HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN      April 18, 2012

China must reform to avoid another ‘cultural revolution’: Dalai Lama

Honolulu (Hawai), April 17: The Dalai Lama said on Monday there are hopeful signs that China will push through political reforms in China and Tibet in order to avoid another 'cultural revolution.'

  But the exiled Tibetan leader warned that there were still 'worshippers of the gun' in Tibetan areas of China, where more than 30 protestors -- many Buddhist monks and nuns -- have set themselves alight since March 2011.

"The same cultural revolution is returning that was the cause of a crisis in 2008 when several hundred people were killed or disappeared," he said in Hawaii, where he spent the weekend before a trip to the US mainland.

"Now the time has come that the Chinese authority must investigate the causes" of Tibetan protests, the Dalai Lama said.

"The local (Chinese) authority (in Tibet) I think ... are worshippers of the gun, as Chairman Mao Zedong once expressed that power comes from the barrel of the gun. Unfortunately some hardliners still believe that," he said.

The Dalai Lama said he sees hopeful signs in statements last month by outgoing Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, that China has no way forward but through economic and political structural reform.

Wen said on March 14 that China could see a repeat of the Cultural Revolution's deadly chaos without 'urgent' political reform, in a dramatic parting shot at his final news conference as premier.

The exiled spiritual leader is due to fly to San Diego, California this week, before visiting Los Angeles and Chicago. From there he will travel to Canada and on to Europe.

‘Dethroned ex- king Gyanendra will be jailed’

Kathmandu, April 17:  A top Communist leader has threatened to jail Nepal's dethroned king Gyanendra, weeks after the former monarch was accused by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of conspiring against the landmark peace process.

66-year Gyanendra, who has increased his appearances at public and religious functions over the last few months, has been targeted by Nepalese political leaders amid growing speculation over his future plans at a time when the country's peace process has been delayed due to deadlock among the parties, PTI reported.

Madhav Kumar Nepal, the former Prime Minister and senior leader of CPN-UML, warned the Gyanendra that he would be sent to jail if he tried to disrupt the 2006 peace process and drafting of a new constitution.

"If the former King is found conspiring against the peace process and constitution drafting, he would be directly sent to jail," Nepal said at a programme in the capital this week.

"Anyone who goes against the achievements of the People's Movement of 2006 will be obliterated," he warned.

Last month, Bhattarai had accused Gyanendra of conspiring against the peace process.

The prime minister had said Gyanendra's 'activism' is not a good sign at a time when the country's transition is set to be concluded.

China invites Japan, South Korea to build observatory in disputed Aksai Chin

Beijing, April 17: China is pushing Japan and South Korea to establish an astronomical observatory in Aksai Chin, a remote part of Jammu & Kashmir that Beijing occupied after the 1962 war and had Islamabad cede parts of the region to it a year later.

A Chinese scientist on Sunday said the East Asia Core Observatories Association -- with China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as it members - has recommended the site for the observatory. Yao told the official Xinhua news agency that the association had also surveyed sites in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Pamirs Plateau in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, but the new observatory is likely to be established in Tibet (Aksai Chin) this year.

The association's website shows one of its proposed sites in Aksai Chin (Shiquanhe in Chinese) in Tibet.

"EACOA directors reached a consensus that a review and evaluation meeting are urgently needed among regional excepts, aiming to update EACOA on relevant site survey progress, particularly focus on the site-testing metrology, instrumentations, procedures and data analysis performed on the candidate site at Ali (Aksai Chin) Tibet," it said about a recent meeting.

Ali in Tibet's Ngari Prefecture falls within Aksai Chin, which India claims to be its own territory.

The move comes as Beijing has been asking India to pull out of oil exploration from the disputed areas of the South China Sea off the Vietnamese coast. Both China and Vietnam claim the South China Sea.

