Friday, March 3, 2017

Officials Arrest Former Reporter In 8 Bomb Threats On Jewish Community

The FBI is searching for more suspects in the dozens of calls to Jewish institutions around the nation.

Juan M. Thompson, shown here in a screenshot from a YouTube video filmed for The Intercept, was arrested in Missouri on Friday in connection with threats on Jewish community centers across the country.

By Willa Frej, Sebastian Murdock, Andy Campbell-03/03/2017

Juan M. Thompson was arrested in Missouri on a federal cyberstalking charge.
He allegedly made eight bomb threats to Jewish institutions. The FBI is still looking for suspects in dozens of other incidents.
In February 2016, he was fired as a reporter from The Intercept for falsifying sources and quotes.

A former journalist is accused of making eight bomb threats to Jewish institutions in an attempt to harass a former girlfriend, according to the FBI and the publication.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation worked with the New York Police Department and New York State Police to arrest Juan Thompson Friday morning in St. Louis, Missouri, on one count of cyberstalking, according to an FBI press release. Thompson, 31, allegedly stalked a woman by making the threats in her name to Jewish community centers and the Anti-Defamation League’s New York headquarters, court documents said. The charge carries a maximum of five years in prison.

The FBI is still investigating the waves of calls to Jewish community centers across the country, spokeswoman Samantha Shero told The Huffington Post. They have not identified the suspect or suspects who made the more than 100 threats.

Thompson’s first alleged threat came nine days after the first wave of bomb threats hit JCCs across the country. The majority of those bomb threats ― which as of Friday add up to at least 103 at 77 Jewish community centers and nine Jewish schools ― have come in five waves. Thompson made his final threat on Feb. 20, according to court documents. Twelve centers received threats that same day, but authorities consider the cases unrelated.

Thompson originally began harassing the woman in July, after she ended their relationship, according to the FBI’s allegations. On July 27, Thompson allegedly sent an email to the victim’s employer at a social service organization in the greater New York area, claiming that she’d been pulled over for drunk driving and was being sued for spreading sexually transmitted diseases.

In October, anonymous emails sent to the woman’s employer, and later traced to Thompson, said she had sexually transmitted diseases and accused her of having child pornography, the FBI complaint said. As early as November, investigators with the St. Louis Police Department and the NYPD began interviewing Thompson about the accusations.

Thompson then made eight bomb threats to Jewish institutions over the course of a month, authorities said. Sometimes he’d make threats in his own name; other times, he’d make them in the victim’s name and then claim she was trying to frame him. According to the FBI, he sent the first threat via email to the Jewish History Museum in Manhattan on Jan. 28.

On Feb. 1, he allegedly threatened a Jewish school in Manhattan twice, and another Jewish school in Farmington Hills, Michigan, once. He allegedly threatened a JCC in Manhattan on Feb. 7; a JCC in San Diego on Feb. 20; and sent an email to the Council on American-Islamic Relations to threaten a Jewish center in Dallas on Feb. 21.

Thompson is also accused of sending an email to the ADL on Feb. 21 saying the woman “is behind the bomb threats against Jews. She lives in NYC and is making more bomb threats tomorrow.” The next day, the ADL got a phone call from a person claiming that “explosive material” had been placed at its office in Manhattan, according to the FBI.

Court documents mentioned a tweet from Feb. 24, in which Thompson accuses “this nasty/racist #whitegirl” of sending “a bomb threat in my name.”

“The defendant allegedly caused havoc, expending hundreds of hours of police and law enforcement resources to respond and investigate these threats,” New York Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said.

In February of 2016, Thompson was fired from his job as a reporter at The Intercept, an online investigative news publication launched in 2014, after the outlet discovered he had fabricated quotes.

“An investigation into Thompson’s reporting turned up three instances in which quotes were attributed to people who said they had not been interviewed,” Editor-in-Chief Betsy Reed said in a statement at the time.

In one instance, Thompson featured a person in a story who he said was the cousin of Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who murdered nine members of a church congregation in South Carolina.

