DHARAMSHALA, November 8: In fresh reports coming in, 6000 to 10,000 Tibetans are gathered at the Dolma Sqaure in front of the Rongwo Monastery in Rebkong, eastern Tibet, raising slogans for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

Sources in exile tell Phayul that the situation there is “very tense and volatile” with Chinese armed forces closing-in on the protesters.

“Thousands of Tibetans are currently gathered at the Dolma Square, the site of Kalsang Jinpa’s self-immolation protest, raising slogans for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his long life,” Geshe Rongpo Lobsang Nyendak, a member of the Tibetan Parliament told Phayul.

“The situation there is very tense as Chinese armed forces have placed severe restrictions on movement in the town and are now closing-in on the protesters.”

18-year-old nomad, Kalsang Jinpa, set himself on fire at the Dolma Square protesting against China’s occupation of Tibet at around 4 pm (local time) today. The former monk of the Rongwo Monastery raised a white banner carrying slogans calling for the Dalai Lama’s return and the rights of the Tibetan people before setting himself ablaze. He passed away in his fiery protest.

Source: Washington Social reader

By Social Reader Editors

President Barack Obama won a second term in the White House after a strong showing in the battleground states.

Ohio, a crucial state for Republican Mitt Romney, tipped the balance in Obama’s favor late Tuesday night. Florida voters were as divided as most observers expected and the result remained too close to call Wednesday afternoon.

There had been talk of a change in the balance of power in Congress, but Republicans maintained theirmajority in the House of Representatives, as did Senate Democrats.

High-profile Senate victories came in Virginia, where Democrat Tim Kaine defeated George Allen, and in Massachusetts, where Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren defeated incumbent Scott Brown. Missouri’s incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill fought off Republican Rep. Todd Aiken, who made news this summer for controversial rape comments. Another Senate candidate whose rape-related comments caused a backlash was Indiana Republican Richard Mourdock, who lost to Rep. Joe Donnelly.

Source: humanrightsfirst.org

5th November, '12. How to Stop Third-Party Enablers of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity

Mass atrocities are organized crimes. Those who commit genocide and crimes against humanity depend on third parties for the goods and services—money, matériel, political support, and a host of other resources—that sustain large-scale violence against civilians. Third parties have supplied military aircraft used by the Sudan Armed Forces against civilians, refined gold and other minerals coming out of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and ensured a steady flow of arms into Rwanda. Governments seeking to prevent atrocities cannot afford a narrow and uncoordinated focus on the perpetrators of such violence. Rather, an effective strategy must include identifying and pressuring third-party enablers—individuals, commercial entities, and countries—in order to interrupt the supply chains that fuel mass violence against civilians.

IL GRANDE RE DEL TIBET E LE DUE PRINCIPESSE

source: phayul.com

DHARAMSHALA, November 4: In photos and confirmed reports coming out of Tibet, another Tibetan set himself on fire this morning in an apparent protest against China's continued occupation of Tibet.

This latest incident of self-immolation protest, the 63rd in Tibet since 2009, is being reported from the Rebkong region of Amdo, eastern Tibet.

In one of the photos received by Phayul, the charred body of the self-immolator can be seen draped in Tibetan scarves lying below a portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Source:tibetanpoliticalreview.com

By Maura Moynihan

4th october, '12. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has just completed a successful North American tour, where he was given honorary degrees by several colleges and gave many sold-out public talks.  But looming over the celebrations was news from Tibet of more self immolations in Kham and Amdo confirmed by Radio Free Asia and VOA, bringing the number to 60 or more.

This month also marks the 50th anniversary of the 1962 India-China War.  Combat was brief and casualties were few: fighting began on October 10th 1962 and came to an end on November 21st.  The death toll for soldiers was an estimated 1,460 Chinese, 3,128 for India.  Yet the consequences of this anxious month of skirmishes in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh were enormous.  It handed Mao a stunning victory and dealt Nehru an equally stunning defeat.  It destroyed Nehru’s vision of pan-Asian unity in a post World War II world, accelerated the militarization of Himalayas and greatly advanced Mao’s hegemonic ambitions across the continent by sealing China’s control over Tibet.  It may have been a short war, but it was not a minor one.