Exile

By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 6 July: Exiled Tibetans in Dharamsala and communities across the world on Monday marked the 91st birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama with prayers, cultural performances and public gatherings, following a plea from Pawo Lobga Rangzen, recorded before his self-immolation in New York, that Tibetans should not mourn but celebrate the occasion “even bigger and grander.”

On behalf of all Tibetans in Tibet and in exile, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile wishes to express immense joy, devotion, and delight in offering heartfelt and sincere greetings and felicitations to His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama, the very embodiment of universal compassion, a noble protector of the world, a supreme sovereign of the entire corpus of Buddhist teachings on this earth, and a great friend to all infinite beings despite the absence of any prior intimacy, on this very auspicious day of his attaining 91 years of age, holding in petal-formation our ten fingers to our hearts, and offering countless prostrations before him. Jetsun Jampel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso Sisum Wanggyur Tsungpa Mepey-de Pel-Sangpo, to spell out his full name for the sake of the occasion, the crown jewel of the domains of celestial beings and the entire existence, took a preordained birth on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Wood-Swine Tibetan calendar year, corresponding to the 6th of July 1935, in the Dhomey region of the land of Tibet to parents of excellent noble lineage and illustrious descendance for his samsaric undertaking. Such then is the day today on which all across the world we engage in joyous and virtuous activities, accumulating merit and performing good deeds with great enthusiasm.

On the auspicious 91st birthday of His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama—the crown jewel of the realms and a global leader of peace—the Kashag, on behalf of Tibetans inside and outside Tibet, offer our deepest prostrations with body, speech and mind and heartfelt greetings to His Holiness. We also extend warm greetings to the distinguished guests, members of the monastic community, and people around the world who are celebrating this great occasion with joy and devotion.

By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 2 July: Veteran Tibetan activist Lobsang Palden, widely known as Lobga Rangzen and president of the New York & New Jersey chapter of the Tibetan National Congress (TNC), died after self-immolating outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on 2 July. He had left behind a final video message that was both a political testament and a plea for Tibetan unity and independence.

By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 1 July: Tibetans across the world staged coordinated protests on Wednesday as China’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress came into force, with a coalition of four Tibetan non-governmental organisations leading demonstrations in Dharamsala against what they described as legislation designed to systematically erase Tibetan identity.

By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 30 June: With China’s “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress” set to take effect on 1 July, Sikyong (President) Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on Monday rejected the legislation as a significant legal escalation of Beijing’s longstanding assimilation policies in Tibet, arguing that it formally codifies genocidal practices the Tibetans have opposed for decades.

By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 26 June: The Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile Dolma Tsering Teykhang, speaking in her personal capacity, said China’s newly adopted law “Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress” does not warrant revising the Middle Way Approach, arguing that the policy has already defined the minimum political objective Tibetans are prepared to accept.

By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 15 June: As friends, admirers, and fellow Tibetans gathered to bid him a final farewell, veteran Tibetan independence activist, writer, and poet Lhasang Tsering was cremated on Monday at the crematorium located half kilometre to Mcleod Ganj. He passed away on June 11 at the age of 74, leaving behind a life story etched into the history of the Tibetan freedom movement through sacrifice, conviction, intellectual honesty, and an unwavering commitment to his cause.

The Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission (TSJC) has declined to register a writ petition filed by two Nepal-based monasteries seeking protection of their fundamental right to vote, ruling that the matter substantially overlaps with an already pending civil suit and may instead proceed through a merger with Case No. 22.

Two monastic communities from the Choejor Tibetan Refugee Settlement in Nepal have challenged the Tibetan Election Commission’s decision to suspend final-round voting in the constituency, arguing before the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission (TSJC) that the move violated their fundamental right to vote and amounted to a breach of protections guaranteed under the Charter of Tibetans in Exile, international law, and the Indian Constitution.