Sunday, August 19, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Update
Monday, February 13, 2012
More Death in Tibetan China - Chinese governments reacts by further surpressing Tibetans...
Here goes a couple of articles and videos on the worsening condition in Amdo and Sichuan - with the repressive nature of the Chinese government, travel restrictions for foreigners and journalists, and the huge military presence, one wonders how much worse it really is.
News
World news
China
Tibetan monk sets fire to himself in latest anti-China protest
Nineteen-year-old monk is second person to self-immolate in three days and the 23rd to do so in the last year
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Reuters in Beijing
guardian.co.uk, Monday 13 February 2012 11.06 EST
Article history
A Tibetan monk set fire to himself in south-west China on Monday, an overseas Tibetan rights group said, in the latest reported incident of anti-Chinese protest.
The Free Tibet group said the 19-year-old monk, Lobsang Gyatso, set fire to himself in Aba county, known as Ngaba in Tibetan, in Sichuan province.
"Chinese state security personnel extinguished the flames and forcibly removed him from the scene. Lobsang's whereabouts and wellbeing are unknown," the group said in an emailed statement.
Reuters was unable to reach government officials in Sichuan to request comment. The monk is the 23rd Tibetan to self-immolate in the last year. He is also the second Tibetan teenager to do so in the last three days in Aba.
China's Xinhua state news agency confirmed that a nun who set herself on fire on Saturday had died.
The self-immolations are a small but potentially destabilising challenge to China's regional policies, and the government has branded those who set themselves alight as terrorists.
Activists say China violently stamps out religious freedom and culture in Tibet, the mountainous region that has been under Chinese control since 1950.
China rejects criticism that it is eroding Tibetan culture and faith, saying its rule has ended serfdom and brought development to a backward region.
Protests by self-immolation have become more common in Tibet and in ethnic Tibetan regions of China and at least 15 Tibetans are believed to have died from their injuries. Exiled Tibetan leaders say they fear a crackdown in the region to coincide with the Tibetan new year on 22 February.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has blamed the self-immolations on "cultural genocide" by the Chinese but he has not directly called for them to stop.
News
World news
China
Tibetan monk sets fire to himself in latest anti-China protest
Nineteen-year-old monk is second person to self-immolate in three days and the 23rd to do so in the last year
Share2
reddit this
Reuters in Beijing
guardian.co.uk, Monday 13 February 2012 11.06 EST
Article history
A Tibetan monk set fire to himself in south-west China on Monday, an overseas Tibetan rights group said, in the latest reported incident of anti-Chinese protest.
The Free Tibet group said the 19-year-old monk, Lobsang Gyatso, set fire to himself in Aba county, known as Ngaba in Tibetan, in Sichuan province.
"Chinese state security personnel extinguished the flames and forcibly removed him from the scene. Lobsang's whereabouts and wellbeing are unknown," the group said in an emailed statement.
Reuters was unable to reach government officials in Sichuan to request comment. The monk is the 23rd Tibetan to self-immolate in the last year. He is also the second Tibetan teenager to do so in the last three days in Aba.
China's Xinhua state news agency confirmed that a nun who set herself on fire on Saturday had died.
The self-immolations are a small but potentially destabilising challenge to China's regional policies, and the government has branded those who set themselves alight as terrorists.
Activists say China violently stamps out religious freedom and culture in Tibet, the mountainous region that has been under Chinese control since 1950.
China rejects criticism that it is eroding Tibetan culture and faith, saying its rule has ended serfdom and brought development to a backward region.
Protests by self-immolation have become more common in Tibet and in ethnic Tibetan regions of China and at least 15 Tibetans are believed to have died from their injuries. Exiled Tibetan leaders say they fear a crackdown in the region to coincide with the Tibetan new year on 22 February.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has blamed the self-immolations on "cultural genocide" by the Chinese but he has not directly called for them to stop.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tibet Justice Center on Tibet; Links to write to President O. and your Representatives
Board of Directors
Prof. Robert D. Sloane, Chair Nima R.T. Binara, Esq.
Dennis Cusack, Esq.
John Isom
Joshua Levenberg, Esq. Wangchuk Shakabpa, Esq. Yodon Thonden, Esq.
2138, Year of the Iron Rabbit
26 January 2012
Chinese Forces Fire on Unarmed Tibetans,
Escalating Crackdown in Eastern Tibet
TJC Joins Efforts to Intensify Multilateral Pressure on China as
Tibetans Continue to Self-Immolate for Freedom
Tibet Justice Center has joined 184 Tibet-advocacy NGOs around the world today to strongly condemn China's policies and continued crackdown in Tibet, which have provoked an unprecedented wave of self-immolations by Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople. Each individual who has carried out the act of self-immolation has demanded freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama.
Palden Choetso, a 35-year-old Buddhist nun who self-immolated on 3 November 2011, in Eastern Tibet.
TJC has learned that on 23 January Tibetans in Drango, Kardze, eastern Tibet, began demonstrating, possibly following the arrests of Tibetans suspected of distributing political leaflets in the area. Chinese security forces opened fire and used tear gas on large numbers of Tibetans, many of who are displaced farmers and nomads. Protestors carried Tibetans flags and shouted slogans for Tibetan freedom as they marched towards a government office. A Tibetan named Yonten is reported to have been killed and a number of others injured.
These events follow an incident in Ngaba, Eastern Tibet, on 14 January, when Chinese security forces severely beat two Tibetans and shot at least two others after layman Lobsang Jamyang self-immolated. Tibetans became distressed and angry after witnessing Chinese police beating Lobsang Jamyang; they began to protest and attempted to reclaim the dying man, but police beat and opened fire on some in the crowd. There have been unconfirmed reports that a woman was killed and, as in Drango, those injured are apparently not seeking medical help for fear of arrest.
To date there have been 17 self-immolations in Tibet since February 2009, and four since the start of 2012. At least 12 of these self-immolations have been fatal. One of these, 42-year old respected monk Lama Sopa who set light to himself and died on 8 January, left behind a tape-recording in which he paid his respects to those who had self-immolated before him. He said, “Tibet’s future as a glorious country depends on the efforts of these heroes and heroines and all of you united as one." He offered his life for the “well-being of Tibet’s six million people and especially of all high lamas, headed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama."
Since demonstrations began occurring across the Tibetan Plateau in 2008 much of the formerly independent nation has undergone repeated lock-down and been flooded with armed troops, virtually closed off from the world. Many monasteries have been all but shut down and Tibetans are routinely harassed by the authorities in the streets, in their workplaces and in their homes.
Tibetans across the Tibetan Plateau are now facing yet another cut-off from the outside world, beginning mid-February through March, according to reports. The ban encompasses two important events; the Tibetan New Year, from February 22-24 and the Tibetan national uprising day, which is commemorated on March 10. Three years ago, demonstrations on March 10, 2008 had led to the biggest ever pan-Tibet uprisings seen for decades.
Tibet Justice Center joins with Tibetans in Tibet and around the world to vehemently condemn China's use of force against unarmed Tibetan protestors. We urge China to cease all extralegal actions and policies that are contributing to unrest and self-immolations in Tibet, and to respond positively to the calls of Tibetans for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama.
We further urge governments to vigorously pursue actions in appropriate international forums that will convince the government of the People’s Republic of China on the severity of the situation in Tibet and on the legitimate concerns of the inter-national community that Tibetans enjoy the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants to which China is a party.
Whom to Contact
In the United States you can contact President Obama and Members of Congress. You can write to President Obama here – http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments – to members of the US Senate here – http://www.senate.gov/ (click at upper right to find your senator) – and to members of the US House of Representatives here – http://www.house.gov/ (at upper right, enter your zip code and click to find your representative).
You can contact your country's embassy in Beijing directly and ensure they are aware of these demands. Ask them to seek full and detailed information about casualties and obtain assurances that those needing medical attention receive it without fear of arrest.
For a list of embassies, see http://www.chinahighlights.com/embassy/embassy-in-china/beijing/.
Finally, you can all local government offices in the affected regions and tell them the world is watching their violent response to Tibetan protests. Contact information for offices in Ngaba, Golog and Drango (Luhuo) can be found at http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=1235.
Suggested Text
Suggested Email Subject: Enough! It's Time to Condemn China's Use of Force Against Unarmed Tibetan Protesters
Dear Person's Name Here :
China continues to intensify its crackdown in Tibet, which has provoked an unprecedented wave of self-immolations by Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople. Each individual who has carried out the act of self-immolation has demanded freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama.
Person's Name Here , I urge you to condemn China's use of force against unarmed Tibetan protestors, and further urge that China cease all extralegal actions and policies that are contributing to unrest and self-immolations in Tibet, and to respond positively to the calls of Tibetans for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama. Tibetans that have been detained should be released, and those injured be able to obtain medical help without fear of arrest.
Your Country’s Name Here must vigorously pursue actions in appropriate international forums that will focus the attention of the government of the People’s Republic of China on the severity of the situation in Tibet, and on the legitimate concerns of the international community that Tibetans enjoy the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants to which China is a party.
Person's Name Here , please call on China to cease all actions and policies that are contributing to the tensions, unrest and self-immolations in Tibet; to allow peaceful protest and to respond positively to the calls of Tibetans for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama. Finally, I urge you to send diplomats to affected Tibetan areas, and demand from China assurances that foreign journalists will be allowed unfettered access to the Tibet Autonomous Region (including during the closure of the TAR from late February to mid-March) and Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan.
