For a traumatized and disoriented refugee community, just having a role model like Dr. Pemba la, who scored first in the Royal College of Surgeons exams in London, was a comforting reassurance that we would be able to cope with and even succeed in an alien and modern world.

The deed of the thirteen self-immolators is not only Buddhist in an unquestionably absolute sense, but furthermore comes from a within a heroic and action-oriented tradition of Buddhism. Some scholars have viewed this approach as truer to the original teachings of the historical Buddha…

This post is not intended as an eulogy or a discussion of Havel’s literary work, but rather to introduce an important, even game-changing, legacy that he left us Tibetans and other freedom fighters struggling against the oppression and violence of “post-totalitarianism”.

Shakabpa’s history can be read not merely as a record of the past but as a powerful revolutionary document, that even now, twenty-two years after the author’s death, is deeply disturbing to Beijing, and which frustrates and confounds those Tibetans attempting a final handover of Tibetan sovereignty to China.

Tibetans all over the world are asking that question in the wake of the “fire protests” of the eight young monks and, today, of the nun, Tenzing Wangmo (age 20) in Ngaba.

Just this year, in Tibet, starting twelve days after the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, we have had eight self-immolations – so far. And there are unsettling rumors of more to come. The latest happened after I had actually finished writing this post and late last night …

Sorry,  this is not the second part of the ENDING TO BEGIN. That will be coming soon. No sweat. In the meantime I would advise everyone to read this brilliant analysis of the fundamental dishonesty of Dharamshala arguments for turning an exile government into an NGO. It is by Christophe Besuchet, an old and loyal [...]

I wrote this piece over twenty years ago for the Tibetan Review. I am re-posting it now to give readers some idea of the origins of our current national debacle, especially the part played by foreign “advisors” and “friends” (and by extension the Chinese Intelligence Service, Guójiā Ānquán Bù,) in persuading us to give up our goal of Rangzen, and shut down the struggle. It is not as complete a study as all Tibetans really need, but that’s as much as I could put together at the time. Readers, even your most iffy scrap of information on the issue is welcome on the comment section. We absolutely need to get to the bottom of this unbelievable sellout. Part II of “Ending to Begin” will be be posted soon. JN

Grim as all that is, I don’t just mean what is happening inside Tibet but also what is happening outside, particularly in Dharamshala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile has, to all intents and purposes, gone ahead and pulled the plug on itself.

I haven’t been feeling well for the past month and have been unable to contribute anything new. I’ve noticed that some of you have posted comments on a few of the old blogs, so in order that you have something more up-to-date and relevant to chew on I have inserted two excellent opinion pieces by Christophe Besuchet, a long time Tibet activist. He has already posted them on rangzen.net, but they are so well-written and absolutely incisive about our present political dilemma that I think they should be re-read and discussed widely. JN.