Monk threatens Tibetan leadership with self-immolation?

India has swapped its hard line approach to China. Top Indian officials distanced themselves from the Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) after a directive from India’s Foreign Secretary to avoid events hosted by the Tibetan leadership, and after the enforcement of an unprecedented ban on Tibetans holding a rally with the Dalai Lama in New Delhi.

All of this easily leads to the conclusion that the CTA will soon be defunct. India is offering citizenship to Tibetans in India. The flow of refugees arriving in Nepal and India has been curtailed for the last decade after Nepal closed a popular route used by refugees leaving Tibet. The President of the Tibetan leadership Lobsang Sangay is plagued by various scandals on a near-daily basis, and Tibetans in exile are protesting and calling for his impeachment. Another possible leader of the Tibetans in exile, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the head of the Karma Kagyu sect has been abroad for the past year to “rest and recover” due to health concerns. With no viable leader without the Dalai Lama, and having lost their biggest supporter and ally in India, it looks like there is no light at the end of the tunnel for the CTA.

Dalai Lama faces cold shoulder as India looks to improve China ties
Sanjeev Miglani
MARCH 29, 2018 / 8:14 PM / UPDATED 8 HOURS AGO
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, faces increasing isolation in his home in exile as India tones down an assertive stand toward its powerful neighbor and rival, China, in the hope of calming ties strained by a border stand-off.
The Asian giants were locked in a 73-day military face off in a remote, high-altitude stretch of their disputed border last year, with, at one point, soldiers from the two sides throwing punches and stones at each other.
The confrontation between the nuclear-armed powers in the Himalayas underscored Indian alarm at China’s expanding security and economic links in South Asia.
China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative of transport and energy links bypasses India, apart from a corner of the disputed Kashmir region, also claimed by Pakistan, but involves India’s neighbors Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives.
Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist government, is reversing course, apparently after realizing its hard line on China was not working, and the Dalai Lama is facing the cold shoulder.
“We are moving forward with this relationship, the idea is to put the events of 2017 behind us,” an Indian government source involved in China policy said.
The idea is to “be sensitive” to each other’s core concerns and not let differences turn into disputes, the source said.
The Dalai Lama has lived mostly in the north Indian town of Dharamsala since 1959, when he fled a Chinese crackdown on an uprising in his homeland.
In Dharamsala, his supporters run a small government in exile and campaign for autonomy for Tibet by peaceful means. India has allowed him to pursue his religious activities in the country and to travel abroad.
Early this month, India issued an unprecedented ban on Tibetans holding a rally with the Dalai Lama in New Delhi to mark the 60th anniversary of the start of the failed uprising against Chinese rule.
‘DEEPLY RESPECTED’
This week, the Dalai Lama canceled a visit to the Indian border state of Sikkim this week, hosted by authorities there, officials say, lest it offended China.
Sikkim is south of the Doklam plateau where the hundreds of Indian and Chinese soldiers confronted each other last year after India objected to China’s construction of a road in an area claimed by India’s tiny ally, Bhutan.
Even “thank you” rallies by Tibetans planned for New Delhi to show appreciation to India for hosting the Dalai Lama and his followers have been shifted to Dharamsala.
India’s foreign ministry said the government had not changed its position on the Dalai Lama.
“He is a revered religious leader and is deeply respected by the people of India. His Holiness is accorded all freedom to carry out his religious activities in India,” spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.
But India’s recent attitude is in stark contrast with his former treatment.
In 2016, the Dalai Lama was invited to India’s presidential palace for a ceremony honoring Nobel Peace prize winners. The government later allowed him to visit the disputed state of Arunachal Pradesh, disregarding Chinese objections.
China reviles the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist and his activities in India have always been a source of friction, and a tool with which India can needle China.
“Tibet has utility to irritate China, but it is becoming costly for us now. They are punishing us,” said P. Stobdan, a former Indian ambassador.
China has blocked India’s membership of a nuclear cartel and it also blocks U.N. sanctions against a Pakistan-based militant leader blamed for attacks on India.
‘UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT’
The Tibetan government-in-exile has been phlegmatic, expressing understanding of the shifting circumstances and gratitude to India for hosting the Dalai Lama for 60 years.
“The Indian government has its reasons why, these coming months are sensitive, and we completely understand and respect that so there’s no disappointment at all,” Lobsang Sangay, the head of the government in exile told reporters.
China has hailed better ties.
“Everyone can see that recently, due to the efforts of both sides, China-India relations have maintained positive momentum and development, and exchanges and cooperation in all areas have achieved new progress,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Thursday.
Lu said China was willing to work with India to maintain exchanges on all levels and to increase mutual political trust and “appropriately control differences”.
A flurry of visits is planned.
Next week, India National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is heading to China and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj is due to visit in April.
Modi will visit in June for a regional conference and talks with President Xi Jinping.
The two sides are also expected to revive “hand-in-hand” counter-terrorism exercises when India’s defense minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, visits China in April, a defense source said. The drills were suspended earlier.
Additional reporting Michael Martina in BEIJING; Abhishek Madhukar in DHARAMSALA and Zarir Hussain in GUWAHATI; Editing by Robert Birsel
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-china/dalai-lama-faces-cold-shoulder-as-india-looks-to-improve-china-ties-idUSKBN1H51O7

The formation of a new Asian golden triangle is taking place between China, India and Nepal. These three countries, strategically placed with access to ports, land and natural resources may become a central hub of trade in Asia in the future. Keen to make this golden triangle a reality is India who is shunning the Tibetans. They started with a directive from their Foreign Secretary instructing ministers and officials to avoid Tibetan events.

India is clearly serious about strengthening ties with China in this post-Doklam period but there is a stumbling block in this new relationship – the Tibetans. Instead of always being an obstacle, and since they are hosted by India, Tibetans should actually follow India’s political direction and not get in the way like they have been for decades. It is time for the Tibetans to take responsibility for their own 95,000 people in exile and not just wait for the Dalai Lama to beg for foreign aid on his international trips.

China says ties with India developing with ‘sound momentum’
China said both sides have seen new achievements in political cooperation and various other fields, and that it wants to work with New Delhi to sort out their disputes to keep bilateral ties on the right track.
INDIA Updated: Mar 29, 2018 17:56 Ist
Indo Asian News Service, Beijing
The remarks from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang comes almost a year after Indian and Chinese armies came to blows over the disputed area of Doklam.(AFP)
China on Thursday said its ties with India have been on an upswing recently and both sides have seen new achievements in political cooperation and various other fields.
Beijing said it wants to work with New Delhi to sort out their disputes to keep bilateral ties on the right track.
“Recently, thanks to concerted efforts from the two sides, China-India relations have been developing with a sound momentum. We have seen new achievements in political cooperation and various fields,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.
Kang was responding to questions about India’s attempt to improve ties with China, including shifting the event of Dalai Lama, who Beijing calls a “splitist”, from New Delhi.
“We attach importance to developing ties with India. We would like to work with India under the guidance of our two leaders, to maintain our exchanges at all levels, enhance trust and properly manage our differences and ensure that bilateral relations could move forward along the right track,” Kang said.
A sort of bonhomie seems to have returned between the two countries whose armies almost came to blows along the disputed border area of Doklam last year.
Both sides have stepped up bilateral talks, with a host of high profile visits lined up between them.
Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan was in India to discuss the yawning trade deficit between the two countries.
Defence and External Affairs Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Sushma Swaraj are due to visit China in April.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in June in China.
China on Thursday also said it supports friendly ties between India and Nepal and that New Delhi, Kathmandu and Beijing are important neighbours to each other and can work together for common development.
Beijing also praised Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli remarks about the Himalayan nation maintaining an independent foreign policy.
“We commend the Nepali government’s commitment towards independent foreign policy. We also support Nepal developing friendly and positive relations with its neighbours,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.
“China, Nepal and India are important neighbours to each other. We hope these three could work together, have some sound interactions and achieve common development,” Lu added.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/china-says-ties-with-india-developing-with-sound-momentum/story-XxMaG88oo2I4deultsquFK.html

During the international security conference in Moscow, India’s Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with her Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe on the sidelines. Although no official details of the meeting are available, it is understood that the geopolitical security is one of the main concerns and border issues between the two countries were discussed.

At this rate, it won’t be long that the Tibetans are asked to leave India.

Nirmala Sitharaman Meets Chinese Defence Minister In Moscow
They are understood to have exchanged views on bilateral issues, particularly on the situation along the nearly 4,000 km-border between the two countries
All India | Press Trust of India | Updated: April 05, 2018 09:56 IST
The two leaders are in Moscow to attend the 7th Moscow Conference.
NEW DELHI:  Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday met her Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of an international security conference in Moscow.
They are understood to have exchanged views on bilateral issues, particularly on the situation along the nearly 4,000 km-border between the two countries, official sources said.
Both Nirmala Sitharaman and Wei are in Moscow to attend the 7th Moscow Conference on International Security.
Nirmala Sitharaman herself tweeted a picture of her meeting with Wei.
There was no official details about the meeting.
Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam from June 16 last year after the Indian side stopped building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. The face-off ended on August 28.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nirmala-sitharaman-meets-chinese-defence-minister-in-moscow-1833063

The Tibetan leadership seems determined to sabotage the union between India and China at a time when it was made known that India is trying hard to mend its relationship with China. Despite being asked to move their Thank You India event out of Delhi and a memo sent to all Indian ministers to not attend any Tibetan event, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) insisted on organising such an unnecessary event and went ahead to put up a show. Because of this, India was forced to send representatives to Dharamsala for the event, apprehensive of the potential damage and friction with China.

Is that how the Tibetans “thank” someone they appreciate? Well, India’s message back cannot be any clearer, if Tibetans in exile really want to thank India, then it’s time for them to go back to Tibet.

