First independent Tibetan weekly hits the stands

Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 11:31 a.m.

Editor of the Tibet Express, Tsultrim Serta, who is also a member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, speaking at the inaugural ceremony this morning (Photo: Chonyi Woeser)

Dharamshala: One of the two main exile Tibetan newspapers published every 10 days, Bod-kyi-Bangchen (Tibet Express), with readership spanning across 17 countries, will now be published weekly.

As of now, Bod-mi-Rawang (or Tibetan Freedom), published by the Department of Information and International Relations is the only Tibetan newspaper that is published weekly.

The first weekly edition of Tibet Express, published by the Khawa Karpo Tibet Culture Centre, was released here this morning at the opening of a three-day workshop on the role of media organised by the Centre, with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy.

The Centre’s newly-opened, branch office at Mundgod in South India is publishing the same edition of Tibet Express from a local press in order to obviate delays in the postal delivery of newspaper.

With another branch office soon to be opened in Katmandu, Nepal, the Centre is also running a website (www.khawakarpo.org) that provides news and analysis in Tibetan.

Speaking as the chief guest of the inaugural ceremony held at the hall of Department of Information and International Relations, Information Secretary Thubten Samphel underlined that the vibrancy of the exile democracy could be gauged from the fact that the private newspapers today have become more boisterous than the official media.

Even if the impact of an individual newspaper were deemed to be miniscule, Mr Samphel said, the cumulative impact of the exile Tibetan media has been enormous–most notably on the development of a democratic community and polity in exile.

He further said that the network of websites, newspapers, magazines, and radio services has enabled the Tibetan exiles, sprinkled across the globe, to form effectively a cohesive and organised community.

Also present at the inaugural ceremony were Beri Jigme Wangyal, member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, and the additional secretary of the Kashag Secretariat, Tsering Wangchuk.