ICT Europe: Publications
Tibet Update: E-newsletter for Parliamentarians in Europe, Edition 11
Edition 11 January 2006
Dear Readers,
As we begin a new year, we can look back at an eventful and often successful 2005. It was a year in which numerous parliamentary resolutions were passed on Tibetan issues, including religious freedom and political prisoners. Parliamentarians from around the world joined us in Edinburgh for the World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet and committed themselves to increasing their efforts in the years ahead.
2005 also saw the fourth round of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue in Berne, Switzerland. Mr. Lodi Gyari, Special Envoy of HH the Dalai Lama, said the content of the meeting was both "concrete and substantive".
However, a much hoped for fifth dialogue round was not forthcoming from the Chinese side and human rights abuses inside Tibet continued unabated. In November, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture ended his investigation in China and Tibet by highlighting "serious allegations" of a "consistent and systematic pattern of torture" on Tibetans. In September, China refused to give any new information on the missing 11th Panchen Lama despite a strong appeal from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to bring an end to his decade-long detention. And in late November 2005, Drepung Monastery in Lhasa was the scene of a violent response by Chinese security forces to a peaceful sit-in by the Drepung monks, who were protesting the escalation of the Patriotic Re-education Campaign against the Dalai Lama.
2006 will further test both the Tibetan patience and resolve. We hope you will join us in the coming year's work to secure a genuine Chinese engagement in the Sino-Tibetan dialogue and a meaningful improvement of the human rights situation inside Tibet. After a staggering four rounds of Dialogue and little change on the ground inside Tibet, only a marked change in the situation of Tibetans inside Tibet in 2006 will indicate any sincerity from the Chinese side in resolving the issue of Tibet peacefully.
I would like to thank you for your efforts in 2005 and I look forward to your continued support in 2006 and to increasing the readership of the Tibet Update to further aid parliamentarians across Europe in their efforts to find a negotiated solution for the Tibetan people.
Yours sincerely
Ms Tsering Jampa
Executive Director, International Campaign for Tibet - Europe
Please continue to send your feedback and contributions to us at euroeditor@savetibet.org. Your parliamentary colleagues can also subscribe to this E-newsletter by emailing this address and we urge you to pass this newsletter on to all interested colleagues. Don't forget that previous editions of the Tibet Update can be viewed here.
Contents
- Top Stories
- European Initiatives
- Take Action
- International Initiatives
- Tibet Brief
- China Brief
- Important Upcoming Dates
Top Stories
New wave of 'patriotic education' leads to religious crackdown in Lhasa
In the week of 21 November 2005, several monks were detained and others expelled following a crackdown at Drepung monastery in Lhasa after monks expressed their resistance during a patriotic education campaign. Tension has also been high at the two other major monasteries in Lhasa - Ganden, where the Chinese-installed Panchen Lama Gyaltsen Norbu visited in October, and Sera, where several monks have been arrested following a patriotic education campaign in recent months.
According to reports from Tibet, monks at Drepung expressed resistance to the denunciations of the Dalai Lama required during the patriotic education campaigns that had been ongoing at the monastery for several weeks, but have been a consistent tool of religious control since 1996. Public Security Bureau personnel and People's Armed Police were sent to the monastery and monks were prevented from leaving for at least three days. Several monks were reportedly detained and their whereabouts is unknown to-date. At least five monks were expelled from the monastery and sent back to their villages.
On 23 November at Drepung, while UNSR on Torture was visiting Lhasa, monks gathered in the monastery courtyard in silence in a rare protest, according to Radio Free Asia. There are unconfirmed reports that an elderly monk died during the disturbances at the monastery. Full details of the incident have not yet been fully confirmed due to the tight security and levels of tension at Drepung.
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture says torture "consistent and systematic" in Tibet
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr Manfred Nowak, has ended his long-awaited visit to China with a public statement delivered in Beijing. During Dr Nowak's two-week visit to China he visited detention centers in Beijing, Urumqi in Xinjiang and Lhasa in Tibet. The overall conclusion of his visit was "that the practice of torture, though on the decline - particularly in urban areas - remains widespread in China". While Dr Nowak noted areas of improvement in the Chinese legal system, there remain significant and serious concerns as to the actual implementation of the rule of law, the use of the death penalty for wide-ranging and vaguely defined offences, and the continued targeting and mistreatment of Tibetans.