How the Tibetan Management Failed the Tibetan Trigger
By now, everyone should have heard about India’s change of policy towards the Tibetan people’s struggle to regain their country. While it is glazed with the usual dose of diplomacy, the Indian government’s message to the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) is clear — it’s time to go home.
Tibetan politicians have come out in force to put on a show of gratitude towards Mother India and at the same time, sought to put Modi’s government in a moral bind. Dhardon Sharling, the Secretary for the CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations, said in a recent interview that India is the foundation of the Tibetan cause, hinting that if the Tibetan people’s struggle were to fail, it is on India’s head. But that is not entirely correct.
If India is the CTA’s crutch, then the United States of America (US) must be its wooden leg. The impact of India’s decision to distance itself from the Tibetan struggle is exacerbated by the fact that at the same time, the US under the Trump presidency appears to no longer view the Dalai Lama and the Tibet card as valuable assets in its geopolitical manoeuvring amid the changing global order spurred by China’s relentless rise.
The presence of a Tibetan ‘government’ on Indian soil has strained relationships between India and China for 60 years.
In his concluding remarks at the 5th session of the 16th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, the CTA President Dr Lobsang Sangay boasted success in the procurement of ongoing US support for the Tibetan struggle. He was alluding to a spending bill President Trump signed a day before which, among other items the US Congress passed, included a grant to the CTA and the Tibetan struggle. Sangay claimed that the US grant “sends a political message” presumably that the Tibetan struggle can expect to remain vibrant, with the US playing the offensive line to Sangay’s quarterback.
However, the reality is not as flattering as Sangay would like the Tibetan refugees to believe. President Trump had in fact proposed zero aid to the Tibetan cause, but may have had to concede some spending as quid pro quo for certain items he wanted from Congress such as an enhanced defence budget and money for his vaunted ‘Mexican wall’. The CTA getting the money was the result of a trade-off and does not reflect Trump’s support of the Dalai Lama’s mission to regain control of Tibet. Trump is first and foremost a businessman, and any businessman worth his salt can see that there is far more to gain in making friends with the rising mighty dragon than to flog a somewhat anaemic old donkey.
In fact, Trump was not shy about making his feelings known, and he insinuated in the post Bill-signing press conference that the CTA grant ($8M for NGO programs in Tibet, $6M for programs in Tibetan refugee settlements, $3M for the CTA) was amongst those he considered a waste of American taxpayers’ money.
But Tibetans had begun losing US support even before that. During the December 2017 hearing on U.S. Policy towards Tibet, actor Richard Gere, as Chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, urged the Committee to deploy a number of actions needed to maintain the impetus of the Tibetan struggle.
Hearing on “U.S. Policy towards Tibet with the Testimony by Mr. Richard Gere. The original can be downloaded here.
He got none of what he asked for apart from what is in truth a minuscule grant which, when divided by the number of its intended beneficiaries, amounted to merely a few dollars per year per Tibetan refugee. This, under the utopian circumstances that the CTA will spend most if not every dollar on the Tibetan refugees.
This paltry sum that Sangay was celebrating pales into insignificance when weighed against an estimated $27 billion in foreign aid that was earmarked by the US for 2018/2019. The $17M received by the Tibetans represents a mere 0.06% of this sum and even then, it had to be forced out of Trump. And so, if indeed the US was sending a political message to the CTA, then the message is simply that the Tibetan struggle has outlived its usefulness.
What went wrong?
The CTA and supporters of the Dalai Lama would of course blame China’s deep pockets for the relegation of the Tibetan cause. They say China flashed the yuan strapped to her lacy garter belt and the nations of the world quickly abandoned their values and ethics and left the poor Tibetans to their own devices. China’s ascendancy is without a doubt a prime factor, but to blame everything on China is far too simplistic and shallow, although rather convenient. China didn’t become an economic powerhouse overnight, and it was decades before she managed to shake off the effects of Chairman Mao who, on his death, left China an economically backward and deeply divided and damaged nation.
There is more to the failure of the Tibetan cause than the China factor alone. The Tibetan leadership itself made its own significant contribution to the breakdown of the movement through a series of missteps that led to its loss of legitimacy, and it must accept a large share of the blame.
Here are some of the ways the CTA precipitated its own demise:
1. Feudal lords by any other name In a recent interview, the President of the CTA, Lobsang Sangay suggested that the CTA was a better choice than the Chinese Communist Party, and therefore deserving of global support, as though the comparison was between ‘Communism’ and ‘Buddhism’. While this grandiose assessment may sound appealing to some, it is nothing more than sophistry. Tibet pre-1959 was nothing like a Buddhist paradise for almost the entirety of its population. In fact, it was hell on earth and the majority of Tibetan people were not even regarded as citizens but as chattel, owned by their feudal lords.
Pre-Chinese invasion, Tibet was a brutal feudal theocracy where the majority of the Tibetan people were regarded as chattels by feudal lords and masters.
A more apt comparison would be between a historically and characteristically strict Communist regime that is making some effort to be more open and liberal, and an old and brutal feudal theocracy that, while it wears the mask of democracy deemed necessary to win the hearts and minds of Western supporters, in fact still thinks and acts like an overlord of the Tibetan people in exile.
The Tibetan leadership is characterized by the way it treats public resources like its own property (see the way Lobsang Sangay directed $1.5 Million from the Tibet Fund to prop up his Sikyong election campaign); demands and rewards personal loyalty to the point that corrupt officials such as the now suspended emissary Tenzin Dhonden are placed in key positions not for their capability but as a reward for their fealty to one or another of the CTA’s modern overlords, (Kaydor Akutsang is another example); and imposes a hierarchical social structure reinforced by religion. These are all traits of feudalism, not Buddhism.
Moreover, as much as one rejects or fears the CCP, it is also a fact that the Chinese government is opening up and relaxing its strict laws on matters such as religion.
In the meantime, the Tibetan leadership has all the veneer of a democratic government but has not hesitated to undermine its own constitution by:
Commandeering the management of Radio Free Asia (RFA), established to be the voice of democracy;
Unilaterally changing the ultimate objective goal of the Tibetan struggle without consulting the public;
Gerrymandering electoral rules to ouster political opponents such as Lukar Jam;
Firing officials (Penpa Tsering) for raising questions about irregularities in the accounts of a representative office of the CTA;
Prohibiting the practice of religions the leadership deems to be in competition for the people’s loyalty, and using parliamentary instrument to oppress the victims — see the CTA’s Dorje Shugden persecutions;
Forcing the closure of Mangsto (“Democracy”), a Tibetan newspaper that reviewed and commented on Tibetan exile politics;
While the above are just some of the known travesties perpetrated by the CTA, they mirror the reality of the CTA’s political intention, and the public knows this. And therefore whilst the CTA has managed to arouse enough condemnation of China, it has failed to transcend its own poor rap sheet, and ultimately failed to convince the world that it could do a better job than the CCP for the 6 million Tibetans back home.
2. No substance beyond rhetoric
The American politician William Clay once said of politics, “There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends, only permanent interests,” and never has this saying resonated more than in the situation the CTA finds itself today.
In a nutshell, the Tibetan leadership has failed to recognize that simple truth and to leverage the nigh 60 years of support it received from friendly and powerful nations in many different forms. The CTA never did bother to develop and finesse approaches and campaigns to engage with China even though it claimed not to seek rangzen (independence) but only umaylam (autonomy) which China has to some extent shown that she is capable of offering vis-à-vis Hong Kong.
President Donald Trump proposed zero aid to the Tibetan cause. The Unites States of America acknowledges the One China policy.
Instead, for 60 years, the Tibetan leadership was a one-trick pony. And that trick was to avail itself as a ready and willing instrument of US-led NATO members to needle China, to embarrass her in the eyes of the global public, and provoke her at every opportunity into actions that would justify NATO in further condemning her. This worked brilliantly for the CTA during the Cold War when NATO was in need of agents provocateurs, but when Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev took steps to thaw relations between the two respective blocs, and when the Berlin wall came down in 1991, the utility of the CTA began to decline. By 2018, India and the US’s interest had shifted towards China; the CTA now finds itself out in the cold.
Today, it would be quite challenging to find just a handful of supporters of the Tibetan struggle who can define accurately, let alone comprehensively, what exactly the ‘Tibetan cause’ is. Not even the Tibetans in exile agree on what they are supposed to be fighting for. Whether this is by the CTA’s design or negligence, the Tibetan leadership has allowed three generations of Tibetan lives to be no more than propaganda pawns, and when examined closely the so-called ‘Tibetan cause’ is all form and no substance.
Over time the global public has started to see that the CTA is quite content being a subsidized professional nuisance without much of an agenda apart from keeping the same song and dance going, an attitude very much reflected in the behaviour of the many pro-Tibet NGO’s who see the Tibetan people’s woes as an opportunity to help themselves.
3. Splintering the force behind the Tibetan struggle The worst crime the CTA inflicted on its own people was to sow the seeds of discord amongst an estranged community that was already small and weak. But the CTA’s lack of a plan, lack of sincere effort, and complete absence of progress meant that sooner or later, the Tibetan people would demand answers, and so it became necessary to create intra-communal conflicts. This, they did extremely effectively, interfering in the succession of the Karma Kagyu’s leadership, imposing prohibitions on the Dorje Shugden practice, promulgating old regional interests and conflicts, splitting the Tibetan people in exile over rangzen versus umaylam arguments. It is far easier to divide and rule than to do the hard yards and engage with China.
So whilst the CTA waxed lyrical about the critical importance of uniting behind a common cause, they were in fact creating causes for the opposite to happen. The Dorje Shugden prohibition was especially damaging to the Tibetan people for the simple reason it was an assault on the Gelug lineage which accounts for the largest percentage of the Tibetan populace. Ironically it also did the most harm to the CTA’s integrity because it exposed the CTA’s lack of sincere interest in upholding a democracy, the basis of its claim to be better than Communist China.
The Shugden ban was enforced by CTA proxies globally, and in their turn adherents of the ancient and sacred ritual defended their religious rights globally, turning the world into a reluctant stage for the airing of the Tibetan government’s dirty linen.
The CTA blames China for creating and feeding the conflict but it could never explain why China would foment unrest affecting 6 million Tibetans inside China whom it would eventually have to deal with. The Chinese government’s biggest headache is internal discord that could escalate into uprisings in its border regions and in fact, a conflict such as the Dorje Shugden turmoil does not benefit China. The CTA however, finds this ability to create problems for the CCP inside their own borders to be quite useful. History will judge whether the CTA sacrificed the ultimate Tibetan dream and mortgaged the unity of its own people so that it could continue to receive grants and subsidies simply for being a thorn in China’s side.
4. Personal agendas weaken leadership There is no denying that the odds were against the Tibetan government in exile. All the more important, then, that the Tibetan struggle should be carried forward by a capable leader who, in the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, is a dealer in hope and can inspire the people to action.
In 2012, the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile made changes to its by-laws which in effect placed Lobsang Sangay at the apex of the Tibetan political structure. This is the man Tibetans had empowered, who would lead them into the Promised Land or into oblivion, depending on his calibre and the strength of his resolution.
The CTA President Lobsang Sangay under whose leadership the Central Tibetan Administration was embroiled in a string of scandals and controversies.
It should have raised concerns that from the very beginning, Lobsang Sangay already had one foot out the door. The Tibetan people’s struggle does not mean the same to Lobsang Sangay (and indeed many CTA officials) as it does to ordinary Tibetan refugees.
To the people, the Tibetan cause goes way beyond merely seeking to reclaim their homeland. Its failure means that they have given up their lives for nothing, that they had hoped in vain for three generations, that they will have nothing to look forward to and to build their future on.
In the meantime, Lobsang Sangay’s home is in leafy Boston, USA, where his entire family resides. Sangay is an American citizen with a slush fund ready and therefore for him, it’s not a do-or-die mission but a question of a career move. If the Tibetan struggle eventually collapses, it would be no big affair for Sangay to resume his life as an American college lecturer and make a very good living by accepting speaking engagements and writing books reminiscing about a Tibet he has never set foot in. Hence, there was never any urgency, nor passion, nor innovation in Sagay’s lead.
In fact, under his presidency the CTA was beset by infighting and a string of allegations of corruption and abuse of power. As a result, the Tibetan struggle lost traction and began to fade as one country after another distanced itself from the Tibetan cause.
Sangay tells the Tibetan people to remain as poor refugees even though many qualify for Indian citizenship. Under his directive the CTA made it effectively taboo for anyone to even consider Indian citizenship, which is a key to a new life. Sangay feared that if enough people were given the opportunity to reconstruct their lives, the Tibetan cause would lose the vital element of human suffering. In order to retain his relevance, he needed the Tibetan people to remain a visible reminder of China’s oppression. In the meantime, Sangay and most of his Cabinet were quietly hanging on to their foreign passports and permanent residency.
Aung San Suu Kyi changed the face of Myanmar politics whilst in a 14-year house arrest.
Nelson Mandela who became the embodiment of political change in South Africa by his sacrifices.
In the end many Tibetan refugees found that they were better off on their own as they began to strike out for distant lands such as the US, Canada and parts of Europe — as well as the more immediate Nepal — rather than wait for the leaders to get their act together. As news of Tibetans in China doing better became more common and residents of the Tibet Autonomous Region experienced increasing prosperity ), other Tibetans in exile decided to find their way home without relying on the CTA.
The simple fact is the CTA has suffered from poor leadership whose initiatives did nothing more than arm the Dalai Lama’s charisma and send it into war with China. As the Dalai Lama grew older and weaker, so did the Tibetan cause.
Lobsang Sangay would argue that facing tremendous disadvantage, there was little he could have done. But then again, Nelson Mandela shaped the evolution of South African politics while sitting in prison for 27 years and Aung San Suu Kyi achieved her objectives for the Burmese people during her 14 years under house arrest.
The Tibetan Government in Exile has had almost 60 year to prove its mettle. During that time, it has enjoyed moral and financial support from around the world in its David versus Goliath struggle with China. But in its single minded focus on one-upmanship and demonization of its powerful neighbour, it has forgotten about the very people for whom it is supposed to be fighting, and even today, its plans and programmes to facilitate their homeland, or at least improve their future — or even their present — remain nebulous at best. The CTA has fast become irrelevant, and it has only itself to blame.
https://pacific.epeak.in/2018/04/05/how-the-tibetan-management-failed-the-tibetan-trigger/

In 1992, Tai Situ, a regent of the Karma Kagyu lineage recognized a boy as the 17th Karmapa, endorsed by the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala. This move went against tradition as the Tibetan leadership has NEVER been involved in the recognition of the Karmapas AND it has been the Shamarpa who is traditionally responsible for recognizing the incarnations of the Karmapa.

