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Release: Aung San Suu Kyi Visits Radio Free Asia

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 18, 2012 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia Hosts Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi Opposition leader commends RFA for keeping Burmese people informed WASHINGTON, DC - Radio Free Asia (RFA) today hosted Aung San Suu Kyi at its Washington headquarters as part of her tour of the United States. The Nobel Peace Prize winner praised RFA for serving as a critical information lifeline for her and the Burmese people during the military junta's authoritarian rule and the country's current era of transition and reform. "This is, in many ways, as I have been saying, the last mile," Aung San Suu Kyi said. "This is the time we need all the help possible to make sure that our country keeps on the right path. This is another way of saying RFA is needed more than ever for us in Burma and for other people in other places, which are not yet free." Aung San Suu Kyi addressed her remarks to all RFA staff including its nine language services. Recently elected to serve as a member of Burma's parliament, the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) also shared her thoughts about the country's future, underscoring the need establish rule of law to achieve lasting democratic reform and an end to ethnic divisions that have plagued Burma. During her visit, Aung San Suu Kyi was interviewed by RFA's Burmese Director; met with RFA President Libby Liu and Vice President John Estrella; and spoke over tea with RFA Board members Michael Meehan, Victor Ashe, and Susan McCue, and with RFA leadership. RFA's Burmese language service will broadcast its interview with the Nobel laureate by radio, satellite television, and digitally online as part of its daily webcast. Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to the United States marks her first since she was placed under house arrest in 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi will address the United Nations in New York and receive the Congressional Gold Medal from U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill over the next week. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan Media Relations Manager Radio Free Asia Email: mahajanr(a)rfa.org Desk: (202) 530-4976 Cell: (202) 489-8021 www.rfa.org

12 years, 3 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Massive Raid on Tibetan Monastery

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Massive Raid on Tibetan Monastery SEPT. 4, 2012— Hundreds of heavily armed Chinese security forces raided a Tibetan monastery in the northwestern province of Qinghai at the weekend, taking away four monks previously targeted for detention and holding another monk for taking photographs of the raid, Tibetan sources said. Local Tibetans believe at least three of the monks were picked up during the Saturday raid for providing foreign media outlets with details about two nearby self-immolation protests in June, an India-based Tibetan told RFA, citing sources in the region. Monks who intervened to stop the detentions were beaten, the sources said. “On Sept. 1, Chinese police and Public Security Bureau officers in about 60 vehicles suddenly arrived at Zilkar monastery in the Dzatoe township of Tridu county in Qinghai’s Yulshul [in Chinese, Yushu] prefecture,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The monastery, the scene of unauthorized funeral ceremonies following the self-immolations, had been told in a phone call earlier in the day to expect an official “visit,” believed by the monks to be routine, the source said. “Shortly afterward, the monastery’s electricity and all means of communication were cut off,” he said. The fully armed security forces in riot gear surrounded the monastery, the source said, adding, that “they came to detain four monks whose names and other information about them were already known.” Police 'filled the monastery' Chinese police conducting the raid were so numerous that they “filled the monastery” and appeared to outnumber the monastery’s own 500 monks, the source said. Detained in the raid were Lobsang Jinpa, 30; Tsultrim Kalsang, 25; Ngawang Monlam, 30; and Sonam Yignyen, 44. A fifth monk, Sonam Sherab, 45, was taken into custody when he was observed filming the police operation, the source said. Computers and DVDs were seized from the monks’ rooms by the police, who also beat and pointed guns at other monks who pleaded with them not to take the men away, he said. “Locals suspect that three of the monks were taken away because they had contacted outside media about the recent self-immolations of two Tibetans in Yulshul,” he said. “Another is believed to have been detained for possessing photos of [exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama.” Monk seized in town Separately, police in China’s northwestern Gansu province last week took into custody a Tibetan monk believed to have been involved in a March 20 protest against Chinese authorities, according to a local source. “On Aug. 28, Kalsang Gyatso, 28, a monk at the Bora monastery, was detained and taken away from