Monk suicides on the rise in Buddhist Tibet
A report submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief on the factors and circumstances leading to the occurrences and increase of suicides by Tibetan monks and nuns in Chinese occupied Tibet since 10 March 2008.
The Tibetan Buddhist worldwide is currently observing this month as the holy Buddhist month of
Saka Dawa. 7 June 2009 (a full moon day), Sunday, will be observed as the most important day of the holy month according to the Buddhist belief due to the significance of the day being Buddha Shakyamuni’s birth, enlightenment and
parinirvana falling on the same day. While the Tibetan Buddhist - both the civil and monastic community - worldwide spend the day with various religious activities and rituals according to the faith, however, Tibetans inside Chinese administered Tibet face severe religious repression enacted by the State and its agents. Restrictions and prohibitory orders to the government officials and students from visiting temples this month have already been issued. Reinforcement of security forces and intelligence officials have been deployed across Lhasa city to maintain “stability” during the holy month.
Religious freedom has been a distant dream for the Tibetan people since the advancement of Communist China in 1949-50. The various restrictions and conditions put forward by the Chinese authority in pursuit of one’s religion were not only unacceptable but also contempt to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations. The atrocities that the Chinese authority commit on Tibetan people, particularly monks and nuns while pursuing their beliefs and religious practices, are not only the victim of their power but it is also a failure of a sovereign state to protect its people’s basic human rights.
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His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Statement
on the 20th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square
Students’ Democracy Movement
On occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square students’ democracy movement, along with others who take an interest in Chinese affairs, I respectfully honour those who died expressing the popular demand for the government to be more accountable to its people.
The students involved in the Tiananmen Square movement were neither anti-communist nor anti-socialist. Their speaking out in defence of the Chinese people’s constitutional rights, in favour of democracy, and taking a stand against corruption, truly conformed to the underlying beliefs of the Chinese Communist government. This was confidently stated by the then party chief Zhao Ziyang. Therefore, the forthcoming 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China presents a great opportunity to review the events of June 4, 1989.
Great changes have taken place in the People’s Republic of China since 1989. Today, it is a global economic power poised to become a superpower. It is my hope that the Chinese leaders have the courage and far-sightedness to embrace more truly egalitarian principles and pursue a policy of greater accommodation and tolerance of diverse views. A policy of openness and realism can lead to greater trust and harmony within China and enhance its international standing as a truly great nation.
THE DALAI LAMA