Today, Rumtek Monastery, the main seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage outside Tibet is not known for its sacred relics, but as a focal point for the sectarian tensions and violence because of the Karmapa rivalry, thanks to the Tibetan leadership.

Situ Rinpoche Returns to India
Sanjeev Miglani
A letter from His Holiness the Dalai Lama (September 11, 1998) states:
“Tai Situ Rinpoche is known to me since many years and I can vouch (for him). I have full confidence in him and I believe that Rinpoche has much to offer through his spiritual leadership in the Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. I am therefore happy that Rinpoche has returned to India since recently.”
The following report has been compiled by Norma Levine from an article which appeared in the Himalayan Voice Aug/Sept 1998.
On August 25, 1998, a huge and colourful crowd of monks, nuns and Lamas as well as representatives of the different Tibetan Buddhist sects, and Buddhist organizations gathered at Indira Gandhi International airport to accord a warm and affectionate welcome to HE Tai Situ Rinpoche (who had been banned “due to the persuasion of Sharmapa Lama and his dissident followers”).
Many of the crowd wore traditional dress and were carrying banners and burning incense (List of various delegations below) The Lamas and Rinpoches formed a long line on both sides of the departure lounge of the airport and waited expectantly for over an hour while the flight was delayed, to receive Rinpoche’s blessing. Finally, Rinpoche came out from the airport amidst a round of warm applause. There were tears in the eyes of many Lamas; some even sobbed.
The next day, the Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association organized a traditional reception and long life prayers for Rinpoche at the impressive Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Chief guest was the Hon. Minister for Urban Affairs, Mr Ram Jethmalani. After lighting lamps and chanting long life prayers, there were speeches from the Chairman of the Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association, Mr Karma Tobdan, member of the Rajya Sabha from Sikkim, and Dr Ananda Kumar, Professor at Nehru University and Secretary of the Bharat-Tibet Friendship Association. All speakers commented on Rinpoche’s contribution to world peace, specifically his ceaseless battle for the underprivileged, and of the deep faith of the Himalayan people towards him. Guest speaker, Mr Jethmalani apologised on behalf of the Indian Government and claimed it had been a mistake on their part that Rinpoche had been exiled from India.In an emotionally charged speech, he said, “The Buddha is the beacon light and that light will become the shining light of the world” .
At the end of the reception, Tai Situpa was presented with offering scarves and flowers by representatives and Rinpoches from Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Delhi etc.
List of Nepalese Buddhist delegations: Dhilyak Monastery, Thrangu Tashi Choling, Nenang Pawo Monastery, Benchen Gompa, Kyodrak Tenyi Gompa, Karma Thinley Gompa, Shechen Tenyi Thargeyling, Karmapa Sewa Sangh Samiti, Him Khar Gompa, Jamgon Labrang, Dege Welfare Ass’n, Yolmo Ass’n, Nangchen Welfare Ass’n, Lingtsang Welfare Ass’n, Deling Dungdrub Society, Ngedon Osel Ling, Swyandbud.
Areas represented: Ladakh, Lahul, Spiti, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Dharmsala and Bhutan.
The following speech was given by Tai Situ Rinpoche during the reception ceremony held in his honour on the occasion of his return to Sherabling. (published in the Himalayan Voice (II) 3, Aug/Sept 1998 pp. 39-41)
“I am so happy that you have come today, all of you here lead by our chief guest, the minister for religious affairs, all you incarnate Lamas who have willingly taken rebirth for the sake of sentient beings, you abbots adorned with the nine qualities of noble scholars, the sangha who possess the seven qualities of knowledge and liberation, officials of the government of the Tibetan people in Dharamsala, heads of local settlements, the general public, teachers of the schools, heads of the local Indian regions, local public, and people from Sikkim, Ladakh, Kunnu and other Himalayan regions, and private individuals who have made their own way here from Bhutan, Nepal and so on.
If I explain why I am so happy: In brief, if you think of me, I am very low in having the intelligence of a wise person and the experiential realisations of an established saint. However, because of the pure lineage of gurus and the kindness of the unique specialisations of the pure lineage of great minds, I have received the blessings of pratimoksa, bodhisattva and vajrayana vows. In the same way that I have received the blessings of these three traditions of vows, I will strive to maintain their purity, without defect in my practice. In addition to that also, I have a name or title, and in accordance with that title, I must strive to maintain the teachings of the Buddha because of my title as a Buddhist elder. Therefore I strive to serve the welfare of sentient beings as much as I can.
To this purpose, therefore, dusing the past few years, I have been continuously making prayers with a pure heart for the sake of all sentient beings. I pray that there may be no obstructions to the increase of the Buddha’s teachings in the holy land of the noble ones. With regard to my body, however, I didn’t have the chance to be here and fulfill my purpose in India. But now, at this moment, the opportunity has arisen for me to return and serve the purpose of the Buddha’s teachings in India once more. I feel that this is highly meritorious. So I am very happy that you have all come here today on such an occasion and have given me your best wishes, for which I thank you very much.
All of us here are followers of the Buddha. The blessed Buddha first cultivated the thought of enlightenment and then, through his period of training, he accumulated meritorious virtue for three countless aeons. Finally, at the end of this time, he attained pure and perfect enlightenment, and then he taught the immeasurable and unfathomable lower and higher vehicles of the methods to salvation. To his ordinary followers he gave numberless teachings, and to his rare and gifted disciples he gave profound teachings on the secret path of vajrayana. Whoever follows these teachings is a Buddhist. For all of us who have had the chance to enter the vajrayana, it is as if the flower had fallen upon our own deity and this arises as a result of a vast accumulation of virtue from previous lives. This is highly fortunate. However, having attained this opportunity, we should not waste it. Nor should we allow the dharma to decline. We should cause the Dharma to flourish and increase, and whatever Dharma has declined should be restored. This is the duty and responsibility of all those who practise the Dharma. That duty rests on our own shoulders. Therefore I on my part have continuously striven in this matter. Even now I am striving and will continue to strive for this.
As for His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the sole deity of us Tibetans, he upon whom our flower has fallen and the great object of refuge for all Buddhists in the world, for him too, these are his intentions. The dharma teachings that can help all sentient beings are in our hands. But we did not receive this because we are capable of uplifting all beings, nor did we attain these teachings on our own merits alone, nor because we won them in debate. We hold these teachings due to the blessings of Avalokitesvara, whom we have honoured and worshipped for many lifetimes with body, speech and mind, and our flower has fallen upon him. The spread of Dharma is his intention. In the popular oral tradition there is a saying: ‘One says MANI and mummy at the same time’ (ie Tibetans learn the 6 syllable mantra at their mother’s knee as one of the first things they can say). This is clear proof of our connection with him.
For all these reasons, we should practise these teachings for the sake of peace in the world as the noble Avalokitesvara intends, not merely with our lips but sincerely from the heart. Lay people, also, should have their own appropriate way of acting. If we do all these things distinctly without mistakes, outwardly, inwardly and secretly, we may serve the Buddha well and accomplish much for the sake of all sentient beings and accomplish the intentions of Avalokitesvara, the father of all the Buddhas.
When I speak from that viewpoint, it is highly fortunate for me to be back in India serving the cause of sentient beings and the Buddha-Dharma once more. Here, in the holy land of India, we have the opportunity to accomplish the goals of this and future lives. Speaking for myself, I was born in Tibet but brought up here in India. And the same is true for many of the people here. This is because we have some karmic connection with the holy land of India which has been blessed by the feet of the glorious Buddha. It is a matter of great merit and joy that we have this opportunity to practise Dharma and accomplish our own and others’ welfare throughout this and future lives. Thus we may be able to accomplish the intentions of the noble Avalokitesvara by being in India, a land also blessed by the appearance of Avalokitesvara himself, a land that lies under the shadow of his great compassion.
People of India and the government of India continue to be so kind to us and we think of them with that affection normally reserved for our own parents. They have been so kind as if we were relatives in the same family… (text corruption here)
I am aware of this from the depths of my heart. I am so fortunate to meet you all here today. I am not able to say many vast and profound things to you all just now, because all I can tell you is as much as I know, as far as I can reach with my mind. I have nothing more to say beyond this. In brief, the teachings of the Buddha are to be good at heart. If someone harms you, you should think of him with pity. He is under the sway of harmful emotions and, not observing the law of karma, he is oppressed by strong emotions. ‘May he not suffer as a result. May he become free of the tyranny of the five poisonous afflictions.’ This is what Buddhists should think. So in whatever circumstances you should find yourself in trouble, with family, friends or neighbours, one should cherish bodhicitta and practise it from the heart, not merely mutter it with the mouth. When the noble Avalokitesvara speaks of the path of non-violence and peace, he refers to bodhicitta. These teachings of good heart are the most important teachings of the Buddha. This is the gist of all the holy ones in the lineage, from the primordial Buddha to one’s own root guru. Therefore we should keep all of this within our minds.
I am so happy that we could all meet here today. To all of you I wish good fortune. TASHI DELEGS. I pray that the incarnation of the lord Avalokitesvara may live long. May his life be stable and firm and may his activities increase and spread wide. May the victorious Vajradhara Karmapa live long and may his activities prosper. With regard to him also, I pray that the victorious Karmapa may come to India as soon as possible so that he may be established at Rumtek monastery and his many followers may be able to receive his blessings and advice. This is for the benefit of all sentient beings. I also pray fervently that all of you here may turn your minds towards the Dharma, and that the Dharma may be a proper path, and that this path dispels illusion so that illusion gives rise to transcendental wisdom.”
English translation by Martin Boord and Karma Phunsho, Oxford, November 27, 1998.
http://www.quietmountain.org/links/situ_rinpoche/situ_return.htm

Amongst all those who vehemently attack Dorje Shugden practitioners online, one person seems to stand out like a sore thumb – Tenzin Peljor. He is even said to be operating several websites registered under various aliases to negatively influence online discussion regarding the Shugden controversy and sway opinion in his favour. These websites claim to be the premier sources for “authoritative and independent information” on the subject.

The investigation uncovered the hidden agenda behind his websites and his connections with the leadership of the Tibetans in-exile. Apparently, he was hired to ensure that propaganda ostracizing and persecuting Shugden practitioners continues unabated, even to the level of inciting violence on innocent people.