Sincerely,
Prof. Robert D. Sloane, Chair Nima R.T. Binara, Esq.
Dennis Cusack, Esq.
John Isom
Joshua Levenberg, Esq. Wangchuk Shakabpa, Esq. Yodon Thonden, Esq.
2138, Year of the Iron Rabbit
26 January 2012
Chinese Forces Fire on Unarmed Tibetans,
Escalating Crackdown in Eastern Tibet
TJC Joins Efforts to Intensify Multilateral Pressure on China as
Tibetans Continue to Self-Immolate for Freedom
Tibet Justice Center has joined 184 Tibet-advocacy NGOs around the world today to strongly condemn China's policies and continued crackdown in Tibet, which have provoked an unprecedented wave of self-immolations by Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople. Each individual who has carried out the act of self-immolation has demanded freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama.
Palden Choetso, a 35-year-old Buddhist nun who self-immolated on 3 November 2011, in Eastern Tibet.
TJC has learned that on 23 January Tibetans in Drango, Kardze, eastern Tibet, began demonstrating, possibly following the arrests of Tibetans suspected of distributing political leaflets in the area. Chinese security forces opened fire and used tear gas on large numbers of Tibetans, many of who are displaced farmers and nomads. Protestors carried Tibetans flags and shouted slogans for Tibetan freedom as they marched towards a government office. A Tibetan named Yonten is reported to have been killed and a number of others injured.
These events follow an incident in Ngaba, Eastern Tibet, on 14 January, when Chinese security forces severely beat two Tibetans and shot at least two others after layman Lobsang Jamyang self-immolated. Tibetans became distressed and angry after witnessing Chinese police beating Lobsang Jamyang; they began to protest and attempted to reclaim the dying man, but police beat and opened fire on some in the crowd. There have been unconfirmed reports that a woman was killed and, as in Drango, those injured are apparently not seeking medical help for fear of arrest.
To date there have been 17 self-immolations in Tibet since February 2009, and four since the start of 2012. At least 12 of these self-immolations have been fatal. One of these, 42-year old respected monk Lama Sopa who set light to himself and died on 8 January, left behind a tape-recording in which he paid his respects to those who had self-immolated before him. He said, “Tibet’s future as a glorious country depends on the efforts of these heroes and heroines and all of you united as one." He offered his life for the “well-being of Tibet’s six million people and especially of all high lamas, headed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama."
Since demonstrations began occurring across the Tibetan Plateau in 2008 much of the formerly independent nation has undergone repeated lock-down and been flooded with armed troops, virtually closed off from the world. Many monasteries have been all but shut down and Tibetans are routinely harassed by the authorities in the streets, in their workplaces and in their homes.
Tibetans across the Tibetan Plateau are now facing yet another cut-off from the outside world, beginning mid-February through March, according to reports. The ban encompasses two important events; the Tibetan New Year, from February 22-24 and the Tibetan national uprising day, which is commemorated on March 10. Three years ago, demonstrations on March 10, 2008 had led to the biggest ever pan-Tibet uprisings seen for decades.
Tibet Justice Center joins with Tibetans in Tibet and around the world to vehemently condemn China's use of force against unarmed Tibetan protestors. We urge China to cease all extralegal actions and policies that are contributing to unrest and self-immolations in Tibet, and to respond positively to the calls of Tibetans for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama.
We further urge governments to vigorously pursue actions in appropriate international forums that will convince the government of the People’s Republic of China on the severity of the situation in Tibet and on the legitimate concerns of the inter-national community that Tibetans enjoy the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants to which China is a party.
Whom to Contact
In the United States you can contact President Obama and Members of Congress. You can write to President Obama here – http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments – to members of the US Senate here – http://www.senate.gov/ (click at upper right to find your senator) – and to members of the US House of Representatives here – http://www.house.gov/ (at upper right, enter your zip code and click to find your representative).
You can contact your country's embassy in Beijing directly and ensure they are aware of these demands. Ask them to seek full and detailed information about casualties and obtain assurances that those needing medical attention receive it without fear of arrest.
For a list of embassies, see http://www.chinahighlights.com/embassy/embassy-in-china/beijing/.
Finally, you can all local government offices in the affected regions and tell them the world is watching their violent response to Tibetan protests. Contact information for offices in Ngaba, Golog and Drango (Luhuo) can be found at http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=1235.
Suggested Text
Suggested Email Subject: Enough! It's Time to Condemn China's Use of Force Against Unarmed Tibetan Protesters
Dear Person's Name Here :
China continues to intensify its crackdown in Tibet, which has provoked an unprecedented wave of self-immolations by Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople. Each individual who has carried out the act of self-immolation has demanded freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama.
Person's Name Here , I urge you to condemn China's use of force against unarmed Tibetan protestors, and further urge that China cease all extralegal actions and policies that are contributing to unrest and self-immolations in Tibet, and to respond positively to the calls of Tibetans for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama. Tibetans that have been detained should be released, and those injured be able to obtain medical help without fear of arrest.
Your Country’s Name Here must vigorously pursue actions in appropriate international forums that will focus the attention of the government of the People’s Republic of China on the severity of the situation in Tibet, and on the legitimate concerns of the international community that Tibetans enjoy the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants to which China is a party.
Person's Name Here , please call on China to cease all actions and policies that are contributing to the tensions, unrest and self-immolations in Tibet; to allow peaceful protest and to respond positively to the calls of Tibetans for freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama. Finally, I urge you to send diplomats to affected Tibetan areas, and demand from China assurances that foreign journalists will be allowed unfettered access to the Tibet Autonomous Region (including during the closure of the TAR from late February to mid-March) and Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan.
Sincerely,
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
US may be inching towards more concrete action on Tibetan isssues...
US 'concerned' over Tibetan self-immolations
AFP – 20 hrs ago....
.
The United States said Monday it was "seriously concerned" over self-immolations by Tibetan monks, adding they represent deep frustration over curbs on religious freedom in China.
"We're seriously concerned by reports that three more Tibetans have self-immolated over the past few days," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, adding Washington has consistently raised the issue with Beijing.
State media said a Tibetan monk died after setting himself on fire in Qinghai in northwest China, taking to 15 the number of people who have set themselves on fire in Tibetan areas in less than a year in apparent protest.
It was the first time the Tibetan-inhabited province has been hit by such a death. Most self-immolations have taken place in neighboring Sichuan province, in what rights groups say are protests against perceived religious repression.
"These actions clearly represent... enormous anger, enormous frustration with regard to the severe restrictions on human rights, including religious freedom, inside China," Nuland said, referring to the wave of self-immolations.
"And we have called the Chinese government policies counterproductive," she said.
The US have also "urged the Chinese government to have a productive dialogue, to loosen up in Tibet and allow journalists and diplomats and other observers to report accurately, and to respect the human rights of all of their citizens," she said.
The State Department issued a similar statement in October.
During a visit to Honolulu for an Asia-Pacific summit in November, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed alarm over the wave of self-immolations.
The Tibetan government-in-exile based in India says that it does not encourage self-immolations but understands the frustrations behind them.
Thousands of Tibetans in India have attended protests or prayers to criticize China's rule of the predominantly Buddhist region.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for safety in India in 1959. He met in July with US President Barack Obama, angering China.
..
AFP – 20 hrs ago....
.
The United States said Monday it was "seriously concerned" over self-immolations by Tibetan monks, adding they represent deep frustration over curbs on religious freedom in China.
"We're seriously concerned by reports that three more Tibetans have self-immolated over the past few days," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, adding Washington has consistently raised the issue with Beijing.
State media said a Tibetan monk died after setting himself on fire in Qinghai in northwest China, taking to 15 the number of people who have set themselves on fire in Tibetan areas in less than a year in apparent protest.
It was the first time the Tibetan-inhabited province has been hit by such a death. Most self-immolations have taken place in neighboring Sichuan province, in what rights groups say are protests against perceived religious repression.
"These actions clearly represent... enormous anger, enormous frustration with regard to the severe restrictions on human rights, including religious freedom, inside China," Nuland said, referring to the wave of self-immolations.
"And we have called the Chinese government policies counterproductive," she said.
The US have also "urged the Chinese government to have a productive dialogue, to loosen up in Tibet and allow journalists and diplomats and other observers to report accurately, and to respect the human rights of all of their citizens," she said.
The State Department issued a similar statement in October.
During a visit to Honolulu for an Asia-Pacific summit in November, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed alarm over the wave of self-immolations.
The Tibetan government-in-exile based in India says that it does not encourage self-immolations but understands the frustrations behind them.
Thousands of Tibetans in India have attended protests or prayers to criticize China's rule of the predominantly Buddhist region.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for safety in India in 1959. He met in July with US President Barack Obama, angering China.
..
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Krakauer article from The New Yorker
News Desk
Notes on Washington and the world by the staff of The New Yorker.
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Main
To-Do List: Betrayal in the Bachmann Camp? »
December 28, 2011
Why Is Nepal Cracking Down on Tibetan Refugees?
