DP Tool Club 15/CD_ASCQ_15_070894.iso/vrac/wtn_0594.zip/WTN-0516.NWS

Text File | 1994-06-06 | 48KB | 851 lines

------------------------   World Tibet Network News   ----------------------
   Published by:     The Canada-Tibet Committee
   Editorial Board:  Brian Given <[e-mail]>
                     Nima Dorjee <[e-mail]>
                     Conrad Richter <[e-mail]>
                     Tseten Samdup <[e-mail]>
   Submissions and subscriptions to:
                     [e-mail]
                     or fax to: [phone]  (U.K.)
   Send us your comments, announcements, news or items for discussion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue ID: 94/05/16 12:30 GMT                      Compiled by Conrad Richter

Contents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gold Rush to the Forbidden Province
2. Illegal Shatoosh Trade
3. Dharamsala Responds to Shatoosh Allegations
4. Did Austrian Officials Help Silence the Dalai lama in Return for Lucrative
   Contracts?; Austrian Firms Connected with Destructive Thrid World Dam
   Projects Awarded Tibet Contract
5. Nepal Balks at Tibetan Irrigation Project
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gold Rush to the Forbidden Province
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded by: K. Aukatsang, International Campaign for Tibet <[e-mail]>

Tibetan Environment & Development News, May 1994, Issue #13 --
        Each Spring, when the ground thaws, gold diggers rush to
        the Qinghai plateau.  The Tibetan province was annexed by
        China in the early fifties.  Today, the Chinese want to
        make Qinghai into their "Far West" Qinghai, is one of the
        most remote and less known provinces of China.  It was
        annexed to China by the communist regime in the early
        fifties.  Qinghai was opened to the outside world less
        than five years ago, and every year, there are less then
        ten foreigners who have ventured as far as Yushu.  The
        region is considered "forbidden" and special permits are
        required:  Many prisons are located in the North of the
        province, and to this day, Qinghai evokes the Chinese
        Gulag.  According to Chinese statistics, in 1990, the
        population of Qinghai was 4.5 million, with 60% Chinese
        and 40% Tibetans.  Gold fever has invaded the Chinese
        West.  From April until the end of October, there are
        several hundred of carts traveling between Xining and
        Yushu, toward the sources of the great rivers.  The Yellow
        river, the Blue river, and the Mekong all come from this
        area of the high Tibetan plateau.  Gold is plentiful in
        the red sands of the region.  According to the Chinese
        information agency (Xinhua), there are more than ten
        active gold mines, producing more than 200 kgs of gold in
        1991.  In 1992, more than 150,000 Chinese gold diggers
        made their way to Qinghai, according to the local
        authorities.  Most of them are business owners, from the
        suburbs of Xining, the largest city in Qinghai.
        Apparently, the local authorities have found it more
        profitable to grant authorization to private individuals.
        Back in Xining in the fall, the gold is sold to banks,
        bringing sufficient revenues to sustain the gold diggers
        until the next spring.  According to the local Tibetans,
        the first gold diggers started arriving in the early
        1980's but over the last two years the number of
        adventurers and other types of pioneers can be likened to
        full fledged gold rush.  Their contacts with the Tibetan
        nomads who do not exploit the natural resources but favor
        the river sources to water their animals, are a constant
        source of conflict, even killings.  The situation very
        rarely turns to the advantage of the Tibetans.  Zhiduo,
        about 200 km west of Yushu is a typical "mushroom town".
        Located in a spectacular area of red rocks covered with
        snow, Yushu is at the end of the "road" on the maps.  The
        water tower of the communal farm reminds of a jail tower.
        Beyond Zhiduo lies the unknown: frozen marshes, the
        kingdom of the wild yaks, the snow leopard and the Tibetan
        wolves.  A few nomads are the only ones to venture in this
        high desert (+16,000 feet);  they do not talk about it.
        By the bridge over the river, there are many gold diggers
        busy panning for gold.  But it is only a first stop.
        Thirty miles further, lays the "gold country", where
        foreigners are prevented from going by the army.  There,
        thousands upon thousands armed with a shovel and sieve,
        are looking for gold.  Zhiduo's only street is flanked by
        wood houses on both sides.  Pool tables, right on the
        street, are surrounded by tens of unlucky Chinese
        adventurers wearing dark glasses against the intense
        light.  At night, the yak oil plant in the middle of the
        village doubles as a saloon where the Chinese population
        and a few Tibetans gather and dance tangos and waltzes
        under the strobe lights.  According to the Tibetans, the
        wave of Chinese settlers has been continually growing
        since the summer of 1992.  They come by the thousands,
        settling in the cities, opening shops and restaurants.
        Progressively, the neighborhoods are changing, as in Yushu
        (150,000) where the Tibetans are being pushed out to the
        outskirts of the city because of the increasing cost of
        housing.  The military presence is felt everywhere: Red
        Army barracks in each locality, jeeps with armed police on
        the roads...... Forty years after the bloody confrontation
        between the troops of the Liberation Army and the Khampas,
        the area is being "pacified" primarily through the
        exclusion of a major portion of the Tibetan community.
        The integration of the Tibetans into the Chinese urban
        community is not obvious.  A large number of young
        Tibetans, idle and suffering from an identity crisis, are
        beginning to drink and to gamble.  Very few lucky ones are
        able to overcome the high school barrier (taught in
        Chinese) and be admitted into Chinese universities in
        Xining, and exceptionally in Beijing.  Since 1980, the
        Chinese authorities are also attempting to sedentarize the
        Tibetan nomads, in particular through building concrete
        barrack for them.  The Tibetans are using them
        occasionally, during the coldest days of the winter, set
        up next to the newly built housing.  In the summer they
        take off again to graze their animals in the high
        pastures.  Approximately 20 reserves have been organized,
        including the Chang Thong reserve (237, 000 square km.).
        However, Chinese tourist agencies, such as the Hunting
        Association, organize safaris for foreigner interested in
        hunting threatened species.  The price varies according to
        the trophy:  From $50 for a Koslow pika to $50, 000 for a
        wild yak, a species that is considered threatened by
        extinction.  In spite of protests by the Tibetans, the
        natural resources are massively exploited.  The wooded
        surface has been decreased by half since 1949, when large
        herds were brought in to face the Chinese's increasing
        demand for meat.  There is however one area where Qinghai
        ceases to be the "Far West" and reverts to its Tibetan
        origins, that of religion.  Destroyed during 50's, several
        large monasteries are receiving subsidies from the Chinese
        Government for their reconstruction.  The degree of
        autonomy and financial support varies significantly.  The
        Qiujie monastery, housing approximately one hundred monks
        (1,400 before), being rebuilt since 1981, has regained its
        magnificence.  Beautiful rooms with varnished wood floors,
        triple-pane windows, luxurious embroidered cushions and
        fine blankets covering wood platforms, the private rooms
        of the High Lama are kept extremely warm, excellent food.
        These privileges, however, are the result of the political
        involvement of the High Lama, the head of the Monastery,
        but also the representative of the Yushu prefecture, in
        the Chinese capital.  Further down to the south, where
        Qinghai borders on the "Tibetan Autonomous Region", in a
        monastery hidden at the end of a rock canyon, the monks
        have undertaken the renovation of their monastery by
        themselves, against the advice of the local "Gongan"
        representative, the Chinese security officer.  Their
        monastery is far from its ancient splendor.  No library,
        no sacred objects.  The young lamas know nothing of their
        past, and even of the history of their sect.  The old ones
        would rather forget.  Limited as it is, the rebirth of the
        religion represents the very last vestige of an ancient
        culture in a new far west.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Illegal Shatoosh Trade
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded by: K. Aukatsang, International Campaign for Tibet <[e-mail]>

