News

Pilgrims try to get close to the huge silk portrait of the Sakyamuni Buddha with incense burning on a hillside above the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003 in China. Thousands of pilgrims climbed the hillside to view the 42 meter-high portrait, or tanka, which was unveiled in a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Buddha. The ceremony has been performed annually at the monastery since the 15th century. (Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Tibetan authorities are to limit the number of pilgrims visiting the traditional home of the Dalai Lama in an attempt to prevent damage to the thousand year-old landmark.

Reports from Tibet suggest that Evangelist missionaries have increased and diversified their long-term activities in Lhasa and other parts of Tibet because of the closer interaction between Tibetans and foreigners operating in Tibet.

According to reliable information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Champa Chung, 56-year-old former assistant of Chadrel Rinpoche, is in custody even after expiry of his original four-year’s prison term in 1999.

A meeting of the Members of the India Tibet Friendship Society (ITFS), Mr. Tinley Gyatso and Mr Karma Damdul, Representatives of Luksum Samdupling and Dikyi Larso Tibetan settlement and Regional Tibetan women’s association was held at Bylakuppe, South India.

A 3-day All India Tibet Support Groups Conference will be held in Chandigarh on September 5-7, 2003. India Tibet Coordination Office is organizing the conference under the banner of the Core Group for Tibetan Cause, New Delhi.

Wild animals breeding unchecked in reserves in the Tibet Autonomous Region will be culled to reduce pressure on grasslands. Zhoima Yangzom, an official in charge of wild animal protection with the forestry bureau of the autonomous region in southwest China

China urged the United States on Thursday not to allow the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, to visit next week when he is expected to meet President Bush.

A police officer stands guard at the huge silk portrait of the Sakyamuni Buddha with incense burned on a hillside above the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003 in China. Thousands of pilgrims climbed the hillside to view the 42 meter-high portrait, or tanka, which was unveiled in a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Buddha. The ceremony has been performed annually at the monastery since the 15th century. Photo by Eugene Hoshiko

Druk Team