“Hope and Encouragement in times of hardship and adversity”: Envoy Kesang Gyaltsen's new year message
December 31, 2009
tibet-envoy.eu[Tuesday, December 29, 2009 17:52]
by Kelsang Gyaltsen, Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
The year 2009 has been an extremely difficult one for the people of
Tibet. Harsh repression marked the life of the Tibetan people inside
Tibet under Chinese Communist rule. Since the Tibetan protests in 2008
there has been a massive presence of military and security personnel in
Tibetan areas. Political campaigns such as the “Strike Hard” or
“Patriotic Re-education” are regular features of life in Tibet. On a
nearly daily basis we hear of new arrests of Tibetans, heavy sentences
handed down on Tibetans for peaceful expression of their grievances and
aspirations and according to our information four Tibetans have been
executed in October this year.
The year 2009 has also been a year without any face-to-face meetings
between the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and officials of the
Chinese leadership. This is the sad state of affairs of the Tibetan
people one year after the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Despite this gloom and grim reality, I remain optimistic on the issue of
Tibet in the long run. The spirit of the Tibetans - inside as well as
outside of Tibet - is stronger than ever. There is also growing
awareness of and concern about the Tibet issue in China and intense
internal discussions about minority issues are taking place in PRC........
by Kelsang Gyaltsen, Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
The year 2009 has been an extremely difficult one for the people of
Tibet. Harsh repression marked the life of the Tibetan people inside
Tibet under Chinese Communist rule. Since the Tibetan protests in 2008
there has been a massive presence of military and security personnel in
Tibetan areas. Political campaigns such as the “Strike Hard” or
“Patriotic Re-education” are regular features of life in Tibet. On a
nearly daily basis we hear of new arrests of Tibetans, heavy sentences
handed down on Tibetans for peaceful expression of their grievances and
aspirations and according to our information four Tibetans have been
executed in October this year.
The year 2009 has also been a year without any face-to-face meetings
between the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and officials of the
Chinese leadership. This is the sad state of affairs of the Tibetan
people one year after the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Despite this gloom and grim reality, I remain optimistic on the issue of
Tibet in the long run. The spirit of the Tibetans - inside as well as
outside of Tibet - is stronger than ever. There is also growing
awareness of and concern about the Tibet issue in China and intense
internal discussions about minority issues are taking place in PRC........
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