Posted by Jon Krakauer
Friction between Chinese authorities and the five million Tibetans who live within the borders of China is on the rise, and nowhere is the strife more apparent than in the neighboring nation of Nepal. Last month in Kathmandu, I spoke with five young Tibetans who had just journeyed across the Himalayas to escape draconian policies imposed by the Beijing government in their homeland. More than six hundred Tibetans have fled to Nepal this year, even though it’s a dangerous undertaking. Asylum seekers have lost limbs to frostbite, perished in blizzards, and been arrested by Chinese border patrols. Some have been shot. The youngest of the refugees I met was a fourteen-year-old girl. She was aware of the hazards but lit out for the border anyway, hoping that if she made it into Nepal she’d find safe passage to India, where in 1959 the Dalai Lama established the Tibetan government-in-exile, and where more than a hundred thousand Tibetan refugees presently reside.
According to an informal arrangement hammered out twenty-two years ago between the government of Nepal and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (U.N.H.C.R.), Kathmandu pledged to allow Tibetans to travel through Nepal en route to India, and to facilitate their transit. Lately, however, this established protocol has been ignored with increasing frequency. Nepalese police have been apprehending Tibetans far inside Nepal, robbing them, and then returning them to Tibet at gunpoint, where they are typically imprisoned and not uncommonly tortured by the Chinese. According to “Tibet’s Stateless Nationals,” a hundred-and-thirty-three-page report issued by the Tibet Justice Center, a relatively small number of these Tibetans have been beaten, raped, and/or shot by the Nepalese police—abuses confirmed by several refugees with whom I spoke during my recent visit to Nepal.
These violations of the U.N.H.C.R. agreement and international law were bought and paid for by Beijing. According to a confidential U.S. embassy cable published by WikiLeaks in 2010, China “rewards [Nepalese forces] by providing financial incentives to officers who hand over Tibetans attempting to exit China.” Another cable stated, “Beijing has asked Kathmandu to step up patrols … and make it more difficult for Tibetans to enter Nepal.”
With an annual per capita income of $645—less than two dollars a day—Nepal is desperate for whatever alms China offers, never mind the strings attached. In 2009, Beijing promised to promote tourism to Nepal, invest in major Nepalese hydropower projects, and increase its financial assistance by approximately eighteen million dollars annually. In return, Kathmandu pledged to endorse Beijing’s “one-China policy” (which decrees that both Taiwan and Tibet are “inalienable parts of Chinese territory”) and to prohibit “anti-Chinese activities” within Nepal. Activities deemed unacceptable include gathering for prayers on the birthday of the Dalai Lama and displaying the Tibetan flag. On November 10th, after a Buddhist monk in Kathmandu doused his robes with kerosene and ignited himself to protest Chinese thuggery, a spokesman for Nepal’s Home Ministry declared that the government was considering revoking “all the rights granted to Tibetans residing in Nepal,” despite the fact that Nepal’s constitution guarantees such rights as freedom of expression and peaceful assembly to all persons, and Nepal’s Supreme Court has ruled that restricting Tibetans’ civil rights is illegal.
An estimated twenty thousand Tibetan refugees now live in Nepal, mostly in settlements established after the 1959 invasion of Lhasa by the People’s Liberation Army prompted many Tibetans to flee. For the next thirty years, Nepal welcomed Tibetans, and every Tibetan in the country was issued a “refugee identity certificate,” known as an “R.C.” But Kathmandu stopped accepting additional Tibetan refugees in 1989, ceding to pressure from Beijing, and that pressure has been intensifying. Since 1998, the Nepalese government has refused to issue R.C.s to Tibetans, including children born in Nepal to refugee parents who’ve been residing in the country for decades.
The upshot is that a generation of Tibetans who’ve spent their entire lives in Nepal don’t exist as far as the Nepalese bureaucracy is concerned. Lacking R.C.s, these young refugees cannot obtain driver’s licenses, apply for jobs, or open bank accounts. It is difficult or impossible for them to attend Nepalese schools. Without an R.C., a Tibetan has no legal right to remain in Nepal and may be deported to China at any time—yet Kathmandu refuses to provide these refugees with travel documents that would allow them to immigrate to nations such as the U.S., Canada, and India, where they have been offered asylum.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was slated to travel to Kathmandu on December 19th for an official state visit, leading a hundred-and-one-member delegation from Beijing. Wen was expected to sign a commitment to provide Nepal with a five-billion-dollar line of credit—in return for promises from Nepal to clamp down even harder on Tibetan refugees. At the last minute, however, Beijing postponed the visit indefinitely; according to an official quoted by AFP, the delay had to do with security concerns, specifically the “possibility of protests from Tibetan exiles.” The Chinese ambassador to Kathmandu, Yang Houlan, had previously warned that “Nepal is turning into a playground for anti-China activities,” prompting speculation that Beijing is using the postponement of Wen’s visit as a cudgel to discourage Nepal from softening its policies toward Tibetan refugees.
At a refugee settlement outside the city of Pokhara, a Tibetan in his twenties proposed a simple step to dial down the tension: “If the government is worried about Tibetans threatening Nepal’s security, give us R.C.s.” Such a move would be win-win for all parties, he suggested, because it would allow the authorities to “know what we are doing, and we can get education and jobs.”
“How would it harm China for me to have an identity card?” a Tibetan teen-ager wondered at another refugee settlement. “I was born in Nepal. I’m seventeen years old. All I want is the opportunity for education and a job. How does denying me such things help anyone?”
He has a point. Nepal’s bullying of its Tibetan community is more likely to incite unrest inside China than to dampen it. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly and unequivocally stated that he and his followers “do not seek independence for Tibet.” But few Chinese trust such assurances from a man their leaders have long characterized as a conniving monster. Beijing is adamant that granting concessions to any Tibetans, even Tibetans in exile, poses a dire threat. The great fear is that Tibetan dissent will inflame other ethnic groups inside China, initiating a chain reaction that culminates in the People’s Republic suffering the same fate as the Soviet Union. Given Chinese perceptions of what’s at stake, and Beijing’s ability to purchase apparently limitless influence in Kathmandu, the future doesn’t look bright for Tibetan youth now coming of age in Nepal.
Photograph by Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images.
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Nepal;
Tibet
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I would like to see these alleged statements by the US lauding the Nepalese government's handling the Tibetan situation in Nepal. Earlier this year, in the "2010 Human Rights Report) released by the State Department, the report condemned the Nepalese Government for confirmed reports of the Nepalese government returning Tibetans to Chinese occupied Tibet. What sort of government returns refugees to the country they are fleeing from, fully aware of what will happen to them once they are in the hands of such repressive authorities? The Maoists and UPN-CML reneged on the "Gentleman's Agreement" in 2008, as cited in the article "Nepal Deporting Tibetans to China Secretly" in the "Indian Defense Review" issue of April 15, 2011, or read more about this and other articles concerning Nepal and Tibet at dwhammerblog.blogspot.com.
Posted 12/29/2011, 7:26:24pm by dwh
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Oh please "JRINALDI" you are too much of an apologist. I have no view on Tibetan independence, but the fact that Nepalese police are robbing and raping Tibetans is a bit over-the-top no? Or is that the Nepalese police are only raping 30% of the refugees, while the Chinese government is demanding that they rob and rape 100%?
Posted 12/29/2011, 2:33:22pm by PxP
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No, the UN Agreement has stipulated that Tibetans be allowed to transit through Nepal to India. The sticking point is that Nepal does not, in its constitution, recognize refugees as a valid, existential and political status. From what I have read the US Government has not indicated that they feel that the Nepalese government is doing a "good" job, and have, in fact, registered deep concern over the treatment of Tibetan refugees in Nepal. I live part time in Nepal, and have assisted Tibetan refugees at the Tarshi Palkhiel Refugee Camp outside of Pokhara, and I can attest from personal experience that what Mr. Krakauer states here is spot on. Prachanda, the Maoist leader, offered a few years ago to send refugees back to Tibet, a violation of many UN Human Rights agreements that the Nepalese government has signed on to. There have been videos taken of Chinese border guards shooting Tibetan refugees attempting to cross into Nepal in the Himalaya. Nepalese police brutalized pro-Tibet protesters during the run up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 in Kathmandu and Lalitpur. I helped a Tibetan family relocate from the refugee camp, to the US, and on to Canada, and though the husband, like many Tibetans of his generation, was born in Nepal in the refugee camp (he is 43 now), and had the right to residency status, he was never granted this status, and the government let it be known that it would cost thousands of dollars to have his status readjusted, on top of the regular fees. Almost everyone of his generation in the camp, and outside of it, born in exile in Nepal, cannot get their ID cards, and therefor exist in legal limbo: they cannot work, own land, even travel. Really, the list of crimes and prejudicial acts against Tibetans, legally residing in the country, and those of Tibetan origins, such as the Tamang, Sherpas, and others, is too long to reiterate. But the assertion that China, through the Maoist Party in Nepal, is trying to control Nepal's domestic policy, is undeniable. The International Campaign for Tibet has had its Nepal workforce team detained and beaten up by Chinese government squads IN Nepal. Why should the US worry about irritating a "volatile" China, when their policy towards Tibet, and those who are in a position to help Tibetans, has been perfectly clear for the past 60 years - exterminate Tibet. I suspect that part of China's contempt for Nepal's right to sovereignity stems from the fact that the Nepalese Government allowed the CIA to train Khampa guerillas, and launch attacks, from Mustang, a semi-autonomous region in Nepal, up until Nixon signed detente with Mao, then disbanded the entire operation, but now I'm getting a little off track. In short, China cries foul when it deems that foreign powers are meddling in its internal affairs. Yet it is doing the same here to Nepal, but some posters condemn Americans for "irritating" the Chinese - is this our biggest concern in foreign affairs? Maybe himalayanaid.org receives significant funding from the Chinese.
