media. During the evening gatherings, after the daily prayer, the media coordinator tells the news. Many times the Marchers applaud Tibet support actions taken in different parts of India and abroad. The protest against the torch in London, Paris, San Francisco, Canberra and Tokyo received huge appreciation. The ongoing Tibetan protests in Kathmandu are highly appreciated understanding Nepalese police brutality.We are now starting the last leg of the March. FromAlmora to the border is just barely 200 kilometers, and it will now be cold as we ascend higher into the Himalayas. I know returning to a homeland that is still under foreign occupation won't be easy. Chinese military will of course guard the border with machine guns, even Indian police will find an excuse to stop us. Confrontation is inevitable, but we are not stopping. We may even have to camp at the border for a long time, might have to call for international support and participation. We march into uncertainty.The March to Tibet is a process for us to return to our homeland and reclaim our right to be in our native land in freedom. Whatever happens, we have deep commitment to non-violence; we will not retaliate. We may be beaten, jailed or even shot at, but we are not giving up. And for me there is no other plan in life other than this March. For all of us marchers, this is our life commitment.

http://www.tibetanuprising.org/

 

As the residents of China's Sichuan province continue to come to terms with the effects of a devastating earthquake which has killed more than 62,000 people, they will find compassion expressed in some unlikely quarters. Ngawang Khunkyen, one of the many exiled Tibetan monks in India, shares in their sorrow. "The entire exile community is grieving," Ngawang, 30, told Al Jazeera. "We express our grief by praying. We gather at the temple to recite Tara mantras, praying for a speedy recovery of all those who suffer," he said from his home in Dharmasala, a city in India that is home to some of Tibet's most recognised leaders, including their spiritual leader, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. Tara mantras are a special set of prayers recited when Tibetans pray for the recovery of people who are sick or those who are mourning. As an act of compassion, Tibetans have put aside their differences with Beijing, who they say has stood in the way of their autonomy, in order to pray for victims of the earthquake. While acknowledging that they cannot forget that China has occupied Tibet since 1950, the Tibetan monks say they empathise with the Chinese families who have suffered. 'Cultivate compassion' In the past few months, the exiled community has expressed anger and discontent in the form of protests, hunger strikes, candlelight vigils, and peace marches in response to China's crackdown on dissent in Tibet. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) reports that as many as 200 Tibetans were killed during the unrest. After two months, exiles are still emotionally charged, but not without a hint of grief. "After March 10, many people were very angry at the Chinese government," says Ngawang, "but after the earthquake, [Tibetans] feel very sad for the people who died in China." As a refugee monk, Ngawang wakes up at dawn to pray and meditate. "At five in the morning, I pray for the people who suffer in this world. Until recently, I prayed for all sentient beings. But now, I really pray for China." Many would readily dismiss the idea that Tibetans pray for the Chinese; however, in a time when China has suffered from great misfortune, Ngawang sees prayer as its remedy. "When we pray, we cultivate compassion for the people we love and the people we hate." Born in Tibet during Chinese occupation, Ngawang has been a monk since childhood. His calm demeanour is often matched by the carefully chosen words he articulates. In 1993, Ngawang, then 15, participated in a demonstration outside Lhasa. "We desired human rights and democracy. We told the Chinese government to leave and have the Dalai Lama return to Tibet. We were arrested and I was imprisoned for three years." After his release, he sought refuge at a Tibetan refugee settlement in India. He now lives in a refugee centre with fellow Tibetan monks who have endured similar adversities. Transparent message With China's sphere of influence expanding both politically and economically, the Dalai Lama and the CTA believe genuine autonomy is the most pragmatic solution to this decades-old conflict. The Dalai Lama is optimistic in future dialogue with China, but the hope for amicable relations and diplomatic progress is not his immediate priority. Instead, a prayer to victims and their loved ones has become paramount. "I would like to extend my deep sympathy and heartfelt condolences to those families who have been directly affected by the strong earthquake," said the Tibetan leader in a statement. "I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and those injured." On May 14, a special prayer session was held for the victims of the earthquake. Tsering Dhondup, the secretary of the Department of Religion and Culture, requested monks, nuns, and laymen to gather at the Dalai Lama's main temple. "The prayers are dedicated for the good rebirth of all those Chinese who have lost their lives in the recent natural calamity." Whether or not their prayers are well-received in China, the impact it has on the individual and collective Tibetan spirit is limitless. "Prayer, in any circumstance, is necessary for spiritual positive fulfilment. It doesn't matter if you're from China or Tibet. It is important to preserve this tradition. And it is important for me because I must cultivate compassion for others," says Ngawang. The power of prayer Thubten Samphel, a spokesperson for the CTA, agrees: "We don't want [earthquakes] to happen to anyone anywhere in the world, be it China or Tibet. We feel deeply for those who are suffering in China." In China, the earthquake has marred the nation's collective spirit. However, it may be comforting to know that the people who have shared in the grief and prayed for a speedy recovery have been the Tibetans. Thubten N., a 35-year-old monk, who shares a life story similar to Ngawang, told Al Jazeera: "When we pray, we pray for all sentient beings to enjoy a lifetime of happiness. It doesn't matter who you are or where you are from. We are all human beings."

