Tibet Brief A report of the International Campaign for Tibet January 2013 EU, UK and France's statements and IN THIS ISSUE : resolutions on Tibet 1. ▶ EU, UK and France's statements and resolutions on Tibet 2. ▶ ICT testifies in Spain’s National Court on Chinese leadership policies in Tibet 3. ▶ Legendary “bearded Khampa” George Patterson dies 4. ▶ New ICT Report released 5. ▶ Tibetan Task Force on Negotiations discusses critical situation in Tibet and China’s new leadership 6. ▶ EU Council Building in Brussels illuminated by the International Campaign for Tibet VPC/HR Catherine Ashton 7. ▶ US State Department highlights Tibet as example of US-EU On 14 December 2012 EU High Representative Catherine Ashton “common strategic engagement” released a declaration on behalf of the European Union on Tibetan 8. Political prisoners focus self-immolations. She expressed concern about the restrictions of ▶ Tibetan identity and called on the Chinese authoritie s to address the 9. ▶ Reading suggestion deep-rooted causes of the frustration of the Tibetan people.She also 10. ▶ Upcoming events encouraged all concerned parties to resume meaningful dialogue. Tibet will also be a priority for ALDE MEP Tibet within the framework of the Chinese Leonidas Donskis (European Parliament’s constitution. Previously, the French Senate Liberal Movement, Lithuania) who is the on 27 November adopted a resolution on rapporteur of the EP Annual Report on Tibet stressing, inter alia, the importance Human Rights and Democracy in the for the EU to promote coordinated policies World 2011. During the presentation of the and actions in support of the Tibetan Report at the EP Plenary in Strasbourg people and the urgency to include Tibet in December 2012, he said that in 2013 within the priorities of the EU Special he would focus on Tibet and urged the Representative for Human Rights. ■ EU to set up an office of a Special EU Leonidas Donskis MEP Representative on Tibet to monitor the the self-immolations in Tibetan regions. See also: situation more closely. He expressed UK’s vision that a long- ▶ Annual report on human rights and Following Ashton’s declaration, British term solution would be best achieved democracy in the world 2011 and the Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said through respect for universal principles of European Union’s policy on the matter that the UK had serious concerns about human rights and genuine autonomy for ICT Europe ICT Brussels ICT Germany ICT United States Vijzelstraat 77 15, rue de la linière Schonhauser Allee 163 1825 Jefferson Place, NW 1017HG Amsterdam 1060 Brussels 10435 Berlin Washington, DC 20036 The Netherlands Belgium Germany United States of America Phone: +31 (0)20 3308265 Phone: +32 (0)2 609 44 10 Telefon: +49 (0)30 27879086 Phone: +(1) 202-785-1515 Fax: +31 (0)20 3308266 Fax: +32 (0)2 609 44 32 Fax: +49 (0)30 27879087 Fax: (202) 785-434 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.savetibet.org 1 Tibet Brief A report of the International Campaign for Tibet January 2013 ICT testifies in Spain’s Spanish lawyers and Tibet activists objections to the shelving of the case. brought two lawsuits to Spanish ICT had also testified in the case, National Court on courts. José Elías Esteve Moltó was together with Tibetan witnesses. ICT’s Chinese leadership the main research lawyer and author report, “The chain of command in the of both cases, whereas Alan Cantos People’s Republic of China and the direct policies in Tibet from Comité de Apoyo al Tibet (CAT) responsibility of Chinese leaders in the in Madrid, Spain’s Tibet Support international crimes committed in Tibet”, The International Campaign for Committee, has pioneered the two was presented to Audiencia Nacional’s Tibet has testified in Spain’s National Tibet lawsuits. The expert Spanish court N°2 on 26 October 2012, and Court to the direct responsibility of team is now challenging the shelving Kate Saunders, ICT’s Communications of the second lawsuit on Tibet after the senior Communist Party leaders for Director, was summoned by the court to Spanish government changed the law policies in Tibet as part of a ground- ratify the report to one of Spain’s most following direct complaints from China. breaking lawsuit under the principle senior judges, Judge Ismael Moreno, Alan Cantos, of the Tibet Support on 28 December. Judge Moreno also of “universal jurisdiction”, a doctrine Committee in Spain (Comité de Apoyo accepted additional documents from that allows courts to reach beyond Al Tibet), told ICT: “After losing our ICT, including a new report about self- national borders in cases of torture appeal to the Supreme Court we are now immolations in Tibet and Chinese policy and terror perpetrated by states. appealing to Spain´s Constitutional Court entitled 'Storm in the Grasslands' arguing the violation of fundamental ■ The case brings Spanish lawyers rights in the whole process and calling for and Tibet activists closer to the the re-opening of the case.” Lawyers for objective of