a bathhouse in Tsoe town,” the source said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. Gyatso, with permission from senior monks who were supervising a retreat, had gone to the nearby town and was bathing with friends when he was detained, the source said. “The police, who were not in uniform, asked which of the men was Kalsang Gyatso, but his friends refused to identify him,” he said. “The police then pointed directly at him, overpowered his friends, and took him away in a police vehicle,” he said, adding that no explanation was given for the detention. When family members later sought word from county and prefecture offices on Kalsang Gyatso’s condition and place of detention, “no information was given to them,” he said. Kalsang Gyatso comes originally from Yagpa Yarne village in Labrang (in Chinese, Xiahe) county in Gansu’s Kanlho (in Chinese, Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the source said. “His father is Kalsang Tsering, and Dronpu Thar is his mother,” he said. The day after Kalsang Gyatso was detained, a group of 30 county, prefecture, and provincial-level officials, together with a press team, arrived at Bora monastery to conduct a “legal education” session for the monks, the source said. Growing concern Human rights groups have expressed concern over the increasing number of Tibetan detentions amid the 51 self-immolations in protest against Chinese rule since February 2009. Last week, police also detained a monk from the restive Kirti monastery in Sichuan province, which has been the epicenter of the burning protests, along with another Tibetan, possibly in connection with the deadly self-immolation protests in the area. The London-based Free Tibet said it "has grave concerns for the well being of the hundreds of Tibetans who we know are in detention following protests, often in locations unknown to their families, without any legal rights and at very serious risk of being tortured." “Tibetans’ fundamental human rights are being ignored by international leaders who are afraid of risking their relationships with China. The time has come for each one of us to speak up and demand Tibetan freedom,” Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said last week. Separately, the U.S.-based advocacy group International Campaign for Tibet has asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who began a two-day visit to Beijing on Tuesday, to “continue to insist on demonstrable improvements in the human rights situation [in Tibet].” Reported by RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee and Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/raid-09042012155726.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 4 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Two Tibetans Self-Immolate

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Two Tibetans Self-Immolate AUGUST 27, 2012— Two young Tibetan men set themselves on fire near a restive monastery in China’s Sichuan province and died Monday in protest against Chinese rule in Tibetan areas, Tibetan sources in exile said. Their self-immolation came two days after a nun in a neighboring prefecture braved tight security restriction and staged a solitary protest, also challenging Beijing’s rule, before she was detained and taken away. Lobsang Kalsang, 18 and a monk at Kirti monastery, and Damchoe, 17 and an ex-monk, self-immolated at a site near the eastern gate of Kirti monastery and close to Heroes’ Street in Ngaba, the sources said, referring to a main road in Ngaba town which has become the epicenter of burning protests challenging Chinese rule. As they burned, both shouted slogans condemning Chinese policies in Tibet, India-based monks Kanyag Tsering and Lobsang Yeshe said, citing contacts in the region. “Witnesses saw them run about 20 steps with their bodies on fire, and then they fell to the ground,” they said, adding that sounds of “Ki! Ki!,” a Tibetan battle cry, could later be heard coming from the flames. Police took both men to Ngaba hospital, and then to a hospital in nearby Barkham county, “but later in the evening, both men died, and their bodies are still in the possession of the authorities,” Tsering and Yeshe said. “No information is available as to whether the authorities have handed the bodies over to their relatives,” they said. Total now at 51 Speaking separately to RFA on condition of anonymity, two Ngaba residents confirmed the self-immolations on Monday, saying the two protesters set themselves ablaze at about 11:00 a.m. local time. “They held their protest … close to Heroes’ Street in Ngaba,” one source said. Their burnings bring to 51 the total number of self-immolations since the wave of fiery protests began in February 2009, with nearly all of the protests taking place in Tibetan-populated provinces in western China. Most were protests against Chinese rule and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who now lives in exile in Dharamsala, India. The last reported self-immolation before Monday’s protest was on Aug. 13 when two young Tibetan men, one a Kirti monk and the other a former monk, set themselves on fire and walked, burning and shouting slogans, along the main