SUCCESS for WfT in Australia!!

Great turnout in both Sydney & Melbourne (despite the rain!), high spirits and some really cool & interesting conversations between Tibetans, Australians, and Tibetan-Australians! 2 things are certain: that we made an impression, raising some awareness and showing our support for freedom and the Tibetan people, and that Jigme Norbu-la would have been very proud. :-D
TOO-JE-CHE (thankyou) EVERYONE!! 

Check out our Melbourne photo album!   *Csj

 

Not Long To Go Now!!!

Only a few days to go before our Walk for Tibet in Australia!!


Don't forget to come down to Treasury Gardens at 9am THIS SUNDAY and join in the fun, we'll all be there :-)

Flags, signs, balloons & painted faces all welcome!!

Flyers for WfTiA Ready for Print !

The new flyers are ready for the printers for the nation-wide Walk for Tibet in Australia event to be held simultaneously in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane on July 24 !! Hope to see you all there..!

Meet Us In Treasury Gardens

Hello everyone!
We have now confirmed our kick-off point in Melbourne in Treasury Gardens, so come over around 9am dressed in bright colours (red, yellow, blue & white) and ready to warm up with some Tibetan butter tea and have your face painted (optional of course..!) before we set off at 10am. Join us afterwards back at the park for a live Tibetan band and hear the stories and words of Tibetan refugees living here in Melbourne. They want their voices to be heard and we want to hear them!
Looking forward to seeing all your faces on the 24th!!

-Melbourne team

Young Monk Self-Immolation Sparks Protest in Tibet

Dharamshala: A young Tibetan monk by the name of Phuntsok has been killed after setting himself on fire in Sichuan province (Amdo) in protest against the recent Chinese crackdown on Tibetan dissent and personal freedoms, igniting a major street protest against police in the main market.

According to Kate Saunders of the London-based International Campaign for Tibet, the 21-year-old monk from Kirti monastery in Ngaba "immolated himself in protest against the crackdown". Zorgyi, a researcher for the organisation, added that "We've also received widespread information about a protest with nearly 1,000 monks and lay people that came after."

Witnesses claim the fire was extinguished and Phuntsok was beaten by police until his death moments later, and that he could be heard shouting slogans about freedom right up until the end.

Hundreds of Tibetans are said to have been arrested following the angry protest with many suffering injuries caused by electric batons and iron rods used by Chinese soldiers, mirroring the uprising that took place all across Tibet just prior to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, which also marked the anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day (March 10, 1959).

On this occasion in Lhasa, mass demonstrations occurred in the Tibetan capital involving thousands of people and were brutally crushed by Chinese armed forces. At least 19 people, mostly Han Chinese, were killed during the uprising after it turned violent. It is estimated that over 200 Tibetans were subsequently killed in the crackdown that followed.

Tibetan National Uprising Day is commemorated every year in memory of those who were beaten and killed in the 1959 Uprising against authoritarian rule by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who led a deadly invasion of Tibet with its "Liberation Army" in 1949, sending many Tibetans into exile.

The area where the protest took place has now been placed under even tighter security by the police force and military, who are a constant presence in Tibet and areas of Sichuan province with large ethnic Tibetan populations. 

Chinese police and government offices in Ngaba were not answering repeated phone calls from the press after the incident, with the exception of one respondant who said "nothing is wrong".

 

2008 Protests in Lhasa, Tibet

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Offers Prayers to NZ, Aus, Japan

Dharamshala: The spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet and Tibetan people, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, opened his annual two days of Buddhist teachings this morning (Monday March 14) with an acknowledgement of those suffering in the aftermath of natural disasters in New Zealand, Australia and Japan, which he recognised as a fellow Buddhist nation. 
 
Thousands of people gathered for the teachings at the main temple in Mcleod Ganj, Dharamshala, seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, to hear the words of their leader, who is the reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion.

The day opened with a special call to prayer by His Holiness, who said that since the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan late last week, he had proposed the chanting of the Heart Sutra 100,000 times in order to help prevent such an enormous natural disaster from reoccurring.