 

Tibet’s longest serving political prisoner and a symbol of resistance to Chinese rule addressed the 8th session of the Human Rights Council Wednesday (June 4). Despite spending 32 years in various prison camps, 82-year old Takna Jigme Sangpo is far from being chastized by this experiences.Interview by Pamela Taylor/Human Rights Tribune – Takna Jigme Sangpo was first arrested in 1964 when, as a primary school teacher, he was accused by Chinese authorities of ‘corrupting the minds of children with reactionary ideas’. Accused of supporting Tibetan independence he was repeatedly arrested, beaten and and tortured. He was released on medical parole in 2002 and received asylum in Switzerland.Tell us about the first time you were arrested in 1964?I was a teacher and they discovered I was teaching the history, language and culture of Tibet which was of course forbidden. I was sent to a work camp in Lhasa. While I was in this camp I was asked to write a letter to the Communist Party condemning a long letter written by the Panchen Lama (number two after the Dalai Lama) with a detailed list of crimes against the Tibetan people and asking for Tibetan independence. I told them they hadn’t given me sufficient reason to condemn the Panchen Lama and so they called me a ‘running dog of the Panachen Lama” and condemned me to hard labor for three years.Were you released after that?Yes, but this was the time of the non-violent underground movement called Tiger-Dragon and a group of young people were arrested with a photo of me on them so they came and arrested me as a member of this ‘criminal’ movement, which I was not. I was sentenced to 10 years in prison. When I told the authorities that I didn’t know anything about the Tiger-Dragon movement, they didn’t believe me and put me in a type of iron brace that went behind my head and forced my arms back and I couldn’t move. I still have the scars (raises shirtsleeves). I shall never forget that first night. I screamed and screamed. But I wore that brace for 9 months – it was nearly impossible to eat. In any case all I had to eat was one bowl of ‘tsamba’ (roasted barley wheat flour) and some tea once a day.How long did this treatment go on?For 7 years. I worked in a stone quarry, making bricks. For the last three years of my ten year sentence I couldn’t work because I had gone blind. I was later diagnosed with glaucoma. But for them even a blind man is supposed to work! In 1981 I was again released and my sisters and family took me home and I was operated on for glaucoma. But afterwards I suffered a kind of banishment, not quite arrest but I had no communication with outsiders, even my family. But in 1983, they put me in a real prison again for writing a poster that was put up on walls and the gates of the city which said ‘Chinese invaders must go back to China’ and ‘Tibet belongs to Tibetans’. Since I was already in police custody, it was easy for them to put me in prison again.But you must have known those posters would get you into trouble?The Chinese have a tactic to make people think everything is normal so they will relax but all the time they are watching and waiting for the opportunity to make arrests. This time I was taken to a detention center that wasn’t a proper prison, just a large space with many men in one room, sharing a tin can for a common toilet, and with barely enough room to sleep. They constantly interrogated me, asking who had put me up to writing the posters and who was behind my activities. I said I am alone; I have no one and nothing behind me. They insisted that I couldn’t have the idea of Tibetan independence all on my own, that there must be a huge movement behind me, driving me to do these things. But I said no, that every Tibetan on this earth has that dream. So they stripped me and beat me and I still have those scars too. Then one day a Swiss delegation (ICRC) came to the detention center so I kept a vigil until I saw the delegation coming and then I began to shout: ‘Free Tibet!’, ‘Chinese go back to China!’ Afterwards I was put in solitary confinement in a completely black hole for one whole year. Because of what I did, they added another 8 years to my sentence.How did you manage not to go mad after so many years in prison?I said my prayers and the Buddhist mantra Om Mani Peme Hm (Homage to Bhudda). I wasn’t a criminal and wasn’t a threat to anyone and I knew that the truth was on my side. And the biggest truth of all was that Tibet would one day be independent because the Chinese themselves have enough problems to constantly worry about us. That kept me sane.Why have you come to Geneva? What do you expect from the Council?I want people to know that on paper the Chinese government may treat Tibetan people alright but I am the reality. If I am given the chance, I want to say that there’s no way the Tibetan people can survive without a distinct culture and that there is not a single Tibetan who doesn’t want independence. http://www.humanrights-geneva.info/Symbol-of-Tibetan-resistance,3173