Dr Nowak specifically raised the issue of torture in Tibet, stating that he and his predecessors had received "serious allegations" of a "consistent and systematic pattern of torture related to ethnic minorities, particularly Tibetans and Uighurs…" and in great detail described specific torture techniques. He also distinguished between the creation of legal mechanisms and their actual implementation, hinting that the levels of torture in Tibet and Xinjiang were much greater than those reported.
Dalai Lama received by President Bush and Condoleezza Rice at White House
His Holiness the Dalai Lama met with US President George W. Bush in the White House in Washington, DC on November 9, 2005. President Bush welcomed the Dalai Lama to the White House and expressed his strong support for the Dalai Lama's efforts to find a negotiated solution with the Chinese leadership.
The Dalai Lama briefed the President ahead of the President's meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on November 19-20. The Dalai Lama spoke on the current status of the dialogue process with Beijing, sharing his optimism as well as some of his concerns about the evolving situation in Tibet.
"The Dalai Lama can be a constructive partner as China deals with the difficult challenges of regional and national stability," said President Bush in his report to Congress on Tibet in April 2005. "He represents the views of the vast majority of Tibetans and his moral authority helps to unite the Tibetan community inside and outside of China. China's engagement with the Dalai Lama or his representatives to resolve problems facing Tibetans is in the interest of both the Chinese Government and the Tibetan people. At the same time, the lack of resolution of these problems leads to greater tensions inside China and will be a stumbling block to fuller political and economic engagement with the United States and other nations," the report said.
The meeting was attended by the White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Paula Dobriansky, and Director for Asian Affairs Michael Green. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attended the meeting, and later received the Dalai Lama at the State Department.
European Initiatives
World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet held in Edinburgh, Scotland
The two-day World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet was held in Edinburgh, Scotland on 18-19 November and attended by parliamentarians and Tibet experts from 32 countries, including India, Australia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and a number of European countries.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressed the parliamentarians and expressed his appreciation for their support but stressed that the gathering was not "anti-Chinese" and that "outside support" would not be so necessary for Tibetans if the Chinese government showed a genuine willingness to resolve the Tibet issue.
The 4th World Parliamentarians' Convention on Tibet's "Edinburgh Declaration" called on "all governments and parliaments to monitor closely China's behavior in Tibet and developments regarding negotiations with the Dalai Lama and his representatives, and to place and keep Tibet firmly on the agenda of bilateral and multilateral discussions with China."
Tibetan Parliament Leader says world parliamentarians have impacted Chinese policies
The Chairman of Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (the Tibetan Parliament in exile), Pema Jungney, has said that initiatives on Tibet taken by parliamentarians throughout the world have made the Chinese authorities soften policies on Tibet.
Addressing the Fourth World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet in Edinburgh on 19 November 2005, Jungney said, "Along with the Tibet Support Groups, the parliamentary groups for Tibet have been instrumental in highlighting the issue of Tibet in the international community and bringing the concerns of the Tibetan people to the attention of the various governments that have an influence on the People's Republic of China. Because of the efforts of the various parliamentary groups for Tibet, both individually and in coalition, the Chinese policies in Tibet have been softened and are not repressive as before."
However, he continued "Although Tibetans from Tibet say that they are left pretty much to themselves as long as they don't involve themselves in what the authorities perceive as political activities, the human rights situation in Tibet continues to remain grim. Compared even to coastal China, the authorities keep a tight lid on normal human activities in Tibet. Dissent of any form in Tibet is still punishable by imprisonment."
EU Parliament and Commission Condemns Drepung Crackdown
On December 15, 2005, the European Parliament and EU Commission both expressed their concern over the situation of human rights in Tibet, with particular focus on the recent crackdown at Drepung monastery, Lhasa, in late November.