street of Ngaba town before being overwhelmed and taken away by police. The burnings triggered protests by residents, leading to a Chinese security crackdown in which one Tibetan was beaten to death. Damchoe, one of the men who died on Monday, was a nephew of the other self-immolator, Lobsang Kalsang, and was the younger brother of a nun named Tenzin Chodron who died in an earlier protest, Tsering and Yeshe said. “He was a monk of Kirti monastery, but later he disrobed and lived with his mother in a nomadic community.” After Monday’s protest, Chinese police detained Lobsang Kalsang’s roommate Lobsang Palden at Kirti monastery, Tsering and Yeshe said. Nun protests, is detained Meanwhile, a 39-year-old Tibetan nun staged a lone protest on Saturday in Sichuan’s Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) prefecture, calling for freedom for Tibet, a Tibetan source in exile said, citing sources in the region. “A nun by the name of Shedrub Lhamo protested at around 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 25 in Kardze town,” India-based monk Pema Tsewang said, citing sources in Kardze. “She shouted slogans calling for the long life of the Dalai Lama and for his return to Tibet and for freedom for Tibet. She also threw several leaflets in the air before she was detained by police,” he said. What was written on the leaflets is not known, but a foreign tourist who was present took a photo of a leaflet and was also immediately detained, Pema Tsewang said. “The police seized his camera and took him away in a vehicle. It is not clear whether or not he was later released.” “Relatives of the nun protester went to the detention center to bring her some clothes,” he said. “The police took them and said they would hand them over.” Shedrub Lhamo’s father was identified as Tsewang Gyurme and her mother as Tsering Palmo. A native of Shang Khag village in the Khadrag subdivision of Sichuan’s Kardze county, she is a nun belonging to Ganden Choeling monastery in Kardze, Pema Tsewang said. Reported by RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/immolate-08272012150023.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 4 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibet's Capital Lhasa 'Like a Vast Prison'

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Tibet's Capital Lhasa 'Like a Vast Prison' AUGUST 23, 2012—Chinese authorities have implemented a massive security clampdown in Lhasa, pouring police into the Tibetan capital and setting up checkpoints with airport-style body scanners in busy downtown areas, residents said on Thursday. "Lhasa city has been turned into a large prison," one Tibetan resident of Lhasa told RFA's Tibetan service. "There are police everywhere in groups of 10 or more with rifles, batons, and fire extinguishers on each of them." She said police had set up security checkpoints for pedestrians near the popular tourist area of the Barkhor Market and the pilgrimage route around the city's central Jokhang Temple. "Body scanning checkpoints have been installed at different points, and Tibetans are being regularly scanned and checked," she said, adding that body scanning gates had been set up around the Potala Palace, the former residence of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. A second Tibetan resident said that Tibetans arriving from out of town were being denied entry to the city. However, this same treatment wasn't being extended to Han Chinese, who have poured into the Himalayan region since the completion of the Golmud-Lhasa railroad in 2006. "They are stopping the Tibetans at the gates, while the Chinese are free to go anywhere and enter from everywhere in Lhasa," he said. "Tibetan villagers from the Lhasa area cannot enter from Yukhu or Kuru Bridge, so the real victims are the Tibetans." Simmering tensions He said that Tibetans from other Tibetan regions in southwestern China had been expelled from Lhasa and sent home, unless they were able to show a residence permit for the city. "All those without permits have been sent back to their hometowns," the man said. "Lhasa is overflowing with Chinese, and the Tibetans cannot get involved in arguments with them." He said that ethnic tensions are simmering below the surface of the order imposed by armed security forces. "If any Tibetan is involved in a dispute, the Tibetans will be the losers," he said. "If we speak and argue with the Chinese, they call this the 'politics of separation.'" "We cannot engage the services of lawyers, and in fact the Chinese lawyers are scared to take Tibetan cases." A third Tibetan resident agreed. "Now Lhasa and the surrounding areas in Tibet really look like a vast prison," he said. "We cannot do anything." He said that authorities were monitoring all phone traffic coming into Lhasa from overseas, although it was unclear if this was a temporary measure. "If relatives living in foreign countries call their family members in the Lhasa area, this sets off a red warning light at police monitoring stations in Lhasa, and the conversation is recorded," the man said. Han also checked Some Han residents of Lhasa said they, too, were being subjected to tight security, however. "They