The man Thompson claimed to have quoted ― Scott Roof ― doesn’t exist. A retraction at the top of Thompson’s article now reads:

“After speaking with two members of Dylann Roof’s family, The Intercept can no longer stand by the premise of this story. Both individuals said that they do not know of a cousin named Scott Roof.”

In a statement Friday, The Intercept said it was “horrified” to learn of the charges against a former employee. “These actions are heinous should be fully investigated and prosecuted,” the publication said.

Thompson’s arrest comes after groups including the ADL called for the federal government to broaden its investigation into the threats. The FBI and the Department of Justice told HuffPost previously that they are investigating possible civil rights violations in connection with the threats, but officials refused to comment any further.

There have been more than 100 bomb threats made to over 80 Jewish institutions since January. HuffPost is tracking the threats here:

Data current as of Feb. 27, 2017

Map credit: Adam Hooper and Alissa Scheller

Among Gold Star families, strong feelings about whether Trump exploited the grief of a Navy widow

A tearful Carryn Owens, the widow of U.S. Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens who died in a raid in Yemen, received a standing ovation from Congress when President Trump acknowledged her husband's bravery. (Photo: Melina Mara, The Post/Reuters)

By Dan Lamothe March 3 at 12:43 PM

The families of U.S. service members who have died while serving their country are split on how they see President Trump’s recognition of a recent military widow at his first joint address to Congress, but they almost universally support her decision to accept Trump’s invitation to attend in the Capitol.

The moment was the emotional apex of Trump’s speech Tuesday night, in which he said Senior Chief William “Ryan” Owens, a member of the elite SEAL Team 6, “died as he lived — a warrior and a hero, battling against terrorism and securing our nation.”

The following moments sparked an outcry among critics of Trump, as he insisted that the Jan. 29 raid in Yemen in which the SEAL was killed “generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemy,” contradicting other U.S. officials briefed on the operation. The overlaying of grief and politics prompted allegations that Trump had politicized and exploited the situation for his own gain, rather than simply honoring the Owens family.

[Widow of Navy SEAL takes spotlight as President Trump addresses Congress]

The moment also put Carryn Owens, a mother of three from Virginia Beach, in the spotlight. As Trump recognized her husband’s sacrifice, tears poured down her cheeks and she cast her eyes skyward while standing on a balcony and apparently speaking some private words to her late husband. The widow, who did not respond to requests for an interview, had not spoken publicly following her husband’s death but was invited to attend the speech by Trump. The president wanted to respect “her wishes and privacy” and sought approval before including her in his address, said White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

Hundreds of miles away in North Carolina, the scene deeply struck Jenna Kemp, whose elite Marine Raider husband, Staff Sgt. Kerry Kemp, was killed in a helicopter crash two years ago off the coast of Florida. At this point, Kemp said, the new widow is “on autopilot,” recalling how she had an 11-month-old infant with a second child on the way when her husband died.

“It looked like she mouthed, ‘I love you baby,’ ” Kemp said. “That brought tears to my eyes. I uttered those exact words over my husband’s casket. I just felt such a connection to her, and such respect for her being there.”

Carryn Owens, center, the widow of Senior Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens, reacts Tuesday as President Trump recognizes her husband’s sacrifice during a joint address to Congress. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Trump’s moment with Carryn Owens immediately lit up social-media networks, and was complicated in part by Trump’s remarks in a Fox News interview aired that morning in which he declined to accept responsibility for the mission, in which numerous civilians were also killed. The generals, Trump said, had “wanted to do” the operation and had “lost Ryan” — remarks that struck some as the president abdicating his role as commander in chief.

One critic on Twitter, Dan Grilo, said that Carryn Owens was “not helping yourself or your husband’s memory by standing there and clapping like an idiot. Trump just used you.” Grilo, who listed himself as a volunteer for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, apologized and later made his profile page private. His listed employer on LinkedIn, Liberty Advisor Group of Chicago, later announced that it was aware an employee had made “an inoffensive or inappropriate tweet” and had fired him. He could not be reached for comment.