China feels that the presence of India and Russia, which recently entered the area, will further complicate the territorial dispute. Experts see the Chinese proposal for the observatory as an attempt to complicate the Aksai Chin dispute by drawing in Japan and South Korea, who are members of the Japan-based EACOA.

The observatory will carry out research on planetary science, star formation, gamma-ray bursts and other astronomical projects. It will conduct around-the-clock observations of certain celestial bodies.

The move, if successful, will legitimize Beijing's claim over the disputed area and make it difficult for New Delhi to establish its rights over it.

Peace in Asia depends on China-India ties

Dharamsala, April 17:  The Tibetan PM in exile Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay recently inaugurated ‘Tibet: The Third Pole & Its Global Significance', a one-day conference organised by the Tibet Policy Institute at Gangchen Kyishong in Dharamsala.

The chief guest at the inaugural session was Dalip Mehta, a former Indian ambassador to Bhutan and various other Central Asian Republics of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Sangay said, “The idea behind the formation of the Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) is to create an intellectual hub here in Dharamsala where experts will be invited to speak on a weekly or monthly basis. Since its launch, TPI has organized many seminars but this is the first conference where a panel discussion is being held. Soon, we will have two panel discussions a year, a day-long conference and another major conference which could be two-three days long.”

"Unlike the Antartic and the Arctic, Tibet has major global significance because when Tibet's ice melts, it converts into fresh water and contributes to about 10 major rivers of the world including the Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, Yangtze and the Yellow river which is the basis of China's civilization," he added .

He also questioned the benefits and the risk factors associated with the damming of many of the Tibetan rivers by the Chinese government.

He concluded by saying the significance of Tibet's environment transcends much beyond our national borders and added that saving Tibet is saving yourself.

 Mehta, the chief guest, spoke about the relevance of Tibet from the point of view of regional security.

"It is unacceptable to say that peace in Asia, to a very large extent, depends on the relationship between India and China," he said.

‘Until China invaded Tibet in 1949, Tibet throughout its independent existence, had been a zone of peace and a source for regional stability being an effective space between Asia's two largest and most populous nations namely China and India.'

"The geopolitical reality changed after Tibet's occupation by China. India and China now shares a long and dangerously militarised border of over 4500 kms with claims and counter claims, and which had led to a war between these two nations in 1962," he said.

"Today, India and China are both nuclear powers with regional and global aspirations with Tibet no longer as the buffer state. And herein lies the significance of Tibet in India's relation with China," he said.

The conference also featured other speakers like Matthew Akester, an independent researcher who spoke about the rampant mining in Tibet, Tsering Dhondup and Tenzin Norbu, researchers from the Central Tibetan Administration's Environment Desk, as well as Thinley Jigme, Tenzin Dheden and Prof. Ngawang Phuntsok.

Report against ‘Pre-1953’ status for J&K

New Delhi, April 17: Attempts to seek autonomy on the lines of “pre-1953” status in Jammu and Kashmir would be unwise, the interlocutors on J&K have suggested in their report.

Central laws should be applied to Jammu and Kashmir after a review by a constitutional committee and be then ratified by Parliament and the state assembly by a two-third majority, the interlocutors have said.

The report, prepared after seeking views of a cross-section of opinion including political parties in J&K, said any attempt to pitch for autonomy on the lines of the "pre-1953 situation" will create a dangerous constitutional vacuum.

The report's recommendations seek to explore the scope for enhanced autonomy and inclusiveness without moving into politically sensitive terrain that can be seen as a concession to hard-line separatists. Its emphasis is on a political process that will build consensus by involving both Parliament and state legislature.

The report suggests that once the review process is ratified by Parliament and state legislature, the House would make no new laws applicable to the State unless these relate to the country's internal and external security and its vital economic interest.

The report also suggests replacing the word "temporary" from the heading of Article 370 with "special" as has been used for other states under Article 371 and proposes that the governor be appointed from a list of names prepared by the state government in consultation with opposition parties. Fresh elections should be held within three months, if Article 356 is used.

