Tibet reisgids belangrijke info

Reisblog met video's van Steve & Ulrike
Lees ook het verhaal: Lhasa nu 27 april, bij PDF bestanden
28/11 Team van VRT brutaal aangevallen in China
zie verslag onder Human rights


Foto's van deze conferentie te bekijken via foto's/picassa
Project: Conference
Human Rights in China After the Olympics and Before the UN Universal Periodic Review

One-day conference to be organized at the European Parliament
2nd of December 2008
by Human Rights Without Frontiers Int'l with the support of ALDE and other political groups and:



Onze voorzitster: "Inge Hermans" zal ook aan het woord zijn, tijdens deze conferentie

The Olympics are over and in early 2009, China will present its human rights record before the Universal Periodic Review at the UN in Geneva.

On the eve of this important event, the time has come to make a new assessment of the human rights record of China several months after the Olympics.

The objective of this conference is
  • to measure the progress and/or lack of progress made by China with regard to the requests of the European Parliament as expressed in its resolutions of the last five years;
  • to send an encouraging and positive signal of support to the Chinese people and the defenders of their rights by the EU stakeholders and the European human rights community;
  • to enhance the role of the European institutions in the fight for human rights in China and to make of Brussels a significant pole and leverage for the promotion of the rights of the Chinese.

    • The main elements of the project will be threefold:
  • Assessment of various human rights violations by NGOs
  • The signing of a so-called "Brussels Declaration" of support to the Chinese defending their rights
    • The Brussels-based embassies of the member states of the UN Human Rights Council will be invited to the conference.

    Assessment of the rights to be covered during the conference
  • Freedom of Expression
  • Labour rights
  • Freedom of Religion or Belief
  • Religious minority: Falun Gong
  • Ethnic Minorities Issues
  • One-child policy
  • Human Rights Defenders
  • Environmental rights
  • Housing rights and land rights
  • Inhuman treatment and torture
  • Death Penalty
  • North Korean Refugees in China
  • Hong Kong, Taiwan, Africa
    • Human Rights in China After the Olympics & Before the U.N. Universal Periodic Review
    An assessment of China’s human rights record

    *Human Rights Defenders *Freedom of Expression *Freedom of Religion or Belief *Tibet Issues *Uyghur Issues *Religious minority Falun Gong *One-child policy *Labour rights *Housing rights and land rights *Environmental rights *Arbitrary detention *Re-education through forced labor *Death Penalty *North Korean Refugees in China by over a dozen of NGOs, zoals oa. De Vrienden van Tibet


    Met toespraak van onze voorzitster: Inge Hermans;
    Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Without Frontiers Int'l, Solidarité Chine, China Aid, Friends of Tibet, World Uyghur Congress, CIPFG, Justice for North Korea, etc.
    Cocktail
    28/11 Team van VRT brutaal aangevallen in China

    De correspondent van de openbare omroep in China, Tom Van de Weghe, is donderdag samen met zijn filmcrew aangevallen en beroofd. "We hebben veel geluk gehad", klinkt het vanuit Peking.
    Van de Weghe (foto) en co waren aan het filmen voor een reportage over Chinese aidspatiënten en de zwakke medische dienstverlening die zij krijgen. De crew had vooraf correct de politie en de lokale autoriteiten ingelicht over hun plannen. Die legden op hun beurt de ngo's die de Belgische journalisten wilden interviewen, een spreekverbod op.

    Niet lang nadat ze een aidspatiënt hadden gesproken, werd de wagen van de reportageploeg brutaal gestopt. Tien zware mannen kwamen op hen af. "Ze eisten de tape van het interview", aldus Van de Weghe. "We hebben meteen de camera opengemaakt en de tape die erin zat, afgegeven. Intussen hadden ze de koffer opengemaakt en namen ze de doos met 10 lege tapes mee." "De mannen luisterden niet naar wat we zegden. Ze bedreigden ons: hier in Henan zijn wij de wet en we breken elk been in jullie lijf als jullie nog langer in Henan zijn."

    Tweede aanval
    Van de Weghe en co namen de bedreiging serieus en vertrokken meteen terug naar de hoofdstad. Vooraleer ze de luchthaven bereikten, kregen ze opnieuw last. "Op een verlaten weg sprongen een kwartier later plots 8 mannen voor onze wagen. Deels waren het dezelfde mannen als in de namiddag. Ze probeerden onze wagen te openen. We boden weerstand, maar ze waren te sterk."