Posted 12/29/2011, 12:55:41pm by dwh
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Your assessment is fundamentally incorrect in one key aspect: The UN agreement, as it is, simply stipulates that transiting Tibetans that are captured by Nepali forces in Nepal are to be turned over to the UNHCR for a determination of status. It is tremendously irresponsible and dangerous to put forward the idea that Nepal must somehow guarantee safe passage for Tibetans. Such false assertions irritate a volatile China which in turn pressures Nepal to increase its oppression of Tibetans. It would certainly have benefited your level of accuracy here if you would have done a bit of research on the U.S. position regarding this issue as offered by Ambassador Scott DeLisi. You would have uncovered the fact that the U.S. believes Nepal is doing a good job in handling Tibetans considering the tremendous pressures exerted upon their efforts by a China that seeks a more repressive treatment. James Rinaldi himalayanaid.org
Posted 12/28/2011, 8:32:34pm by JRinaldi
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Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/12/why-is-nepal-cracking-down-on-tibetan-refugees.html#ixzz1hyShjz00
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December 28, 2011
Why Is Nepal Cracking Down on Tibetan Refugees?
Posted by Jon Krakauer
Friction between Chinese authorities and the five million Tibetans who live within the borders of China is on the rise, and nowhere is the strife more apparent than in the neighboring nation of Nepal. Last month in Kathmandu, I spoke with five young Tibetans who had just journeyed across the Himalayas to escape draconian policies imposed by the Beijing government in their homeland. More than six hundred Tibetans have fled to Nepal this year, even though it’s a dangerous undertaking. Asylum seekers have lost limbs to frostbite, perished in blizzards, and been arrested by Chinese border patrols. Some have been shot. The youngest of the refugees I met was a fourteen-year-old girl. She was aware of the hazards but lit out for the border anyway, hoping that if she made it into Nepal she’d find safe passage to India, where in 1959 the Dalai Lama established the Tibetan government-in-exile, and where more than a hundred thousand Tibetan refugees presently reside.
According to an informal arrangement hammered out twenty-two years ago between the government of Nepal and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (U.N.H.C.R.), Kathmandu pledged to allow Tibetans to travel through Nepal en route to India, and to facilitate their transit. Lately, however, this established protocol has been ignored with increasing frequency. Nepalese police have been apprehending Tibetans far inside Nepal, robbing them, and then returning them to Tibet at gunpoint, where they are typically imprisoned and not uncommonly tortured by the Chinese. According to “Tibet’s Stateless Nationals,” a hundred-and-thirty-three-page report issued by the Tibet Justice Center, a relatively small number of these Tibetans have been beaten, raped, and/or shot by the Nepalese police—abuses confirmed by several refugees with whom I spoke during my recent visit to Nepal.
These violations of the U.N.H.C.R. agreement and international law were bought and paid for by Beijing. According to a confidential U.S. embassy cable published by WikiLeaks in 2010, China “rewards [Nepalese forces] by providing financial incentives to officers who hand over Tibetans attempting to exit China.” Another cable stated, “Beijing has asked Kathmandu to step up patrols … and make it more difficult for Tibetans to enter Nepal.”
With an annual per capita income of $645—less than two dollars a day—Nepal is desperate for whatever alms China offers, never mind the strings attached. In 2009, Beijing promised to promote tourism to Nepal, invest in major Nepalese hydropower projects, and increase its financial assistance by approximately eighteen million dollars annually. In return, Kathmandu pledged to endorse Beijing’s “one-China policy” (which decrees that both Taiwan and Tibet are “inalienable parts of Chinese territory”) and to prohibit “anti-Chinese activities” within Nepal. Activities deemed unacceptable include gathering for prayers on the birthday of the Dalai Lama and displaying the Tibetan flag. On November 10th, after a Buddhist monk in Kathmandu doused his robes with kerosene and ignited himself to protest Chinese thuggery, a spokesman for Nepal’s Home Ministry declared that the government was considering revoking “all the rights granted to Tibetans residing in Nepal,” despite the fact that Nepal’s constitution guarantees such rights as freedom of expression and peaceful assembly to all persons, and Nepal’s Supreme Court has ruled that restricting Tibetans’ civil rights is illegal.
An estimated twenty thousand Tibetan refugees now live in Nepal, mostly in settlements established after the 1959 invasion of Lhasa by the People’s Liberation Army prompted many Tibetans to flee. For the next thirty years, Nepal welcomed Tibetans, and every Tibetan in the country was issued a “refugee identity certificate,” known as an “R.C.” But Kathmandu stopped accepting additional Tibetan refugees in 1989, ceding to pressure from Beijing, and that pressure has been intensifying. Since 1998, the Nepalese government has refused to issue R.C.s to Tibetans, including children born in Nepal to refugee parents who’ve been residing in the country for decades.
The upshot is that a generation of Tibetans who’ve spent their entire lives in Nepal don’t exist as far as the Nepalese bureaucracy is concerned. Lacking R.C.s, these young refugees cannot obtain driver’s licenses, apply for jobs, or open bank accounts. It is difficult or impossible for them to attend Nepalese schools. Without an R.C., a Tibetan has no legal right to remain in Nepal and may be deported to China at any time—yet Kathmandu refuses to provide these refugees with travel documents that would allow them to immigrate to nations such as the U.S., Canada, and India, where they have been offered asylum.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was slated to travel to Kathmandu on December 19th for an official state visit, leading a hundred-and-one-member delegation from Beijing. Wen was expected to sign a commitment to provide Nepal with a five-billion-dollar line of credit—in return for promises from Nepal to clamp down even harder on Tibetan refugees. At the last minute, however, Beijing postponed the visit indefinitely; according to an official quoted by AFP, the delay had to do with security concerns, specifically the “possibility of protests from Tibetan exiles.” The Chinese ambassador to Kathmandu, Yang Houlan, had previously warned that “Nepal is turning into a playground for anti-China activities,” prompting speculation that Beijing is using the postponement of Wen’s visit as a cudgel to discourage Nepal from softening its policies toward Tibetan refugees.
At a refugee settlement outside the city of Pokhara, a Tibetan in his twenties proposed a simple step to dial down the tension: “If the government is worried about Tibetans threatening Nepal’s security, give us R.C.s.” Such a move would be win-win for all parties, he suggested, because it would allow the authorities to “know what we are doing, and we can get education and jobs.”
“How would it harm China for me to have an identity card?” a Tibetan teen-ager wondered at another refugee settlement. “I was born in Nepal. I’m seventeen years old. All I want is the opportunity for education and a job. How does denying me such things help anyone?”
He has a point. Nepal’s bullying of its Tibetan community is more likely to incite unrest inside China than to dampen it. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly and unequivocally stated that he and his followers “do not seek independence for Tibet.” But few Chinese trust such assurances from a man their leaders have long characterized as a conniving monster. Beijing is adamant that granting concessions to any Tibetans, even Tibetans in exile, poses a dire threat. The great fear is that Tibetan dissent will inflame other ethnic groups inside China, initiating a chain reaction that culminates in the People’s Republic suffering the same fate as the Soviet Union. Given Chinese perceptions of what’s at stake, and Beijing’s ability to purchase apparently limitless influence in Kathmandu, the future doesn’t look bright for Tibetan youth now coming of age in Nepal.
Photograph by Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images.
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I would like to see these alleged statements by the US lauding the Nepalese government's handling the Tibetan situation in Nepal. Earlier this year, in the "2010 Human Rights Report) released by the State Department, the report condemned the Nepalese Government for confirmed reports of the Nepalese government returning Tibetans to Chinese occupied Tibet. What sort of government returns refugees to the country they are fleeing from, fully aware of what will happen to them once they are in the hands of such repressive authorities? The Maoists and UPN-CML reneged on the "Gentleman's Agreement" in 2008, as cited in the article "Nepal Deporting Tibetans to China Secretly" in the "Indian Defense Review" issue of April 15, 2011, or read more about this and other articles concerning Nepal and Tibet at dwhammerblog.blogspot.com.
Posted 12/29/2011, 7:26:24pm by dwh
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Oh please "JRINALDI" you are too much of an apologist. I have no view on Tibetan independence, but the fact that Nepalese police are robbing and raping Tibetans is a bit over-the-top no? Or is that the Nepalese police are only raping 30% of the refugees, while the Chinese government is demanding that they rob and rape 100%?
