As Australia’s leaders scramble to form a government, Tibetans are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tibetan democracy. On 2 September 1960 the first groups of thirteen Tibetan People’s Deputies took their oaths of office in Dharamsala, setting in motion the Dalai Lama’s vision of a fully democratic exile community and a model for eventual democratic self-rule in Tibet.

A half century later, and after a succession of gradual reforms, Tibetan democracy has entered an exciting new phase. Read more

A new report from Human Rights Watch has confirmed many of Tibetans’ worst fears over the extent and brutality of China’s response to the 2008 Tibet protests. Titled “I Saw It with My Own Eyes: Abuses By Chinese Security Forces in Tibet, 2008-2010”, the 73-page report details a harrowing range of abuses committed by security forces, beginning with disproportionate force in breaking up protests and continuing with arbitrary arrests and the brutalizing of detainees.

Based on more than 200 eyewitness accounts and previously unreported official Chinese sources, it is the most comprehensive independent analysis to date of the events that unfolded during and after the protests. Read summary and download report in full

A beacon of truth and hope, a scholar, a teacher, an inspiration to millions, the ultimate Tibetan and a key to greater peace in the world - the Dalai Lama is many things.

To be present during one of his visits to Australia is to witness the extraordinary moral authority and respect granted to His Holiness from individuals from all walks of life. Whether Tibetan or non-Tibetan, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, whether a world leader, faith leader, scientist, doctor, scholar or humble follower, few are untouched by the Dalai Lama’s practical wisdom and simple acts of truth and compassion.

On the occasion of his 75th birthday we pause to look back on His Holiness’s life and accomplishments so far and uncover why few individuals are more deserving of our attention today than the Dalai Lama. Read more

If you follow Tibet news closely then you will have seen many recent stories on Karma Samdrup, an influential Tibetan environmentalist and antiques dealer sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

So why is Karma Samdrup’s case different and why has everyone from the New York Times to the BBC to the UK’s Guardian newspaper suddenly taken interest? Karma Samdrup is not only the highest profile Tibetan to be arrested in recent years. He is also the latest victim in what appears to be China’s largest crackdown on Tibetan intellectuals, writers and artists since the Cultural Revolution. Read more

The Government and Opposition yesterday voted down a motion from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam congratulating the Dalai Lama on celebrating his 75th birthday in July and expressing hopes for a peacefully negotiated settlement between the Tibetan people and the People’s Republic of China.

This was the ninth motion on Tibet in a row to be rejected by both the main parties. Speaking in a debate back in February on a motion calling on the Prime Minister to meet the Dalai Lama, Senator Bob Brown called this pattern of blanket rejection of all motions on Tibet “an extraordinary abuse by the government of the Senate”. Read more