Several conservative websites accused some Democrats, such as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Rep. Keith Ellison (R.-Minn.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), of refusing to stand and applaud in respect as Trump led applause for the Owens family. A review of video of the address shows virtually all lawmakers standing within seconds and applauding at some point, although some eventually sat down as Trump continued to clap and did not return to his podium for more than two minutes.

Bonnie Carroll, a Gold Star widow who was recognized by President Barack Obama in 2015 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for leading the nonprofit Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), watched the address and decided to issue a statement afterward thanking the president and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis for “recognizing the sacrifices that our military families make every day to keep our nation free.”

TAPS, which has supported tens of thousands of family members since it was established in 1992, called for more civility in politics after Trump verbally attacked the parents of fallen Army Capt. Humayun Khan during the presidential campaign. In the case of Carryn Owens, however, Carroll said the president of the United States has long played an integral part in helping the survivors of military fatalities with their grieving, and appeared to do so this week.

“I saw this as an appropriate acknowledgment to service and sacrifice to this nation,” Carroll said.

As the wife of a Special Operations service member, Carryn Owens knew that her husband would be in danger and likely was trying to honor him in the best way she could,” said Destiny Flynn, an Army veteran whose Marine Raider husband, Staff Sgt. Liam Flynn, died in the same crash as Kemp. Most people who questioned the widow’s thought process haven’t gone through the same kind of grief, Flynn said.

“I just feel like if I was in her position I would have done the same thing because I don’t want people to forget,” she said. “That’s what people don’t see. I saw strength and grace and beauty. I felt like she wasn’t there crying for herself. It wasn’t about her. It was about her husband.”

In Pennsylvania, Jessica Charles watched and drew a distinction between Trump’s potential motives and the desires of Carryn Owens. Charles’s brother, Army Cpl. Joshua Harton, was killed in Afghanistan in September 2010, and she said the first month afterward was “hell.” Backlash against the wife, she added, is unfair.

“Whether she is being used for political favor or not, she is a wife who recently lost her husband. She grieves. We who grieve those killed in combat want to know it was not a sacrifice in vain,” Charles said. “Wanting to hear the POTUS acknowledge her husband’s sacrifice is not wrong. In a way, we all want that level of recognition. The way that desire is being used is questionable.”

The scene in the Capitol disgusted Silvia Earhart, a Gold Star wife and Army veteran. Trump’s actions, she said, showed once again that he likes using U.S. service members and their families as props. Earhart’s husband, Staff Sgt. Leslie Martin, was killed in a helicopter crash at Fort Bragg, N.C., in July 1997, and she said she struggled afterward even to attend a memorial service on base in honor of her husband and seven other soldiers who were killed.

“I don’t think he recognized Ryan Owens at all,” Earhart said of the president. “He was recognizing the widow, and me personally as a widow, I never wanted the attention like that. I always wanted it directly on my husband and what he did and what he sacrificed. I kept saying, ‘Why are you showing her grief like that?’ It’s still so raw for her, and to be put up there on national television, I don’t think Trump was being genuine and authentic.”

Two Gold Star mothers who have met with Trump said they have found him genuine and sincerely concerned about their pain in private meetings.

Susan Price, whose son Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Kenefick was among five Americans killed in an ambush in Afghanistan in September 2009, said she was amazed at the ignorance some people showed toward Carryn Owens. Price, who spoke last year on behalf of a rally in Tampa, Fla., said that she cried as she watched the recent widow recognized and believes she felt compelled to appear before Congress.

“I don’t know if he was looking for extra fame or glory by bringing the wife into the ceremony,” Price said. “But I do know that he does care about our military and our heroes, and that’s what matters to me.”

Debbie Lee, whose son Marc Lee was the first Navy SEAL killed during the Iraq War, said she had no problem with how Trump handled recognizing Owens, and found him very respectful when she met him before the Army-Navy college football game in December. He asked “deep questions” about her grieving process and how she has coped with her loss, she said.

“You could see it in his eyes,” Lee said of her meeting with Trump. “He wasn’t looking away at his security detail or looking at those who had been in the car with him. He was totally focused on me and what I shared about Marc.”