Tibetan Environment & Development News, May 1994, Issue #13 --
        INDIA, March 19 P Concerned over reports of clandestine
        trade, both domestic and international, in Shatoosh P the
        finest, warmest and lightest wool in the world P the Union
        Ministry of Environment and Forests has sounded a
        countrywide alert.  The ministry's Directorate of Wildlife
        Preservation has cautioned Chief Wildlife Wardens in all
        states, Regional Deputy Directors as well as Customs
        officials about the international smuggling ring operating
        in China, Nepal and India.  Majnu-ka-Tilla is believed to
        be the base camp in the national capital, Delhi.  Shatoosh
        P king of wool P is believed to be obtained from the
        Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni).  To obtain the
        wool an antelope has to be slaughtered.  It is widely
        believed that shahtoosh is not sheared.  Neither can wool
        be plucked from a domestic animal.  As such the population
        of this particular species is dwindling.  It is on the
        endangered list.  Therefore, in 1977 it was included in
        Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Preservation) Act of 1972,
        which forbids hunting or trade of listed animals their
        parts, products and any other dervatives.  After the 1991
        amendment, hunting of all animals has been totally banned.
        The animal is found in the higher reaches of Tibet, China
        or the northern most parts of Kashmir.  One antelope
        yields about 150 gm of wool P shahtoosh.  From one kg of
        shahtoosh at least three shawls can be knit.  The shawl
        trade is mainly the forte of Kashmiris.  Shahtoosh is a
        precious commodity.  Just one kg of shahtoosh is priced
        around Rs 45, 000.  Intelligence reports have suggested
        that at least 2, 000 to    2, 500 kg of shahtoosh was
        being smuggled into India for use in Kashmir via Nepal
        from China.  The major haul of one such consignment - 107
        kg - was confisticated at Indira Gandhi International at
        Delhi in May, 1993.  The consignment had come from
        Kathmandu and was addressed to an official of the
        "government in exile" of the Dalai Lama.  Though the Dalai
        Lama's office issued a denial, the Wildlife Preservation
        Directorate of the ministry issued a certificate to the
        Customs authorities to confisticate the consignment.
        Because of the interest aroused in the matter, inspection
        and raids were started in February.  Seizures made at the
        Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India, Janpath,
        showed that a shahtoosh shawl was priced at Rs. 72, 600
        and a single scarf was priced at Rs 6, 930.  Plain
        shahtoosh cost between Rs. 25, 515 and Rs 56, 925 per
        piece.  Shahtoosh is a contraband item.  Since it is
        obtained after killing of an animal, 107 kg of shahtoosh
        seized at IGI Airport, Delhi, would mean the slaughter of
        at least 750 antelopes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Dharamsala Responds to Shatoosh Allegations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded by: K. Aukatsang, International Campaign for Tibet <[e-mail]>