The European Parliament resolution urged the Chinese authorities to "cease the 'patriotic education' campaign, to react in a proportionate manner to non-violent protests and not to undermine human rights by the use of physical violence against such protests", as well as asking for details on the whereabouts and wellbeing of monks detained during the events at Drepung.
In response on behalf of the EU Commissioner for External Relations, Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission, said:
"The present situation in the region, which we follow very closely, raises indeed grave concern, especially with respect to the exercise of religious freedom. We are worried to see that the local authorities have imposed a strict framework setting the limits of this exercise and we deplore the recent cases of detention of monks and in particular the blockade of the monastery of Drepung in Lhasa."
Latvian parliamentarians condemn Drepung crackdown
On 19 December 2005 the Latvian Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet sent a letter to the Chinese government to express their concern regarding the crackdown on the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa on 16 December 2005. The group urged the Chinese government to release the five arrested monks and to resolve the issue of Tibet by means of humane, lawful and peaceful dialogue.
Chancellor Merkel suggests new German position on EU-China arms embargo
The new German chancellor, Angela Merkel, signaled during the September 2005 elections that she opposed lifting the EU's arms embargo on China. Former German Chancellor Schroeder, along with French President Chirac, had been one of the most vocal advocates of lifting the embargo. The new position was given further credence during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Europe in November, when Merkel's foreign-policy spokesman stated that "The arms embargo question can only be resolved at the European level and in close intercommunication with our trans-Atlantic partners," adding that the issue was "not on the agenda" at present.
Tibetan legislators raise awareness of Tibetan democracy in exile during Europe tour
On 21 October 2005, an eleven member delegation of the Assembly of the Tibetan People's Deputies (the Tibetan parliament in exile) met with Friedrich Ingo, Vice President of the European Parliament on Wednesday in Brussels, Belgium. They also met with the Vice President of the European People's Party, the largest party in the European Parliament, and Mr Thomas Mann, the president of the European Parliament's Inter-Group on Tibet, and its members.
October and November saw a number of activities by Tibetan Deputies in Europe, including a visit to the British Parliament, attending the World Parliamentarians Convention in Scotland and meeting with Foreign Ministry officials and parliamentarians in The Netherlands. This forms part of a new drive to raise awareness in Europe of the Tibetan democracy in exile.
French Parliamentarians ask Chirac to raise Tibet with visiting Chinese Premier Wen
On 7 December 2005 the Parliamentary Group for Tibet in the French National Assembly issued a strong statement urging the French President, Jacques Chirac, to raise the issue of Tibet during meetings with the visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
The Parliamentary Group urged President Chirac to raise the issue of Tibet with Premier Wen in the same fashion as US President George Bush during his visit to China in November. It is unclear whether human rights issues were raised at all during the Chinese visit, which saw the Chinese Premier sign a contract to buy Airbus aircraft worth approximately $10 billion.
Dutch Parliament calls for action on human rights violations in Tibet and East Turkestan
At the initiative of members of two of the ruling parties (Democrats D66 and Liberal Democrats VVD), on 24 November 2005 the Dutch parliament unanimously passed a motion on human rights violations in Tibet and East Turkestan. The motion states that human rights in Tibet and East Turkestan are violated on a large scale and that the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 provide an opportunity to raise awareness of the issue.
Take Action!
Integrate Action Plan from IV World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet
The World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet was held in Edinburgh, Scotland on 18-19 November 2005 and attended by parliamentarians and Tibet experts from 32 countries. During the convention, parliamentarians agreed upon a comprehensive Action Plan to guide their work in the coming year. The plan identified four main areas of focus:
- Support for Negotiations between representatives of HH the Dalai Lama and China
- Political activities to support the Tibetan cause
- Economic support for Tibetans in Tibet
- Economic support for Tibetans in exile
ICT Europe encourages you to review the Edinburgh Action Plan and Convention Declaration and identify specific actions you can integrate into your parliamentary work. ICT Europe also welcomes any proposals for cooperation on actions.