Posted 12/29/2011, 2:33:22pm by PxP
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No, the UN Agreement has stipulated that Tibetans be allowed to transit through Nepal to India. The sticking point is that Nepal does not, in its constitution, recognize refugees as a valid, existential and political status. From what I have read the US Government has not indicated that they feel that the Nepalese government is doing a "good" job, and have, in fact, registered deep concern over the treatment of Tibetan refugees in Nepal. I live part time in Nepal, and have assisted Tibetan refugees at the Tarshi Palkhiel Refugee Camp outside of Pokhara, and I can attest from personal experience that what Mr. Krakauer states here is spot on. Prachanda, the Maoist leader, offered a few years ago to send refugees back to Tibet, a violation of many UN Human Rights agreements that the Nepalese government has signed on to. There have been videos taken of Chinese border guards shooting Tibetan refugees attempting to cross into Nepal in the Himalaya. Nepalese police brutalized pro-Tibet protesters during the run up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 in Kathmandu and Lalitpur. I helped a Tibetan family relocate from the refugee camp, to the US, and on to Canada, and though the husband, like many Tibetans of his generation, was born in Nepal in the refugee camp (he is 43 now), and had the right to residency status, he was never granted this status, and the government let it be known that it would cost thousands of dollars to have his status readjusted, on top of the regular fees. Almost everyone of his generation in the camp, and outside of it, born in exile in Nepal, cannot get their ID cards, and therefor exist in legal limbo: they cannot work, own land, even travel. Really, the list of crimes and prejudicial acts against Tibetans, legally residing in the country, and those of Tibetan origins, such as the Tamang, Sherpas, and others, is too long to reiterate. But the assertion that China, through the Maoist Party in Nepal, is trying to control Nepal's domestic policy, is undeniable. The International Campaign for Tibet has had its Nepal workforce team detained and beaten up by Chinese government squads IN Nepal. Why should the US worry about irritating a "volatile" China, when their policy towards Tibet, and those who are in a position to help Tibetans, has been perfectly clear for the past 60 years - exterminate Tibet. I suspect that part of China's contempt for Nepal's right to sovereignity stems from the fact that the Nepalese Government allowed the CIA to train Khampa guerillas, and launch attacks, from Mustang, a semi-autonomous region in Nepal, up until Nixon signed detente with Mao, then disbanded the entire operation, but now I'm getting a little off track. In short, China cries foul when it deems that foreign powers are meddling in its internal affairs. Yet it is doing the same here to Nepal, but some posters condemn Americans for "irritating" the Chinese - is this our biggest concern in foreign affairs? Maybe himalayanaid.org receives significant funding from the Chinese.
Posted 12/29/2011, 12:55:41pm by dwh
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Your assessment is fundamentally incorrect in one key aspect: The UN agreement, as it is, simply stipulates that transiting Tibetans that are captured by Nepali forces in Nepal are to be turned over to the UNHCR for a determination of status. It is tremendously irresponsible and dangerous to put forward the idea that Nepal must somehow guarantee safe passage for Tibetans. Such false assertions irritate a volatile China which in turn pressures Nepal to increase its oppression of Tibetans. It would certainly have benefited your level of accuracy here if you would have done a bit of research on the U.S. position regarding this issue as offered by Ambassador Scott DeLisi. You would have uncovered the fact that the U.S. believes Nepal is doing a good job in handling Tibetans considering the tremendous pressures exerted upon their efforts by a China that seeks a more repressive treatment. James Rinaldi himalayanaid.org
Posted 12/28/2011, 8:32:34pm by JRinaldi
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Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/12/why-is-nepal-cracking-down-on-tibetan-refugees.html#ixzz1hyShjz00
Big Trouble in Little Nepal
Big Trouble in Little Nepal
It’s the dry season now in Nepal, stretching from the end of the monsoon in early September until the humid and moisture-laden clouds start pushing into the country from the south in late spring. In between, little to no snow or rainfall disturbs this land-locked mountainous country. But something has been ruffling the political climate in the country, creeping through the Himalayas, that impassible physical barrier that forms a giant barrier along the northern edge of the country. The clumsy hand of Chinese politics, like a puppeteer working the instruments of Nepalese domestic policy, has manipulated Nepal’s treatment of its Tibetan residents – legal and refugees – in the country to the point where the message is clear to the Tibetans, and to others: do not criticize China or you will be dealt with harshly. Beatings and imprisonment have become common, often carried out not only by the Nepalese police, but by agents of the Chinese government working inside Nepal. This, despite a UN “gentleman’s agreement” that allows Tibetan refugees to pass through Nepal on their way to India (China Brief Volume: 11 Issue: 11; J. Vijay Sakhuja; “China’s Strategic Advantage in Nepal”).
This, among other topics, was discussed at an Executive Annual Meeting of the International Campaign for Tibet in San Francisco on Wednesday December 8th, at the Urban Center on Mission Street. The Special Envoy to his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyari, spoke, along with ICT Vice President Mary Beth Markey, and others, to a group of ICT members. Ms. Markey, in detailing ICT’s activities around the world, especially in light of the recent spate of immolations by Tibetans in Tibet, Western China and Nepal, addressed the extreme pressure being put on the Nepalese government to silence Tibetans in their country, and to deny Tibetan refugees entrance. Nepal, situated as it is between the two Asian giants of India and China, now more than ever before, finds itself caught in a vice between the two countries, both attempting to secure Nepal within their respective domains of influence. Historically, due to its Hindu and Buddhist populations (the former around 80% of the total population, the latter at least 8%), the plain fact that Nepali, the national language, derives from Hindi and ultimately Sanskrit, economic, cultural and social ties, India has played the role of the mother ship, from which all things emanate (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/asia-oceania/nepal/). China, walled off by the Himalayas, has historically been relegated to the sidelines. But this all started to change dramatically about five years ago.
With the ascendancy of the Nepalese Maoist Party, now the largest of Nepal’s over 20 political parties, China saw an opportunity to get their foot in the door. The dragon has been generous in economic support, but as usual with China, there is a price. That price is toeing the line on the “One China Policy” dogma espoused by the CCP, which states that Tibet never existed – it was always China – and that anything that the Chinese Politburo deems as being against this policy cannot be tolerated. The crackdowns on pro-Tibet protests in Kathmandu and its sister city of Lalitpur have been numerous, and ongoing since before the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Maoist’s eagerness to follow Beijing’s dictates has led them to abandon the 2008 “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” as detailed in the April 15, 2011 issue of the Indian Defense Review, in the article “Nepal Deporting Tibetans to China Secretly” by Nidhi Bardwaj:
But the political ascendancy of Nepalese Maoist and Communist parties and their assertion of “One-China” policy, Kathmandu dumped the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” in 2008. The government stopped giving refugee status to Tibetans and with this they lost their right to safe passage through Nepal. In fact, Nepalese police and Maoist cadres were ordered to spot and arrest Tibetan refugees escaping into Northern Nepal, and hand them over to the immigration authorities.
Nepal, formerly an independent country, is now becoming a puppet state controlled by the Chinese, turning their backs on their historic partners in South Asia, namely India, and in the process also rejecting basic human rights agreements that they have signed on to.
This brings us to the case of Tibetans burning themselves as an act of protest against Chinese occupation of their homeland, acts that testify to the Tibetan spirit in the face of 60 years of oppression. These should be read rightfully as acts of desperation, but also as symbols of an unshakeable belief in Tibetan rights to self-determination, freedom and basic human rights. Demonstrations have been held in Kathmandu by Tibetan refugees and residents, mainly in Jawlakhel, Lalitpur, and demonstrators showing their solidarity with pro-Tibetan freedom sympathizers were beaten and jailed. Ms. Markey, at the meeting, also detailed how one of their support teams was corralled by a group of Chinese political operatives, dragged into a van and beaten. And this is only the latest example of Chinese pressure on Nepal to toe the party line.
I lived in Nepal during 2008 and 2009, and had spent time in the country before then, back to the time of the People’s Revolution toppling King Gyanendra in the spring of 2006. A similar situation played out during the run-up to the Beijing Olympics of 2008, when pro-Tibet demonstrations – which the Chinese government depicts as the emanations of “splittist” anti-China agitators – were also attacked by government police in Nepal, with demonstrators beaten and jailed. In fact, in the past few years, the Maoist led government in Nepal has reacted in lock-step to Chinese pressure, and whenever an upwelling of pro-Tibetan activities have occurred, the red faction of the Nepalese government applies force without regard to freedom of speech or human rights. At least 20,000 Tibetan refugees live in Nepal, most of them without the right to work, and own land, farm or other basic rights – rights which are guaranteed by the Nepalese Constitution. Additionally, historically, virtually all of the northern half of the country – north of the Himalayas and to the south as well – are areas where the indigenous populations – the Sherpas, Bon-po, Tamangs and others – are of Tibetan descent. But under the current government, you wouldn’t know this. As Chinese money and influence pours into the country, Nepalese government oppression of the Tibetans within their own country becomes more openly draconian. With a wretched national economy, depleted by years of civil war, and one of the most corrupt governments in the world – whether ruled by a King, the Maoists, the UPN-CML or Nepali Congress, it’s the same “pocket” economy – perhaps it is understandable that the government would cave in to any foreign power willing to devote large amounts of aid. That this aid comes with such a heavy ideological, and human price, is something that clearly matters little to Prachanda and his fellow Maoists.