    Rake klappen
    "Zodra de deuren open waren, sleurden ze ons uit de wagen en deelden ze enkele rake klappen uit. Zelf heb ik twee klappen op het hoofd gekregen, mijn cameraman kreeg klappen in het gezicht en mijn assistent op de borst." De crew maande de Chinese agressievelingen aan tot kalmte, maar dat lukt niet. Ze gingen er zelfs nog met de portefeuilles en perskaarten van door.

    Een tape over
    Het voorval werd door Van de Weghe reeds gemeld aan de Belgische ambassade in Peking. De ploeg heeft nog een tape in het bezit waar bruikbaar materiaal op staat.

    De journalisten zijn naar verluidt ok. Volgens Van deWeghe duidt het incident nog maar eens aan hoe in China met aids wordt omgegaan door de lokale overheid. Het is niet de eerste keer dat de correspondent werd lastig gevallen.
    GVA
    Fleeing Students Bring Tales Of Tibet Repression
    22november 2008
    by Bappa Majumdar

    Tibetans are regularly beaten up, their homes raided at night and hundreds have gone missing as a brutal Chinese crackdown continues inside Tibet, a group of Tibetan students who escaped into India this week said.

    Most Tibetan towns are "swarming" with soldiers who have been arresting people even for mentioning the name of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 and now lives in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala.

    "Soldiers picked up my uncle from his house, dragged him by his hair and kicked him in the face and stomach," Tsomo, a 30-year-old woman using only one name, told Reuters on Saturday.

    "Later we learnt that he died in a lock-up."

    Tsomo was among 20 Tibetans who escaped from Tibet after trekking across freezing Himalayan mountains for weeks, dodging soldiers and checkpoints to reach Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

    India hosts about 150,000 Tibetan exiles, most of whom have arrived after similar journeys over the past few decades.

    The students' group plans to meet the Dalai Lama to tell him about the torture and what they said was the illegal detention of hundreds of Tibetans for protesting against China.

    Tibetans are meeting this week in Dharamsala to chart a future course for their movement after eight rounds of official talks on autonomy with Beijing failed to make any headway.

    The escaping students say "Chinese atrocities" have increased since the March 14 Tibetan uprising in Lhasa, which China blamed on the Dalai Lama and his "clique." The riots later spilled over into the rest of Tibet and neighboring Chinese provinces with Tibetan populations, drawing global attention.

    Since then, hundreds of Tibetans have been interrogated and detained while many have disappeared without a trace, says Kate Swanders of the International Campaign for Tibet, a global advocacy group for the Tibetan cause.

    "We presume many could be dead. Some of whom we come to know about are subjected to hard labor and brutal torture," Swanders told Reuters.

    She said Chinese authorities had "dramatically stepped up" security and about 900 Tibetans had been jailed since the March riots.

    China denies torturing or detaining Tibetans without reason, but says strong action will be taken against those trying to protest against Chinese rule or escape from Tibet.

    "These days we speak in hushed tones about Dharamsala and his holiness in Tibet. The authorities do not allow us to even carry a photograph of our leader," Gyaltsen, 17, another escapee, said.

    "We were not happy in Tibet. Life there is miserable as we have to constantly live in fear of being arrested," Tsomo said.

    Parents encourage children to escape as they do not want them to be indoctrinated in Chinese schools vilifying the Dalai Lama, said Tenzin Losel, an ICT coordinator in India.

    "We escaped because we wanted to be with our saviour, the Dalai Lama. Only he can save us and free Tibet," said Tenzin Ngodrup, another escapee dressed in a "Chupa" or Tibetan gown.

    (Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and Bill Tarrant)
    SPECIAL TIBET
    Filmhuis Klappei

  • 24 november 2008
    Al sinds 1992 werkt Martin Scorsese (o.a. Taxi Driver, The Age Of Innocence) aan Kundun, waarin het leven van de Dalai Lama centraal staat.
    Religie is schijnbaar een stokpaardje van Scorsese. In 1988 lokte The Last Temptation Of Christ een hele controverse uit in het katholieke kamp.
    Nu hadden vooral de Chinezen problemen met de uitbreng van Kundun, hetgeen de producent (Disney) een hoogoplopend conflict opleverde.

