DHARAMSHALA, August 15: The exile Tibetan
administration has expressed concerns over the misuse of photographs showing
Tibetans to provoke conflict between the Buddhist and Muslim
communities. Following reports of recent clashes between Buddhists and
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, certain sections of the media as well as social
websites have portrayed photographs involving Tibetans to misinform the public and to lead a hate campaign. The
recent ethnic clashes in the Indian northeastern state of Assam have raised
further tensions. The Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration in
a release yesterday said it was “deeply disturbed and concerned” over the
circulation of a misleading photograph in some section of the media showing
Tibetan monks. The release noted that many websites in the Muslim
countries, especially Pakistan have used a photograph of Tibetan monks standing
in front of a pile of dead bodies in their reports on the clashes in
Myanmar. “This photo of Tibetan monks was actually taken during their
relief work in Kyegudo (Yushul), eastern Tibet, after a devastating earthquake
hit the region on 14 April 2010,” CTA clarified. “The Tibetan monks extended
remarkable service in the rescue and relief operations at the time.” The
release said that a particular website in Pakistan which was carrying the
picture removed it after CTA pointed out the factual and misleading
error. “But the photo is still in circulation, as some Muslims carrying
the photo during their recent protest in Mumbai on 11 August 2012, appeared in
Zee News, a leading news channel in India,” the exile Tibetan administration
noted. “We strongly appeal to the media across the world not to use this
photo, which is being circulated by miscreants to provoke conflict between the
Buddhist and Muslim communities.” There have been increased concerns over
the safety of Tibetans, especially in cities, after a Tibetan youth was stabbed
in the south Indian city of Mysore yesterday evening. Reports say that
the youth in out of danger but the real motive of the attack, right in the
centre of the city, is not fully known. Police suspect the assailants may
have attacked the Tibetan youth thinking that he is from northeast India.
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