arrest warrants the Tibet Support Committee have now See also: being served to several Chinese submitted a document of more than 60 ▶ Kate Saunder’s Blog : leaders for policies on Tibet. pages to the court giving detailed legal Legendary “bearded Khampa” George Patterson dies George Patterson, a Scot from Falkirk, first travelled to Tibet as a Christian missionary in 1947. With the Tibetan border town of Kangting as a base he travelled extensively in East Tibet, living among the Khampas and learning the language while treating them medically. With the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet imminent in 1950, and his medical supplies depleted, at the request of Khampa leaders he travelled across Tibet from east to west by a previously unexplored and treacherous route to alert the governments of India, Britain George Patterson (right) with Thubten Samdup (left), the Dalai Lama’s Northern and USA regarding the expected Chinese invasion and to Europe Representative, and Mary Beth Markey (middle), President of ICT. seek help for the Khampas in their resistance, arriving in India in March 1950. George Patterson, who earned legendary status as the Mr Patterson, who authored more than seven books, traveled ‘bearded Khampa’ for his support to Tibetan resistance back into Tibet in the mid-1960s with a camera on a dangerous fighters, and who became one of the first people to report mission to document a raid on a Chinese military truck convoy the Chinese invasion of Tibet, died in Scotland on 29 by Tibetan guerillas. The resulting film, ‘Raid Into Tibet’, December 2012. George Patterson, who received ICT’s became the only available film of Tibetan resistance efforts in Light of Truth award in March 2011, was in his nineties. Tibet from the remote Mustang area from 1960 to 1974. ■ www.savetibet.org 2 Tibet Brief A report of the International Campaign for Tibet January 2013 New ICT Report Released ICT’s new publication ‘Storm in the Grasslands: 'Self-immolations in Tibet and Chinese policy’ reports a strong resolve among Tibetans to compel the new Chinese leadership to confront the policies and oppression that are the causes of these acts. transition at the Chinese Communist including translated copies of notes Party Congress in November. Twenty-eight they left behind or details of their last Tibetans self-immolated in November words to friends and family. It provides 2012 alone, marking a new phase in an analysis of a direct correlation the political struggle in Tibet. Many between the self-immolations and acts of self-immolation – that have an intensified campaign against the recently been clustered in politically Dalai Lama in Tibet together with restive areas of Amdo in eastern Tibet - the aggressive expansion of legal have been followed by mass gatherings measures tightening state control over of Tibetans to honor and express Tibetan religion and culture. The report solidarity with those who have called also assesses the official response to for freedom for Tibet and the return of the self-immolations. As the scale of the Dalai Lama as they set themselves the tragedy increased, there appeared on fire. to be a level of ambiguity in official reporting, although language became Since February 2009, 95 Tibetans have ‘Storm in the Grasslands: Self-immolations more strident particularly at the time self-immolated in Tibet, with a in Tibet and Chinese policy’ includes of the Communist Party Congress dramatic acceleration in frequency details about the lives of 58 Tibetans in November, when self-immolations since the once-in-a-decade leadership who have set fire to themselves, spiked in Tibet. ■ The task force carried out an assessment of the Sino-Tibetan Tibetan Task Force on Dialogue, including its future prospects and challenges, Negotiations Discusses Critical based on the situation in Tibet, China and in the international community. In this context, Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, the former Situation in Tibet and China’s Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, said that New Leadership stalled dialogue process with China failed to make much progress under the decade-long leadership of President Hu A two-day meeting of the Task Force on Negotiations Jintao. He explained that prospects of negotiations declined was held in Dharamsala from 31 December 2012 to after Hu, who was the Party’s chief in Tibet in 1989, became 1 January 2013, chaired by Sikyong (Head of the Central President of the country. Tibetan Administration) Dr. Lobsang Sangay. The Tibetan leadership reiterated its commitment to non- violence and the Middle-Way Approach, and expressed that The meeting reviewed the deepening political crisis in the only way to resolve the issue of Tibet is through dialogue. Tibet, specifically the tragic spate of self-immolations, and Also, the Tibetan leadership welcomed the statements of discussed the urgent need for peaceful resolution of the concern by the United Nations and governments about the issue of Tibet.