10 Mar 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
The new Governor of Tibet has said that the Dalai Lama does not have a right to choose his successor and must instead must abide by the “requirements” of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, according to the Xinhua news agency. The government’s stance on the issue seems to be hardening after its ruling that the next Dalai Lama must be approved by the government. The Governor’s comments on Sunday made it even more likely that the current Dalai Lama will be succeeded by two new Dalai Lamas, one chosen by Tibetan religious leaders in exile and another by the Chinese government. “It is unreasonable to do whatever he wants,” Governor Padma Choling said of the Dalai Lama’s ideas. “There’s no way for him to do so.”
10 Dec 09 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Two Tibetan web users have been sentenced to three-year jail terms after posting pictures of the exiled Dalai Lama on the Internet. Gyaltsen and Nyima Wangdu were given three-year sentences after being convicted of “communicating information to contacts outside China,” Reporters Without Borders said. Three other Internet users were also arrested for similar reasons on December 1 but have not yet been tried. Read more here
01 Nov 09 | Uncategorized
Bangladeshi authorities called in police over the weekend to prevent today’s opening of a photographic exhibition about Tibetans in exile that Chinese diplomats wanted banned.
The photojournalism event had been organised by Students for a Free Tibet with support from the Drik network. Dhaka Special Branch police officers moved in to bar visitors after the head of Drik, Shahidul Alam, refused to cancel the event.
Entitled “Tibet 1949 – 2009”, the photo exhibition intended, “to portray, in whatever small fraction, the journey of Tibetans from their homeland to exile.” The exhibition was expected to run from 1-7 November.
According to reports from www.mediahelpingmedia.org Alam had earlier been contacted by Qian Kaifu, Cultural Counsellor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Bangladesh, who asked him to cancel the exhibition, suggesting that the Bangladesh-China relationship would be affected if the show went ahead.
Alam says he was offered partner opportunities in China in return, but reminded Mr Kaifu that Drik was an independent gallery, unconnected with the government of Bangladesh. Alam says he was called the next day by the Bangladesh ministry of culture saying “China is a friend, you mustn’t show pictures of the Dalai Lama.”
When he declined again, the Special Branch were called in. Drik was founded 20 years ago to encourage local photographers and journalists to report on Asia in a way that transcends typical disaster and war reporting from Western media.
Drik network website (http://drik.net).
27 Oct 09 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Reports have emerged about the arrest of three young Tibetans after they used instant messages to distribute recordings and photographs of the Dalai Lama. The arrests of Gyaltsen, Nymia Wangchuk, and Yeshe Namkha are the latest in the clampdown against Tibetans using the Internet to send information abroad. Several bloggers have also been arrested in recent weeks.
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