Tibetan Environment & Development News, May 1994, Issue #13 --
A department inquiry by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)
has revealed that no Tibetan official was involved in the reported
import of Shahtoosh to India from Nepal.
        On January 18, 1994 the Times of India carried a report
        "Shahtoosh Import Charge on Dalai Aide" saying a
        consignment of 107 kg of Shahtoosh addressed to "Mr. Sonam
        Norbu, Cabinet Minister" was seized by the Customs at
        Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, in May
        1993.  The report said the consignment was sent by Karnor
        Carpet Manufacturers (P) Ltd., Boudanath, Kathmandu,
        Nepal, and was brought to India by two Nepalese nationals,
        Mr. Atup Lama and Mr. Pema Tsering Lama.  The Bureau of
        H.H. the Dalai Lama in New Delhi officially responded to
        the report on January 19, 1994 saying there was no such
        cabinet minister by the name of Sonam Norbu in the Central
        Tibetan Administration.  However, at the issue was not
        merely of an illegal transaction, but also had
        environmental implications, the Assembly of Tibetan
        People's Deputies (Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile) called for
        a thorough investigation by the Department of Security,
        CTA.  All the concerned individuals, including the owner
        of the consignment, Mr. Tsering Atup Tamang, the partner
        of Karnor Carpet company, Mr. Kunchok Sangpo, etc. were
        asked to testify.  Mr. Tsering Atup Tamang, the owner of
        the consignment, and Mr. Atup Lama and Mr. Pema Tsering
        Lama, both carriers of the consignment, all Nepalese
        citizens, resident of Limim a small village, have given
        both oral and written testimony admitting their misdeeds
        and misrepresentations.  The investigation has revealed
        that the owner of the consignment, Mr. Tamang, had misused
        the name of Central Tibetan Administrationas well as the
        invoice of Karnor Carpet company for his personal benefit.
        The investigation further revealed that the Tibetan
        official Sonam Norbu, whose name appears to have been
        misused by Mr. Tamang by giving it the title "Cabinet
        Minister", had no role in the whole affair.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Did Austrian Officials Help Silence the Dalai lama in Return for Lucrative
   Contracts?; Austrian Firms Connected with Destructive Thrid World Dam
   Projects Awarded Tibet Contract
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded by: K. Aukatsang, International Campaign for Tibet <[e-mail]>
By Martin Frimmel