The outcomes of the IVth WPCT can be downloaded here: http://www.savetibet.org/documents/document.php?id=150
International Initiatives
US President Bush asks President Hu to invite the Dalai Lama to China
President George Bush, who visited Beijing on 19-20 November 2005, has urged the Chinese government to invite the Dalai Lama so that they can hear directly from him that he is not seeking Tibetan independence.
Addressing the media in Beijing following his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao on November 20, 2005, Bush said he had suggested this so that the Chinese leaders can hear the same thing that the Dalai Lama told him when they met in the White House on November 9, 2005. The Dalai Lama had reiterated to President Bush his commitment to seeking genuine autonomy for Tibetans, under his Middle Way Approach, within the People's Republic of China.
Freedom House survey lists Tibet with lowest level of freedom
The US-based Freedom House has announced that Tibet is among the two "worst-rated territories" for the 2004-2005 period, in terms of respect for political rights and civil liberties.
In its annual survey of global freedom, "Freedom in the World," released in New York on December 19, 2005, Freedom House said, "There are two worst-rated territories: Tibet (under Chinese jurisdiction) and Chechnya, where an indigenous Islamic population is engaged in a brutal guerrilla war for independence from Russia."
President Bush urged to ask China to begin substantive discussions on Tibet
On 11 October 2005, the Washington, D.C.-based Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) recommended that President George Bush and Congress urge the Chinese government to meet the Dalai Lama and to move the current contact with his envoys to substantive discussions.
In its annual report for 2005 CECC said, "The future of Tibetans and their religion, language, and culture depends on fair and equitable decisions about future policies that can only be achieved through dialogue. The Dalai Lama is essential to this dialogue. To help the parties build on visits and dialogue held in 2003, 2004, and 2005, the President and the Congress should urge the Chinese government to move the current dialogue toward deeper, substantive discussions with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, and encourage direct contact between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese leadership."
Canada's Green Party says resolving Tibet Issue could help defuse Taiwan Problem
Canada's Green Party has said that resolution of the Tibet issue could be the key to "a sequence of opportunities to defuse very real and present dangers for China, Taiwan and the rest of the world."
In a press statement dated January 3, 2006, Green party's Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, "The strategic political connection between the status of Tibet and the future status of Taiwan presents China with an exceptional foreign policy opportunity."
The statement said, "Instead of direct confrontation between China and the United States/Japan over Taiwan, a diplomatic process seeking a mutually acceptable and peaceful re-unification between Taiwan and China would gain international credibility if a "Middle Way" federal governance model for Tibet could first be negotiated between China and the Tibetan Government-In-Exile."
Tibet motion in Australian Parliament
On 1 December 2005, MP's from the Australian Labour Party and Liberal Party tabled a motion to support the cause of Tibet in the House of Representatives in Australian Parliament. They hope to discuss and pass the motion in early 2006.
The motion, in connection with the recent calls by world leaders for China to resolve the Tibet issue prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, calls on the People's Republic of China to finalize their negotiations with the representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to grant genuine autonomy to Tibetans and to free all Tibetan political prisoners, including the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
UN torture body concerned on refoulement of Tibetan refugees
The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) has expressed concern on cases of refoulement of Tibetan refugees by Nepal in a concluding observation adopted in Geneva on 29 November 2005.
The Committee, while commending the generosity of Nepal in hosting 20,000 Tibetan refugees, said that it was "concerned about allegations received concerning cases of refoulement of Tibetan asylum seekers, given the absolute nature of the prohibition against refoulement under article 3 of the Convention."
This is the third UN Treaty Body expressing concern over the treatment of Tibetan refugees by the Nepalese government. In 2004, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern that only Tibetans who arrived in Nepal before 1990 were recognized as refugees and on information that Tibetan refugees were facing "forced expulsion." This year in June, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said it was concerned over the closure of the Tibetan Refugee Centre and on refoulement of Tibetan refugees to the Chinese authorities.
Tibet Brief
Dalai Lama says Tibetan loyalty to China can come only through true autonomy
The Dalai Lama has said that if the Chinese authorities grant a higher degree of autonomy for the maximum satisfaction of the Tibetan people then "Tibetan loyalty to the people of China will naturally come. Tibetans will enjoy true autonomy."
