Today, August 30th marks the worldwide commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) has worked for 30 years to end the crime of enforced disappearance and give voice to the thousands of individuals who have seemingly vanished without a trace. While the U.N. has issued an International Convention for the Protection...

Ever since the International Campaign for Tibet was able to acquire an office space and to construct a small conference room, I have been privileged to participate in a variety of events in it. The conference room has hosted many public programs ranging from photo exhibitions (one such exhibition is still ongoing) talks by former Tibetan political prisoners, officials of the Central Tibetan Administration based...

Another managed media tour of Tibet, another round of bad press for the Chinese. Once again, Chinese authorities have allowed a group of foreign journalists into Tibet with a tightly regimented itinerary that allows for no free and independent reporting. (Here is Ben Carrdus’ posting about a previous visit.) These reporters, in turn, file stories about restrictions on their visit. They write about how their...

On July 6, 2010, His Holiness the Dalai Lama turned 75 and Tibetans all over the world gathered in celebration, including those in Tibet. Information received from sources inside Tibet said that people were burning incense and making offerings at the temples, and celebrations were taking place quietly under China’s watchful eyes as it would be extremely risky to have any flamboyant celebrations. And from Golog,...

As everyone gets ready to sit down this Sunday to watch the World Cup Final, I thought you’d be interested to learn that the Tibetan world is abuzz with the news of Spain’s defender Carles “Tarzan” Puyol and his Tibet connection. Puyol, who struck the winning goal against Germany, wears a Tibetan tattoo on his left arm, is friends with Venerable Wangchen la, Director of Tibet House in Barcelona, and...

On July 6, 2010 the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had its regular press conference in Beijing. Mr. Qin Gang was the spokesman on duty that day. Let me just say in general that I learn quite a bit by following remarks by the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokespersons. To be fair to them, most of them are well dressed and presentable and they do a good job of representing the Party line. It is especially interesting...

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend Student for a Free Tibet’s (SFT) Action Camp. This is a retreat where participants receive training in how to be effective activists, including campaigning, media work, grassroots organizing, rope climbing and banner hanging, and other activities. It was set in a pretty and remote woodland site in upstate New York. As ICT’s Director of Government Relations,...

The sentencing of Tibetan environmentalist-cum-businessman Karma Samdrup to 15 years by a Chinese court even as his lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, highlighted the absence of a fair trial, is yet another challenge to Tibetans who are trying to find a place for themselves in the People’s Republic of China. Karma Samdrup is a founding member of the Three Rivers Environmental Protection Association, one of the few NGOs...

- The new generation of Tibet  -  strong, resilient, accomplished, confident, modern, ….. a generation who finds ways to express themselves even while they are being silenced. Check out this music video by Tibetan Rock Band “Yudrug” [Green Dragon] – the song is Merab Sarpa [New Generation] – It was just shown on Voice of America Tibetan TV’s new CyberTibet show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC69z7WKdjg The...

Over the past week and a half I had the opportunity to speak out for Tibet at the 14th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. The experience showed me the value and importance of countering the official Chinese rhetoric. In March 2009, the Chinese government’s presentation to the UNHRC sang their own praises and accolades during their Universal Periodic Review. In fact,...