It is high time for the US government to step up and do something. The US government decries oppression and genocide in Sudan, in the Balkans, in Burma, in many countries around the world, and moves to pressure governments to cease such policies. It’s time for the US government to apply such pressure on Nepal, before the situation grows direr. For to ignore such developments, wherever they might occur, in the long run, only validates them, and makes it easier for oppressive governments to continue their atrocious actions. We should make it clear that aid to Nepal, and visas for students and workers seeking to come to the US, will be severely curtailed, until the Nepalese government allows Tibetan refugees Tibetan citizens of Nepal the full rights to demonstrate for their beliefs – as is allowed to all other citizens in Nepal – and give them full residential rights, transit rights, employment and land ownership rights. Unless pressurized, the Nepalese leadership will continue their drift towards becoming a willing satellite of Chinese foreign policy.
Notes and sources
Religion(s): Officially 80% Hindu, 8% Buddhist and 4% Muslim – but accurate figures are not available. Hinduism and Buddhism overlap considerably in Nepal. Estimates suggest that there are some 400,000 Christians in the country. United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office. http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/asia-oceania/nepal/
In the past, the Nepalese police and government officials had worked closely with the UNHCR and agreed to abide by a ‘Gentlemen's Agreement,’ “an informal compact established in 1989 with the UNHCR thus ensuring a safe transit for Tibetan refugees through Nepal and onward to India” [7]. This arrangement had worked well before the Nepalese Maoist and Communist parties gained political ascendency in 2008. Since then, there has been a sharp decline in the number of Tibetan refugees registering at reception centers in Kathmandu. China’s Strategic Advantage in Nepal
Publication: China Brief Volume: 11 Issue: 11
June 17, 2011 06:19 PM
By: Vijay Sakhuja C:\Users\David\Desktop\Writing and Blog\The Jamestown Foundation China’s Strategic Advantage in Nepal.mht
A former Nepalese ambassador to China has noted that, “China's concerns over Nepal are growing” and that “the visit [of General Chen Bingde, chief of general staff of the PLA] shows that China wants the support of our army to control anti-Chinese activities following the resignation of the Dalai Lama” (Thetibetpost.com, March 28). It is also reported that China may be secretly giving financial incentives and paying Nepalese officials to arrest and deport Tibetans in Nepal (Indian Express, December 20, 2010). On March 10, the Nepalese police arrested 34 protesters after thousands of Tibetan refugees marched through the streets of Kathmandu to commemorate the Chinese invasion of Tibet of 1951 (Asia-news.us, March 18). The next day, Nepalese police prevented a prayer meeting at the Buddhist temple in Kathmandu, and two days later on February 13, the police stormed into polling stations and seized ballots and other electoral material for Tibetan community internal elections to vote for a new Tibetan Government in Exile (Thetibetpost.com, March 28). The Nepalese government has been under great pressure to control Tibetan refugees in Nepal, and the chief district officer of Sindhupalchowk was quoted as saying “They [the Chinese] urged us not to allow anti-Chinese activities [on] our soil' (TIME, March 29). It is quite evident that China has been able to prevail upon the Nepalese government to ensure that anti-China activities by the Tibetan refugees are sternly dealt with.
….
First, Beijing has obtained assurances from the Nepalese leadership that the territory would not be used by the Tibetan refugees living in Nepal for anti-China activities. This issue is particularly significant when there is a ‘Free Tibet’ movement spreading across the globe and China has been under international scrutiny over human rights issues, particularly against the Tibetans.
Same source as above
When Chen Bingde, the Chinese army chief, and his 15-member delegation landed in Kathmandu on March 23, 2011, he brought him a loyalty-trust proposal for the pro-China ruling coalition of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) aka CPN-UML and the Unified Communist Party (Maoist) under Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal.
Bingde laid down a clear cut proposal: Deport Tibetan refugees to China to prevent the rise of a militant Tibetan émigré force. Nepal deporting Tibetans to China secretly
By Nidhi Bhardwaj
Issue: Net Edition | Date: 15 April, 2011 http://www.indiandefencereview.com/
It’s the dry season now in Nepal, stretching from the end of the monsoon in early September until the humid and moisture-laden clouds start pushing into the country from the south in late spring. In between, little to no snow or rainfall disturbs this land-locked mountainous country. But something has been ruffling the political climate in the country, creeping through the Himalayas, that impassible physical barrier that forms a giant barrier along the northern edge of the country. The clumsy hand of Chinese politics, like a puppeteer working the instruments of Nepalese domestic policy, has manipulated Nepal’s treatment of its Tibetan residents – legal and refugees – in the country to the point where the message is clear to the Tibetans, and to others: do not criticize China or you will be dealt with harshly. Beatings and imprisonment have become common, often carried out not only by the Nepalese police, but by agents of the Chinese government working inside Nepal. This, despite a UN “gentleman’s agreement” that allows Tibetan refugees to pass through Nepal on their way to India (China Brief Volume: 11 Issue: 11; J. Vijay Sakhuja; “China’s Strategic Advantage in Nepal”).
This, among other topics, was discussed at an Executive Annual Meeting of the International Campaign for Tibet in San Francisco on Wednesday December 8th, at the Urban Center on Mission Street. The Special Envoy to his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyari, spoke, along with ICT Vice President Mary Beth Markey, and others, to a group of ICT members. Ms. Markey, in detailing ICT’s activities around the world, especially in light of the recent spate of immolations by Tibetans in Tibet, Western China and Nepal, addressed the extreme pressure being put on the Nepalese government to silence Tibetans in their country, and to deny Tibetan refugees entrance. Nepal, situated as it is between the two Asian giants of India and China, now more than ever before, finds itself caught in a vice between the two countries, both attempting to secure Nepal within their respective domains of influence. Historically, due to its Hindu and Buddhist populations (the former around 80% of the total population, the latter at least 8%), the plain fact that Nepali, the national language, derives from Hindi and ultimately Sanskrit, economic, cultural and social ties, India has played the role of the mother ship, from which all things emanate (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/asia-oceania/nepal/). China, walled off by the Himalayas, has historically been relegated to the sidelines. But this all started to change dramatically about five years ago.
With the ascendancy of the Nepalese Maoist Party, now the largest of Nepal’s over 20 political parties, China saw an opportunity to get their foot in the door. The dragon has been generous in economic support, but as usual with China, there is a price. That price is toeing the line on the “One China Policy” dogma espoused by the CCP, which states that Tibet never existed – it was always China – and that anything that the Chinese Politburo deems as being against this policy cannot be tolerated. The crackdowns on pro-Tibet protests in Kathmandu and its sister city of Lalitpur have been numerous, and ongoing since before the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Maoist’s eagerness to follow Beijing’s dictates has led them to abandon the 2008 “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” as detailed in the April 15, 2011 issue of the Indian Defense Review, in the article “Nepal Deporting Tibetans to China Secretly” by Nidhi Bardwaj:
But the political ascendancy of Nepalese Maoist and Communist parties and their assertion of “One-China” policy, Kathmandu dumped the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” in 2008. The government stopped giving refugee status to Tibetans and with this they lost their right to safe passage through Nepal. In fact, Nepalese police and Maoist cadres were ordered to spot and arrest Tibetan refugees escaping into Northern Nepal, and hand them over to the immigration authorities.
Nepal, formerly an independent country, is now becoming a puppet state controlled by the Chinese, turning their backs on their historic partners in South Asia, namely India, and in the process also rejecting basic human rights agreements that they have signed on to.
This brings us to the case of Tibetans burning themselves as an act of protest against Chinese occupation of their homeland, acts that testify to the Tibetan spirit in the face of 60 years of oppression. These should be read rightfully as acts of desperation, but also as symbols of an unshakeable belief in Tibetan rights to self-determination, freedom and basic human rights. Demonstrations have been held in Kathmandu by Tibetan refugees and residents, mainly in Jawlakhel, Lalitpur, and demonstrators showing their solidarity with pro-Tibetan freedom sympathizers were beaten and jailed. Ms. Markey, at the meeting, also detailed how one of their support teams was corralled by a group of Chinese political operatives, dragged into a van and beaten. And this is only the latest example of Chinese pressure on Nepal to toe the party line.
I lived in Nepal during 2008 and 2009, and had spent time in the country before then, back to the time of the People’s Revolution toppling King Gyanendra in the spring of 2006. A similar situation played out during the run-up to the Beijing Olympics of 2008, when pro-Tibet demonstrations – which the Chinese government depicts as the emanations of “splittist” anti-China agitators – were also attacked by government police in Nepal, with demonstrators beaten and jailed. In fact, in the past few years, the Maoist led government in Nepal has reacted in lock-step to Chinese pressure, and whenever an upwelling of pro-Tibetan activities have occurred, the red faction of the Nepalese government applies force without regard to freedom of speech or human rights. At least 20,000 Tibetan refugees live in Nepal, most of them without the right to work, and own land, farm or other basic rights – rights which are guaranteed by the Nepalese Constitution. Additionally, historically, virtually all of the northern half of the country – north of the Himalayas and to the south as well – are areas where the indigenous populations – the Sherpas, Bon-po, Tamangs and others – are of Tibetan descent. But under the current government, you wouldn’t know this. As Chinese money and influence pours into the country, Nepalese government oppression of the Tibetans within their own country becomes more openly draconian. With a wretched national economy, depleted by years of civil war, and one of the most corrupt governments in the world – whether ruled by a King, the Maoists, the UPN-CML or Nepali Congress, it’s the same “pocket” economy – perhaps it is understandable that the government would cave in to any foreign power willing to devote large amounts of aid. That this aid comes with such a heavy ideological, and human price, is something that clearly matters little to Prachanda and his fellow Maoists.