In an interview to the Progressive magazine (www.progressive.org) in its January 2006 issue, the Dalai Lama said, "That is the guarantee for preservation of our identity, our culture, our spirituality, our environment."
The Dalai Lama said, "Even the Chinese constitution gives us that. Basically, I'm not going against the Chinese government's thinking. The government's main concern is that Tibet must remain within China. That we fully agree with. There are no basic differences. Then, we have the same goals: stability, unity, and prosperity. We also want that. But the methods? The way of the Chinese officials is to bring about stability and unity under the gun. That's their sole vision. Our approach is one that gives us some satisfaction. Then the unity and stability naturally will come with an awareness of common interest. In Quebec in Canada, some politicians wanted independence, but when the people were asked, they saw that their greater interest, their greater benefit, was by staying within Canada. It's similar with Scotland, also. Their high degree of autonomy within Great Britain gives them satisfaction. So giving a higher degree of autonomy brings no danger of separation."
Dalai Lama's Special Envoy speaks in Washington DC on Sino-Tibetan dialogue
On 2 November 2005, on the eve of the Dalai Lama's visit to Washington DC, the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy Lodi Gyari said that he hoped that Beijing would keep its commitment to another round of dialogue on Tibet's future before the end of 2005.
Lodi Gyari, head of the Tibetan delegation for the Sino-Tibetan talks, said: 'I hope that there will be a round of meetings before the end of the year. I say "hope" because this is something that has been conveyed to me by my Chinese counterparts. From our side, I think we have done everything that needs to be done. So my hope is that they will stand by this understanding, because it is important for us to trust each other.'
Mr Gyari said: 'I tell my Chinese colleagues, and I want to share this with you, that the Dalai Lama must be seen as the solution (to the Tibet issue). He is the only person who can help Tibetans and the Chinese to find a lasting solution. When the Dalai Lama said, "I am not going to ask for the re-establishment of Tibet as an independent state." That was not only a bold, but a very difficult, decision. You needed someone like the 14th Dalai Lama who has so much respect for his people.'
No 5th round of the Sino-Tibetan Dialogue took place before the end of 2005.
Tibetan situation in Nepal deteriorates
The situation of Tibetan refugees transiting through Nepal to India has deteriorated sharply over the past months. Numerous accounts have emerged of Tibetans who have been unable to reach the UNHCR in Kathmandu before being arrested and subsequently forced to pay large fines. Often these fines have been paid by Western donors monitoring the refugee situation in Nepal.
The Nepalese authorities' recent attempts to curtail religious and cultural activities of exile Tibetans living there and harsh new restrictions on refugees fleeing Tibet for Nepal are widely thought to be a direct result of China's increased leverage in Kathmandu since the EU, US and India cut off arms supplies to the Nepalese government.
This comes as the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) expressed concern on cases of refoulement of Tibetan refugees by Nepal in a concluding observation adopted in Geneva on 29 November 2005.
Arrests in Tibet for pro-Sino-Tibetan dialogue poster
Radio Free Asia reported on 22 December 2005 that Chinese authorities in a Tibetan region of Gansu province have arrested a number of monks and nuns for putting up a poster calling on Beijing to start a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
"A group of monks and nuns from the Labrang Tashikyel monastery in Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, were arrested for putting up a poster urging the Chinese leadership to initiate dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama," a source told Radio Free Asia's reporter in Dharamsala, home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.
Family members suspect that the arrested nuns and monks were detained in a jail in Kanlho, but when they requested the local officials' permission to visit their relatives in prison, it was denied.
Medical research finds abuses in Tibet have serious consequences for mental health
Researchers from universities in the USA and Canada studying mental illness in the Tibetan refugee population have found unusually high incidences of mental illness and torture amongst Tibetan refugees escaping from Tibet.