Gendun Cheokyi Nyima, now 18 years old, was named Panchen Lama aged five but has not been seen in public since. The Chinese authorities rejected his appointment and named their own Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, in 1995. Beijing says Gendun is living a free life but campaigners say he has been under house arrest during childhood. Kate Saunders, who represents a Washington-based group, the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), said little was known about his whereabouts. "It's most likely that he's being held somewhere in the vicinity of Beijing itself because that's where the authorities could probably control him the best. "But there's no doubt that it will be in a very secure environment," she said. 'Religious persecution' The ICT has produced a report on religious freedom to coincide with the birthday of Gendun Cheokyi Nyima. Gyaltsen Norbu was appointed by Beijing as Panchen Lama in 1995The report says Tibetan religious culture remains under grave threat more than half a century after Chinese troops occupied the region. It accuses the Chinese authorities of launching a new campaign to curb the influence in Tibet of the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India. Ms Saunders says the Panchen Lama who disappeared is a victim of China's attempts to control Tibetan religious thinking. "His plight and also the installation of an alternative candidate by Beijing has come to symbolise for many Tibetans the crisis facing the survival of their religious culture in Tibet." The Chinese foreign ministry has angrily rejected the accusations of religious persecution in Tibet. A spokesman said Tibetans were guaranteed normal religious freedoms, but he refused to reveal where Gendun Cheokyi Nyima was living. Campaigners hope the boy's 18th birthday may change the approach of the Chinese authorities to his situation.

How was the Raj transformed from the jewel in Britain's imperial crown to the independent nations of India and Pakistan?1858: Beginning of the RajIn 1858, British Crown rule was established in India, ending a century of control by the East India Company. The life and death struggle that preceded this formalisation of British control lasted nearly two years, cost £36 million, and is variously referred to as the 'Great Rebellion', the 'Indian Mutiny' or the 'First War of Indian Independence'. Inevitably, the consequences of this bloody rupture marked the nature of political, social and economic rule that the British established in its wake. It is important to note that the Raj (in Hindi meaning 'to rule' or 'kingdom') never encompassed the entire land mass of the sub-continent. Two-fifths of the sub-continent continued to be independently governed by over 560 large and small principalities, some of whose rulers had fought the British during the 'Great Rebellion', but with whom the Raj now entered into treaties of mutual cooperation. 'The 'Great Rebellion' helped create a racial chasm between ordinary Indians and Britons.'Indeed the conservative elites of princely India and big landholders were to prove increasingly useful allies, who would lend critical monetary and military support during the two World Wars. Hyderabad for example was the size of England and Wales combined, and its ruler, the Nizam, was the richest man in the world. They would also serve as political bulwarks in the nationalist storms that gathered momentum from the late 19th century and broke with insistent ferocity over the first half of the 20th century. But the 'Great Rebellion' did more to create a racial chasm between ordinary Indians and Britons. This was a social segregation which would endure until the end of the Raj, graphically captured in EM Forster's 'A Passage to India'.While the British criticised the divisions of the Hindu caste system, they themselves lived a life ruled by precedence and class, deeply divided within itself. Rudyard Kipling reflected this position in his novels. His books also exposed the gulf between the 'white' community and the 'Anglo-Indians', whose mixed race caused them to be considered racially 'impure'.

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