    De film volgt het leven van Tenzin Gyatso, die in 1937 als tweejarig jongetje als de veertiende reïncarnatie van de Dalai Lama wordt 'ontdekt'.
    In het heilige klooster in Lhasa bereiden monniken hem voor op zijn toekomst van spiritueel en werelds leider van Tibet.
    Zijn bewind is van korte duur, want twee jaar na zijn installatie als leider, 'bevrijdt' het Chinese leger in 1950 het Tibetaanse volk van zijn 'theocratische overheersing'.
    Pogingen van de Dalai Lama om met de Chinese bezetters tot een vergelijk te komen, stranden op de ijzeren wil van de Chinezen om Tibet als Chinese provincie aan hun communistische imperium toe te voegen.
    Een beroep op de Verenigde Naties voor bijstand wordt niet gehonoreerd. In 1959 vlucht de Dalai Lama naar India, waar hij sindsdien in ballingschap verblijft.

    Kundun is een machtig mooie productie. De film is rijk aan beeldtaal en figuranten, rijk aan kostuums en decors en heeft een integere verhaallijn.
    Sommige beelden behoeven geen woorden en grijpen je regelrecht naar de keel. Daarnaast maakt de muziek van de tot het boeddhisme bekeerde Philip Glass de film af.
    De magie en de spiritualiteit van de muziek versterken de film en doen de tijd voorbij glijden.
    Je verlaat de zaal met een magisch gevoel.
  • 2 december 2008
    Karma, een Tibetaanse cineaste uit New York, gaat naar Dharamsala in India om een documentaire te maken over politieke vluchtelingen.
    Niet alleen wil Karma op zoek naar haar eigen wortels, ook aan het thuisfront lopen de zaken niet zo lekker. Bij haar werk krijgt ze hulp van Jigme, een muzikant die droomt van een leven in Amerika.
    Karma maakt vervolgens kennis met de ex-monnik Dhondup die, in opdracht van zijn moeder in Tibet, een man zoekt aan wie hij een geheimzinnig zilveren doosje moet geven. Tijdens de zoektocht komen Karma en Dhondup nader tot elkaar.
    Dreaming Lhasa wordt ter beschikking gesteld door het asielcentrum van kapellen en draait in de Cyclus Cultacolor.
    DE TOEGANG IS GRATIS. Reserveren aangeraden. tickets@klappei.be
    reservering@klappei.be
    Aanvang 20.00 uur Klappeistraat 2 2060 Antwerpen

    China handing down 'death sentence' to Tibetans: Dalai Lama
    said Sunday,2 nov
    ahead of a meeting to decide Tibet's future approach to Beijing.
    The region's exiled leader is on a week-long visit to Japan for talks on spirituality,
    just as a new round of talks between his envoys and Chinese officials was set to begin,
    and days after he said he had lost hope of any productive dialogue with Beijing.
    "Tibetans are being handed down a death sentence. This ancient nation, with an ancient cultural heritage is dying,"
    he told a group of reporters.
    "Today, the situation is almost like a military occupation in the entire Tibetan area.
    "It is like we're under martial law. Fear, terror and lots of political education are causing a lot of grievance,"
    he added.
    The 73-year old Nobel Peace laureate said he was "semi-retiring" because of stalled talks with Beijing, and said
    he would convene a meeting on November 17 to discuss Tibet's future approach to dealing with China.
    "We will listen to the people's suggestions, and then I think things will become clear," he said.
    "I don't think I will completely retire, but for the time being while dealing with the Chinese central government,
    I can no longer take full direct responsibility. My position is completely neutral.
    Because we believe in democratic principles, the people should express their real feelings.
    I should not be hindering their opinions."
    The Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959, is a frequent visitor to Japan,
    where he enjoys an active following.
    During his stay, he is scheduled to give speeches arranged by a Japanese Buddhist group and Tibetan supporters.
    He will also visit children and monks.
    China accuses the Dalai Lama of trying to split Tibet from Beijing through his travels overseas.
    The Dalai Lama's stated position has been one of seeking meaningful autonomy for Tibet within China. However,
    last weekend he said he had all but given up hope of reaching a mutually acceptable solution
    Dalai Lama makes China warning 30okt 08
    Dalai Lama intervieuw op bbc 30 okt. video
    His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Envoys leave for China for 8th Round of Talks.
    30th October 2008