New US visa rules could also cause problems for Americans visiting Europe

Controversial anti-terror measure bars dual nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan from visa waiver program and European countries may take reciprocal steps

Visitors to the US who are citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan or who have visited those countries recently face new travel restrictions. Photograph: Greg Mathieson/REX/Shutterstock

Alan Yuhas in New York-Thursday 21 January 2016

The Obama administration has tightened travel terms regarding Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan, under rules that will also make travel to the US harder for some Europeans.

The rules, which took effect on Thursday, create new visa requirements for dual nationals and anyone who has traveled to those countries in the last five years. Many Europeans enjoy visa-free travel to the US. Should they have dual citizenship or have traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan, they will require new permits.

The new rules, phased in under an anti-terrorism law passed in December, are designed to prevent people radicalized abroad from entering the US.

Iranian Americans have protested against the law, noting that it may require many of them to obtain visas because of Iran’s rules on citizenship and reciprocity provisions in the law.

Citizens of 38 countries, including the UK and France, can visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa – unless they are relevant dual nationals. The Department of Homeland Security said it will offer exemptions to the visa rule on a case-by-case basis, and listed potential exceptions for journalists, humanitarian workers, government officials and “legitimate business-related purposes”.

People who have listed dual nationality with one of the four countries will have their permits revoked, the DHS said. Some people have already been barred from entering the US.

On Tuesday a British-Iranian journalist working for the BBC was kept from boarding a plane when the US denied her visa waiver.

The DHS said such travelers can obtain a new visa after an interview at a US embassy or consulate.

Despite the thaw in relations between the US and Iran, the State Department still lists Iran with Sudan and Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism. The bill targets Iraq and Syria because Isis has carved out territory in both countries, and because foreign fighters fight with jihadi groups there.

Critics of the law argue that reciprocity agreements between nations will mean visa restrictions for some Americans traveling to Europe, and that the law undercuts Barack Obama’s diplomacy with Iran.

American lawmakers drafted new visa requirements in the aftermath of terror attacks in Paris and an apparently Isis-inspired shooting in San Bernardino, California. French authorities have identified the Paris shooters as mostly French and Belgian citizens who had traveled to fight in Syria.

The FBI has suggested that the California shooters, an American husband and his Pakistani wife, self-radicalized over several years, during which time they met in Saudi Arabia. The wife entered the US on a K-1 or “fiancee” visa in 2014.

The DHS did not immediately respond to questions about whether the US intends to change visa requirements for Saudi or Pakistani citizens, or for people who have traveled to those countries in recent years. Neither country is a member of the current waiver program.

Laughing in the Dark

Featured image courtesy Sam Hodgson/New York Times

NINA L. KHRUSHCHEVA on 03/02/2017

LONDON – As a former Soviet citizen, I can tell you: it’s never a good sign for a political system when artists start speaking out against it. And when their statements visibly strike a nerve, chances are that the system is sick.

In a democracy, art can simply be ignored. Of course, one can appreciate culture, but that is a matter of choice, not necessity. Indifference is a luxury afforded to those whose freedoms are well protected. When those freedoms are threatened, however, art becomes a critical line of defense. The United States is learning that lesson today.

In just over a month, President Donald Trump has changed the rules of US politics – and not for the better. If the facts contradict his administration’s line – or, worse, suggest that he isn’t popular – he denounces the journalists who report them as purveyors of “fake news” and an “enemy” of the American people.

The judiciary and the intelligence community have not escaped Trump’s feverish attacks. Any opposition to his orders, such as court rulings against his partial ban on Muslims entering the country, or exposés of potential wrongdoing, such as his former national security adviser’s secret conversations with the Russian ambassador, is met with quick condemnation.

With America’s pillars of democracy under assault, artists are stepping in. Even before Trump was inaugurated, the writers’ union PEN America held a #LouderTogether protest, on the steps of the New York Public Library, to “send a message” to an administration “that has laid bare its hostility toward the press and other free expression norms.”