Tenzin Peljor – Disgruntled Monk or CTA Puppet?
Updated, & there is now a further article connected to this subject here.
In researching the issues around the Dalai Lama controversy I was surprised to see the same group of names kept cropping up. There appeared to be a small Dalai Lama fan club that was aggressively promoting its “anti-protest” stance and within that group there was one name that seemed to dominate all their activities – Tenzin Peljor.
I stumbled across Mr Peljor early in my research, or to be more precise I had been directed to several of his websites for “authoritative and independent information” on the subject. It would appear that he has become an “unbiased expert” according to his friends in the group, but what they don’t mention are his close ties to the Dalai Lama and the exile leadership.
They also fail to mention that he has been aggressively campaigning against the protests for over 8 years and that he runs numerous websites registered under different aliases and tries to influence online discussions using several false identities. On further inspection Mr Peljor’s activities are anything but “unbiased and independent”, and more closely resemble those of an activist promoting a specific and clearly defined agenda.
His “independent websites” are listed as resources for journalists by the Tibetan exile leadership, he is promoted to journalists by Tibetan NGOs, he is the media spokesperson for the German Buddhist organisation DBO, and he targets any journalist and publication that portrays the protests in a positive light. For a monk whose main activities are teaching at a Buddhist centre in Berlin he is remarkably active and engaged in this controversy, almost as if it was his full-time job.
As with all the sources I come across in my research I did some background checks to see if he was as independent as he claims and to what degree his presentation of information could be influenced by those it benefits. Scratching the surface of his ‘independent monk’ facade revealed quite a bit more than I had initially suspected.
An ex-NKT Member
Tenzin Peljor is often very up front about his prior involvement with the NKT, after all he uses this as a basis for his credibility when it comes to the protests. He joined the NKT in 1995/96 according to his biography, becoming ordained in 1998 and later disrobing and leaving the group in 2000.
Both Tenzin and the teacher he had in the NKT decided to leave at the same time, after which he continued to be her student. He took ordination again in 2002 in Nepal, but disrobed after only 2 months and began studying with a new teacher from the Rime tradition.
In March 2006 after 4 years in Rime he then took ordination from the Dalai Lama in India, who gave him the name Tenzin Peljor.
It was soon after his ordination, that Mr Peljor began to take an interest in countering the protests. His approach followed much the same modus operandi as the Tibetan government, namely to try and undermine the credibility of the protests by attacking the NKT.
It’s worth noting at this point that prior to the protests the Dalai Lama had no problem with Geshe Kelsang Gyatso or the NKT. He had written the foreword to Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s book, “Buddhism in the Tibetan Tradition”, and a note of praise in another of his books, “Meaningful to Behold”. It was only after the protests began that the Tibetan exile leadership started to attack Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and smear the NKT, attempting to label it as a cult.
Following his ordination by the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Peljor remained in India and began to assist the Tibetan government (CTA) with their disinformation campaign. He began by editing pages on Wikipedia, rapidly becoming the main editor for the page about the NKT.
His attempts to redefine the NKT on Wikipedia however seem to have been so clumsy that it aroused the suspicion of other editors. In describing Tenzin’s approach one of the Wikipedia editors stated:
“I’m very concerned that the opinions and viewpoints of a relatively small number of individuals is drawn upon as the source material for a large portion of the article, which is representative of the point of view of a single editor who, in his determination to ensure that the article fully describes his own perspective, has dominated the editing process.” (ClockworkSoul, 23rd October 2006)
The Birth of the Survivors
As Tenzin’s campaign to discredit the NKT on Wikipedia was starting to lose ground he then switched tack and focussed his attention towards online Buddhist chat groups, in particular he became very active on a group called e-Sangha. It was on this group that he struck up a friendship with David Cutshaw, a disillusioned ex-NKT member and encouraged him to start a new discussion group.
The group that Tenzin wanted Mr Cutshaw to set up was to be focussed only on the negative aspects of the NKT, it was to be named the “NKT Survivors” group and any pro-NKT messages were to be strictly forbidden. The idea was that the group would encourage people to leave the NKT and only post their negative experiences and opinions of them. Their rules state:
“No NKT members/followers/students are allowed.
If you are happy with the NKT, and have no desire to leave, this group is not for you. If you join anyway trying to post and try to get Yahoo to delete this group, we can only assume you are a troll trying to cause disharmony. Such people will be banned and removed at once from the group.”
Tenzin offered to support David in the creation of the group, but wanted to avoid being directly linked to it as its creator. In this way Tenzin had found the perfect surrogate to continue his online activities against the NKT.
The group was created on May 22nd 2007 and Tenzin was the first person other than David to post on it. He assisted with moderating the group, approving new members, editing its settings, and profile.
At the time of the groups creation Tenzin was still residing within the Tibetan exile community in India, however a few weeks later he was promoted to the position of Resident Monk at Bodhicharya Centre in Berlin. From his new base in Berlin he continued to be central to its development, shaping the “survivors” group and focussing its narrative portraying the NKT as a cult.
After a few months the group appeared to be achieving the goal Tenzin had failed to accomplish the previous year with Wikipedia.
On 31st Dec 2007 he posted to the group stating, “At the New Years Day I will move to Italy, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, and pick up a qualified study there for the next 6 years.”, adding, “I will leave the forum at the New Years Day…If there is anybody who feel he can support David’s moderator activities, please let him know privately.”
Instituto Lama Tzong Khapa is a centre of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) a Tibetan group that follows the Dalai Lama. Clearly the FPMT centre approved of Tenzin’s activities because within 2 months of his arrival there he resumed his activities on the “survivors” group.
Weaving Websites and Alliances
In April 2008 another series of protests began as the Dalai Lama visited the US. In response to these Tenzin created two websites registered under an alias which according to him offered, “fair, neutral, and balanced information regarding NKT and Buddhist cults in general.”
The websites were registered under the false name of Losang Tashi, to an address in Gotha, the town in East Germany where Tenzin was born. In a post on May 21st 2008 to the “survivors” group he said, “maybe we use the power of the many people here and the motivation to protect others (giving fearlesness) by setting up 1-2 websites.”
Rather than offering fair or neutral information both websites were a continuation of his online campaign to undermine the protests by attempting to discredit the NKT. Had his intention been wholesome you would need to ask why a Buddhist monk with vows against lying was using a false name when registering websites?
Then in July 2008 Jamyang Khedrup posted a comment promoting one of Tenzin’s websites under a New York Times article about the protests. What I found interesting was that as I dug deeper into Tenzin’s background I found the same people who have been involved with his campaigning for a long time.
By this point in my research I had already encountered Jamyang Khedrup whilst investigating his involvement with the LamaGate hacking scandal, but I had no idea his involvement with Tenzin stretched as far back as 2008.
The reason I didn’t know Khedrup’s involvement went so far back is because he was posting to the ‘survivors’ group using a false identity. For 6 months in 2008 Khedrup used the name Lobsang Jangchub in numerous posts to the group. Many people responded to his comments addressing him by the name Lobsang. At no time did he ever try to correct them or explain that wasn’t his name.
The fact that both Tenzin and Khedrup were using false identities whilst posting comments to the ‘survivors’ group raises significant questions about the accuracy of other users identities and claims.
Significant discrepancies have already been uncovered with Khedrup’s accounts of his involvement with LamaGate, and here is yet another occasion where his credibility is called into question.
The Hidden Hand
Seeking to expand his sphere of influence beyond his own websites and the “survivors” group Tenzin began to strike up a relationship with Dialogue Ireland, a website which focuses on religious movements. Prior to Tenzin’s involvement his friend, Joanne Clark had also been in touch with them to offer her services as a self-proclaimed”expert” on Tibetan Buddhism.
Tenzin and Joanne’s approach in the Dialogue Ireland forums seemed to follow a pattern of promoting both Tenzin’s websites and the “survivors” group. In his attempt to form a stronger bond with Dialogue Ireland, Tenzin wrote to them explaining his position:
“I am much interested into the dynamics of Nazi, Stasi, dictatorship, totalitarian systems, and I am an admirer of Jay Lifton and Margaret Thaler Singer. I run also a website about the dynamics of Buddhist cults in German language. So we share quite a lot.”
Yet when they tried to ask him questions about his background he became very defensive, refusing to answer them. Tenzin said, “I don’t see any use to answer. My experience recently at DI [Dialogue Ireland] was that whatever I say will be misunderstood or misinterpreted and finally twisted.” adding, “Also I am not interested in any online discussion about me. East German biographies can be complex.”
A common theme in Tenzin’s response to critics is that they are “twisting” the facts, especially when someone is trying to pin him down on a specific point. It’s interesting that Tenzin used to be in the National People’s Army (NPA) in East Germany, which was strongly influenced by the Soviet Armed Forces, working as a radio operator.
His comments about the protests often accuse them of using ‘agitprop’, which is a Soviet style of propaganda, a methodology he would have been all too familiar with from his previous training. Unfortunately he didn’t expand on his “complex” biography, so we don’t know what type of activities he was employed to perform by the NPA, or what areas his training encompassed.
In 2013 Dialogue Ireland started to use Chris Chandler as their expert on Tibetan Buddhism and approached the issue as a problem with Lamaism, rather than just one or two specific traditions. Chris, who had been involved with Tibetan Buddhism for 30 years, raised the issue that Lamaism is a form of Tantric Hinduism. So it was not a question of focussing on the NKT as a cultish form of Buddhism, but was a case of finding the exact same tendencies and attitudes in all forms of Tibetan Buddhism, including those following the Dalai Lama.
Their new outlook limited the degree to which Tenzin could manipulate their website to promote his own agenda and when they began to look into Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, one of Tenzin’s teachers, he disengaged from them completely. (You can read Dialogue Ireland’s article about Tenzin Peljor in full here https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/tenzin-peljor-ordained-by-the-dalai-lama-and-connected-to-ringu-tulku/)
By this point Joanne had already left the Dialogue Ireland site, but when she heard that Chris was their new expert she returned with a vengence. As one person said, “She was like someone high on drink, totally under the influence.”
Dialogue Ireland stated:
“However since Chris has been the catalyst for our understanding of Lamaism as the cultist form of Buddhism Joanne has been like a Banshee on our site morning, noon and night. She disagrees with Chris’s analysis but can’t just get up and go. She is now camping on the site.”
A Sudden Increase
Following his failed attempt at using Dialogue Ireland to undermine the NKT, Tenzin Peljor spent the following years expanding the number of his own websites that he could control and direct, rather than having to rely upon others. During this period his group of websites grew from two to eight, and everything was proceeding as normal for him until 2014.
Prior to 2014 the protests generally garnered a relatively small degree of media coverage. Whilst they were mentioned on several newscasts in the mainstream media it was often along the lines of the Tibetan government’s media briefing notes, so the issues behind the protests were rarely covered.
That all changed in Oslo when the Dalai Lama returned to celebrate his Nobel Peace Prize and the media took a greater interest in the protests. This attention seemed to gradually build from one protest to another which prompted a corresponding increase in activity from Tenzin Peljor and his compatriots.
In the 8 months prior to May 2014 there were on average 16 messages a month posted on the “survivors” discussion board, however in May this figure jumped up to 144 messages. The vast majority of them were posted over the days when the protests were taking place in Oslo.
At the same time the “survivors” were asking what they could do to counter the protests the exile leadership were asking the exact same question, and before long the two groups were working hand in hand. The “NKT Survivors” became the “NKT Survivor Activists”, and at the request of people associated with the exile leadership they began a new phase in their campaign to try and discredit the protesters.
One of their first actions involved the creation of a declaration against the protests by ex-members of the NKT. Originally this was presented as coming from Carol McQuire and Tenzin as a spontaneous idea of their own.
On 5th November however Carol admitted that it wasn’t their idea saying, “we were asked to do the declaration, it didn’t come from us, but we thought it was a great idea and agreed to do this as it would help the situation.”, adding, “Once we were asked to join in, we haven’t looked back – it’s been so inspiring working with a load of amazing people”
There was a slight problem with the first version of the declaration though, it included the following text, “We acknowledge there may be some problems within the Tibetan community that need to be addressed”. This had to be removed from subsequent versions of the declaration before the exile leadership would allow it to be put on the CTA’s official website.
In explaining this on his own website Tenzin let slip, “One of the initiators of the declaration wished for a change”, then he presented both the old version and the changed version.
The declaration was then added to the Tibetan government’s official website (Tibet.net) at the very top of the page dedicated to the Dorje Shugden controversy. The significance of its placement should not be underestimated. It appears before any statements from the CTA and the Dalai Lama, which is somewhat unusual for a declaration signed by only 24 ex-NKT members who are supposedly unconnected to the exile leadership.
A New Website
Despite all the best efforts of Tenzin and the CTA the media was undeterred. They continued to take an interest in the protests and the Dalai Lama found himself facing questions about them during every press conference. The coverage in Hamburg seemed pivotal in that it was both widespread and also became the top news story on Google about the Dalai Lama.
Following Hamburg a new website was created specifically for the media to counteract the protests. It was a website that was designed to be both anonymous, yet have the support of Tibet House in the US. No name was associated with it, no contact details, and it was registered through a domain proxy service, designed to keep the registrant’s details hidden.
At the bottom of the website the disclaimer stated:
“Official Tibet Houses are cultural centers of HH the Dalai Lama, non-profit organizations devoted to the preservation of Tibetan culture. This site appears with their approval since, while not responsible for producing the site or its content, the misrepresentations of Tibetan culture generated by this controversy distort and negatively affect the public perception of Tibetan culture.”
It was all very mysterious and Tenzin Peljor made no mention of the website until someone posted a comment on his website drawing his attention to it. He pretended to know nothing about the website until this comment on October 19th, however he had set one of his own websites to redirect to this new website two days previously, on October 17th.
The mystery deepened when I was discussing some of the controversy with Professor Robert Thurman on the fateful night of the LamaGate incident. It seemed that Professor Thurman was confused about who I am and was convinced that I had suggested to him that he should create the website.
On 30th October Prof. Thurman stated to me that, “we prepared shugdeninfo.com for you @IndyHack”, adding, “We produced this site on your suggestion @IndyHack”
I was a little baffled to say the least. Prof. Thurman was saying quite clearly that he was involved with the creation of the new website (shugdeninfo.com) and yet Tenzin Peljor had redirected his own domain name (shugden.info) to Thurman’s new site. It was too much of a coincidence for me to drop and I was encouraged that there was now a direct link between Thurman and Peljor, albeit a slightly difficult one to prove categorically.
Fortunately Tenzin helped out with that a few weeks later.
When is a Coincidence not a Coincidence?
When you’re dealing with investigations it’s tricky to pin down exact evidence to prove your case – people sometimes lie and when you catch them out they usually refuse to admit it. Often times you also have to deal with associations of probabilities, you look for groupings of supposedly unconnected events that push the boundaries of coincidence.
The fact Prof. Thurman had admitted direct involvement with the shugdeninfo.com website was a welcome and unexpected gift. It went beyond the mere approval of the site by Tibet House US and indicated that he had been directly involved in its creation with one or more other people. The fact that Tenzin was redirecting his domain to the site before anyone had told him about it on his blog was also helpful, as was his pretense not to know about it until that point, but it still wasn’t enough.
Then there was another unexpected gift, Tenzin updated the registration of his domain (shugden.info) through the same anonymous service as shugdeninfo.com and hosted it on the same servers as shugdeninfo.com. Now both domain names had exactly the same settings.
Conclusions
When delving beyond the facade of a ‘simple monk’ or ‘independent expert’ we find that Tenzin Peljor’s background is far from simple or independent.
Here we have someone who in their youth was a Radio Operator in the National People’s Army, and who is familiar with the Soviet style of government propaganda. By his own admission he is, “interested into the dynamics of Nazi, Stasi, dictatorship, totalitarian systems” and has a complex East German biography (including his own Stasi file).
He’s an ex-NKT member, so that would account for his interest in speaking out against them, but there’s a huge gap of 6 years between him leaving the NKT and beginning his online campaign against them, which doesn’t tally. The timing of his campaign seems more closely related to his ordination by the Dalai Lama than his experiences within the NKT.
Moreover his approach to attacking the NKT seems to be in response to their involvement with the protests, rather than being a “survivor”. He began to develop his own websites only in response to the protests in 2008.
Tenzin claims the purpose of his websites are, “to counter the misinformation campaign of the NKT”, yet his own approach appears to be promoting the disinformation campaign of the Tibetan exile leadership. He also created a declaration and canvassed for signatures on it because he was instructed to by people who objected to even the slightest criticism of the Tibetan community.
His new website in response to the media coverage of the protests in 2014 appears to have been created in collaboration with Professor Thurman, who is alleged to have tried to solicit anonymous to hack protesters Twitter accounts (more here). His domain which redirects to the new website is also now hidden behind the same anonymous registration service that Thurman used.
Overall Tenzin Peljor’s campaign against the NKT seems more related to the protests than any negative experiences he had whilst being a member of the group. The level and depth of his involvement over such an extensive time period goes beyond the expected response of a disgruntled “survivor”.
Mr Peljor appears to be an activist who is promoting a clearly defined and well structured campaign. The fact that his campaign started whilst he was living within the Tibetan exile community in India seems to indicate the main influencing factor behind it.
He is well funded and has significant resources and time to invest in this issue that don’t fit with his role as a resident monk at Bodhicharya Centre. For instance at one point he offered to fly to Ireland to discuss his Stasi background when issues about it arose.
The logical conclusion is that Tenzin Peljor is acting in accordance with the wishes of the CTA as one of their de facto agents. The persona he projects as being an ex-NKT “survivor” simply trying to right the wrongs he experienced is nothing other than a smokescreen.
The problem he has with this facade is that it is poorly crafted and badly executed. When exposed to a sustained investigation it crumbles to reveal his close involvement with, and oversight from, the Tibetan exile leadership.
Update – 30th Dec 2014
Today Carol McQuire has publicly accused me of lying and taking advantage of Tenzin’s current ‘absent’ status. In a recent post on social media she said that Tenzin is currently on retreat at Drepung Monastery until April, so she has sprung valiantly to his defense.
Amongst the various inaccuracies in Carol’s post she has likened the timing of this article to, “someone in a boxing ring deliberately hitting a last strike after the whistle has been blown”, claiming it is published at a time when Tenzin is unable to respond to it. This is untrue.
Carol posted her comments a few hours after Tenzin had posted a new article on his blog. Tenzin had also posted a comment on social media about his new article 2 hours prior to Carol’s post. So her claim that Tenzin is somehow absent from this situation is incorrect.
If he is on retreat at Drepung Monastery as claimed then it is a retreat which allows him to continue to work on his blog and social media. As usual with Tenzin and his friends their accounts often crumble when a small degree of scrutiny is applied to them.
She is also incorrect in stating that the initial version of the ex-NKT declaration was posted on the CTA website – Tibet.net. It is only the version which contains no reference to any criticism of the Tibetan community that was ever posted on Tibet.net.
Carol said, “the first version of the declaration was already published on the CTA’s website before the second had even been thought of. How sad that such an enormous theory of political intrigue that IndyHack has developed has quite differing origins.”
Unfortunately for Carol her desperate attempt to try and refute the claims made in my article only destroys her own credibility.
http://www.arebuddhistsracist.com/tenzin_peljor.html