    His Holiness the Dalai Lama's envoys Kasur Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen,
    accompanied by three senior assistants are arriving in Beijing for the 8th round of talks with the representatives of the Chinese leadership.
    They will be in Beijing as a follow-up of the 7th round of talks.
    They will be there for about a week.
    The Envoys had their final briefing from Professor Samdhong Rinpoche, Kalon Tripa, in New Delhi.
    Thubten Samphel
    Secretary, Information
    Dalai Lama says,'no hope for talks with China'

    ma 27 okt.
    De gesprekken van de Tibetanen met China, worden telkens met een kluitje in het riet gestuurd.
    Veel hulp van het westen hebben de Tibetanen niet, integendeel, de westerse landen nemen deel aan een top in Peking.
    Men is de schande van de Chinese spelen al vergeten?
    Zo geef je china het signaal dat de Tibetaanse genocide verantwoord is.
    Bij wie kunnen de Tibetanen terecht? het is zoals 50 jaar geleden, iedereen doet alsof zijn neus bloedt,
    wat op de achtergrond staan roepen, helpt de Tibetaanse kwestie niet.
    Wanneer staat er iemand op met gezag, die er daadwerkelijk iets aan doet?
    China gaat voor miljoenen tonnen aan ersten ontginnen in Tibet.
    Dus moet alles wat Tibetaans is grondig vernietigd worden, de taal, cultuur, Boeddhisme, kloosters en mensen.
    Er zijn nu al meer gevangenissen vol Tibetanen, meer gevangenissen in Tibet dan in heel China!!
    Mevrouw Turtelboom,

           

           

    Tussen 1 en 11 november krijgt ons land het bezoek van Ngawang Woeber, president van de Gu Chu Sum beweging.

    Deze Tibetaanse vereniging bestaat momenteel uit 430 ex- politieke gevangenen uit China en Tibet.

    U zal wellicht begrijpen dat wij , Vrienden van Tibet, de kans willen grijpen om hen het verhaal te laten doen in zoveel mogelijk geledingen en niveaus van onze besturen.

    Omdat wij, ook in ons land, een grote groep Tibetaanse vluchtelingen hebben, zou ik U vriendelijk doch met enige aandrang willen vragen deze moedige mensen te willen ontvangen om hun verhaal te kunnen doen.
    Het zou U tevens de mogelijkheid geven om, ivm de toestand in Tibet en de behandeling van politiek gevangenen aldaar,
    tot klare en duidelijke inzichten te komen en misschien met een andere visie beslissingen te kunnen nemen in de dossiers waarin Tibetanen vragen om in ons land te mogen blijven.

    Het verhaal dat U te horen gaat krijgen is geen prettig verhaal en ik ben er zeker van dat op mensen met gezond verstand en een zekere bezorgdheid naar rechtvaardigheid, altijd en overal, dit verhaal een inpact kan hebben op de beslissingen die ze moeten nemen.

    Mevrouw Turtelboom, voor de Vrienden van Tibet behoort U ook tot deze groep.

    Mag ik U vragen om de mogelijkheid te willen onderzoeken om een onderhoud met deze mensen te willen plannen tussen 1 en 11 november aub.

    Wij kunnen voorzien in een tolk.
    In de hoop dat onze vraag U niet koud laat,
    Groet ik u met de meeste hoogachting,
    Inge Hermans

    Bekijk ook, via VVT inhoud/Tibet informatief/ De hoogst reidende trein van Peking naar Lhasa, met haar bedoelingen 21 okt. 2008



    Hu Jia, De chinese reporter gelauwerd met de Sacharovprijs. 24 okt. uit "De Morgen"
    Australian Senate Calls for Successful Dialogue on Tibet, TibetNet
    (Tuesday, October 21, 2008 10:45)
    Canberra: The Australian Parliament unanimously passed a motion tabled by Senator Bob Brown,
    leader of the Australian Greens, "wishing both the Chinese government and the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for a successful result in the coming eighth round of discussions on Tibet."

    Noting that the eight round of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue is due to take place in October or November 2008, the Senate expressed its recognition of His Holiness Dalai Lama's 'Middle Way Approach’ to autonomy for Tibet within China.

    The Senate said it appreciates the offer by the People's Republic of China to host the dialogue and wishes both parties a successful breakthrough and outcome.
    Earlier on 13 October, Senator Brown and four Green Senators met with Kalon Kesang Yankyi Takla,
    kalon for the Department of Information and International Relations, during her visit to Australia.
    Kalon Takla also addressed the Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee of the Federal Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade on the current situation in Tibet.
    Tibet Supporters Protest in Brussels Against Chinese TV Censorship
    Phayul (Friday, October 10, 2008 17:12)
    Dharamshala October 10: Protestors from Belgian Friends of Tibet gathered at the European Commission in Brussels
    yesterday to protest against Chinese government’s censorship on New Tang Dynasty Television which was broadcast in China through a French Satellite Company Eutelsat.

