BERLIN: Kirti Rinpoche on Monday (18 March) met with German Human Rights Commissioner at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin. During the meeting, Kirti Rinpoche briefed Mr. Markus Löning, the Human Rights Commissioner of the present situation in Tibet. He spoke in detail about the Kirti monastery in Ngaba, Tibet.
 
He was interviewed by the Deutsche Welle radio, German TV ARD and Bild am Sonntag, the largest selling German newspaper. Kirti Rinpoche said that the media has an important role to play in bringing about a change in China’s policy in Tibet.
 
During the interviews and meeting with the German Human Rights Commissioner, Rinpoche said that 109 Tibetan have self-immolated in Tibet since February 2009. About 47 of them were from Ngaba area.
 
He said that the causes of the current situation in Tibet are the result of 60 years of China’s polices to destroy Tibetan religion, culture, environment and language.
 
Kirti Rinpoche said since last year, the Chinese authorities started arresting families, relatives and friends of the Tibetans who have self-immolated. He said that his immediate concern was for their safety. Arrest of families, relatives and friends has not stopped self-immolation in Tibet.
 
On 31 January 2013, Lobsang Kunchok, 40, of Kirti monastery and Lobsang Tsering, 31, from Ngaba, were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and 10-year imprisonment respectively for allegedly inciting Tibetans to self-immolate by a Chinese court. On the same day, six more Tibetans from Labrang, Tibet, have been pronounced equally harsh sentences.
 
He said a young child who is crying will not stop crying just by saying don’t cry. If you give it a sweet, it will stop crying. Similarly, change in China’s policy would have an affect on the current tragic situation in Tibet.
 
“I am travelling in Europe to request governments to ask China to change its policy in Tibet,” he said.
 
According to Kirti Rinpoche, the Chinese authorities have installed CCTVs and listening devices within the Kirti monastery. Though, there might not be visible presence of uniformed security forces within the monastery, they have stationed security forces nearby ready for rapidly deployment.

The small Tibetan Community in Berlin hosted a dinner in honour of Kirti Rinpoche at the Rigpa Centre in Berlin. In his brief address to the community members, Rinpoche emphasized the important of parents speaking Tibetan language to their children. He also said that each Tibetan had a responsible to shoulder in the Tibetan struggle.

Kirti Rinpoche is the spiritual head of Ngaba area and Kirti Monastery is the main monastery of the region. He is on a three weeklong five European nations lobbying visit.
 
He was recognised and enthroned as the reincarnation of the Tenth Kirti Rinpoche in 1946. He followed His Holiness the Dalai Lama into exile to India in 1959. He is living in Dharamsala, India, where he has re-established his monastery.

Rinpoche has already travelled to Switzerland, Belgium, the Nederland and France. He is scheduled to visit London Tuesday.