The report has also pitched for making the LoC between India and Pakistan "irrelevant", suggesting the door can also be open for Pakistan and separatist Hurriyat Conference to join the peace process if stakeholders in J&K are willing to accept a permanent settlement.

The home ministry had formed the team comprising Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari in the wake of youth unrest in J&K in 2010. The interlocutors had submitted their report to the ministry in October last year.

Editorial

AUTONOMY DEMAND

Meet Genuine Aspirations

The demand for ‘self-rule’ is not limited to countries seeking full independence; even areas/states within a country are seeking limited freedom and autonomy with a view to preserving their own traditional culture and distinct identity. The people of Tibet, Sikkim and Jammu and Kashmir’s reference to ‘distinct identity’ and protection of their ‘special status’ are blatantly being ignored by Beijing and New Delhi. The Dalai Lama believes that the solution for the Tibet issue would be to grant ‘genuine autonomy’ as promised in China’s constitution. The case for Sikkim is very much the same. Ever since its takeover by its protecting power in 1975 the Sikkimese people have been demanding preservation of their distinct identity within the Union as reflected in Article 371F and the historic Tripartite Agreement of May 8, 1973.

  New Delhi, however, seeks to further assimilate Sikkim with the mainstream by craftily pumping money into the State to buy people’s consent for self-destruction. It should note that in the long run such a policy would be counterproductive, particularly when Sikkim lies in a strategic and vulnerable border region. A three-member report on J&K have rejected the demand for ‘pre-1953’ status while recommending ‘enhanced autonomy’ for the State. Its emphasis on involving both Parliament and State legislature without catering to the genuine aspirations of the people will not work. The experience in Tibet, Sikkim and J&K in the last few decades show that elected representatives of the people hardly represent the people. The political process in these regions are a farce imposed on the people but for how long.

WB govt to hold talks on inclusion of plains area in GTA

Siliguri, April 17: The state government today is likely to hold talks with representatives of organisations which have called a strike in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts on April 18 and 19 for the inclusion of the Dooars and Terai in the set-up for the hills.

The invitation for the talks at Writers’ Buildings was sent to John Barla, the convener of the Joint Action Co-ordination Committee that has called the strike. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is a constituent of the committee.

North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said the government would request the leaders of the committee to withdraw the strike as disruptive activities would hit the economic growth of the region. “The government is relentlessly trying to dissuade all organisations from calling strikes. We will hold talks with the John Barla group (of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad) and other associations tomorrow and request them to call off the strike,” said Deb.

“We would like to tell them that the government is not against rallies and other forms of agitation, but they should refrain from strikes or any other disruptive activity which will have a negative effect on the region’s economy or will deteriorate law and order.”

The committee had called the strike in response to a shutdown announced by a forum of outfits on April 10 and 11 to protest the demand to bring the Terai and Dooars under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. However, the anti-GTA forum scaled down the strike to one day (April 10) at the request of industries minister Partha Chatterjee.

“We have received an invitation from minister Gautam Deb. A seven-member delegation will sit with ministers and officials. If the government appeals to us to withdraw the strike, the delegates will consult with other leaders before making any announcement. They will ask the ministers to promise us in writing that 349 mouzas in the plains will be made a part of the GTA,” said Barla.

Singh lays foundation stone for ‘Gorkha Museum’ in Darjeeling

  Darjeeling, April 17: The first of its kind Gorkha Musuem is all set to come up in Darjeeling in West Bengal, depicting primarily the martial aspect of the Gorkhas, known throughout the world for their bravery.

Pegged at Rs. 1 crore, the museum will be located adjacent to the Gorkha War Memorial at the

Jaswant Singh, Lok Sabha MP, Darjeeling laid the foundation stone for the museum here recently.