Tibetan Environment & Development News, May 1994, Issue #13 --
        Tibet is about to face a gigantic environmental
        catastrophe.  The controversial construction of a mega
        power plant threatens to dry out Yamdrok Tso, one of
        Tibet's lakes.  The Chinese occupation government wants to
        carry out the development project at all cost.  Austrian
        firms are going along with them.  At the Vienna Human
        Rights Conference in June, it was known that Prime
        Minister Franz Vranitzky justified banning the Dalai Lama
        from speaking, which had been demanded by China.  The
        Prime Minister didn't want to endanger Austria's economic
        interests in the Middle Kingdom.  Reason: he and his
        delegation carried home from their China trip a series of
        large project agreements.  Only now it has come to light
        that one of the worlds most controversial dams was one of
        the power plant projects.  At the holy lake Yamdrok Tso,
        one of the largest lakes in Tibet, China wants to build a
        power plant with the participation of Austrian firms -
        J.M. Voith AG and Elin Energieversorgung (energy supply).
        The water is channeled into turbines at Yarlung Tsampo
        river through four tunnels each 6.4 kilometers long in
        order to be pumped back into the lake.  The power plant is
        expected to produce 90 megawatts of energy when operating
        at top capacity.  Elin and Voith are producing turbines,
        pumps and the steering systems for the project amounting
        to 460 shillings (approximately 40 million dollars).
        Environmental advocates and representatives of the
        oppressed Tibet population are expecting catastrophic
        consequences:  changes of climate have to be taken into
        account since there would be less water in the lake due to
        the power plant and thereby, from a medium term view, also
        less rain.  "The ongoing turbulence that would be caused
        by daily emptying and refilling of lake water would be of
        great damage to the sensitive ecology of the lake," the
        opponents of the power plant warn.  The clean, azure blue
        lake water would be replaced by the dirty water of the
        river.  The existence of fish populations are threatened
        as well as the other animal and plant species living in
        the water.  Since the majority of the population is
        dependent on fishing they would lose their base of
        existence.  Even the rather technocratic UNDP states the
        project would reduce the size of the lake surface.
        Tibetan environmental advocates fear that the lake could
        be completely dried out in 50 years.  In 1985 the Chinese
        began construction on the project but after one year,
        ecological reservations led to a halt in construction.
        When the Panchen Lama, Tibet's second highest monk and one
        of the most active opponents to the power plant died 4
        years ago, the Chinese occupiers continued the project.
        Now 1,500 Chinese soldiers are blasting through the rock
        to make the tunnels.  Numerous farmers have already been
        expropriated.  "They have taken away our fields and we
        have never received any compensation," a Tibetan farmer
        complained to the English newspaper, The Guardian.
        Tsewang Phuntso, a Tibetan human rights fighter, states
        that "It is only the Chinese occupiers who benefit from
        such power plant projects, never the Tibetan population.
        He fears that the influx of Chinese immigrants who work at
        the power plant will increase.  The Chinese government
        views it differently "For me, Tibet is like California,"
        says Su Yi, a Chinese official stationed in Tibet, "one
        needs immigrants from the new world to develop the people
        of the old world." The Tibetan government in exile views
        it differently and, therefore, demands an immediate
        construction stop until a comprehensive study has been
        completed by the environmental compatibility and a
        cost-benefit calculation can be presented.  The exiled
        politicians are of the opinion that Tibet's energy needs
        can be covered by renewable sources such as small
        hydro-power plants, geothermal and solar energy.  In spite
        of the international concerns about the feasibility of the
        dam, the Austrian firms are not troubled.  "We carefully
        examined the project before its implementation.  But this
        project is ecologically only a little alarming since there
        is water for the power plant and there is no kilometer
        long dam to be built.  Tibet is one of the poorest regions
        in the world, the power plant brings an increase the
        living quality of the population,"  says Dr. Ursula
        Schneider, Public Relations Director of the Elin Energy
        application, dismissing all reservations of environmental
        advocates.  Elin and Voith - like the turbine constructors
        of the nationalized VOEST - have a tradition of
        constructing catastrophic dams against the will of local
        populations.  It was VOEST and Elin who participated in
        the Pak-Mun dam in Thailand.  The consequences: besides
        the fish population being reduced, up to 20,000 people had
        to leave their land on an involuntary basis.  The Austrian
        State helped with a credit guarantee of the Kontrollbank.
        In Indonesia, VOEST and Elin built the Cirata dam.
        Result: 60,000 people driven away by the military and
        unsolved assassinations of critics of the resettlement.
        All three firms were also participating in the Mosul dam
        in the Kurdish region of Iraq which was cleared of all
        human forms of life by the military.  What remains is the
        hope that in the case of Tibet at least, the Federal
        government will renounce this project - like many other
        dams in China and other countries - by denying national
        export credits.

What You Can Do: Write to the Prime Minister and Finance Minister
and ask that they withhold export credits from all items relating
to the Yamdrok Tso pump-storage station.  Prime Minister Dr. Franz
Vranitzky, Ballmausplate 2, 1010 Vienna, Austria; Finance Minister
Ferdinand Lacina, Himmelpfortgasse 4-8, 1010 Vienna, Austria.

(From the Greenpeace Austria magazine "ACT!", December, 1993.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Nepal Balks at Tibetan Irrigation Project
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded by: K. Aukatsang, International Campaign for Tibet <[e-mail]>

Tibetan Environment & Development News, May 1994, Issue #13 --
        Himalayan investigative journalism is slowly coming into
        its own, doing its homwork and drawing connections across
        frontiers.  An example is how some in the Nepali media
        have followed the trail of the Arun III hydropower
        project.  The latest ws the Kathmandu was the Kathmandu
        weekly Deshantar, which broke the story on 12 December
        that even as the Nepali Government and the World Bank
        proceeded with strident defence of the project, unknown to
        them, the Chinese were planning to divert significant
        waters up in Tibet.  This spanner in the works is in the
        form of the Changsuo Basin Irrigation Project in the
        Qomolangma Nature Preserve.  In September 1991, a proposal
        was made for a 9000 hectare irrigation scheme using the
        waters of the Pengu (Arun).  The project is to be located
        between Dingri and Dingrjie counties of the Shigatse
        Prefecture, will include a 25m high dam, and will cost
        more than US$10million.  Beyond what this diversion of
        good aqua might mean for Arun III's generating potential,
        the news brings Nepalis to the realization that they are
        not always upper-riparian.  In the case of the Arun III,
        that privilege is reserved for Tibet.