have set up those security scanners, and you have to walk through the scanner," said a Lhasa-based migrant worker surnamed Yao. "They are also checking identity papers and so on, especially if you go to the Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor." "Basically, we have stayed in a restaurant for the past two days. We haven't been out." While this month sees the celebration of the annual Shoton yogurt festival, some residents said the city's tight security no longer seems linked to any specific event. "It's not just the past couple of days," said a second Tibetan woman. "It's been like this the whole time." "It's very strict, but it is usually like this over here now; we have got used to it," she said. "They won't let people gather on the streets, let alone allow any Tibetan-Han [conflict] to take place." "It's checks, checks, checks ... Everyone has to undergo checks. They search you near the Barkhor Market with machines." Other areas targeted Recent reports indicate that the stringent security measures aren't limited to Lhasa. Chinese authorities have detained more than 1,000 residents of a restive Tibetan county since March, targeting mainly educated youth involved in promoting the revival of Tibetan language and culture, local sources said this week. The crackdown followed the deployment of large numbers of security forces to Driru county in the Nagchu prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in March following demonstrations in the area, residents said. In a growing wave of opposition to Beijing's rule in Tibetan areas, 49 Tibetans have self-immolated since February 2009, with nearly all of the fiery protests taking place in Tibetan-populated provinces in western China. The first self-immolation protest in Lhasa was reported in May, when two young Tibetan men set themselves on fire in a central square of the heavily guarded city. The ruling Chinese Communist Party has launched a nationwide "stability" drive in recent months, targeting activists, dissidents, and potential political flashpoints like Tibet and the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang ahead of a key leadership transition at the 18th Party Congress later this year. Reported by Yangdon Demo for RFA's Tibetan service and by Qiao Long for the Mandarin service. Translated by Karma Dorjee and Luisetta Mudie. Written in English by Luisetta Mudie. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/prison-08232012122203.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 4 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Ex-Military Officers Detained Over Protest in China

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Ex-Military Officers Detained Over Protest in China AUGUST 20, 2012—Police across China rounded up or held thousands of retired army officers who had planned to converge on Beijing on Monday to complain about corruption and unpaid pensions, organizers of the mass petition attempt said. Around 1,000 petitioners from around the country did succeed in arriving outside national army headquarters in Beijing on Monday, but were rapidly rounded up into buses, participants said. "We were all brought back [home]," a would-be petitioner and retired People's Liberation Army (PLA) officer surnamed Zhao said in an interview from his home. He said the move had been coordinated among thousands of PLA veterans around the country who wished to petition the ruling Chinese Communist Party over their treatment in retirement. "People came from all around the country," Zhao said. "This time I guess there must have been several thousand people, but most of them are being held under house arrest." "The police heard that we were planning to travel to Beijing on Aug. 20, and arrive outside the Central Military Commission between 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to demand an explanation," he said. "There was already a huge number of police who had been waiting for us from early that morning outside the gates of the Commission and the Military Museum," Zhao said. "A lot of them made it to Beijing," he added. "They say there were six buses, which I think took them to the Jiujingzhuang [unofficial detention center]." Repeated calls to the mobile phones of veterans' representatives Yu Guobao and Liu Kezhi, who had managed to arrive in Beijing, went unanswered on Monday, with a message saying the phones were switched off. Complaint letter The Hubei-based rights group Minsheng Guancha said in an e-mailed statement that a large number of people had been detained at the gates of the Commission on Monday. Their complaint letter said that, far from being welcomed into local government jobs or quasi-government bodies on retirement from military service, they were ignored or snubbed by local officials. Large numbers of PLA veterans say they are now suffering extreme economic hardship in spite of their service to the nation, giving rise to their slogan, "No money for the doctor, nowhere to turn for help," the group said. "Since 2008, the government has stripped away the status of PLA veterans and former military cadres, which means we have not a penny in income," Zhao said. "We are getting on [in age] a