It is due to the kindness of the Indian Government that the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans have been living safely in exile. They do not even have to pay a single cent in tax. Some may say it is only fair because the Dalai Lama is not only a refugee but a spiritual leader who speaks about peace and compassion.

This article highlights a very dodgy system that lacks transparency. It is not even clear where the millions of dollars donated to the trust actually go. With the Dalai Lama’s ‘personal emissary’ suspended over allegations of corruption, and a US$1.5 million loan that went ‘missing’ under Sikyong Lobsang Sangay’s administration, will an investigation into the Dalai Lama’s Charitable Trust reveal more dirt on the Tibetan leadership?

Questions Raised on Dalai Lama Charitable Trust
April 14, 2018 Artvoice
By Indy Mack
Throughout his time in exile the Indian Government has allowed the Dalai Lama to live tax-free and turned a blind eye to his audacious international tax avoidance scheme. Many of the profits from his overseas tours are funneled back to India into a fund called, “His Holiness the Dalai Lama Charitable Trust”, and people are told that profits from his events are used for charitable purposes that the Dalai Lama deems appropriate. However many believe that this is not a charitable trust, but opine that is instead the Dalai Lama’s own private trust fund, that according to at least one trustee he treats as “his personal bank account”.
Although its name implies that it is a charitable trust, “His Holiness the Dalai Lama Charitable Trust”, was registered under the Indian Trusts Act in Calcutta in 1964, which could allow a private trust to manage the Dalai Lama’s personal investments, not as a charitable trust. In its opinion Allied Legal, beloveds that “Despite popular belief a Charitable Trust will be registered under the Indian Registration Act not under the Indian Trusts Act.”
Being a charitable trust allows for Millions of dollars of tax avoidance preventing any levy for his public appearances being paid the host the nationt. Furthermore the trust fund is also believed to pay for the Dalai Lama’s own activities and entertainment. Whilst it does make many charitable donations the Dahli Lama seems to also use this fund to indulge his lavish lifestyle such as his 15 Rolex watches, his pastry chef, and his entourage of servants.
Since this mechanism was first discovered the Dalai Lama published a website claiming the trust, “was established…as an irrevocable public trust”, which is untrue. According to R&A Associates, a specialist Indian law firm, “The provisions of the Indian Trusts Act do not apply to Public Trusts”. As the fund was established under the Indian Trusts Act it was created as a private trust, not a public one.
The Dalai Lama also started to publish limited financial records of its activities. However these records don’t reveal the amounts that are used for the Dalai Lama’s own personal activities, they only cover 4 years of expenditures, and are highly condensed.
From the limited records released it’s impossible for the public to tell exactly what the money is being spent on, or to what degree the Dalai Lama personally benefits from the fund. In addition, all of the funds trustees are close subordinates to the Dalai Lama and they follow his exact instructions on how the money is used.
One current trustee of “His Holiness the Dalai Lama Charitable Trust” admitted privately that the Dalai Lama uses the fund as “his personal bank account”. They explained that in Tibet there was a government treasury that belonged to the Dalai Lama and that he sees this as “the same thing”.
They admitted it was common knowledge among all the trustees that after each event overseas the Dalai Lama would be “paid his share of the profits” through the trust. They also stated the Dalai Lama would often demand “a minimum donation” before he would agree to a visit.
The key difference between whether a fund is private or charitable lies in where the money goes. A charitable trust can only use its funds to fulfill its defined charitable aims. Although it can reimburse people who work for it, it cannot use its assets to fund someone’s personal lifestyle. Since “His Holiness the Dalai Lama Charitable Trust” uses some of its funds to pay for the Dalai Lama’s personal living expenses it functions as a private fund. The fact that all of its trustees are under the direct control of the Dalai Lama also raises doubts over its authenticity.
https://artvoice.com/2018/04/14/questions-raised-dalai-lama-charitable-trust/#.WtPG4y5uaM-

While the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; the Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala) are not capable at all of making a positive difference in the lives of Tibetans in-exile, they are more than capable of blaming others for their failures. They like to call critics and those who challenge their authority “Chinese spies”.

The CTA has no intention to fight for the welfare and future of the Tibetan people. All the CTA does is lie, manipulate, abuse its power, discriminate, ostracize, embezzle funds and squander Chatrel money (contributions from Tibetans) to persecute those who do not follow or agree with them. Welcome to the CTA’s version of ‘democracy’.