The researchers evaluated all published reports on mental health outcomes within the Tibetan population and revealed that the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder, a disorder causing recurring nightmares, crying, and numbness, was as high as 23 per cent of all refugees. Anxiety disorder ranged from 25-77 per cent of the refugee population, and major depression was as high as 57 per cent among them.
They also found that the reported incidence of torture and human rights violations were unacceptably high, and the most common torture techniques were beatings, electrical torture, being forced to provide blood, and being imprisoned.
China blacklists Tibetan lamas recognized by Dalai Lama
Radio Free Asia reported on 17 November 2005 that Chinese authorities in Tibet have begun a campaign to blacklist key religious figures close to the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The campaign began Oct. 26 in Tibet's Chamdo prefecture and focused heavily on the banning of the prominent Oser Lama from returning to Tibet from India.
Oser is head of a key Kham monastery of the same name that forms part of the Dalai Lama's political and religious heartland. He also supervises 22 smaller monasteries in Chamdo prefecture.
"Oser Lama, who is recognized by the Dalai Lama, will not be recognized by the Chinese government," a source in Markham county told RFA's Tibetan service. "He is not allowed to come back to Tibet and no one is allowed to have any contact with him."
"We visited about 100 monasteries close to main road in Kham prefecture and informed them that all those lamas recognized by the Dalai Lama are not recognized by the Chinese government," Markham County religious affairs bureau chairman said in an interview with RFA.
Controversial Tibet railway to begin service in July 2006
In December China announced that it will launch the first direct train from Beijing to the Tibetan capital Lhasa 1 July 2006, utilizing the controversial Qinghai-Tibet railway, six months ahead of schedule. In addition to Beijing, some other Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, will also launch direct railway passenger transportation to Lhasa as of July 2006.
The construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway is viewed by Tibetans as a political project designed to tie the Tibetan economy closer to mainland China's and the railway is expected to facilitate large-scale population transfer of Han Chinese into Tibet, threatening Tibet's unique culture and heritage.
China names new Tibet Autonomous Region Party Secretary
The Chinese leadership has appointed Mr. Zhang Qingli as the acting Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Reuters quoted Xinhua as reporting on November 27, 2005.
Zhang is presently one of the vice chairmen of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Zhang is a political ally of President Hu Jintao. The appointment is not viewed as positive, given Zhang's previous role in curbing Uyghur nationalist sentiment in Xinjiang.
No Tibetan has ever held the post of Party Secretary in the TAR.
China Brief
Bhutan's Deputies concerned by border issues with China
In November 2005, Bhutan's deputies to the National Assembly (the country's Parliament) expressed concern over Chinese development along its borders with Tibet, saying it is posing a threat to the country's security.
Deputies expressed their concern over the construction of roads by the Chinese, which cross into Bhutanese territory along the northern border areas. Over 200 Chinese soldiers were reported as having crossed into Bhutanese territory during mid-November. Bhutan's Secretary for International Boundaries, Dasho Pema Wangchuck said that concerns were expressed during the meeting with the Chinese held earlier in 2005. "He said that the Chinese responded saying that Bhutan was overreacting. They said that the road constructions were carried out for economic development of western China, which included Tibet," Bhutan's national media reported.
China thanks Nepal for support on Tibet
In a meeting between Chief of Army Staff of the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA), General Pyar Jung Thapa, and Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in October in Beijing, China extended its thanks to Nepal for support on the issues of Taiwan, Tibet and human rights.
The visit by the Nepalese delegation came as the EU voiced fears of a political collapse in Nepal. Arms sales to Nepal by India, the United States and the EU have been frozen since the royal takeover in February 2005 and Nepal is seeking alternate sources of arms and ammunition to fight the nine-year-old Maoist insurgency.
Important Upcoming Dates
26 February - 3 March: European parliamentarians visit Tibetan Government-in-Exile, N. India
27 February: Tibetan Lunar New Year (Losar)
10 March: 47th Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising
13 March - 21 April: 62nd UN Commission on Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland
18 March: Preliminary elections of the Kalon Tripa (Tibetan Prime Minister)
18 March: Final elections of the 14th Assembly of the Tibetan People's Deputies (Tibetan Parliament in Exile)
