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The International ResponseGovernments from around the world honor the death of these Tibetans and speakout in protest of China’s repressions.UNITED STATESSecretary of StateHillary Rodham Clinton:We have madevery clear our serious concerns aboutChina’s record on human rights. Whenwe see reports of lawyers, artists, and otherswho are detained or disappeared, theUnited States speaks up both publiclyand privately. We are alarmed by recentincidents in Tibet of young people lightingthemselves on fire in desperate actsof protest. We continue to call on Chinato embrace a different path.GERMANYGerman foreign ministryspokesperson:The federal governmentis horrified at the rising number ofself-immolations in the Tibetan regionsof Southwest-China. The foreign officeurged China on Friday to shape theirpolicies in a way that existing tensions arerelieved. It asked the Dalai Lama — thereligious head of the Tibetans — to discourageyoung monks and nuns fromfurther self-immolations.UNITED KINGDOMExtract from Foreignand CommonwealthOffice update regardingTibet: We understand at least tenmonks have now been imprisoned inconnection to these [self-immolations].We have raised these incidents with theChinese Embassy in London and theMinistry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.British Embassy officials in China makeregular visits to Tibet, and have kept incontact with the Foreign Affairs Office inSichuan and local Public Security Bureauoffices regarding access to these areas.AUSTRALIAMichael Danby MP,Melbourne Ports, AustralianLabor Party:The process of eliminating Tibetan cultureand the removal of monks and nunsis a direct violation of the freedom ofreligion. The Australian government isdeeply concerned about reports of selfimmolationsby monks and nuns. Australianofficials last week made renewedrepresentations in Canberra and Beijingto their Chinese counterparts about thesereports. Our embassy in Beijing has raisedour concerns about reports of the continuingcrackdown around the monasteryand the province and increased securitymeasures in the Tibetan areas. I entreatthe Chinese authorities to respect the religiousrights of Tibetan monks and tocease their repressive actions againstthose in the Kirti Monastery.CANADAHouse of Commons,Ottawa, Canada: Fromthe statements of Canadianmembers of Parliament: “Thedesperation of these people has now ledto self-immolation acts, an act of desperationfor anyone who understandsBuddhist religion and culture. This is thesign that things have become a crisis forthose in Tibet.” “It is time for the Governmentof Canada to take a lead incoordinating an international responseto condemn the Chinese government’srepressive measures against the Tibetans.Canada should also work to ensure theUnited Nations to immediately send afact finding mission to Ngaba to assessthe situation. We cannot afford to wasteanother day.”POLANDDeputy Director ofAsia and Pacific Desk,Polish Ministry ofForeign Affairs (translated by the Tibetancommunity in Poland): Ministry of ForeignAffairs with the utmost care and concernis watching developments aroundthe Kirti monastery. Particularly movingis information regarding new acts of selfimmolationamong young Tibetans —their tragic loss of life and are the causeof sincere sorrow of Polish society.EUROPEAN UNIONEuropean Parliamentresolution on Tibet:The European Parliamentcondemns the Chinese authorities’continued crackdown on Tibetan monasteriesand calls on them to lift therestrictions and security measures imposedon monasteries and lay communities,restore the lines of communicationto the monks of Kirti Monastery, lift therestrictions and heavy-handed securitymeasures imposed on the Kirti Monastery.China’s ReactionChinese authoritiescontinue to downplaythe desperation of theTibetan people, whilean editorial in a Beijing newspaper withties to the Communist Party blames theDalai Lama and the West, implying hebenefits from the tragedies. The GlobalTimes warns,“China’s Tibetan region hasbeen affected by outrageous political influencesunder the name of religion. Theselfishness and ruthlessness of the Dalaigroup are carefully packaged by the West[and] the fact is the more self-immolationshappen in Tibet, the more comfortablethe life of the Dalai group becomes.”Kelsang Gyaltsen, Envoy of His Holinessthe Dalai Lama, addressed the EuropeanParliament’s Conference on Autonomyon November 29 to update them on talksbetween China and the Tibetan governmentin exile.“The last round of meeting was held inJanuary 2010. Since then we have repeatedlyurged our Chinese counterparts tomeet. As recently as about two weeks agoin view of the tragic self-immolationsand the overall deteriorating situationin Tibet we urged our counterparts inBeijing to meet as soon as possible inorder to explore ways to diffuse and calmthe situation in Tibet. We are, however,still waiting for a positive reply.”10