How the Tibetan government in exile embraced “post-truth” and fake news
Communists, fake news and Chinese spies: the authoritarian’s propaganda playbook of the Dalai Lama runs out of steam…
Tenzin Jigme
Tibetan writer and voice of the absent Tibetan democracy
Apr 14 | 10 min read
The Tibetan government in exile appears to have embraced a simple yet effective tactic when dealing with critics who question its ineffectiveness, alleged suppression of even minor opposition or seeming tolerance of corruption within its ranks: simply accusing them of being spies in the pay of China has to date proved an effective way of forcing those critics to shut up and slink off quietly.
The Central Tibetan Authority (CTA), the government in exile, is responsible for looking after Buddhist communities across India who initially fled their homeland when fleeing from Chinese repression following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Ever since their flight, the common CTA mantra has been to “blame China”, whenever things went wrong.
Those in command at the CTA have levelled the “Chinese spies” charge against virtually everyone who has opposed the body, which has faced numerous accusations of vested interests, corruption and ineptitude in its perceived role of taking care of the 95,000 Tibetan exiles under its authority.
They have even taken issue with the Dorje Shugden devotion, a centuries-old tradition of worship, claiming its practitioners are in league with China to undermine the authority of the Dalai Lama, widely recognised as the spiritual leader of the Tibetan exiles, who has spoken forcefully against the practice. His position on the matter has widely been seen as a de facto ban.
By branding all Dorje Shugden practitioners as “Chinese spies”, the CTA sidesteps some important questions, most strikingly how ostracising those who follow the 350-year-old tradition sits with the Tibetan constitution, and with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which embodies the concept of religious freedom. It has also left Shugden groups open to the blandishments of the Chinese, who have not been averse to exploiting the rift.
By accusing any and all opponents of being Chinese spies, the CTA has sought to keep alive concerns that were initially justifiable in the aftermath of the community’s flight from Tibet, when the Chinese threat to its very existence was all too real. By doing so, it has sought to mask its own lack of progress in improving the lot of the exiles in its care. Many of these exiles continue to live in precarious conditions and remain virtually stateless, almost 60 years after their displacement and despite international support from several governments and a large number of non-governmental organisations.
China probably does keep a close watch on CTA activities and on sentiment both within Tibet and in the communities in exile, given that Tibet accounts for just over a quarter of China’s total land mass and it is in the country’s interest to ensure stability in the region. But if all the CTA’s accusations were indeed correct, “Chinese spies” would likely outnumber the rest of the population in the Tibetan exile communities.
Cato’s lesson
Already in the 2nd century BC, the Roman senator Cato the Elder had understood that if one repeats an idea often enough, it can eventually gain a foothold in the public conscious. He was to use this understanding to great effect.
Cato had been worried. He saw Carthage, Rome’s powerful Phoenician rival, as a continuing threat to the Roman Empire. Even after the Roman army had defeated Carthage, located in modern-day Tunisia, in the first and second Punic Wars, the city continued to flourish, something Cato found intolerable. Whether relevant to his speeches before the senate or not, Cato would, for a period, end each one with a phrase very roughly translated as “and by the way, I’d just like to add that Carthage must be destroyed”.
In the end, either convinced by Cato’s repetitiveness or just to get him to shut up, the Roman Senate agreed to send its forces under Scipio Aemilianus to wipe Carthage from the face of the earth. The focus on the “Carthage problem” certainly helped divert attention from problems at home — there was plenty of dissatisfaction to go round among Ancient Rome’s slaves and lower classes, who formed the bulk of the empire’s population. This dissatisfaction flared up less than fifteen years later in a slave revolt which shook Rome to her foundations, and which would be followed by two more rebellions, the last led by the fabled slave Spartacus.
Numerous historians point to the sack of Carthage, when Rome destroyed her last great competitor, as the beginning of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Even so, Cato’s lesson was not lost on future generations. Unscrupulous would-be autocrats soon learned that if they could focus the attention of the ruled on a common enemy, real or imagined, they might be prepared to forgive their rulers a multitude of sins rather than risk being tarred with the “enemy” brush themselves.
“Post-truth” on the march
Jason Stanley, a professor of philosophy at Yale and the author of How Propaganda Works, published in 2015, says that authoritarian propaganda is a form of communication in which a leader creates a narrative explaining why the problems afflicting certain groups of people have a simple origin and an even simpler solution. Much of the time, the “problems” are of the would-be autocrat’s own invention, he said, a simple expedient to drag the disaffected into his or her camp.
Oxford Dictionaries flagged “post-truth” as 2016’s international word of the year, a concept it defines as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” It was a nod to the Trump presidential campaign and to Brexit, the UK vote to exit the European Union. Both campaigns owed much of their success to their ability in stoking the fears of certain voters, seeking to identify the “danger” posed by immigrants, people of colour or the “dishonest press”, and to completely ignoring any real-world details that might not fit in with their world view.
One example is U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump’s identification of “inner city carnage” as one of the major problems facing Americans today, a demonstrably false claim but one that served to rally his base. Despite the fact that the U.S. murder rate had been in overall decline for some two decades or more, Trump focused on a handful of cities where there had been a spike in violent crime, attributing it to immigrant gangs, convincing his base that the phenomenon was out of control and that only he could solve the problem.
He also alleged the 2016 election would be rigged by millions of illegal votes marshalled by the perfidious Democrats, despite minimal empirical evidence of voter fraud, which had identified fewer than 10 cases of voter impersonation in the previous election. Among other ludicrous claims, Trump’s boast that his election would ensure people would be allowed to say “Happy Christmas” again belied the fact that the conveying of Christmas wishes had never actually been banned.
Prior to his election, Trump had adopted the tactic of accusing any and all of his critics of being purveyors of “fake new” — at least he would have done had he known the word “purveyors”. Since then, he has ably used the occasional factual error in unfavourable press articles as “proof” that every media critic is out to get him, while giving a pass to friendly press such as Fox News, even on the numerous occasions that their purported news stories have been thoroughly debunked.
Since his election, Trump has attacked friend or foe when the mood takes him. He has a well-known tendency of threatening to visit “fire and fury” on anyone who attempts to hold him to account, and of levelling accusations of “fake news” at any news article that dares to imply he isn’t actually the greatest human being in history. Steve Coll wrote in the New Yorker, “fake news” is credible reporting that he (Trump) doesn’t like.”
Incredibly, the mainstream press has generally failed to hold Trump to account for his numerous lies, like those concerning his tax returns which, during the elections, he promised to release as soon as his audit was over; or regarding the press conference he said he would hold to explain how his wife Melania was awarded a green card, usually reserved for people with “special talents” like nuclear physicists or sporting prodigies. He has rarely been asked to explain, on the record, why he failed to deliver on his promises in either case, or numerous others.
For over a year he has continued to say he was willing, nay anxious, to testify to the Mueller investigation into whether he or the Republican party under whose banner he swept to power in the 2016 U.S. elections colluded with the Russians in order to achieve the electoral victory. In the meantime, on the back of legal advice, he has strenuously resisted providing any such testimony, and referred to the growing body of evidence linking numerous close associates and other Republicans to high level Russian operators as… fake news.
Elsewhere, Philippines autocrat Rodrigo Duterte, famous for his machismo and misogyny, deflects by accusing his critics of being gay, paedophiles or drug addicts. In March, he asked the head of the country’s Commission on Human Rights (CHR) if the latter was a paedophile because he had protested the killing of teenagers in the government’s bloody war on drugs, which has already left thousands dead. In the meantime, his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses all his critics, be they politicians, members of the military or journalists, of plotting a coup to take control of Turkey, and throws them all in jail.
Not the internet
Many analysts have blamed the internet, Facebook and Twitter for facilitating the spread of spurious news stories — such as Infowars’ story that Trump’s presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton, was involved in a paedophile ring headquartered in a Washington pizza parlour, the so-called “Pizzagate” affair, or the so-called Uranium One scandal. The latter was thoroughly debunked by Sam Shephard on Fox News, leading several viewers to call for his resignation because they preferred their pro-Trump, anti-everyone-else stories to pass without question, whether true or not.
But Trump, Duterte and others probably learned much about deception, deflection and self-serving propaganda from a past-master at these arts, four times Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi. For twenty years, the Mediaset and Fininvest kingpin, who had made much of his fortune by “convincing” politicians to grease the wheels of his many projects, dodged accusations of corruption, conflicts of interests, tax evasion, and mafia associations by simply denying all the evidence and berating his accusers. His supporters lapped it all up, even when his lies were, on occasion, laid bare.
The great British author George Orwell saw it all coming, of course. In his splendid 1984, written almost seventy years ago, “the Party” (for, like Highlander, there can be only one) maintains its control over the “proles” by reducing all opposition to a simple concept — so-called “thoughtcrime”, or ideas which run contrary to the desired orthodoxy. Anyone guilty of gainsaying this orthodoxy is an enemy, and must be destroyed.
In much the same way Berlusconi’s opponents were “communists” and Trump’s promote “fake news”. The CTA has berated its enemies as “Chinese spies” in much the same way, and with much the same aim — to shut down debate.
For example “Chinese spy” accusation were levelled against the following people the CTA regarded as opponents or threats: all Dorje Shugden monks and lay people for opposing the Dalai Lama’s anti-Constitutional religious ban; against Milla Rangzen, the owner and editor of Tibetan magazine, who is critical of Lobsang Sangay; against Lukar Jam, who was a candidate for the post of CTA’s president in most recent past CTA elections; against Sharchock Cookta who was critical of the CTA and was targeted by the headline: “shocking news: MP Sharchock Cookta Chinese spy suspicion in Tibetan Parliament”; against the head of the Karma Kagyu when they wanted to bring the Buddhist leader under CTA’s excessive control; against Dudjom Rinpoche who was head of the Nyingma sect when he was extremely popular in the 1960’s and was regarded as a threat to the political line of the CTA; against Serkong Tritul Rinpoche who is a successful lama — when he visited Taiwan, the CTA accused him to be a Chinese spy, forgetting the Dalai Lama also visited Taiwan; against all Tibetans who are advocating full independence from China (rangzen) in opposition to the Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle Way’ approach, as was expressed by Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche who was the CTA President before Lobsang Sangay…
But the CTA is fast losing the faith of many Tibetans in exile. In recent years, several have left the exile communities in search of a better life elsewhere — an increasing number of them even choosing to return to China-controlled Tibet when possible — and the numbers are accelerating. Commitment to the Tibetan struggle is weakening as exiles begin to focus on their more mundane needs which the CTA has singularly failed to address despite the time, resources and goodwill at its disposal.
Simplistic accusations tend to lose their power over time. Like the boy who cried wolf, authoritarian propagandists may convince a less critical section of society for a period, but eventually even their most staunch enthusiasts begin to waver when they understand they are being toyed with, and that the autocrat whose pretexts they have so devoutly supported never had any intention of working to satisfy their needs. This is as true for the CTA as for other autocrats and their cohorts.
Even so, for the moment, “post-truth” remains in the ascendant. There is a shorter word for the concept, of course: lies.
https://medium.com/@TenzinJigme59/how-the-tibetan-government-in-exile-embraced-post-truth-and-fake-news-236885b7bcc8

Did His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognize the wrong Karmapa?

The Karmapas and Sharmapas are spiritually inseparable. Both are fellow holders of the 900-year-old Karma Kagyu lineage, a spiritual tradition that predates the lineage of the Dalai Lamas by over 200 years. They are also responsible for the recognition of each other’s reincarnations. However, in 1992, Tai Situ recognized a Karmapa candidate different from the candidate chosen by the Sharmapa. He effectively overrode centuries of tradition amongst the four Karma Kagyu regents. Tai Situ went ahead and enthroned his own candidate without the Sharmapa’s approval, and received the Dalai Lama’s approval. Therefore, the Dalai Lama may have endorsed the wrong Karmapa.

Due to the Dalai Lama’s endorsement, the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala acknowledged Tai Situ’s candidate, Ogyen Trinley, as the 17th Karmapa, hosting him at the Gelug lineage’s Gyuto Tantric monastery. They even side-lined the Sharmapa’s candidate, Thaye Dorje. The world’s media were also misled to believe that “the Dalai Lama’s Karmapa” is the sole and legitimate candidate for the position. Until today, thanks to the Tibetan leadership, there is no end in sight to the rift that the Karmapa issue caused within the Karma Kagyu tradition. This long-standing feud occurred because of the Tibetan leadership’s political interference in spiritual matters.

http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1524833812.mp4

Is it time to save the sinking ship that is the Tibetan cause? But wait a minute, the ship has already been sunk for the likes of Mr Ugyen Gyalpo.

