Nomads in Inner Mongolia Protest

Nomads in Inner Mongolia Protest
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Leh - Laddakh 1909

Three Years in Tibet - Kawaguchi Ekai

Unit#118

Check the not so new photography wesite: Unit#118

Appeal by H.H. the Dalai Lama

Appeal by His Holiness the Dalai Lama expressing concern on the situation at Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, northeastern Tibet
by Dalai Lama on Saturday, 16 April 2011 at 05:52 (on Facebook)

The current situation prevailing at Kirti Monastery in Ngaba in northeastern Tibet is extremely grim because of the stand-off between the Chinese military forces and the local Tibetans. The monastery, housing approximately 2,500 monks, is completely surrounded by Chinese armed forces, who at one point prevented vital food and other supplies from entering the monastic compound.

The local Tibetans fearing that this siege on Kirti Monastery is a prelude to large scale detention of the monks have surrounded the soldiers blockading the monastery and have filled the roads so as to prevent Chinese trucks and vehicles from either entering or leaving Kirti.

The local Chinese blockade of Kirti Monastery began on 16 March 2011, when a young Tibetan monk at the monastery tragically set himself on fire as a way of observing the third anniversary of the widespread peaceful protests that shook Tibet in 2008. Instead of putting out the flames, the police beat the young monk which was one of the causes of his tragic death. This act created huge resentment among the monks, which resulted in this massive blockade of Kirti Monastery.

I am very concerned that this situation if allowed to go on may become explosive with catastrophic consequences for the Tibetans in Ngaba.

In view of this I urge both the monks and the lay Tibetans of the area not to do anything that might be used as a pretext by the local authorities to massively crackdown on them.

I also strongly urge the international community, the governments around the world, and the international non-governmental organizations, to persuade the Chinese leadership to exercise restraint in handling this situation.

For the past six decades, using force as the principle means in dealing with the problems in Tibet has only deepened the grievances and resentment of the Tibetan people. I, therefore, appeal to the Chinese leadership to adopt a realistic approach and to address the genuine grievances of the Tibetans with courage and wisdom and to restrain from using force in handling this situation.

The Dalai Lama
April 15, 2011

http://www.dalailama.com

Petition - Zhao Liang

Petition by Zhao Liang





A harrowing investigation by Chinese documentary maker and artist Zhao Liang, Petition: The Court of the Complainants looks at the world of “petitioners,” people who come to Beijing from all parts of China in order to plead their case against injustices, and who find themselves embroiled in a no-exit situation which leaves them homeless, impoverished, even disabled. Gathered near the complaints offices, around the southern railway station of Beijing, living in the makeshift shelters in now-demolished “Petition Village,” the complainants wait for months or years to obtain justice. Faced with brutal intimidation from the local authorities, the complainants who stubbornly continue despite the abuses find that their hopes are often in vain. Beginning in 1996, Zhao Liang accompanied several complainants through their process, including a mother and daughter whose full story unfolds over ten years. Petitioners continued filming right up to the start of the Olympic Games, showing that the persistent contradictions of China continue in the midst of powerful economic expansion.

(Zhao Liang, China/France, 124 min, DVD, 2009)

Zhao Liang (b. 1971) is one of the prominent figures in contemporary independent documentary filmmaking in China, showing his works at the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin Biennial, among others. He has also made experimental films and won several prizes for works such as Paper Air Plane (Zhi Feiji, 1997) and Return to the Border (Zai Jiang Bian, 2004). He won the Montgolfiere d’or Award at the Festival des Trois Continents in Nantes in France for his documentary Crime and Punishment (2007), a film detailing daily life in a police station located in the border area between China and Northern Korea. Petition (Shangfang, 1996-2008) was an official selection at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. He studied at Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and Beijing Film Academy.

Film Studies Center - The University of Chicago

Film Studies Center - The University of Chicago