(Reprinted from Jan/Feb 1994 issue of Himal magazine)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. U.S. Sanctions Taiwan for Tiger Trade - China Escapes Censure
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded by: K. Aukatsang, International Campaign for Tibet <[e-mail]>

Tibetan Environment & Development News, May 1994, Issue #13 --
        President Clinton, signaling a toughened U.S. commitment
        to protecting international wildlife, announced that the
        U.S. will impose limited sanctions against Taiwan for that
        nationUs continued failure to halt trade in products from
        endangered tigers and rhinos.  The U.S. was considering
        sanctions against both Taiwan and China, however at a time
        when Chinese-American tensions are running high over human
        rights, Tibet and other issues connected to ChinaUs trade
        status, the Administration probably did not want to open a
        new front with the Chinese on wildlife - even though the
        Chinese are considered by experts to be among the worst
        offenders.  China had taken some steps, the most notable a
        public burning of tiger and rhino medicines and to educate
        people against their use.  Sanctions against China may
        have effected the trade in tiger parts which crosses the
        Tibetan plateau from India and Nepal to major Chinese
        cities.  it is not known what percentage of tiger parts
        come through Tibet, but it is believed to be a substantial
        amount.  Once killed, many tigers join the corpses of
        leopards, jackals and other animals in a grotesque
        procession by cart and truck that leads ultimately to a
        series of tenements along a narrow, filthy alley in
        Delhi's Sadar Bazaar.  The skins travel west, often ending
        up in the homes ofwealthy Arabs, while the bones make
        their way to the east, frequently on the backs of Tibetans
        who ferry the contraband across mountainous, sparsely
        populated terrain.  In February, the Dalai Lama wrote to
        government officials in India supporting the efforts to
        crack down on people, including Tibetans, found to be
        trafficking in tiger parts.  Involvement in this deadly
        trade is Rtotally against the basic Buddhist concept of
        reverence for life and my personal concern for animal
        life,S the Dalai Lama wrote.  RI have on many occasions
        spoken to my people against such activities and I will
        continue to do so.  On my instructions, the Cabinet of the
        Tibetan Government in Exile sent on October 18, 1993, an
        appeal to all Tibetan communities,S he said.  The growing
        market for tiger parts posed little threat in the 1980s to
        most tiger populations.  In previous years China had
        slaughtered thousands of its tigers, claiming the animal
        was a pest that endangered humans.  The massacre created a
        temporary glut of tiger bone - more than enough to satisfy
        the traditional medicine market.  only in the late 1980s,
        after the Chinese had exhausted their bone stockpiles, did
        conservationists begin to notice unusual trends in
        poaching.  Demand for tiger bone originates in China,
        Korea and Taiwan, largely beyond the reach of Western
        publicity campaigns.  All three countries have a
        well-documented history of paying lip service to
        agreements protecting endangered species while continuing
        to do business as usual. (From the Washington Post, New
        York Times, Time Magazine and other sources.)

The Tibetan Environment & Development News is published 6 times a
year by the International Campaign for Tibet, a non-profit
monitoring and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
For information about membership or copies of this newsletter,
contact: ICT, 1518 K St., NW, Suite 410, Washington, DC  20005.
Tel: [phone] FAX [phone].

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------   World Tibet Network News   ----------------------
   Published by:     The Canada-Tibet Committee
   Editorial Board:  Brian Given <[e-mail]>
                     Nima Dorjee <[e-mail]>
                     Conrad Richter <[e-mail]>
                     Tseten Samdup <[e-mail]>
   Submissions and subscriptions to:
                     [e-mail]
                     or fax to: [phone]  (U.K.)
   Send us your comments, announcements, news or items for discussion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue ID: 94/05/16 12:45 GMT                      Compiled by Conrad Richter