It is high time for the US government to step up and do something. The US government decries oppression and genocide in Sudan, in the Balkans, in Burma, in many countries around the world, and moves to pressure governments to cease such policies. It’s time for the US government to apply such pressure on Nepal, before the situation grows direr. For to ignore such developments, wherever they might occur, in the long run, only validates them, and makes it easier for oppressive governments to continue their atrocious actions. We should make it clear that aid to Nepal, and visas for students and workers seeking to come to the US, will be severely curtailed, until the Nepalese government allows Tibetan refugees Tibetan citizens of Nepal the full rights to demonstrate for their beliefs – as is allowed to all other citizens in Nepal – and give them full residential rights, transit rights, employment and land ownership rights. Unless pressurized, the Nepalese leadership will continue their drift towards becoming a willing satellite of Chinese foreign policy.
Notes and sources
Religion(s): Officially 80% Hindu, 8% Buddhist and 4% Muslim – but accurate figures are not available. Hinduism and Buddhism overlap considerably in Nepal. Estimates suggest that there are some 400,000 Christians in the country. United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office. http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/asia-oceania/nepal/
In the past, the Nepalese police and government officials had worked closely with the UNHCR and agreed to abide by a ‘Gentlemen's Agreement,’ “an informal compact established in 1989 with the UNHCR thus ensuring a safe transit for Tibetan refugees through Nepal and onward to India” [7]. This arrangement had worked well before the Nepalese Maoist and Communist parties gained political ascendency in 2008. Since then, there has been a sharp decline in the number of Tibetan refugees registering at reception centers in Kathmandu. China’s Strategic Advantage in Nepal
Publication: China Brief Volume: 11 Issue: 11
June 17, 2011 06:19 PM
By: Vijay Sakhuja C:\Users\David\Desktop\Writing and Blog\The Jamestown Foundation China’s Strategic Advantage in Nepal.mht
A former Nepalese ambassador to China has noted that, “China's concerns over Nepal are growing” and that “the visit [of General Chen Bingde, chief of general staff of the PLA] shows that China wants the support of our army to control anti-Chinese activities following the resignation of the Dalai Lama” (Thetibetpost.com, March 28). It is also reported that China may be secretly giving financial incentives and paying Nepalese officials to arrest and deport Tibetans in Nepal (Indian Express, December 20, 2010). On March 10, the Nepalese police arrested 34 protesters after thousands of Tibetan refugees marched through the streets of Kathmandu to commemorate the Chinese invasion of Tibet of 1951 (Asia-news.us, March 18). The next day, Nepalese police prevented a prayer meeting at the Buddhist temple in Kathmandu, and two days later on February 13, the police stormed into polling stations and seized ballots and other electoral material for Tibetan community internal elections to vote for a new Tibetan Government in Exile (Thetibetpost.com, March 28). The Nepalese government has been under great pressure to control Tibetan refugees in Nepal, and the chief district officer of Sindhupalchowk was quoted as saying “They [the Chinese] urged us not to allow anti-Chinese activities [on] our soil' (TIME, March 29). It is quite evident that China has been able to prevail upon the Nepalese government to ensure that anti-China activities by the Tibetan refugees are sternly dealt with.
….
First, Beijing has obtained assurances from the Nepalese leadership that the territory would not be used by the Tibetan refugees living in Nepal for anti-China activities. This issue is particularly significant when there is a ‘Free Tibet’ movement spreading across the globe and China has been under international scrutiny over human rights issues, particularly against the Tibetans.
Same source as above
When Chen Bingde, the Chinese army chief, and his 15-member delegation landed in Kathmandu on March 23, 2011, he brought him a loyalty-trust proposal for the pro-China ruling coalition of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) aka CPN-UML and the Unified Communist Party (Maoist) under Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal.
Bingde laid down a clear cut proposal: Deport Tibetan refugees to China to prevent the rise of a militant Tibetan émigré force. Nepal deporting Tibetans to China secretly
By Nidhi Bhardwaj
Issue: Net Edition | Date: 15 April, 2011 http://www.indiandefencereview.com/
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Just when you thought ...
Just when you thought that the organized, city by city, responses across the US to evict, squash and silence the Occupy movement had to be more than a coincidence, you find out you were right! Read this article from columnist Naomi Wolf in the Guardian (the best online newspaper in the UK or the US). Our system is hopelessly corrupt, and it is exactly movements like Occupy that are needed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/25/shocking-truth-about-crackdown-occupy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/25/shocking-truth-about-crackdown-occupy
Thursday, November 24, 2011
My favorite style icon - Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan
She was married only some six weeks ago. As with many royal marriages her lineage also eminates from the aristocracy of this small, Eastern Himalayan kingdom, reputedly the happiest country on earth. And with a queen like this, who wouldn't be happy. Tibetan style chuba, but unlike any chuba I have ever seen. Beautiful fabrics and patterns -
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tibetan suicides continued ...
This appeared on the International Campaign for Tibet's website. Why is it that this is getting absolutely zero press play? I read the SF Chronicle, and I have seen pretty much nothing. I honestly cannot remember reading anything there. Likewise the NY Times, the alleged leader in US journalism. The Guardian ... hmmmm .... Why is this? Has the Chinese government's control over press coverage become so effective and accepted that even when the citizens of an occupied territory set themselves on fire very few outsiders, and no governments, raise their voices in protest. Please spread this story so that more people become aware of this and more pressure is put on Hu and his government to stop the repressive tactics against Tibetans that makes them see suicide as preferable to living under Chinese occupation.
24 October, 2011
http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/tibet-news/ngos-appeal-un-human-rights-chief-over-tibetan-self-immolation-protests
NGOs Appeal to UN Human Rights Chief over Tibetan Self-Immolation Protests
25 October, Amsterdam - Yesterday on the the occasion of the United Nations Day, 27 NGOs from 17 countries submitted the following urgent appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights seeking intervention with the Chinese authorities over the recent self-immolation protests by Tibetans in Tawo and Ngapa:24 October, 2011
http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/tibet-news/ngos-appeal-un-human-rights-chief-over-tibetan-self-immolation-protests
Monday, October 10, 2011
Uhmm, I'll opt for the painful, non-mandatory surgery ... continued
So I've been thinking about this more, and really this is just a litany of complaints about working in secondary education, so if this sounds boring and potentially damaging to your equilibrium, then read no further.
I was teaching in a school district in the East Bay, in a large city just south of where the Raiders live, at a high school that had rampant discipline problems, every year failed to make adequate test progress, and has an ineffective principal and a librarian who made the bulk of personnel decisions. Why, I don't know - evidently it has been this way for a while, and I was only there for two years. There was this immense pressure from certain influential members in the community to do nothing but musicals, oddly enough just like when I taught in Hollister for one year at their high school. And, oddly enough, in both cities the groups pressing for musicals were dominated by members of a certain quasi-Christian cult, the same cabal that a certain Republican presidential candidate associates with. Lets just call them Mermen, a "religion" that, in itself, eschews dancing, music, alcohol, smoking, anything that may be deemed to be part of the Devil's workshop. So what, you might ask, as I did, does a group that denigrates music and dancing have to do with pushing musical theatre down the audience's throat? The leading member of the pro-musical cabal in that city south of the East Bay's largest city was pushing for a Musical Academy. Let me digress by explaining - the high school had a couple of academies - Social Justice, Media Arts - to give students an opportunity to specialize, and have all of their general education classes in that academy rather than mixing in with the general student population. I had let it be known that I thought that a musical academy was not a great idea - I think I equated it to trying to have a balanced diet by eating only white bread, marzipan and drinking just cream soda. And I related a similar situation, when I was at UCLA, where a prominent Hollywood and musical theatre star had passed away, and left a good chunk ( a couple million) of his estate as an endowment to the UCLA School of Theatre to be used only to start a musical theatre program. And there was an immense amount of hand wringing on whether to accept the money, as the faculty was havinga difficult time coming up with a program rigorous enough to be accredited, and approved by the UC. Eventually they did. But that was my concern at this high school.
Now, to get back to why the Mermen like musicals, and want to swamp high school theatre programs with it. Because really, they don't like theatre, or they don't trust it, and want theatre programs they can control, content that is non-threatening - hence musicals. And it is part and parcel of the whole school district's emphasis on traditional, Euro-centric curriculum. The approved reading list for English looks like it was drawn up in the early 50s. You could go through high school and read nothing but Dickens. Its all part and parcel of high school, and the struggle to control curriculum, and theatre is seen as being nothing more that the production of harmless pablum. The problem is that for students who are interested in theatre, or acting and directing, that such a programs does little to nothing to prepare them for undergraduate theatre, or professional theater, unless they just want to do musicals. Which would be like wanting to become a lawyer, but only if you could handle lawsuits only involving ice cream trucks.
