Thousands attend Sopa Rinpoche’s funeral; Protests reported
Thousands of Tibetans from around the Golok region of eastern Tibet attended the funeral of Sonam Wangyal Sopa Rinpoche on Sunday morning. Sopa Rinpoche, a respected spiritual figure in his early forties passed away on the spot after drinking and spraying kerosene all over his body
China bribing Tibetans to celebrate ‘Losar’
The Chinese government is now up to bribing Tibetans inside Tibet to celebrate the upcoming Tibetan New Year ‘Losar’. Speaking to Phayul, a Tibetan exile citing contacts inside Tibet said Chinese government officials were coaxing Tibetans with money and gifts to celebrate ‘Losar’ (February 22-24)
‘Self-immolation sign of sustained discontent and desperation,’ says German Human Rights Commissioner
The German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Markus Löning has called for an end to the repressive political environment in Tibet saying that further repression will fail to reduce the despair of the Tibetan people.
Now a rail link from Lhasa to Kathmandu in the offing
China has reportedly responded positively to plans of extending its railway line right across the Himalayas, from Tibet’ capital city of Lhasa to the Nepalese capital city of Kathmandu. The rail link could be further extended to Lord Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini, located close to the Indo-Nepal border.
India-China resume border talks; Tibetans cry foul
India and China resumed their long drawn out border talks Monday in the Indian capital New Delhi after it hit a roadblock late last year. The 15th round of special border talks scheduled in November had to be cancelled after China demanded India scrap an international religious gathering