bit and we can't find jobs, so our existence is very hard," he said. Retired military personnel have been cited by officials and activists as a highly sensitive sector of the population, who might swing a tide of public opinion in their favor and against the Communist Party, because of their proven loyalty to Party and country. The sensitivity around military retirees suggests that many are afraid of politicizing their cause through contact with foreign media. In February, disgruntled PLA veterans launched a nationwide campaign ahead of annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing, calling publicly for the military to intervene to fight graft, which they blame for their lack of pension income. The retired army and navy officers, who have spent many years petitioning for better benefits and conditions in retirement, staged a protest outside the joint headquarters of the PLA, carrying placards and shouting slogans, rights activists said. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/veterans-08202012162528.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 4 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetans Protest Against Police Brutality

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Tibetans Protest Against Police Brutality AUGUST 14, 2012— Nearly 500 Tibetans in China’s Qinghai province took to the streets Tuesday to protest what they called police brutality, as tensions gripped neighboring Sichuan province, where one of two Tibetans who self-immolated in protest against Chinese rule a day earlier died, sources said. Residents of Rebgong (Tongren, in Chinese) county in Qinghai province’s Malho prefecture marched on the local Public Security Bureau office to highlight an attack by police on Monday night on a group of Tibetans traveling by car. Witnesses to the Monday assault described the Chinese police who attacked the Tibetans as “drunk,” local sources told RFA, speaking on condition of anonymity. “On Aug. 13, local police, who appeared to be drunk, stopped four Tibetans traveling in their vehicle and harshly questioned them,” sources said. “The harassment reached a point where the police and the Tibetans clashed, and the Tibetans were severely beaten.” The Tibetans injured in the beating were identified as Kelsang, Konchog Nyima, Shawo Tsering, and Konchog Norbu, with Shawo Tsering described as the most badly hurt in the group. It is not known if the men were also detained. Early on Tuesday, area residents gathered in a village called Senge Shong to protest the beating, sources said. The crowd then marched to Rebgong town with some carrying banners reading “The government police beat people” written in both Tibetan and Chinese. “The police have secured themselves inside their building and don’t dare come out,” one source said. Monk dies of burns The protests came a day after two Tibetans set themselves on fire Monday in protest against Chinese rule in Ngaba county in Sichuan, triggering clashes between local Tibetans and police that resulted in a Tibetan being beaten to death, sources said. One of them, a Tibetan monk identified as Lungtok, 20, has died, exile sources said. Lungtok, a monk from the restive Kirti monastery in Ngaba, and Tashi, 21, an ex-monk from the same monastery, set themselves ablaze on Aug. 13 at about 6:50 p.m. local time to highlight their opposition to Beijing’s rule, sources said. “On Aug. 14, it was learned that Lungtok died in Barkham [county] hospital,” said India-based Tibetan monks Lobsang Yeshi and Kanyag Tsering, citing sources in the region. “It is not known whether his remains were handed over to family members,” they added. It was also unclear whether Lungtok had died on Tuesday or the day before. In their Monday protest, both men set themselves alight and walked, burning and shouting slogans, along the main street of Ngaba town before being overwhelmed and taken away by Chinese police, Yeshi and Tsering said. Witnesses said there was little hope for their survival because of their severe burns, Yeshi and Tsering said. Tashi, who taken with Lungtok to the Ngaba county hospital before both were moved to Barkham, was beaten as he burned, witnesses said. There is no word yet on his condition. Forty-nine Tibetans in total have self-immolated since the current wave of fiery protests began in February 2009, with nearly all of the protests taking place in Tibetan-populated provinces in western China. Most of them protested against Chinese rule and called for the return of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who is living in exile in Dharamsala. Last week, three Tibetans died in self-immolation protests — two in Ngaba and one in the southern part of Kanlho (Gannan, in Chinese) prefecture in Gansu province. Tibetan groups say the wave of self-immolation protests will continue until the underlying human rights and other problems in the Tibetan-populated areas are addressed by the Chinese authorities. Chinese authorities however have labeled the self-immolators as terrorists, outcasts, criminals, and mentally ill people and have blamed the Dalai Lama for encouraging the burnings. Reported by RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/brutality-08142012152819.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Two Tibetans Self-Immolate in Ngaba