When then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence attended the Broadway show Hamilton, the actors appealed to him to uphold American values and work on behalf of all Americans (drawing a Twitter rebuke from Trump). Just down the street, the show Party People, which examines the legacy of the Black Panthers and the Young Lords Party, delivered a more confrontational message, as part of a modified script that addressed Trump’s victory.

When Trump signed his order to ban anyone from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, the Museum of Modern Art hung works by artists from those countries. In the plaques beside the paintings, MoMA referred to Trump’s order explicitly, and asserted that it had hung the paintings to “affirm the ideals of welcome and freedom” that are vital to the US.

MoMA has also scheduled four screenings of films by directors subject to the travel ban. In April, almost 100 independent US and Canadian movie theaters will offer free screenings of George Orwell’s 1984 as a response to the Trump administration’s embrace of “alternative facts.”

Hollywood actors have taken advantage of this year’s award season to make their own political statements. Meryl Streep drew Trump’s ire with her speech at the Golden Globe Awards, in which she condemned Trump for mocking a disabled reporter and highlighted the importance of defending press freedom. David Harbour, accepting a Screen Actors Guild award, declared that great acting “is a call to arms from our fellow craftsmen and women to go deeper, and through our art to battle against fear, self-centeredness, and exclusivity of our predominantly narcissistic culture.”

In the fashion world, some major designers have pledged never to dress First Lady Melania Trump. At the recent New York Fashion Week, designers from Mara Hoffman to Prabal Gurung used the runway to make political statements, and some of fashion’s biggest names participated in a W Magazine video, stating defiantly, “I am an immigrant.”

Trump’s supporters may prefer to dismiss such statements, telling actors and artists to “stick to their day jobs.” But the truth is that what such figures say has an impact – and not just on Trump, a longtime Hollywood hanger-on. There is a reason why Russia’s autocratic leaders have always tried to keep artists on a short leash.

When artists bow to power, the state gains a new level of authority and even legitimacy. That’s why Joseph Stalin needed the celebrated anti-Kremlin poet Osip Mandelstam to write him an ode.

Mandelstam succumbed to the pressure, but he was not broken. He continued to insult the Kremlin, most famously, with his poem, “We live not feeling the ground under our feet.” While he ended up perishing in a gulag, his protest poems, and those by other brave poets, contributed to the regime’s demise. Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s 1970s anti-communist masterpiece The Gulag Archipelago ultimately did as much as the sclerotic economy to expose the communist charade.

Putin must have been delighted when Solzhenitsyn, a Nobel laureate who seemed to become increasingly nationalistic with age, expressed support for him. Recognizing the power of the arts, Putin established himself early on as a fan of Russian culture. He has also courted foreigners, including French movie icons Brigitte Bardot and Gérard Depardieu and even the Hollywood has-been Steven Seagal.

At the same time, Putin has been quick to eliminate those whose message he does not like. The 1990s satirical television show Puppets was canceled almost immediately after Putin entered the Kremlin, after likening the president to Little Zaches, the ugly, evil, and self-important dwarf from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s grotesque fairy tale.

A novice autocrat whose attempts to silence his critics have been clumsy, at best, Trump may attempt to emulate his Russian role model. But he has not amassed sufficient power to quash every cultural work and institution that criticizes him. If he had, he probably would have already canceled the comedy show Saturday Night Live, which he condemns regularly.

It is often the arts, serious or satirical, that expose the tragic absurdity of repressive leadership. And the worse Trump behaves, the more demand there will be for artists who oppose him. Saturday Night Live’s ratings are at a six-year high.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also find “Trump’s Unrealpolitik” and “Trump’s First Victims” enlightening reads.

Nina L. Khrushcheva is Professor of International Affairs and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at The New School and a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute.

