16 March, 2012
International Campaign for Tibet

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reacted this week to a hunger strike by three Tibetans outside UN headquarters in New York, according to his spokesman Martin Nesirky who said: "The secretary general affirms the right of all people to peaceful protest. He is however very concerned about the health of the hunger striking protesters.” (March 14, 2012).

Now in its 24th day, the ‘indefinite’ hunger strike, organized by the Tibetan Youth Congress, the largest world-wide organization of Tibetans, began on February 22, the first day of Losar (Tibetan New Year). The three hunger strikers are Dorjee Gyalpo, Shingza Rinpoche and Yeshi Tenzing (brief bio-sketches below). The hunger strikers are appealing to the United Nations to take the following actions:

Send a fact-finding delegation to assess the critical situation in Tibet;
Urge China to stop the undeclared martial law in Tibet;
Urge China to allow international media to investigate and report on the ongoing atrocities in Tibet;
Urge China to release the Panchen Lama, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and all Tibetan political prisoners; and
Urge China Stop ‘Patriotic Re-Education’ campaigns in Tibet.

“The International Campaign for Tibet deeply respects the determination of the three Tibetans and recognizes the urgency of their situation. We sincerely hope that the hunger strike will draw the attention of the United Nations to the critical situation in Tibet and compel China to change its policies,” said Mary Beth Markey, ICT President.

On March 9, ICT Board Chairman, Richard Gere, visited the hunger strikers. Obviously moved by the weakened condition of the Tibetans, Mr. Gere spoke of their courage and the rights of all Tibetans to fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights [view video].

More: From the International Campaign for Tibet

Tibetan monk in self-immolation bid in China
Suicide attempt latest in spate of self-immolations in protest against suppression of Tibetan religion and culture.
Last Modified: 16 Mar 2012 07:03

A Tibetan monk set himself on fire in western China on Wednesday, an overseas activist group and a Chinese state news agency reported, the latest in a spate of self-immolations.

Jamyang Palden burned himself in Tongren, a monastery town in Qinghai province, and survived after security forces put out the blaze, the official Xinhua News Agency and London-based Free Tibet said.

More than two dozen Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China over the past year to protest the suppression of their religion and culture and call for the Dalai Lama's return.

Palden's self-immolation coincided with the four-year anniversary of violent mass protests against inequality and Chinese influence in Tibet, which led to thousands of arrests and dozens of deaths.

More: Al Jazeera Story

China: Tibetan Monasteries Placed Under Direct Rule
Decision Ends Long-Standing Policy Allowing Nominal Self-Rule of Monasteries
March 16, 2012

(New York) – The Chinese government has ended a key policy of allowing Tibetan monasteries to be run by monks who comply with government regulations and have instead introduced a system that will place almost every monastery in Tibet under the direct rule of government officials who will be permanently stationed in each religious institution, Human Rights Watch said today.

On January 4, 2012, the Party Secretary of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), Chen Quanguo, announced that government or party officials will be stationed in almost all monasteries permanently, and that in some cases they will have the senior rank and pay of a deputy director of a provincial-level government department. The permanent posting of government or party officials inside monasteries is unprecedented in Tibet, let alone at such a senior level.

“Although the Chinese government has placed many restrictions on the practice of religion in Tibet, these new regulations represent an entirely new level of intervention by the state,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “This measure, coupled with the increasing presence of government workers within monasteries, will surely exacerbate tensions in the region.”

According to official documents, the new policy, known as the “Complete Long-term Management Mechanism for Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries,” is described as, “critical for taking the initiative in the struggle against separatism,” and aims to “ensure that monks and nuns do not take part in activities of splitting up the motherland and disturbing social order.”

More: http://www.hrw.org/node/105821