It is time for My Gyalpo and other pro-independence activists to seriously wake up from their self-imposed slumber and plan what they can actually do if and when the Dalai Lama gets the green light to go back to Tibet. Do they want to support the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader? Or will they betray and abandon him?
Time to save the sinking ship of the Tibetan cause
By Ugyen Gyalpo
NEW YORK, US, 28 April 2018
Gone are the days when Tibetan solidarity was demonstrated through inter-organisational unity, and transparency and teamwork were not conundrums. The architects of endemic ideologies, the clash of mighty egos, and our flawed democracy, a system without multiple parties to represent different voices, has our community deeply divided and entrenched on regional grounds.
A short-circuit motherboard, like that which existed on an imaginary level before His Holiness’ devolution of his political role, that managed different flows of energy and controlled frequencies of differential arrays with a single switch, is surely missing in these rather difficult days of our newly-minted, hard-to-understand, infant democracy.
Every organisation or group has different agendas to put forth, even though the supposedly ultimate goal of solving Tibet’s issue for that matter is unequivocally shared by our same moral obligations. Every organisation in itself has become a marshy pond, where viruses of egocentrism are birthed and thrive. Every organisation and everyone leading them has somehow made islands of isolationist groups of like-minded people.
There is a silent battle of ‘creditworthiness’ brewing within our bureaucracy, and a hunger to ‘monetize’ by the many Tibet Support Groups of the cult-like brand Tibet, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s name has become detrimental to our cause and to the unity that we critically need.
Furthermore, the millions in American aid has intoxicated our movement and has us habituated to seeking monetary help, while losing sight of our goal. And the supposed leader of the free world in the United States, having lost completely the needle of its moral compass, shoves our greater issues silently under the political rug, while we rejoice in their perennial candy aid. Whilst our elected leader impatiently awaits for applause on the issues of such aid, has only added mileage to the charade that exists. It is ever too clear how wolfishly the world led by the US have sidelined the Tibet issue with the changing dynamic and symbiosis and the dominant political clout of China in its newly-found realm.
Just like Africa remains poor because of the surplus Western food that is dumped as ‘humanitarian aid’ into the market, which in turn debilitates and destroys the local farming there and makes them lazy and cyclically dependent, the Tibetan diaspora’s dependence on Western aid is no different. it has trapped them into the eternal hypocrisy of the West and made them complacent and numbingly patient.
The dynamics of what the West could have done some twenty years ago when China was easy to contain, and the empty promises and hypocrisy that exist now through reaffirmation of their help by way of lobbying and institutionalisation of the Tibetan cause, has got us nowhere but to a cycle of regimental renewal of oaths and vacant promises, and deepening of the pockets of those who exploit our cause.
The long-wished-for occasion of China one day crumbling under the weight of their capitalistic boom, which would hopefully propel uts people to yearn for greater rights and freedom guaranteed on democratic grounds that comes along with flowering seeds of prosperity, seems to be dead on arrival ever since President Xi, who seems to be Mao’s incarnate, rewrote the constitution in his own terms and vowed to rule the country indefinitely as a dictator. The likelihood of the collapse of communist China like the former USSR is far from reality now. And so are the chances of any possibility of coming to an agreement on the call for autonomy that Tibetans have been pushing for decades now.
I am not a political analyst nor an expert pundit on geopolitical changes, but my gut instinct tells me that our struggle for freedom should be waged from India of all other places. As of now realizing through this sad awakening, the Tibetan issue has become a case of the leper that no one wants to touch but only sympathise with. We have had enough of world sympathy, and of countries that once supported Tibet kowtowing to China. We should take matters into our own hands now. What we need more than anything is only our own self-help.
Having said that, the era of dependency on Western help and lobbying is a farce. We need to gather support from our natural and genuine automatic half-brother in India. Through the era of leadership of Modi’s courage, we will be able to stand up against the Chinese might in unison. Tibetans are scattered like broken rosary beads all over the world, but since the thread that brings us together is based in India, it’s but natural to wage our campaigns from there.
These last two decades have transformed not just China but India too. Having grown far from their third-world stigma, and now a leader in an emerging economy, India has become a dominant player in world politics as well. Any or all help from our half-brothers, who have given us refuge along with our religion and our script, is what we should look forward to now. India ranks among the world’s top five armed forces. No matter what, China can’t bully India lest they risk an all-out war that neither would want in the real world.
Tibet has evidently been a thorny issue in China-India bilateral relations ever since His Holiness was given refuge. As of late, the diplomatic fall-out from the slippery tongue of CTA’s President that flashed out covert secretive mission by an emissary to China, inadvertently keeping India out of the loop has caused some mistrust within the Indian politburo. India has much to lose if Tibet is ever given genuine autonomy and if China reclaims all of Tibet based on the McMahon line. As of late, India’s snubbing of Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s related programmes and events is evidence of their intentional withdrawal. The only way we Tibetans can earn back India’s hitherto undeniable moral support and trust is if we vehemently change our political course and steer this sinking ship on chartered waves of reclaiming total independence that will reshape the paradigm of where we stand as refugees in the eyes of the Indian government, and where our ultimate goal lies.
It is time that the CTA should reverse its ideology and go back to its original and genuine aim of reclaiming everything we have lost, to follow the shadow of truth of Tibet being once an independent country and nothing more. The only strong answer to China is the reaffirmation of our calls for complete independence. We must send them a strong message that we are not one of their ethnic minorities, but proud Tibetans who once ruled over their subservience.
https://www.tibetsun.com/opinions/2018/04/28/time-to-save-the-sinking-ship-of-the-tibetan-cause

The Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) in Dharamsala refusing to accept Tibetan RCs (Registration Certificates) is yet another example of interference by the Central Tibetan Administration. Tibetans need this document to apply for an Indian passport. The CTA does not want to lose its grip on Tibetan refugees, as fewer refugees under their control means less foreign aid. That translates to less money that they can line their own pockets with.

This is not the first time that the CTA has created problems for Tibetans who wish to apply for Indian citizenship. Last July, the CTA ordered all its departments to stop issuing NOC (No Objection Certificates) to Tibetans applying for Indian passports, effectively sabotaging India’s goodwill of offering citizenship to eligible Tibetans. Perhaps that is a reason why many Tibetans are leaving their settlements in India, some of them even returning to Tibet! The CTA’s days as a ‘government’ are numbered, as more and more Tibetans apply for Indian citizenship or leave the CTA’s influence in India altogether.
No obstruction surrendering RC in Dehra Dun: Police
Tibet Sun Newsroom
McLEOD GANJ, India, 27 April 2018
Tibetans living in Dehra Dun can surrender their Registration Certificates (RC) to apply for their passport, according to a communication from the Office of the Superintendent of Police Dehra Dun.
Tibet Sun had learned about Tibetan complaints that the authorities were refusing to accept requests by Tibetans to surrender their RCs, required in order to apply for a passport. Seeking information about the matter, Tibet Sun filed a Right to Information (RTI) application, to which Dehra Dun Superintendent of Police Sarita Dobhal replied refuting the complaints.
The SP said in her reply that they have not refused RC surrender by those Tibetans seeking Indian passport, and they have accepted RCs from seven Tibetans so far.
Tibetans who spoke to Tibet Sun said that the authorities who actually handle the RC surrender at the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) within the SP Office had told them to bring court orders to be able to surrender their RC.
Following a High Court of Delhi judgment asking the Government of India to issue passport to Tibetans, the Ministry of External Affairs in March 2017 has ordered all passport-issuing authorities to issue passport to those Tibetans who fulfil the requirements as in the Citizenship Act of India.
The RC surrender process has been suspended at the FRO Dharamshala. An official confirmed the same, saying the halt has been in place since two weeks, but didn’t give details as to why they have stopped the process.
He said that it is a temporary matter and that the surrender process will resume soon.
https://www.tibetsun.com/news/2018/04/27/no-obstruction-of-tibetan-rc-surrender-for-passport-dehra-dun-sp

More and more Tibetans are expressing their dissatisfaction with the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). This even extends to accusing them of ruling without legal precedence. This is a serious matter as their management of funds, administrative procedures, and even their governing constitution are all flawed. From the simple of choice of words used for the translation of a title, the CTA have exposed the way in which they run their “nationless government” in an egotistical and self-serving manner. The CTA simply do things based on their personal agendas and needs, using the title of democracy as a cover.

Clearly, there is no system of governance for what the CTA do and how they spend the money they gain from people sympathetic to the Tibetan plight, aid from their host and donors from around the world. Since law is at the core of any administration, their underhanded tactic of finding loopholes and bending the rules to suit their individual needs has failed the Tibetan people. As an ex-Senior Fellow of Harvard Law School and a self-proclaimed expert in international human rights law, Sangay deters people’s faith in the integrity of a leader and the legal system, instead of upholding the cause of justice. After the public apology during his swearing in ceremony in 2016 and his firm pledge not to repeat his misconduct, it looks like Sangay is at it again.

The title “President” for Sikyong is not legal
By Sharchok Khukta
McLEOD GANJ, India, 14 May 2018
Since there have been many who have put forth questions regarding the usage of the title “President” in English for “Sikyong”, I will answer in one presentation for all.
It would become a long talk to give answer as regards this. Nonetheless, because, to keep the public in the dark is objected to in a democratic system, I will try to present insight that is complete and not mistaken.
Initially, the exile Tibetan Parliament had established through general consensus that the title “Sikyong” is to be used instead of “Kalon Tripa”. In connection with that a resolution was passed by the members of the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile during the fourth sitting of the second session on 21 September 2012, that “Sikyong” solely is to be used in writing, as phonetically, without the need for using the translation “Political Leader”.
The first stage of this process took place with the publication in 2015 of a compilation of rules and regulations of the exile Tibetan administration by the office of the Parliamentary Secretary of the Tibetan people’s deputies, where it appears on page 181 in Appendix 8 [Zur-hzar nya], of sub-section 3 of article 66 of the electoral rules of the exile Tibetans.
Then, on 26 April 2016, the exile Tibetan administration made the announcement on its official website tibet.net that “when the term ‘sikyong’ is to be translated into English it should be written as “president”, and that has been used up to the present day.
It is the honourable Kashag which says that “it was established [formally decided] that ‘president’ is to be the term to be used,” and the honourable Kashag claim that they had decided thus on the advice of His Holiness Dalai Lama. The Kashag had cited many other reasons, but I will not refer to them at this time. Everyone knows that at that time there was much expression of displeasure regarding this from the public.
In the second stage, as regards the usage “President” there was guidance by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the reception ceremony accorded to the high-level Representatives’ Committee of the United States, at Tsuklagkhang Temple on 10 May 2017.
The third stage is that the Kashag have, both orally and in writing, said insistently that such guidance by His Holiness the Dalai Lama was as per the provision of Article 1 of the Charter of the Tibetans in exile. I am not able to know whether His Holiness the Dalai Lama has advised thus as the intent of Article 1 of the Charter. I do not consider that to be case, because if there had been the guidance advising “President” to be appropriate for the title of Sikyong, as per Article 1, then even after 25 famous amendments to the Charter such a guidance would have a procedure of discussion in the Parliament, as in the past, a procedure that has been clearly laid out.
It has been laid out in the sub-section 1 and 2 of Article 17 of clause 6 of the rules for procedure of meeting and carrying out of works by the the deputies of the Tibetan Parliament. For example, to cite the sub-section 1: “As per the sub-section 2 of Article 1 of the charter, the Speaker, in discussion with Sikyong, is to set aside time for discussion on the suggestion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.” But, without going through any recommendation from the Parliament or legal process, the Kashag said that the title in English as “President” has been decided on and designated as such, and they continue to use this title. As such that title has not became legal title. That is stage three.
Then, the fourth stage is that it may be assumed that the Sikyong and the Kashag continue to do so as it is known clearly only by most government service personnel, former and present, and People’s Deputies, former and present. Yet since the public do not know the details, when we put forth questions on the this issue in the Parliament it may be conjectured that it is an electoral grudge. Besides, when the honourable Sikyong also talks of it to the public by attaching it to electoral grudge, we are not able to have at the matter a valid rule by law. Instead everything is stirred here and there into dirty politics, so that eventually when there is too much dwelling on personal name and prestige, the common administration incurs losses.
If things go on like this there is the danger of the collapse of rule by law. From that point of view, for this issue to be clearly sorted out, the Secretaries of Gadhen Phodang must make it clear whether or not that guidance — as per Article 1 of the Charter — was given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. If it was, since it would be related with the rules, the messages, advice, notice and so on be bestowed to the Parliament, and then whatever is to be established (passed as resolution) by the Parliament when implemented by all the central and regional branches of the administration, it would become concordant with the law.
So that is the issue if explained clearly.
In the end, nowadays at Gangchen Kyishong the administration relies upon one person and makes changes to the Rules; while there are able staff members in all sorts of appointments, through equal qualifications and pledges, and so on; such instances are taking place many times, not just once. In such a situation it appears that there is not sufficient supervision and watching, by the public and writers, of whether or not this Administration — set up with such effort by His Holiness the Dalai Lama — is being administered by rule of law.
I request all to put more effort and power as regarding this issue.
https://www.tibetsun.com/opinions/2018/05/14/the-title-president-for-sikyong-is-not-legal

Things are going to be very different for Tibetans in India from now on as Sino-Indian relations get warmer by the day. India has vowed to firmly adhere to the one-China policy and ensure Tibet-related issues are handled ‘properly’. This means India will tighten her grip on all Tibetan-related activities. So, the trouble-making Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) better watch themselves and not create further problems that may antagonise China. This is something India will no longer tolerate.