Media, national projects, neo fascism in precarious society

Bosnian precariat, militaristic world images and media cynism

by Senadin Lavić- Mar 3, 2017

Speaking on the ruins of the world

(March 3, 2017, Vienna, Sri Lanka Guardian) Fascism is in full sweep around us. Writing about the ruins that left behind it, is the task of our time. Maybe it is the most important task, because we must not remain silent! Disaster of (human) policy is in practice, but we are hardly surprised. Every statement around us which denies the possibility of existence of Bosnia, is essentially fascist howling of a monster that is trying to be covered up by diplomatic phrases about democracy of our next-door neighbours from Belgrade and Zagreb. Politicians, their followers and spokesmen, media experts, semi-conscious girls in military uniforms with rifles in their hands, folk singers with microphones, masses captivated by politicians who encourage them to hatred, the poor in shelters of demolished cities, dead children on the streets, big and small dictators, Muslims who try to take off from their faces the terrorists label while they are bombarded by the aircrafts of civilized world – they all together tempt again the evil of fascist destruction of the world, only today at a higher technical level. Media lead us directly to the streets of Syrian cities that were bombed and destroyed by the Western allies aviation, the Russian military and local forces. Not so long ago, almost yesterday, Serbian guns were destroyed Sarajevo, Konjic, Mostar, Bihac, Gorazde, Olovo, Srebrenica and killed civilians, innocent citizens. Serbian criminals turned the cities into military targets. The cities in which the Bosniaks were the majorities. In other cities they were exterminated and “humanely” moved out, for example, from Trebinje to Scandinavia. In the large crime of Serbian politics, which is developed by SANU (Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts) and supported by SPC (Serbian Orthodox Church), the cities in Bosnia became the target of Serbian criminals on the way of a large “Serbian state” building, where it is never existed. Serbian war strategy made the “legitimate targets” of the cities – because the Bosniaks live there! In that way, the half of Bosnia has been occupied. The cities have become battlefields. The urban culture and spirit have been destroyed. The destruction of urbanity is in practice. Media recorded the terrible images of death and human evil … Media recorded …

Media, national projects, neo fascism in precarious society.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Georgians Protest for Independent Media

BY EMILY TAMKIN-MARCH 3, 2017

Hundreds in Tbilisi, Georgia took to the streets two days in a row to protest what many perceive to be the government takeover of independent media.

Rustavi-2 is a popular television station in Georgia, and is known for publishing reports that are critical of the government — indeed, for being “Georgia’s most important opposition voice.”

On Thursday, Georgia’s Supreme Court put the television station back in the hands of Kibar Khalvashi, its former co-owner who is widely thought to have government ties.

Khalvashi had sued to reclaim the station, saying that authorities under the previous Georgian government forced him to sell the station for too little. But members of Georgia’s opposition argued that the suit was but a ploy for Bidzina Ivanishvili to bring Rustavi-2 under his control.

Khalvashi is a close associate of Ivanishvili, who is the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream, the current ruling party. He served as prime minister for a year, but, at present, does not hold elected office. Nevertheless, he is believed by many to be the power behind the proverbial throne.

The government asked people to respect the ruling and vowed “respect towards the freedom of media.”
But critics, including the U.S. Embassy in Georgia and the OSCE’s representative for freedom of the media, expressed concern. Members of the opposition vowed to continue to fight for a free media.

Perhaps most significantly, hundreds of Georgian people in Tbilisi protested, first outside the Supreme Court and then outside Rustavi-2’s headquarters — in some cases spending the night — to try to use free speech and assembly to protect their country’s free media.

Photo credit: VANO SHLAMOV/AFP/Getty Images

India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama addresses those gathered at Buyant Ukhaa sport palace in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, November 20, 2016. REUTERS/B. Rentsendorj/Files

By Sanjeev Miglani and Tommy Wilkes | NEW DELHI-Fri Mar 3, 2017

Indian federal government representatives will meet the Dalai Lama when he visits a sensitive border region controlled by India but claimed by China, officials said, despite a warning from Beijing that it would damage ties.

GRAPHIC: India-China border tmsnrt.rs/2mhBcGD

India says the Tibetan spiritual leader will make a religious trip to Arunachal Pradesh next month, and as a secular democracy it would not stop him from travelling to any part of the country.