Making Our Voices HeardLobby Day 2012: March 19 -20Each year in March, the International Campaign for Tibet hosts a Lobby Day event in Washington, DC somembers and interested friends can speak out to our nation’s lawmakers with the greatest possible impact.Our Invitation to YouRepresentatives and Senators tell us thatconstituent visits help them measurethe intensity of support for an issue;this means that your visit could make thedifference for a member of Congresswho’s been sitting on the fence aboutsupporting the people of Tibet.Many people think that visiting theirmembers of Congress is intimidating;they feel unprepared and uneasy at thethought of participating in a Lobby Day.But we sincerely hope you decide to participatethis year. We hold special trainingsessions just to familiarize first-timeactivists with the best ways to expressthemselves, and we set up the meetingwith your members or their staff. By thetime you get to Capitol Hill, you’ll be readyand eager to make your voice heard.Traveling to Washington, DC for TibetLobby Day is a valuable experience.You’llmeet like-minded people while visitingone of the most beautiful cities in thenation, and you can strengthen your tiesto the International Campaign for Tibet.We’d like the chance to shake your handand thank you for your support. For moreinformation, visit tibetlobbyday.us.The deadline to register for Tibet LobbyDay in February 17.Proposed Schedule:MARCH 18 Evening Lobby Trainingfor first time lobbyists.Distribution of Lobbying Materials/Informational Packets to all participants.MARCH 19 8:30am–5:00pm: Meetingswith Representatives, Senators, and theirstaff on Capitol HillMARCH 20 8:30am–5:00pm:Meetings with Representatives, Senators,and their staff on Capitol Hill.5:30pm–8:00pm: Possible eveningnetworking reception.DC Visit of Tibetans in ExileTibet’s new Kalon Tripa (head of theCentral Tibetan Administration, thepolitical authority for Tibet in exile) madehis first visit to the nation’s capitol sincehis confirmation. Dr. Lobsang Sangaydemonstrated his leadership by meetingwith US officials, members of Congress,scholars, experts, members of the Tibetancommunity, and more to draw attentionto his twin goals: To draw attention tothe ongoing critical situation in Tibet —especially considering the self-immolations— and to seek support for theempowerment of the Tibetan people. Hisop-ed was published in the WashingtonPost, and he was a guest at the newsmakerprogram of the National Press Club.During the same week, Kirti Rinpoche(spiritual leader of the Kirti monasticcommunity) visited Washington, DC. Sixof the seventeen recent self-immolationshave been current or former monks fromKirti, and Rinpoche was reaching out toglobal leaders (including governmentofficials and members of Congress) to ensurethese desperate acts were recognizedin the halls of power as a plea for help.Both men testified on the situation in Tibetand on the conditions of the Tibetanpeople at a hearing by the US Congress’Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission,as did Bhuchung K. Tsering, ICT’s VicePresident for Special Programs, who providedICT’s recommendations, found inthis issue of Tibet Press Watch on page 6.Dr. Sangay briefed Congress on theachievements of democratic governmentin the Tibetan exile community followingthe Dalai Lama’s decision to relinquishhis political role. He spoke to thepriorities of his administration to revitalizeTibetan settlements, includingits focus on improving education. Tosupport the Dalai Lama’s vision of avibrant diaspora to sustain the Tibetancause, Dr. Sangay asked Congress to passthe Tibetan immigration bill (H.R. 699)and to urge the Administration to resettleTibetan refugees in South Asia.Kirti Rinpoche spoke eloquently, tellingthe attending members that the selfimmolationswere not an overnight developmentbut the outcome of woundssuffered for decades by the Tibetan peopleat the hands of the Chinese authorities.Rinpoche noted that three generations ofTibetans have endured constant abuses— and that the Chinese government andinternational leaders needed to understandthe underlying causes of “sudden”outcries like the self-immolations if theydon’t want to see such developmentsrepeated.In a blog posting on ICT’s web sitewww.savetibet.org, Bhuchung K. Tseringnoted that “Rinpoche had a very somberanalysis of the self-immolations. He saidthat these were the highest form of nonviolentactions that Tibetans were takingand hence signified the level of desperationof the people. He said unless the Chinesegovernment took positive measuresit was quite likely that the Tibetan movementwould take a different turn.”11
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Page 5 and 6: So Dargye, who embraces social medi
Page 7 and 8: The Dalai Lama OutlinesHis Master P
Page 9: Additional security forces are depl
Page 13 and 14: Tibet in the ArtsBook review:Off to
Page 15 and 16: Take Action:Two Ways You Can HelpTh

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