By Tenzin Menkyi
DHARAMSHALA, June 15: The only rights monitoring group run by Tibetans, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), today unveiled two new publications: The Art of Passive Resistance and Code of Conduct for Businesses Operating In Tibet at a press conference at Norbu House here.
The book originally written in Tibetan by Dhi Lhaden, titled Tungol Trimtug ( Resistance Through Cooperation With Law) has been translated into English with a new title: The Art of Passive Resistance. This is his second book of the author translated and published by TCHRD, the first one being Tsesok Le Trun Pe Kecha (Words Uttered With Life at Risk), published in March 2011.
Tsering Tsomo, Director of TCHRD, expressed concern over the whereabouts of the book’s author Dhi Lhaden while apealling all to read the book. “This is an important book that everybody must read,” she said. The author’s nephew, Lekbum was invited as a guest for the book launch.
“Due to the fact that Chinese government’s policy of censorship and clamp down on any kind of freedom of expression and information, many writers in Tibet are not able to publish their own books,” said Tsomo.
Dhi Lhaden, a Tibetan monk (reportedly disrobed), and an intellectual is a writer based in Amdo, Tibet. He was born in 1980 at Dida Village in Pema (Ch: Baima) County, Golog (Ch: Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Qinghai Province), in the Tibetan province of Amdo. From age 11, he studied in different monastic institutions. Since 2008, he has been visiting various places in Tibet to experience and record the observation of fellow Tibetans.
Lhaden explores themes such as the rule of law, freedom, peace, equality, non-violence. “I do not have any wish to destroy the Chinese government and the Chinese people. I do not think any Tibetan holds such a wish. Our goal is to establish equality and peaceful co-existence between the Chinese and Tibetan nationalities”, writes Lhaden in the introduction of his book.
Code of Conduct for Businesses Operating in Tibet, is a guidelines which highlights the major human rights issues in Tibet and their human rights obligations. It outlines how businesses can avoid contributing to, or participating in, human rights abuses in Tibet.