China, India Vow To Strengthen Ties
China and India have extensive common interests and they have far more consensus than differences, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
All India | Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: June 06, 2018 17:05 IST
PRETORIA: China and India working together will accelerate their common development and contribute to the progress of human civilization, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
Mr Wang made the remarks on Monday in South Africa’s capital Pretoria during a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the formal meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
China and India have extensive common interests and they have far more consensus than differences, Mr Wang said.
The two sides should take bilateral relations and people’s fundamental interests as a starting point at all times, properly handle problems and differences and prevent the interests of one party from affecting the overall interest, Mr Wang said.
The two sides should earnestly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas in accordance with the consensus reached by their leaders and avoid taking actions that might complicate and aggravate the situation, Mr Wang said.
China and India should strengthen coordination and play a constructive role in promoting the development of BRICS cooperation, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and other multilateral mechanisms, he said.
Sushma Swaraj said the informal Wuhan meeting between the leaders of India and China enhanced mutual trust between the two countries, strengthened cooperation, made the parties more comfortable with each other and achieved unprecedented success.
She said India will firmly adhere to the one-China policy and properly handle issues involving the core interests of China such asTaiwan and Tibet-related issues.
India and China, as the two largest emerging markets and developing countries, share a common position in safeguarding the international political and economic order and promoting the improvement of global governance, the Indian Minister said.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/china-india-vow-to-strengthen-ties-1863429

The Dalai Lama has emerged as the biggest talking point during informal Sino-Indian bilateral talks during 2018, such as the Wuhan Summit. This is all due to concerns related to the Dalai Lama’s health. China wants the Dalai Lama to travel to Tibet, knowing that it would most probably be a one-way ticket. India on the other hand initiated the talks, shunning the Dalai Lama and kowtowed to China’s rising power. Their aim was to strike a deal to resolve border issues.

Why the Dalai Lama is becoming the biggest bone of contention between India and China
The real reason why Modi met Xi Jinping in Wuhan is now out.
Politics | 5-minute read | 26-06-2018
RAJEEV SHARMA
Forget the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese president Xi Jinping’s dream infrastructure project to link China not only with neighbourhood but also such faraway lands as Europe and Africa.
Forget the Pakistan-based India-centric terror fountainheads such as Masood Azhar and others, a topic that has long been a bone of contention between India and China.
Forget the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), an international body where China has steadfastly opposed India’s entry.
Also forget the stapled visa issue wherein China has been short-changing India for years by denying proper visas to Indians domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh and giving them only stapled visas while China has been giving regular visas to residents of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), a glaring example of China taking sides in the India-Pakistan dispute at the cost of India.
Yes, these have been the biggest red rags in India-China parleys, official as well as the backchannel ones. But none of these issues have engaged the two Asian giants as much as some other issues. Any guesses? Well, the answer is the fourteenth Dalai Lama, the supreme Tibetan spiritual leader whom China has riled for decades as a “separatist”. Informatively, China has used many more disparaging words and expletives to describe the 82-year-old Dalai Lama who fled Tibet and crossed over to India 59 years ago.
The Dalai Lama has emerged as the biggest talking point in the India-China bilateral affairs through the back channels and informal parleys in 2018. The Dalai Lama was the central issue discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their first-ever Wuhan Summit (April 27-28). In fact, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that when President Xi travelled to Wuhan to meet PM Modi for his second informal summit ever with any foreign leader outside Beijing — and both times only for PM Modi — his main talking point this time was l’affaire Dalai Lama.
Never before the issue of the Dalai Lama had come centre stage like this between India and China. Never before the Dragon and the Elephant had discussed the Dalai Lama issue at highest levels with a laser beam focus as Xi and Modi did at Wuhan for eight hours in six separate outings together.
But that’s what the Wuhan informal summit was by and large about, though, of course, all other contentious bilateral issues were discussed. The reason for such a deep focus of informal talks between Xi and Modi was because of the health concerns about the Dalai Lama.
No Indian prime minister ever discussed the Dalai Lama issue with top Chinese leadership so intensely as PM Modi has done. This is not without a pragmatic rationale.
When on February 22, 2018, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale sent a note to cabinet secretary PK Sinha asking “senior leaders” and “government functionaries” of the Centre and states to stay away from events planned for March-end and early April by the “Tibetan leadership in India” to mark the start of 60 years in exile of the Dalai Lama, the real reason for this unprecedented move was a mystery.
But the real cause was intelligence information that the Dalai Lama is suffering from terminal-stage prostate cancer. First only New Delhi got to know of this but later on Beijing too got wind of it. That’s how the two sides came to discuss the Dalai Lama-centric issues at Wuhan.
The Modi government, which became aware of this development over a year ago, turned attention to this only in the beginning of this year as it started checking its diplomatic toolbox vis-à-vis China. A policy decision was taken at the highest levels by the Modi government in February as the fear of Doklam II started haunting it. At that time the Modi government was nearing completion of four years or 80 per cent of its tenure.
More importantly, disturbing news had started pouring from Doklam, the site of a 73-day-long standoff between Indian and Chinese militaries. On March 5, 2018, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China has undertaken “construction of some infrastructure, including sentry posts, trenches and helipads” near the face-off site between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam in the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction area.
Sitharaman’s reply to a question in the Lok Sabha had come after media reports that the PLA had constructed military infrastructure and helipads and deployed around 1,600 troops in north Doklam throughout the winter for the first time.
From Modi government’s perspective, time was running out to send a conciliatory message to China and prevent a Doklam II which would have been politically disastrous for it, months ahead of the general elections. It was time for some out of the box thinking. It was time for the Modi government to extend a CBM (Confidence Building Measure) which would appeal the most to China.
This was the time when the Modi government turned its attention to intelligence reports about the Dalai Lama’s health. All these inputs were enough to lead the Modi government on to an unusual diplomatic expedition vis-à-vis China and try to please the Chinese by disassociating government functionaries from the Dalai Lama’s programmes, at least for some time.
However, there is a downside for the Modi government in this episode. As the Chinese government is fully updated about the Dalai Lama’s health, it obviously means that they can see through the tactics of the Modi government!
It’s here that the wheels-within-wheels kind of diplomacy kicks in. Apparently, China wants the Dalai Lama to travel to Tibet. But will India allow it, knowing full well that it may be a one-way ticket for the Dalai Lama?
Can India take such a decision vis-à-vis the supreme Tibetan spiritual leader who has been India’s guest for last 59 years and is a major pivotal figure and a rallying point against China for the US-led Western world?
There are no answers to these questions as of now. But the drift I get is that India won’t be obliging China in this regard. Not now, not ever.
https://www.dailyo.in/politics/dalai-lama-india-china-ties-doklam-crisis-xi-jinping-narendra-modi-pok-kashmir-belt-and-road-initiative/story/1/25113.html

Here is another article that gives a bleak assessment of the situation regarding the Dalai Lama and of the Tibetan cause. It mentions clearly how Tibet is losing out to China and why. It also explains why Lobsang Sangay is feebly respected by the Tibetan diaspora. The articles does not foretell good news for the Tibetan diaspora, in fact it does not even give a possible outcome for what is going to happen to them. It shows how the Dalai Lama is losing influence over world leaders from countries like the Netherlands to the United States. Such articles are becoming increasingly common because they reflect the situation for the Tibetans in-exile and their leaders.

Has Tibet finally lost out to China?
Beijing’s pressure on world leaders to ignore Tibet is now overwhelming. Even No. 10 declares: ‘We have turned the page on the Dalai Lama’
Jonathan Mirsky
Blessings from Beijing will inform readers who know little about Tibet, and those who know a great deal will discover more. Both groups will be surprised. The newcomers especially will be disabused of any belief that Tibetans were always non-violent, deeply spiritual and unworldly.
Tibetanists and advanced students will learn that, decades after the Chinese conquest of Tibet in 1950 and the escape of the Dalai Lama in 1959, the diaspora of about 130,000 Tibetan refugees, battered by decades of Chinese oppression and ‘soft’ propaganda, is riven by confusion. Some cling to their hope that Tibet will again be sovereign and they will be able to return to their homeland.
Greg Bruno, modestly described on the book’s flyleaf as a journalist, is actually an expert on many aspects of Tibet’s history, Chinese oppression and persecution — ironically termed ‘blessings’ by the Dalai Lama — and most of all the conditions of the Tibetan diaspora and the deepening despair that rends it. ‘Many Tibetan refugees, pushed away by time, boredom, globalisation and a soft-power war with China, are moving on.’
Bruno has never visited Tibet in the many years he has been concentrating on the ‘blessings’ and the diaspora, but he has travelled around its borders and throughout the world to discover the condition of the refugees and to listen to their opinions and the judgments of their leaders, including the Dalai Lama. One of his most striking characteristics is his modesty; he never claims to know a thing about Tibet and the refugees that he has not learned first-hand. What he knows and what he suspects are kept distinct. But he sums up brilliantly: ‘The Communist party of China is the source of the Tibetan malaise; but Tibetans’ self-inflicted wounds have made China’s strategy more effective.’ From 2010, for example, Beijing blocked escape routes from Tibet except for Tibetans rich enough to fly out, and the Nepalese king denied them settlement.
Bruno tellingly describes and details China’s centuries of relations with Tibet, reaching back to the seventh, when a powerful Tibetan ruler captured a major Chinese city, forcing the emperor to present a royal princess to Lhasa as a placatory gesture. Over the years, depending on China’s power, there were sometimes Chinese officials stationed in Lhasa; but up to 1911 the Chinese emperors and the Dalai Lamas — the present one is the 14th — existed as temporal and spiritual equals. From 1911 to 1950, Tibet was essentially independent; and even after Mao took power, he treated Tibet with some respect for a time, and even negotiated with the young Dalai — whose personal account of those contacts is fascinating — before suggesting, almost off-handedly, that of course Buddhism would haveto be abolished.
Indeed, as Bruno makes plain, religion remains at the heart of Beijing’s determination to subdue and transform Tibet. For Tibetans, what makes their society and culture special and unequalled is the selection and enthronement of tulkus, ‘reincarnated’ lamas. This ceremony, with all its implications, is now being taken over by Beijing. The most spectacular example occurred in 1995, when the 10th Panchen Lama, the second most important religious figure in Tibet, died. The Dalai Lama announced that his successor was a six-year-old boy. Beijing declared this to be spurious: the boy and his family have vanished, and Beijing installed its own Panchen with full traditional religious honours. He has been declared the senior religious leader in Tibet — where Tibetans ignore him.
Of course Beijing will name its own 15th Dalai Lama when the present one dies, although he has claimed (even to me) that his doctors at Harvard predict he will live well past his 100th birthday. But although he has retired as Tibet’s leading political and religious figure, his successor, a Harvard graduate, is only feebly respected; and as Bruno painstakingly shows, many Tibetans, already in some despair, fear their struggle to exist as a special people will alter or cease when this Dalai Lama is gone.
What has changed in recent years, Bruno writes, and has so deeply undermined the confidence of Tibetans with Tibet and abroad, is the nature of China’s ‘blessings’ — which I saw in bloodthirsty force in the 1980s. Such violence — always in reserve in case of a sudden uprising in Tibetan territories, where many devout and patriotic Buddhists have burned themselves to death — is now overshadowed by the effective Chinese pressure on world leaders and poor countries either to ignore the Dalai Lama and his champions or lose economic ties with Beijing. From Norway to Washington to the Vatican the Dalai Lama can make no high-level contacts. No. 10 declares: ‘We have turned the page on the Dalai Lama.’ Blessings indeed.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/06/has-tibet-finally-lost-out-to-china/