More later ... time to eat
I was teaching in a school district in the East Bay, in a large city just south of where the Raiders live, at a high school that had rampant discipline problems, every year failed to make adequate test progress, and has an ineffective principal and a librarian who made the bulk of personnel decisions. Why, I don't know - evidently it has been this way for a while, and I was only there for two years. There was this immense pressure from certain influential members in the community to do nothing but musicals, oddly enough just like when I taught in Hollister for one year at their high school. And, oddly enough, in both cities the groups pressing for musicals were dominated by members of a certain quasi-Christian cult, the same cabal that a certain Republican presidential candidate associates with. Lets just call them Mermen, a "religion" that, in itself, eschews dancing, music, alcohol, smoking, anything that may be deemed to be part of the Devil's workshop. So what, you might ask, as I did, does a group that denigrates music and dancing have to do with pushing musical theatre down the audience's throat? The leading member of the pro-musical cabal in that city south of the East Bay's largest city was pushing for a Musical Academy. Let me digress by explaining - the high school had a couple of academies - Social Justice, Media Arts - to give students an opportunity to specialize, and have all of their general education classes in that academy rather than mixing in with the general student population. I had let it be known that I thought that a musical academy was not a great idea - I think I equated it to trying to have a balanced diet by eating only white bread, marzipan and drinking just cream soda. And I related a similar situation, when I was at UCLA, where a prominent Hollywood and musical theatre star had passed away, and left a good chunk ( a couple million) of his estate as an endowment to the UCLA School of Theatre to be used only to start a musical theatre program. And there was an immense amount of hand wringing on whether to accept the money, as the faculty was havinga difficult time coming up with a program rigorous enough to be accredited, and approved by the UC. Eventually they did. But that was my concern at this high school.
Now, to get back to why the Mermen like musicals, and want to swamp high school theatre programs with it. Because really, they don't like theatre, or they don't trust it, and want theatre programs they can control, content that is non-threatening - hence musicals. And it is part and parcel of the whole school district's emphasis on traditional, Euro-centric curriculum. The approved reading list for English looks like it was drawn up in the early 50s. You could go through high school and read nothing but Dickens. Its all part and parcel of high school, and the struggle to control curriculum, and theatre is seen as being nothing more that the production of harmless pablum. The problem is that for students who are interested in theatre, or acting and directing, that such a programs does little to nothing to prepare them for undergraduate theatre, or professional theater, unless they just want to do musicals. Which would be like wanting to become a lawyer, but only if you could handle lawsuits only involving ice cream trucks.
More later ... time to eat
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
More Tibetan suicides -
Two more Tibetans monks have set themselves on fire, in protest over the Chinese Government's interference in choosing the Dalai Lama's successor. The Chinese Government states that they will choose the successor, that it is their right as they control Tibet, or rather as Xinhua News, the official organ of the Chinese Government would put it, there has never been a Tibet, it has always been China. The Chinese claim they will choose the Dalai Lama's successor - his reincarnation. This has always been done in the past by a select group of abbots and monks, who interpret various astrological signs, portents and natural phenomenon before and after the Dalai Lama's death, in particular during the 49 day period following his death called the bardo. It is a process that can only be done by the most experienced and trained religious figures, experts in divination. These signs lead them to an area where the next Dalai Lama will be born. They can only find the reincarnation after he (or potentially she I guess, though this has never happened) has been born, and has attained a suitable age where the suitable candidates can be tested by choosing between objects that belonged to the former Dalai Lama, and exact replicas.
Now how the Chinese Government, which as a Maoist Democracy (one of my least favorite oxymorons) which has historically denied and denigrated religion, in particular Tibetan Buddhism, can now position itself as a body which is suitable to choose the next leader of Tibetan Buddhism is beyond me. It is the height of hypocracy, akin to the Italian Communist Party declaring that is is the sole body capable of choosing the next Pope. It is infuriating, and just the latest step in China attempting to eradicate Tibetan Buddhism and turn it into a shell of itself, a false religion, and a puppet of the Chinese Government. Tibetans won't stand for it, and it won't work. Read the article to find out more ...
http://savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/two-more-tibetan-monks-kirti-monastery-set-themselves-fire-calling-religious-freedom
Now how the Chinese Government, which as a Maoist Democracy (one of my least favorite oxymorons) which has historically denied and denigrated religion, in particular Tibetan Buddhism, can now position itself as a body which is suitable to choose the next leader of Tibetan Buddhism is beyond me. It is the height of hypocracy, akin to the Italian Communist Party declaring that is is the sole body capable of choosing the next Pope. It is infuriating, and just the latest step in China attempting to eradicate Tibetan Buddhism and turn it into a shell of itself, a false religion, and a puppet of the Chinese Government. Tibetans won't stand for it, and it won't work. Read the article to find out more ...
http://savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/two-more-tibetan-monks-kirti-monastery-set-themselves-fire-calling-religious-freedom
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Some more articles
Here an article I wrote, on Orientalism and French 17th- and 18th-century theatre and the representation of Islam. I'm sure you've been dying to read it, now, finally, here's you're chance.
http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/agora/Articles.cfm@ArticleNo=154.html
And on article on the article and many other sources concerning Voltaire, his views on Islam, and the play Mahomet. As for the author of the article, Mr. Morgan, that Voltaire's depiction of the life of the prophet Mohammed is accurate, from my research, I would have to disagree, and state that many of the incidents of the play are simply recycled Western myths about him, designed to paint the prophet as Machiavellian and a lecherous sybarite.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.7224/pub_detail.asp
http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/agora/Articles.cfm@ArticleNo=154.html
And on article on the article and many other sources concerning Voltaire, his views on Islam, and the play Mahomet. As for the author of the article, Mr. Morgan, that Voltaire's depiction of the life of the prophet Mohammed is accurate, from my research, I would have to disagree, and state that many of the incidents of the play are simply recycled Western myths about him, designed to paint the prophet as Machiavellian and a lecherous sybarite.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.7224/pub_detail.asp
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Moti Mahal
My wife made the most scrumptious butter chicken the other night - Mughal style, with the usual cardomam, spices, tomatoes, ginger, garlic - which got me to thinking about Moti Mahal. If you have never been to India, or Old Delhi, then you've missed out. Just a stone's throw away from the Jamma Masjid (the Red Mosque), near the Red Fort, and on the main avenue which leads back south to Connaught Circus, Moti Mahal is an old restaurant in Old Delhi. Reputedly opended just after Partition, the restaurant sits back from the street, with a turbaned door wallah there to meet and greet. The dish to go for is the butter chicken, which the restaurant claims to have invented. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the dish, this is boneless chicken, usually breast, which has been cooked Tandoori style. Then it is finished off with a cream/butter reduction sauce flavored with the above mentioned spices and more. Done well it is sublime, and Moti Mahal does it perfectly. Plus it is an Old Delhi must-see for other reasons. The old dining room is worn but elegant, a bit too large and cavernous, but a peaceful haven from the bustle outside. We went there on a hot June day, and it was a welcoming relief of shade from the pre-monsoon heat outside. Other dishes were fantastic. Our waiter may well have been at the restaurant since Partition. He was discreet, genteel, and perfect in anticipating needs. In short, it was Indian dining at its best - wonderful food, great service, in a locale that while a little worn, reeks of history. When in Delhi, you must go ...
Uhmm, I'll opt for the painful, non-mandatory surgery ...
The Death of the High School Musical
“Hell is full of musical amateurs.”
George Bernard Shaw
Maybe I’m in the minority on this one, and if I am, it is something I can live with. Easily. I can’t stand musicals. I wouldn’t waste 150$ to buy a ticket to see one on Broadway, or at the local theatre hosting touring productions. I’ve had to direct a couple – its like being force fed cotton candy for two months, and having to grin and pretend its salmon (sorry, I don’t eat beef). Maybe its all because when I was in the second grade, and in choir at church, the choir leader let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that my voice should never be heard.
I’ve been involved in theatre all of my adult life. I’ve taught it at college and high school levels, directed at these levels and professionally, and acted professionally. Musicals, unfortunately, are a necessity at high school, primarily as cash cows and as ways to involve parents who normally could give a rats ass about theatre. And most of them still, after watching their wretched offspring trip across stage or mangle another song in the chorus, will not develop a deep love of theatre. Rather they will equate their yearly trip to the theatre to a root canal.
Ripping sub-par art forms is no great art itself, And I’m not interested in prolonging my screed against this most mediocre form of entertainment – well, tap dancing gives it a run – but I do have concerns about education and the arts in the US,
To be continued …
“Hell is full of musical amateurs.”
George Bernard Shaw
Maybe I’m in the minority on this one, and if I am, it is something I can live with. Easily. I can’t stand musicals. I wouldn’t waste 150$ to buy a ticket to see one on Broadway, or at the local theatre hosting touring productions. I’ve had to direct a couple – its like being force fed cotton candy for two months, and having to grin and pretend its salmon (sorry, I don’t eat beef). Maybe its all because when I was in the second grade, and in choir at church, the choir leader let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that my voice should never be heard.
I’ve been involved in theatre all of my adult life. I’ve taught it at college and high school levels, directed at these levels and professionally, and acted professionally. Musicals, unfortunately, are a necessity at high school, primarily as cash cows and as ways to involve parents who normally could give a rats ass about theatre. And most of them still, after watching their wretched offspring trip across stage or mangle another song in the chorus, will not develop a deep love of theatre. Rather they will equate their yearly trip to the theatre to a root canal.
Ripping sub-par art forms is no great art itself, And I’m not interested in prolonging my screed against this most mediocre form of entertainment – well, tap dancing gives it a run – but I do have concerns about education and the arts in the US,
To be continued …
Monday, August 1, 2011
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