    NTDTV broadcasts were stopped 7 weeks before the beginning of the Olympic games. It was the only independent TV channel in Chinese language broadcast in China,
    according to Inge Hermans, president of the Belgium friends of Tibet. NTDTV extensively covered the Tibet unrest following March uprisings.

    The protest was organized jointly by NTDTV and de Vrienden van Tibet Belgium (Friends of Tibet, Belgium).

    The protestors demanded freedom of press in China. Referring to the milk poisoning in China, Hermans said that China as well as Eutelsat is responsible for the ‘inhuman suffering that was perpetrated on many innocent Chinese children and their parents because the Chinese government fears the open and honest dialogue that NTDTV had exemplified.

    We support NTDTV in their attempt to resume their broadcasts in China, said Hermans. "We urge European Parliament to hold Eutelsat accountable and responsible for the resumption of NTDTV broadcasts in China so that Chinese people can again enjoy the objective programmes that this channel provided."

    Eutelsat attributed the abrupt end of NTDTV’s transmissions in China to technical problems but Hermans said it was not true. "The Chinese government wants to monopolize the press and has done so at all costs, including spying on internet users and illegally wiretapping phone conversations."

    Reporters within China are regularly arrested, intimidated and in many respects thwarted in their attempts to accurately and openly report events, said Hermans. "China jails more journalists than any other country in the world and ranks 157th on world lists regarding abuses against journalists."

    "As we speak, there is a "total media black-out" in force in Tibet and her surrounding regions," Hermans said in her speech at the gathering.

    Phayul Bureau Report

    Folteren in Tibet gaat nog steeds door 4 okt 2008
    Klik op bovenstaande tekst om het pdf bestand te bekijken.
    China vraagt Nobelprijs aan dissidenten niet toe te kennen (uit de morgen van 8 okt 08)
    Klik op bovenstaande tekst om het pdf bestand te bekijken.
    Nieuwe video 65'45" Voices in Exile
    Dalai Lama prays for Tibet quake victims
     Phayul Tuesday, October 07, 2008
    By Phurbu Thinley

    Dharamsala, October 7: Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama today offered prayers and condolences in a message posted in his official website to those affected by Tibet earthquake on Monday.
    6.6-magnitude earthquake hit villages in Tibet’s Damshung County at 4:30pm on Monday that left at least nine people dead,
    19 others injured and many homes toppled.
    "I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and property as a result of the earthquake that struck Damshung county and neighboring areas west of Lhasa,"
    the 73-year old Tibetan leader, who is currently in New Delhi for a routine medical check-up, said in the message.
    "Our prayers go out to those who have lost their lives in this tragedy and offer condolences to their families and those affected by this natural disaster," the Dalai Lama added.
    The 1989 Nobel Peace laureate also said he was exploring ways to extend assistance to those affected by the quake.
    "I am exploring avenues to extend assistance as a token of my deep concern and solidarity with the people devastated by this earthquake," the Dalai Lama
    TENTOONSTELLING "A LONG LOOK HOMEWARD"

    6 oktober tot en met 16 november tijdens de kantooruren
    Provinciaal Noord-Zuid Centrum Roeselare

    Deze unieke, aantrekkelijke tentoonstelling stelt de bezoeker in staat om de recente gebeurtenissen in Tibet beter te duiden en begrijpen.

    " Tibet , A long look homeward - Omzien in heimwee" werd samengesteld door het Tibet Museum in Dharamsala , India.

    Grote informatieve panelen met tekst en foto’s vertellen over Tibet van vroeger en nu, de inval vanuit China,
    de vernietiging van de Tibetaanse cultuur en de exodus van de Tibetaanse gemeenschap.
    A long look homeward is een reis doorheen de Tibetaanse geschiedenis,
    verteld door elf leden van de Tibetaanse gemeenschap in ballingschap.

    Hoogtepunt is het bezoek van enkele Tibetaanse monniken die in de tentoonstellingsruimte een zandmandala maken volgens traditioneel gebruik.
    Het maken van een mandala is een meditatief gebeuren dat gebed, geduld, precisie en concentratie vereist.