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Two Tibetans Self-Immolate in Ngaba AUGUST 13, 2012— Two Tibetans set themselves on fire Monday in protest against Chinese rule in Ngaba county in Sichuan province, triggering clashes between local Tibetans and police that resulted in a Tibetan beaten to death, sources said. Amid the rising tensions, some sources said there was a third self-immolation in the county, located in the Ngaba (Aba, in Chinese) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, but the incident could not be immediately confirmed. The two confirmed self-immolations on Monday evening set the stage for bigger protests by Tibetans and a heavy police presence. Lungtok, a monk from the restive Kirti monastery in Ngaba, and another Tibetan, believed to be a layperson and identified as Tashi, torched themselves at around 6:00 p.m. local time to highlight their opposition to Chinese rule in Tibetan-populated areas, a Tibetan source in the area told RFA. "A large contingent of police and armed PSB [Public Security Bureau] personnel arrived at the site of the self-immolation and imposed stern restrictions in the area," the source said. "The local Tibetans gathered in the area clashed with police and the situation became very tense. One Tibetan died from being beaten by the police." Details unknown There were no immediate details of the condition of the two self-immolators who, according to witnesses, were whisked away by Chinese security forces to a nearby hospital, sources inside Tibet said. "I heard about the two Tibetans who self-immolated today around 6:00 p.m. and one was a monk," a second source said, speaking to RFA from the Tibet Autonomous Region. The source added, "Another monk also self-immolated around 8:00 p.m. today but details on him are not known." Information about the possible third self-immolation could not be confirmed with residents in the area amid the heightened security. "A large number of Tibetans are protesting against the Chinese authorities and the situation is grim and serious," the second source said. Exiled monk Lobsang Yeshi of the sister Kirti monastery in India's hill town of Dharamsala, while confirming the two self-immolations, said he had also heard unconfirmed reports of a third burning protest. "It is true that two [Tibetans] did self-immolate in Ngaba and we are seeking more details. We also heard that a third Tibetan self-immolated and protested but the details are not available," he told RFA. Including the two confirmed incidents on Monday, 49 Tibetans in total have self-immolated since the current wave of fiery protests began in February 2009, with nearly all of the protests taking place in Tibetan-populated provinces in western China. Nearly all of them protested against Chinese rule and called for the return of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who is living in exile in Dharamsala. Last week, three Tibetans died in self-immolation protests — two in Ngaba and one in the southern part of Kanlho (Gannan, in Chinese) prefecture in Gansu province. Tibetan groups say the wave of self-immolation protests will continue until the underlying human rights and other problems in the Tibetan-populated areas are addressed by the Chinese authorities. Chinese authorities however have labeled the self-immolators as terrorists, outcasts, criminals, and mentally ill people and have blamed the Dalai Lama for encouraging the burnings. Reported by RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/immolate-08132012134204.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Burma Eyes Overtaking Cambodia, Laos in Average Income

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Burma Eyes Overtaking Cambodia, Laos in Average Income JULY 23, 2012—Burma hopes to overtake neighbors Laos and Cambodia in terms of average income per person within two to three years, as the country embraces political and economic reforms, Burmese Industry Minister Soe Thein said Monday. "I hope we will have higher average income per person than Laos and Cambodia by 2014-15. It is possible," he said in an interview with RFA's Burmese service. Soe Thein was answering a question on his expectations for the Burmese economy in the next five years. Burma is languishing with a gross national income per capita of U.S. $379.6, based on U.N. figures in 2009, the lowest among its fellow member states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Laos has a per capita income of U.S. $1,130 while Cambodia has U.S. $830, based on 2011 figures by the World Bank. The gross national income per capita is the dollar value of a country’s final income in a year, divided by its population. It reflects the average income of a country’s citizens. A nominally civilian government that took over power in Burma in March last year after decades of harsh military rule and financial mismanagement is implementing democratic and economic reforms that have led the international community to ease sanctions on the country. As part of economic reforms, President Thein Sein's