The Heart Sutra was then chanted for several minutes in honour of the victims, before tea was served by monks and nuns to the mass of people seated on the two levels of the temple.

His entrance on foot as he smiled and waved to the adoring crowd was a testament to the great humility which was a strong theme in the day's readings and discussion, as was compassion and the Four Noble Truths. As many devotees gathered on the lower level in front of a large television screen showing the live broadcast, dozens of foreigners listened to an English translation of his words - though at times he chose to speak in English, making several jokes along the way - using hand-held radios.

His Holiness advocated in his speech the acceptance of all people, saying "I always say to respect all the religions of the world. (...) It is important for us to respect all other religious traditions", and explaining that although people of other faiths may have different philosophies and ideas about creation, we all share the same essential principles of love and compassion.

In his speech the Dalai Lama spoke of the uniqueness of Buddhism in teaching Selflessness, and the importance of preserving the Tibetan language, the language of the Buddha's teachings. He also stressed the significance of studying the Dharma and leading a humble life, and clearing the self of negative emotions in order to better understand and help others, and alleviate suffering.

Throughout the day His Holiness seemed well and in high spirits, encouraging the audience to laugh with him as he explained some of the finer points of his teachings in both Tibetan and English. Those gathered included monks and nuns, who were given priveleged seating, and lay people from many countries. The teachings will conclude after another half-day tomorrow.

Democracy Not an Option: China

China's number two official in the Communist regime that has ruled the country since 1949 has stated that democracy will never reach China while the one-party regime remains in power.
Wu Bangguo, one of the party's top nine politburo leaders, made the strong statements in Beijing during China's annual National People's Congress, making it clear that political reform is not an option under the current leadership.

Mr. Wu claimed that China's leaders had "made a solemn declaration that we will not employ a system of multiple parties holding office in rotation", showing a poor knowledge of democratic electoral systems, and warned of the consequences of change, saying "It is possible that the state could sink into the abyss of internal disorder" if democratic reforms were introduced.

His words seem to contradict earlier statements by premier Wen Jiabao, who suggested that democratic reforms may be possible in the interests of ensuring that state power would truly be held by the people.

It is well known that for the past 62 years China has been subject to domination by the sole legal political party, the CCP, under which any dissent is quickly silenced and frequent episodes of unrest are crushed by authorities.

Tibetan Women's National Uprising Commemorated in Exile

Dharamshala: Sataurday, March 12, many Tibetan women of the Dharamshala Exile community in India gathered at the main temple to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the 1959 Women's Uprising in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
 
During the ceremony a minute's silence was observed to honour those women who were beaten, tortured and degraded by the Chinese government as they peacefully voiced their opposition to Chinese oppression in Tibet's capital, and in particular those who gave their lives to the cause.
The event was held by the Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) and featured speeches from prominent women in the community, and also served as the release for Jamyang Kyi's book 'A Sequence of Tortures: A Diary of Interrogations' on the demonstrations that swept the three provinces of Tibet in 2008.

It was the second time this week that the Tibetan community has commemorated the 1959 uprisings, following Thursday's National Tibetan Uprising Day ceremony and rally which saw a turn out of several thousand Tibetans march from the main temple down to Lower Dharamshala, after an important speech made by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Tibetans and supporters have rallied in cities all over the world this week to commemorate the March 10 and 12 anniversaries and show their unwavering conviction and demands for greater freedom in Tibet.

In New Delhi- On the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of the National Tibetan Women’s Uprising Day, the TWA group dedicated this day to Tibetan women in literature, organising an exclusive literary event, “Honouring the Literary Spirit of Tibetan Women Inside Tibet”. The event was held at the Deputy Speaker Hall of the Constitution Club of India, and featured a book launch and a panel discussion.

"Post 2008 national protests inside Tibet, the world is witnessing a cultural and intellectual renaissance in Tibet where intellectuals, thinkers and artists are reasserting their Tibetan identity and patriotism in a creative way. Tibetan Women like Tsering Woeser and Jamyang Kyi have written fiercely under oppression and their works have contributed largely to amplifying the suppressed voices in Tibet," said a report released by the women's group.