Contents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Mitchell Backs Sanctions on Trade to Punish China; Dole Says Human Rights
   Stance was Mistake
2. Bundesregierung soll Freiheiten fuer Tibet fordern [Federal Government
   Should Demand Freedom for Tibet]
3. Tibetan Buddhist Art Collection at D.E.F.A.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Mitchell Backs Sanctions on Trade to Punish China; Dole Says Human Rights
   Stance was Mistake
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    WASHINGTON, May 16, Reuter, Washington Post -- Senate Majority Leader
George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) said yesterday that he favored punishing China
with trade sanctions unless it improves its human rights record in the next
two weeks.
     In remarks that could complicate a decision President Clinton must make
by June 3, Mitchell said he was drafting sanctions because he believed that
China had not yet met U.S. conditions for the renewal of most favored nation
(MFN) trade status.
     In his executive order last June, Clinton said he would revoke MFN this
year unless China made "overall, significant progress" on such human rights
issues as freeing political prisoners, ending repression in Tibet and easing
emigration.
     "There has been significant progress in some respects, not in others,"
Mitchell said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
    "As of now, I don't think that the terms of the executive order have been
met. And therefore the extension of the MFN status should be conditioned with
some sanctions.
     "I think it'll be a very close call," he said.
     If Clinton fully carried out his threat, China would be relegated to the
handful of nations whose exports to the United States are ineligible for the
low tariffs MFN bestows.
     U.S. business groups, among others, fear Beijing would then retaliate in
kind, restricting access to one of the fastest growing markets for American
goods.
    Mitchell said that he had begun drafting a measure to punish China for any
failure to meet the executive order's conditions. "But it depends upon what
the decision is at the time and what sanctions are imposed," he said.
     Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.), also appearing on "Meet
the Press," urged Clinton to eat crow, renew MFN and admit he had erred in
tying it to human rights.
     "My view is that we have to continue to look at their human rights
policies, but we ought to separate the two," he said. "The president just
ought to say `Listen, maybe I went too far, I made a mistake. Let's go ahead
and extend most favored nation status for China and we'll continue to work on
human rights.' "
     During the 1992 presidential campaign, candidate Clinton criticized
then-President George Bush for unwillingness to condition trade on human
rights in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
     A classified interagency study found that revoking MFN could cost both
sides as much as $10 billion to $13 billion if high American tariffs were to
be placed in effect across the board.

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2. Bundesregierung soll Freiheiten fuer Tibet fordern [Federal Government
   Should Demand Freedom for Tibet]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    BONN, May 16, DPA -- Im Vertrauen auf die Wirksamkeit deutscher
Asienpolitik hat der tibetische Exilpolitiker Samdhong Rinpoche am Montag in
Bonn die Bundesregierung um Vermittlung in der Tibetfrage ersucht. Samdhong,
Praesident des tibetischen Exilparlaments im indischen Dharamsala, nannte
dafuer besonders den 4. Juli als Auftakt des offiziellen Besuchs des
chinesischen Ministerpraesidenten Li Peng in Bonn.
    Samdhong und neun Delegationsmitglieder hatten eine dreiwoechige
Deutschlandreise auf Einladung der FDP-nahen Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung
abgeschlossen, die gleichzeitig auch das tibetische Oberhaupt, den Dalai Lama
zu einem Kurzbesuch eingeladen hatte. Weder die Delegation noch der Dalai Lama
konnten in Deutschland Mitglieder der Bundesregierung treffen.
Bundestagspraesidentin Rita Suessmuth und Abgeordnete wie Otto Graf Lambsdorff
(FDP) hatten jedoch den Dalai Lama empfangen.
    In Bonn aeusserte Samdhong Sorgen ueber eine sich "staendig
verschlechternde Menschenrechtssituation" in Tibet sowie ueber einen
"kulturellen Voelkermord". Die tibetische Exilregierung sei zwar nach wie vor
zu Gespraechen "ohne Vorbedingungen" bereit, habe aber eigene
Gespraechsinitiativen zunaechst aufgegeben. Tibet erwarte mindestens
demokratische Selbstbestimmung, Menschenrechte und Umweltschutz sowie die
Ausuebung seiner kulturellen Identitaet. Diese werde von China gezielt durch
die Ansiedlung von 7, 5 Millionen Chinesen in dem von sechs Millionen
Einwohnern duenn bevoelkerten Tibet unterwandert.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Tibetan Buddhist Art Collection at D.E.F.A.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Barry Kapke <[e-mail]>

   [Courtesy: Jarkko Lavinen. -BK]

