Little Lhasa 2012 – Explore the Home of the Dalai Lama

Interested??

If you want to explore Tibet’s current political situation and experience its socio-cultural heritage, the Little Lhasa program will be a great opportunity for you. We will spend one week in beautiful McLeod Ganj, learning about the different organizations within the Tibet movement, meeting activists, Tibetan government in exile and monks and nuns. You will also have time to explore the amazing natural surroundings of the Himalayan mountains, visit Buddhist monasteries and eat traditional Tibetan food.

To apply for the Little Lhasa program, please send an email to: sftindia(at)gmail.com. Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in participating in the program (250-500 words). The last date to submit an application is May 31^st, 2012.
Limited space available!

All candidates will have to bear travel and food costs on their own. However, SFT will assist in getting you the best bargain!

If you have any additional question or would like to apply, please email us at sftindia(at)gmail.com.

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TIBETAN NGOs DEMAND THAT CHINA DIVULGE THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE 11TH PANCHEN LAMA ON HIS 23rd BIRTHDAY

Dharamsala: On the 23rd birthday of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, major Tibetan NGOs in India will conduct a day long petition drive urging people to call Chinese embassies seeking information on his whereabouts.

This year marks his 17th year of abduction by the Chinese Government after being recognized “Gedhun Choekyi Nyima’s abduction is not only a violation of Tibet’s religious freedom and it is also a human rights violation,” said Tashi Dolma, the newly elected President of Tibetan Women’s Association.

“There was a report sometime back that the 11th Panchen Lama had died long ago.

10 YEARS TOO LONG; TIBETANS ESCALATE CAMPAIGN FOR RELEASE OF TENZIN DELEK RINPOCHE

10 YEARS TOO LONG; TIBETANS ESCALATE CAMPAIGN FOR RELEASE OF INNOCENT BUDDHIST LEADER ON ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ARREST
Top Chinese official Zhou Yongkhang targeted for his role in Tenzin Delek’s imprisonment

Dharamsala- On the 10-year anniversary of his arrest, Tibetans and their supporters worldwide have vowed to escalate the campaign for the release of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a highly revered Buddhist leader framed and subsequently imprisoned by Chinese authorities for crimes he did not commit. This week thousands of letters appealing for Tenzin Delek’s release have been sent to Zhou Yongkang, the Politburo Standing Committee member who is currently facing speculation of a connection to the Bo Xilai scandal that rocked China last month. Zhou was Sichuan Party Secretary in 2002 when Tenzin Delek was arrested for his alleged involvement in a series of explosions in Chengdu; allegations that are unproven to this day.

TIBETAN ACTIVISTS PROTEST HU JINTAO AS HE LEAVES INDIA

TIBETAN ACTIVISTS PROTEST HU JINTAO AS HE LEAVES INDIA
Leader of SFT India among those arrested in the protests

New Delhi – Seven Tibetan activists including Dorjee Tsetan, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet-India, were arrested while staging a demonstration against Hu Jintao in front of the Oberoi Hotel, where Hu has been staying. The protestors had painted across their chests slogans such as “Swaraj My Birth Right” and “Free Tibet.”

TIBET ACTIVISTS UNFURL A HUGE BANNER TO PROTEST HU JINTAO VISIT

TIBET ACTIVISTS UNFURL A HUGE BANNER TO PROTEST HU JINTAO VISIT;
ELEVEN ARRESTED FOR CALLING FOR FREEDOM AND AN END TO HU JINTAO’S FAILED POLICIES IN TIBET

New Delhi – Eleven more Tibetan activists from Students for a Free Tibet-India and Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Dharamsala were arrested for protesting Chinese President Hu Jintao. The protest took place at around 12.20 pm where the activists were arrested for unfurling a large 5.5 x 12 feet-long banner reading “HU JINTAO: CHINA’S FAILED LEADER. FREE TIBET” from the footbridge leading to Saint Martin Marg toward the Taj Palace Hotel.

11 TIBETAN PROTESTERS ARRESTED DEMONSTRATING CHINESE PRESIDENT’S ARRIVAL

11 TIBETAN PROTESTERS ARRESTED DEMONSTRATING CHINESE PRESIDENT’S ARRIVAL; CALLING FOR FREEDOM AND AN END TO HU JINTAO’S FAILED POLICIES IN TIBET

New Delhi – This afternoon around 3 p.m. 11 Tibetan activists were arrested for protesting Hu Jintao’s arrival. Three, one boy and two girls, were arrested right in front of the Oberoi Hotel, where Chinese President Hu Jintao is staying during the BRICS Summit in India. A further eight girls were arrested 100 meters away from the hotel. The action is the second in a series of pro-Tibet demonstrations targeting Hu Jintao’s failed policies in Tibet that have resulted in an unprecedented wave of self-immolations. On Monday, Jamphel Yeshi, an exiled Tibetan living in New Delhi lit himself on fire to protest Hu Jintao’s visit to India as China’s violent crackdown in Tibet continues. Hundreds of Tibetans were arrested and Tibetan refugee settlements cordoned off by police following his self-immolation.

“Hu Jintao is the architect of the current human rights crisis in Tibet and it is our duty and our responsibility to hold him accountable on the international stage,” said Dorjee Tseten, Director of Students for a Free Tibet India. “Until China resolves the Tibet issue and Tibetans can live in peace and freedom, Hu Jintao and all Chinese leaders will be met with vocal protests and global outrage.”

 

There have been over 30 self-immolation in Tibet,

SFT Statement on the Self-immolation of a Young Tibetan in Delhi, India (March 26, 2012)

Jamphel Yeshi set himself on fire in India on 26th March 2012, just days before China's premier Hu Jintao's visit.

Today’s act of self-immolation by Jamphel Yeshi, a young Tibetan in Delhi, highlights the extreme urgency of the situation inside Tibet. Thirty Tibetans have lit themselves on fire in protest in Tibet over the past two years, 17 since January of this year, and now four Tibetans in exile have also attempted to self-immolate. These acts are a direct response to the decades of violence and repressive policies that Tibetans have endured under China’s occupation, and a cry for action.

The Chinese government has responded to Tibetans’ calls for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama by locking down Tibet and intensifying its vicious attacks against the Dalai Lama. The few journalists who have managed to get into Tibet by eluding checkpoints and road blocks have reported towns and cities saturated with Chinese troops; their photos show Tibet looking like a war zone. An unknown number of monks, nuns and lay people have been arrested in recent weeks for taking part in peaceful protests, many of them rounded up from their homes at night.