government, with the help of the International Monetary Fund, launched a managed float of its kyat currency in April to help normalize and unify its multiple exchange rates. Foreign investment law The country's parliament is also discussing a foreign investment law, which reports say will spell out new tax exemptions, land-use terms, legal structures and incentives for foreign companies. "Our existing law [on trade] are already good. But to be able to compete with [neighboring] ASEAN [countries] and to protect the people, to protect our environment, we are drafting the new law," Soe Thein said. "Actually it was already discussed at the parliament in the first session, and now this is going to be discussed again," he said. When asked when the much awaited law will be approved, he said, "It doesn't matter, it will be done at some point." "Even if this is not done yet, the existing foreign direct investment law is not bad at all. We can apply it for now. When the new law is approved, we can enjoy better benefits." Soe Thein said Burmese authorities will treat foreign companies on an equal basis based on market forces even though Burma has been close to China for decades especially under military rule. "This is a market economy. Local partners will choose. If we consider efficiency, let's say if you buy something, you will choose a good product. In business, you will have to choose the best partner," he said. Asked whether foreign investments are flowing into Burma rapidly in line with reforms, he said there could be a significant rise early next year. "We are going to have it. For now, we are still in the process of discussing. I myself have been discussing many times already. It will be a lot more progress by the beginning of next year, I think. Meanwhile, there is some increase." Jobs On potential employment benefits, the minister said some 110,000 jobs had been created over the last year with a potential for one million jobs when the government enters into peace with ethnic armed rebel groups. "When the peace process is done, we will have more job opportunities in the [ethnic] regions [through the efforts of] international donors. Creating jobs is considered the number one criteria. We choose factories that can provide more jobs. Eventually we will have up to a million [jobs]." The government has struck ceasefire agreements with several ethnic armed groups but their leaders said that the ceasefire is just the first step of a process that must include political solutions. Clashes have been reported regularly in Shan State, Karenni State, Karen State and most notably in Kachin State, where rebels have not reached a truce despite several rounds of negotiations. Reported by Kyaw Kyaw Aung. Translated by Khim May Zaw. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/burma/industry-07232012210012.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Protests Erupt as Tibetan Monks Are Detained

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Protests Erupt as Tibetan Monks Are Detained AUGUST 8, 2012—Chinese security forces have detained three Tibetan monks from a monastery at which a woman self-immolated in protest against Chinese rule this week, triggering protests demanding their release, according to sources. Tensions emerged around the Tso monastery in Gansu province Wednesday amid reports that another self-immolator, a young monk, died in neighboring Sichuan’s Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) Tibetan prefecture, on the same day he set himself on fire on Monday. The three monks were picked up by police on suspicion of sheltering Dolkar Tso, 26, a Tibetan mother of two who self-immolated near a stupa at the Tso monastery in the Kanlho (in Chinese, Gannan) prefecture on Tuesday. She died on the same day. “Last night, at about 10:00 p.m. local time, Chinese police entered the Tso monastery and detained monks Choephel, Sherab, and Tsondru,” a local source told RFA on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Tsondru was released this morning, but at around 5:00 a.m. Chinese police in about a dozen vehicles arrived and tried to detain 17 other monks suspected of bringing Dolkar Tso to the monastery.” Monks and local residents then mobbed the police to demand the release of those detained, the source said. “A large number of monks and laymen then gathered in front of the monastery’s prayer hall to demand that the monk Choephel be set free,” he said, adding, “They have sworn to continue their protest if Choephel is not released.” Also on Wednesday, at 1:30 p.m., about 300 monks left the large nearby monastery of Labrang Tashikyil to say prayers and offer condolences at Dolkar Tso’s family home, but were stopped by Chinese officials, the same source said. “The officials threatened to take action against the monks and to confiscate their vehicles, but the monks left their vehicles and attempted to continue on foot to Dolkar Tso’s home,” he said. “Staff from the monastery’s management committee came out to plead with them not to leave, and the monks then sat down in front of the gate of the Buddhist Dialectics School near the monastery and began to pray.” “More monks have now begun to gather to