A personal initiative has actually paved way for this museum. 58-year-old Hemant Kumar Pradhan has been collecting war artifacts (medals, photographs, weapons, uniforms) related to the Gorkha regiments since he was 17 years old. Having managed a sizable collection of these rare artifacts, he has been running from pillar to post sharing his idea of a Gorkha war museum. Pradhan has even organized numerous exhibitions of his personal collection, national daily reported.

“Pradhan’s initiative truly fascinated us and we decided to work on it” stated Amar Singh Rai, Chairman Darjeeling Municipality. “With the idea being floated, we approached various persons including the MP. He was very receptive to the idea and assured us of all cooperation” stated Saumitra Mohan, District Magistrate, Darjeeling. Singh will be contributing Rs. 25 lakhs from the MP Local Area Development Fund for this project.

Incidentally Pradhan inspired by his mother carefully preserving his father’s “Burma Star” (a medal,) started taking deep interest in war artifacts. His collection now includes 200 medals (including Shamana medal of 1891; Tibet medal of 1903-04; Abor expedition medal of 1911-12 along with first and second world war medals,) photographs, uniforms and a surrendered Samurai sword.

“A museum has been my dream since 1972. Finally after 40 years of hard work my dream is all set to come true” stated Pradhan.

We want more Bhaichung Bhutias in Sikkim:  AIFF

Gangtok, April 17: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) could set up one of its eight regional residential academies in Sikkim if the state comes up with the required infrastructure.

I-League CEO Sunanda Dhar said the AIFF was setting up eight regional residential football academies in different parts of the country by the end of 2013 and one was likely to be set up in Sikkim.

However, he added, it would happen if the AIFF gets a ground and other required infrastructure in the State, The Times of India reported.

"We want Sikkim to develop more football infrastructure to create more Bhaichung Bhutias in the State," AIFF senior vice-president Subrata Dutta said.

Besides, he told reporters at Paljor Stadium that the SFA should pay attention to training of coaches and referees and said the AIFF would back SFA in its endeavours.

Dutta and Dhar were in town to inspect the organisation of the Gangtok leg of the final round of the second division I-League.
Sikkim 2012-13 annual plan is Rs 1500 cr

Gangtok, April 17: Sikkim annual plan for the year 2012-13 has been fixed at Rs 1500 crore.

The annual plan was finalised in a meeting between Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia in meeting held in New Delhi on Monday.

While speaking about the annual plan Chamling said that the plan is 100 crore higher than current plan size.

 He told that sikkim has achieved growth rate of 8.95% during 11th plan which is higher than national average.

Chamling said the State Government  has launched a scheme called Chief Minister’s Free Scholarship Programme under which  students enrolled in top 20 international  universities of the world  provided full sponsorship by the State Government.

The Chief Minister said work on Rs. 735 crore 575-bedded multispeciality hospital has been started and construction of the building will be completed in 2014.

No one homeless in Mizoram

Aizawl, April 17: Land-locked Mizoram has scored a high in housing and household amenities - the northeastern state does not have any homeless people, revealed the 2011 census for housing, household amenities and assets.

According to official figures, the state has a total of 221,077 households - 65.8% live in their own houses while 31.8% have rented accommodation. The rest live in staff quarters. The figures suggest that 2.8% live in houses marked dilapidated.

Mizoram has also set a benchmark in sanitation. As many as 2,03,185 families of the total 2,21,077 families in the State have toilets on the premises of their houses, while 3,342 families use public toilets and 14,550 people defecate in the open.

In sharp contrast, the more accessible Meghalaya cuts a sorry figure - 34.3% of its 5,38,299 households do defecation out in the open.

The problem for another northeastern state, Manipur, has been the lack of access to fuel for cooking. According to the latest census, 65% of the state’s 6.09 lakh people are dependent on firewood. However, amazingly, 57% of them possess cell phones.

At total of 65.7% of the households in Manipur are firewood users.

The national average is 49%. The census data revealed that 29.7% of the people in the state use cooking gas while 0.2% households use kerosene for cooking.