    FILMVOORSTELLING "WINDHORSE"
    Donderdag 23 oktober om 20 uur
    Provinciaal Noord-Zuid Centrum

    "Windhorse begint waar Kundun en Seven Years in Tibet eindigen." Windhorse werd grotendeels clandestien opgenomen in Tibet.
    De Chinezen voeren een repressief beleid en vermoorden op een dag de grootvader van Dorjee. Dorjee, zijn zusje Dolkar en hun nichtje Pema vluchten weg en belanden in Lhasa .
    Als Pema, ondertussen ingetreden in een boeddhistisch klooster, openlijk protesteert tegen de Chinese overheersing,
    wordt zij gearresteerd en gemarteld.
    Voor Dorjee en Dolkar het moment om zich af te vragen waar hun ware identiteit en solidariteit liggen. Een zeer aangrijpend docu-drama.
    Gratis inkom.

    Meer informatie: Provinciaal Noord-Zuid Centrum, Hugo Verrieststraat 22, 8800 Roeselare (ingang via parking in de Cichoreistraat),
    www.west-vlaanderen.be/pnzc, pnzc@west-vlaanderen.be, T 051 26 50 50

    Kashag's Statement on the 48th Anniversary of Tibetan Democracy Day

    Phayul The Statement of the Kashag on the Forty-eighth Anniversary of the Tibetan Democracy Day
    2 September 2008
    On this special occasion of the 48th anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's extraordinary efforts to transform the Tibetan polity into a genuine democracy,
    the Kashag - as a way of expressing its immense gratitude to His Holiness - makes obeisance to him.
    The Kashag also extends its affectionate greetings and Tashi Deleg to all Tibetans living in and outside Tibet, as well as to the governments,
    parliaments, governmental and non-governmental organisations,
    Tibet support groups and the people of the international In our previous statements, the Kashag has dwelled - among other things - on the status of the Tibetan democratic polity and its weaknesses;
    the responsibilities that Tibetans in general and particularly the Tibetan exiles must shoulder; and the role of the Tibetan civil society, which is inclusive of the Tibetan NGOs.
    While reiterating all these points, the Kashag would like to emphatically state that all Tibetans should
    - at this very critical and crucial period - give more importance to their democratic duties than rights; that they should give more importance to the national and community's benefits than individual's and organisation's;
    and that they should, in order to challenge the forces of division, strive towards combining their collective energies.

    The principal reason why the Tibetans inside Tibet have had to endure continuous sufferings for the last almost 60 years
    - and as a result of it the very survival of the Tibetan people is at stake today - is due to the Chinese autocratic government's ultra-leftist policies.
    Under these policies, the basic rights of the Tibetan people, including their political, social, religious and cultural rights are trampled upon by the Chinese government.
    Therefore, until and unless the nature of the People's Republic of China's polity does not become more open, free and transparent,
    it is difficult for China to be able to resolve the problem of Tibet. Taking cue from this fact, the Tibetan people living in the free world should also work towards cultivating a culture of openness, freedom and transparency.

    In order to establish a true democratic society, it is very important to have gender equality in general, and particularly women should equally partake in the administrative and political work of a country.
    Since ancient times until now, no gender discriminations of any kind have taken place in our society.
    However, going by the ratio of the Tibetan men and women taking part in administration and politics, there is a difference with women lagging far behind men.
    It is very important to bridge this difference in the future. The Kashag will soon come out with a policy to strengthen women's power in our society, and we request all of you to co-operate with us in this regard.

    One of the difficulties of a democratic system when it comes to implementation - and particularly a problem often faced by the Asian countries
    - is the inability to make a choice when differences emerge between one's political ideology and the policies adopted by the government of the day,
    as well as the difficulty in evolving a consensus among the contesting parties when it comes to the fundamental interest of the country and people.
    All these occur due to an inadequate level of education, or intellectual disposition, among the citizens. The Tibetan community is also undergoing the same kind of problems. Therefore, it is indispensable for the individuals and organisations to heed that in addition to upholding their respective ideological leanings,
    they should - as and when required - ensure the unity and cohesive force of the Tibetan people without letting it diminish the slightest.

    For nearly 60 years, we have endured the oppression of a foreign country. Over these years, many heroic Tibetan men and women have sacrificed their every possession,
    including their precious lives, for the sake of Tibetan religion, culture, national identity and freedom. Paying homage to all these brave souls, the Kashag would like to request all Tibetans to learn from their sacrifices and continue the rightful and non-violent struggle of the Tibetan people until the issue of Tibet is resolved once and for all.

    Finally, the Kashag prays for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the spontaneous fulfilment of all his wishes. May the truth of the issue of Tibet prevail soon!

    The Kashag

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