join them in their prayers,” he said. Dolkar Tso’s self-immolation on Tuesday brought to 46 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans challenging Beijing’s rule since the current wave of fiery protests began in February 2009, with almost all of the protests occurring in Tibetan-populated provinces in western China. A day earlier, monk Lobsang Tsultrim from the restive Kirti monastery in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) Tibetan prefecture died after setting himself on fire, sources said. He succumbed to his burns at a hospital in Barkham (in Chinese, Ma’erkang) at around midnight that same day, Kanyag Tsering, a monk living at Kirti’s branch monastery in India, said, citing sources in the region. “His body was then cremated by the Chinese and his ashes were handed over to his family,” Tsering said. “On the night of Aug. 7, four monks from the Kirti monastery re-cremated Lobsang Tsultrim’s ashes at a site near the monastery,” he said. During his protest, Lobsang Tsultrim shouted slogans calling for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and the exiled abbot of his monastery, freedom for Tibet, and the re-opening of a Kirti monastery school closed by Chinese authorities in 2008, sources said. He took about 10 steps before falling to the ground, and Chinese police then extinguished the fire and shoved the badly burned monk into a vehicle, driving him to the Ngaba county hospital, Tsering said. After half an hour, he was transferred to Barkham Hospital, where he later died. Lobsang Tsultrim left a final testament, details of which are unknown, but Chinese authorities have threatened a 10-year prison term for anyone transmitting this outside the Kirti area, Tsering said. Reported by Lumbum Tashi and Rigdhen Dolma for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Rigdhen Dolma. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/monks-08082012153912.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetan Monk in New Burning Protest

by Joshua Lipes

cid:image001.png@01CCE405.460E1840 Tibetan Monk in New Burning Protest AUGUST 6, 2012-A Tibetan monk in China's southwestern Sichuan province set himself ablaze today in the latest in a wave of self-immolation protests challenging Chinese rule, Tibetan sources said on Monday. Lobsang Trinlay, a monk at the restive Kirti monastery in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) Tibetan prefecture, burned himself shortly after 5:00 p.m. local time on Aug. 6, Sungrab Gyatso, a monk at Drepung monastery in India said, citing contacts in Tibet. "Witnesses said that he shouted slogans calling for the return of [exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama to Tibet and for Tibetans living in and outside of Tibet to reunite," Gyatso said. A Tibetan resident of the area confirmed the account, speaking on condition of anonymity. "A Ngaba Kirti monastery monk self-immolated on Aug. 6. His name is Lobsang Trinlay. After Chinese police extinguished the flames, he was taken away alive," he said. Citing a local source and speaking on condition of anonymity, a Tibetan living in South India said that following the protest, police were observed throwing a badly burned body into a vehicle and driving away. "More police than residents were present at the scene," he added. 'Martyrs' Road' Separately, the London-based advocacy group Free Tibet said a witness reported that "Chinese state security personnel quickly extinguished the flames at the scene on the main road in Ngaba." That road is now called Martyrs' Road by local residents because of the large number of self-immolation protests that have taken place there, Free Tibet said in its statement. "The man who set fire to himself today was reported to be still alive, his upper body badly injured, when security personnel drove him away in a vehicle," Free Tibet said. The burning brings to 45 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans challenging Beijing's rule since the current wave of fiery protests began in February 2009, with nearly all of the protests taking place in Tibetan-populated provinces in western China. The first self-immolation protest in the Tibetan capital was reported in May, when two young Tibetan men set themselves ablaze in a central square of the heavily guarded city. As the world's media focuses on the discipline of Chinese athletes competing in the Olympic Games now under way in London, "Chinese state repression is driving Tibetans to set fire to themselves under a media blackout," Free Tibet director Stephanie Brigden said in a statement on Monday. "China is competing in the Olympic Games despite having broken every commitment on human rights made during its bid for the 2008 games [held in Beijing]," Brigden said. "While we celebrate human endeavor, we must rigorously defend human rights," Brigden said. Reported by Kunsang Tenzin, Chakmo Tso, and Rigdhen Dolma for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul and Rigdhen Dolma. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/new-08062012153250.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

12 years, 5 months

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