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'Situation in Tibet is getting Worse': World Renowned Photographer
Tuesday, 12 August 2008, 1:40 p.m.
Geneva: Mr Michel Comte, the
Swiss-born and an international acclaimed photographer, expressed
concern over "the worsening situation in Tibet", during a photo
exhibition on Tibet organized by Germany's largest newspaper, Bild, in
Berlin, on the eve of Beijing Olympics.
 Mr.
Kai Diekmann, editor in chief (L) - Bild with Representative Mr. Tseten
Samdup Chhoekyapa, Mr. Choephel Balok of ICT and actor Yangzom/Photo
Credit: The Tibet Bureau, Geneva
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The German tabloid newspaper with over 17 million readers organized the
exhibition titled "Pictures from Tibet" under its campaign, "A Heart
for Children".
Some 80 photos taken by Mr Comte are put on display at the German media group Axel Springer building's concourse in Berlin.
The entrance free exhibition was opened to the public on 8 August and will be on display until 22 August.
The photos were taken during his visit to Tibet in 1986 and to
Dharamshala in June 2008. He met His Holiness the Dalai Lama in May
2008 in Frankfurt.
"The situation in Tibet is getting worse," said Michel Comte,
reading a letter he had received from a Tibetan he met during his
travel to Dharamshala in June. The Tibetan friend who fled Tibet last
year wrote about his family members being killed in Tibet by Chinese
soldiers during the recent crackdown on Tibetan peaceful protestors.
Germany's elder statesman and long time Tibet friend, Otto Graf
Lambsdorff, spoke about the great risk Tibetans in Tibet take in
sending their children to India to get better education and sometimes
to the point that they may not see their children again.
 Tseten S. Chhoekyapa, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Geneva, speaks at the launch of the exhibition
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He also mentioned about the China current decree on Tibetan
officials working in the Chinese administration to bring back their
children from India or lose their job.
Mr. Kai Diekmann, editor-in-chief of Bild, said that the
situation of the Tibet is grave. He also said that his newspaper stood
against Communism and dictatorship.
Mr. Tseten S Chhoekyapa, Representative of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama in Geneva, said that the exhibition was launched at a very
significant moment in history - on the eve of Olympics Games in
Beijing.
He expressed Tibetan people's gratitude to Mr. Comte and Mr.
Diekmann for organizing the exhibition to raise funds for the education
of Tibetan children and Tibetan Medical Institute in Dharamshala.
All the 80 photos were sold for Euro 1000 each. In early
February 2009, a similar exhibition will be organized in Düsseldorf,
Germany to raise money for Tibetan Medical & Astro Institute's new
academy near Dharamshala.
--Report filed by The Tibet Bureau, Geneva. Editing by Lobsang CHOEDAK |