China claims the state in the eastern Himalayas as "South Tibet", and has denounced foreign and even Indian leaders' visits to the region as attempts to bolster New Delhi's territorial claims.

A trip by the Dalai Lama, whom the Chinese regard as a dangerous separatist, would ratchet up tensions at a time when New Delhi is at odds with China on strategic and security issues and unnerved by Beijing's growing ties with arch-rival Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is raising its public engagement with the Tibetan leader, a change from earlier governments' reluctance to anger Beijing by sharing a public platform with him.

"It's a behavioural change you are seeing. India is more assertive," junior home minister Kiren Rijiju told Reuters in an interview.

Rijiju, who is from Arunachal and is Modi's point man on Tibetan issues, said he would meet the Dalai Lama, who is visiting the Buddhist Tawang monastery after an eight-year interval.

"He is going there as a religious leader, there is no reason to stop him. His devotees are demanding he should come, what harm can he do? He is a lama."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday the Dalai Lama's trip would cause serious damage to India-China ties, and warned New Delhi not to provide him a platform for anti-China activities.

"The Dalai clique has for a long time carried out anti-China separatist activities and on the issue of the China-India border has a history of disgraceful performances," spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing.

CHINA INVESTING NEARBY

Visits of the Dalai Lama are initiated months, if not years in advance, and approval for the April 4-13 trip predates recent disagreements between the neighbours.

But the decision to go ahead at a time of strained relations signals Modi's readiness to use diplomatic tools at a time when China's economic and political clout across South Asia is growing.

China is helping to fund a new trade corridor across India's neighbour and arch-foe Pakistan, and has also invested in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, raising fears of strategic encirclement.

Last month a Taiwanese parliamentary delegation visited Delhi, angering Beijing, which regards Taiwan as an integral part of China.

In December, President Pranab Mukherjee hosted the Dalai Lama at his official residence with other Nobel prize winners, the first public meeting with an Indian head of state in 60 years.

Some officials said India's approach to the Tibetan issue remained cautious, reflecting a gradual evolution in policy rather than a sudden shift, and Modi appears reluctant to go too far for fear of upsetting its large northern neighbour.

India's foreign secretary, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, was in Beijing last week on a visit that analysts said was aimed at stabilising relations between the world's most populous countries.

TANGIBLE SHIFT

That said, Modi's desire to pursue a more assertive foreign policy since his election in 2014 was quickly felt in contacts with China.

At one bilateral meeting early in his tenure, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj asked her Chinese counterpart whether Beijing had a "one India" policy, according to a source familiar with India-China talks, a pointed reference to Beijing's demand that countries recognise its "one China" policy.

"One India" would imply that China recognise India's claims to Kashmir, contested by Pakistan, as well as border regions like Arunachal Pradesh.

India's hosting of the Dalai Lama since he fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule has long irritated Beijing. But government ministers often shied away from regular public meetings with the Buddhist monk.

"These meetings were happening before. Now it is public," Lobsang Sangay, head of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in the Indian town of Dharamsala, said in an interview.

"I notice a tangible shift. With all the Chinese investments in all the neighbouring countries, that has generated debate within India," he said.

The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, a member of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, met the Dalai Lama in New Delhi in October and officially invited him to visit the state.

On the Dalai Lama's last visit in 2009, the state's chief minister met him. This time he will be joined by federal minister Rijiju, a move the Chinese may see as giving the trip an official imprimatur.

New Delhi has been hurt by China's refusal to let it join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the global cartel that controls nuclear commerce.

India has also criticised Beijing for stonewalling its request to add the head of a banned Pakistani militant group to a U.N. Security Council blacklist.

Rory Medcalf, Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, said New Delhi appeared to have been surprised by China's inflexibility since Modi came to power, fuelling distrust in the Indian security establishment.

"India does feel that the cards are stacked against it and that it should retain and play the cards that it does have," he said. "The Dalai Lama and Tibetan exile community is clearly one of those cards."

(Additional reporting by Abhishek Madhukar in DHARAMSALA and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Mike Collett-White)