The Dharma Electronic Files Archive (D.E.F.A.) has agreed to act as a
temporary host site for a collection of Tibetan Buddhist line art that was
donated by Jarkko Lavinen. Because the Internet service provider Netcom only
allows 5 megs of storage to this account, this collection must find another
online home. Anyone interested in hosting a Buddhist Image Bank, please
contact Barry Kapke (e-mail: [e-mail]).
        These images, and others, are also available at the BBS, BODY DHARMA
ONLINE, in Berkeley CA. The BBS is accessible via direct dial-up to
1-510-836-4717. Access is free to all.
        We are also interested in identifying the images in this collection,
many of which are unknown to me. Any help is appreciated.
        DEFA is available via anonymous ftp to ftp.netcom.com in the
subdirectories of pub/dharma. Contact: Barry Kapke, [e-mail]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------   World Tibet Network News   ----------------------
   Published by:     The Canada-Tibet Committee
   Editorial Board:  Brian Given <[e-mail]>
                     Nima Dorjee <[e-mail]>
                     Conrad Richter <[e-mail]>
                     Tseten Samdup <[e-mail]>
   Submissions and subscriptions to:
                     [e-mail]
                     or fax to: [phone]  (U.K.)
   Send us your comments, announcements, news or items for discussion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue ID: 94/05/16 15:41 GMT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.   HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA VISITS MOSCOW
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded by: CTC National Office <[e-mail]>

For Immediate Release                   Contact:  Ngawang Rabgyal
May 16, 1994                                      Tashi Tashi
                                                  [phone]
                                                  [phone]



          HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA VISITS MOSCOW

Moscow - From 18 to 21 May 1994, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will
visit Moscow at the invitation of Russian Academy of Sciences,
Russian Parliament members and International Foundation for the
Survival and Development of Humanity. The upcoming visit of the
Tibetan leader and Nobel Peace Laureate is academic in nature. He
will give public talk and participate in seminar.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrives in Moscow on 18 May. The next
day, His Holiness will have a meeting with members of the Russian
Parliament, address the press conference and gives public talk on
the practical application of nonviolence, patience or tolerance in
daily life.

On 20 May, His Holiness will address the International Breakfast
Prayer, which will be attended by the Patriach of Russian Orthodox
Church Alexei II, representatives of various religions and
governments from Russia, Europe, USA, Commonwealth of Independent
States, Japan and Mongolia. In the afternoon, His Holiness will
participate a seminar devoted to the problems of global security
and conflict resolution in modern world.

His Holiness leaves Moscow for India on 21 May.



Thursday, 19 May

11:00 a.m.     Meeting with members of the Parliament
               Speech on "The Global Community & The Need for
               Universal Responsibility"

 2:30 p.m.     Press Conference
               Venue: International Press Centre & Club,
               Writers Hall, Hotel Slavjanskaya
               Topic: "Need for Global Thinking"
               followed by Questions and Answers

 5:30 p.m.     Public Talk: "Practical Application of Non-Violence,
               Patience or Tolerance in Daily Life"
               Venue: Conference Hall, All_Russia Institute of
               Scientific & Technological Information


Friday, 20 May

09:30 a.m.     International Breakfast Prayer
               Address by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
               Venue: Congress Hall, Hotel Penta

11:30 a.m.     Reception by the Embassy of Mongolia
               at Mongolia Culture & Information Centre

 3:00 p.m.     Seminar on Conflict Resolution in Modern World
               Venue: President Hall, Russian Academy of Sciences,
               Leninsky Prospect, 32a

=============================================================================
------------------------   World Tibet Network News   ----------------------
   Published by:     The Canada-Tibet Committee
   Editorial Board:  Brian Given <[e-mail]>
                     Nima Dorjee <[e-mail]>
                     Conrad Richter <[e-mail]>
                     Tseten Samdup <[e-mail]>
   Submissions and subscriptions to:
                     [e-mail]
                     or fax to: [phone]  (U.K.)
   Send us your comments, announcements, news or items for discussion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue ID 94/05/16 GMT 17:45     Complied by Tseten Samdup
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1) China rejects Dalai Lama's referendum idea
2)  Tibet public security bodies report trading in counterfeit  renminbi
spreading

---------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------
1) China rejects Dalai Lama's referendum idea
---------------------------------------------------------------------
China rejects Dalai Lama's referendum idea

AFP news agency Hong Kong, in English 0348 gmt 10 May 94
BBC SWB
14 may 1994 Editorial report (FE/1993 G/l [31)

In an official reaction to the Dalai Lama's statement that he
might hold a referendum on Tibet's future if Beijing ignores his
moderate approach, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "The
so-called referendum suggested by the Dalai Lama is yet another
trick for his splitting activities. The question of holding a
referendum on the future of Tibet does not exist".
   [Note: PRC sources monitored to date have not been observed to
   report the above.]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
2) Tibet public security bodies report trading in counterfeit
renminbi spreading
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhongguo Tongxun She news agency, Hong Kong, in Chinese 0934 gmt
26 Apr 94 14 may 1994
BBC SWB

Editorial report

Tibet, the roof of the world, recently uncovered counterfeit
renminbi in 100-yuan, SO-yuan and 10-yuan notes. The Tibet public
security bodies discovered the trading of counterfeit renminbi in
Lhasa, Zhedang town in Shannan and Zalang county and arrested a
number of criminals involved. Last year the region uncovered 37
cases of counterfeit renminbi trading and confiscated 110,000 yuan
in fake notes. Use of counterfeit money is tending to spread to
the remote mountain areas.

=============================================================================
------------------------   World Tibet Network News   ----------------------
   Published by:     The Canada-Tibet Committee
   Editorial Board:  Brian Given <[e-mail]>
                     Nima Dorjee <[e-mail]>
                     Conrad Richter <[e-mail]>
                     Tseten Samdup <[e-mail]>
   Submissions and subscriptions to:
                     [e-mail]
                     or fax to: [phone]  (U.K.)
   Send us your comments, announcements, news or items for discussion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue ID: 94/05/16 24:00 GMT

Contents
---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
1.   TIBETAN ART EXHIBITION IN MONTREAL - May 28th to June 19th
---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
Forwarded by: CTC National Office <[e-mail]>


Immediate Release

Montreal - An exhibition with the intention of showing different facets of
contemporary Tibetan art and further supporting this community.

May 28th to June 19th 1994

Opening: Saturday May 28th at 4:00 pm

** Children's drawings from the Tibetan School in Choglamsar, Ladakh. **

This exhibition assembles approximately thirty drawings made by
children living in refugee camps of the Ladakh, in India. Organized
in Ladakh, the show also includes photographs of the children at
work.  The exhibition has toured Canada in order to increase public
awareness of Tibetans' life conditions and to raise funds for the
Ladakh Solar Energy Project.

** Contemporary paintings, drawings, photographs and videos **

This section brings together the works of five artists whose
paintings, drawings, photographs and videos are inspired by the
Tibetan Buddhist tradition while integrating diverse stylistic
influences. =20

Losang Gyatso (paintings) will be presenting primarily acrylic on
canvas paintings created since 1993. The works explore and
synthesize Tibetan forms, designs and color schemes found in
traditional painting and decorative folk art. Born in Tibet, Losang
Gyatso has lived in India, England and New York. He studied
traditional Tibetan painting and graphic arts at the Academy of
Arts in San-Francisco.=20

Elise S=82guin (paintings) is a Canadian artist that studied painting
with a Tibetan master in Katmandu.  Her works are concerned with
spirituality and uses mixtures of watercolor and ground mineral
oxides from Tibet  in a very original way.

Sonam Zoksang (photographs) creates photographic work is concerned
with Tibetan social condition and lifestyle. He will present at
Oboro a series of work he has produced in Tibet in 1993. Born in
Kyirong in Tibet,  Sonam Zoksang grew up in India and studied at
the Tibetan schools in Simla and Veranasi. He has been living in=20
New York since 1985.=20

Kelsang Landrak (drawings) was born in India and grew up in Zurich.
He has worked as a designer in Europe and is presently completing
a degree in sculpture at the Parson School of Design in New York.
Kelsang Landrak will be presenting recent ink drawings.

Pema Losang Chogyen (video) is a monk from Namgyal Monastery. He is
the author of Exploring the Mandala video, a computer graphic
animation which demonstrates the relationship between the two and
three dimensional mandalas.  This tape represents a unique
collaboration between ancient traditions of Buddhist meditation and
state-of-the-art computer graphics technology. It was produced in
collaboration with the Cornell University's Program of Computer
Graphics.

** Special Performance by the Dancers of the Tibetan Cultural Association *=
*

Saturday May 28th at 5:00 pm=20
(during the opening of the exhibition; free admission)

Formed in 1980, the dance group comprises six former members of the
Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharmsala, among them opera
master Phurbu Tsering. The group's extensive repertoire includes:
the monastic "cham", the classical "lu", excerpts from the operatic
"lhamo" (such as the popular Yak dance) as well as many other folk
dances.  All the music is played on original instruments.  This
performance also offers the opportunity to view the beautiful
traditional costumes.

The dancers of the Tibetan Cultural Association perform several
times a year at local events.  They have also been invited to the
Newark Museum (NY), the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto), the Museum
of Civilizations (Ottawa), the Drummondville Folk Festival, the
Vancouver Folk Festival, and the University of Montreal. =20

** Lecture and slide presentation by Anna Souza **

Saturday June 11th at 9:00 pm

This talk will discuss the cultural devastation in Tibet during the
last five years, as well as current efforts to preserve what is
still surviving.

Anna Souza was born in Mexico and studied art history at the
Sorbonne in Paris. She has been Director of the Tibet House in New
York for five years and is actively involved in establishing
several conservation projects in Tibet.

OBORO
4001 Berri #301
Montr=82al, Qc
844-3250

The gallery is open from Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 5pm

=============================================================================

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