Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) received confirmed information through reliable sources that - in July this year Chinese authorities in Beijing had sent a directive to various departments of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) asking to intensify scrutiny of calls made by monks from monasteries in Tibet to India and phone calls received from India. Additional information of the "Patriotic Re- education" campaign in the TAR region being extended in the selection procedure of Geshe degree for monks was also received by TCHRD. ( The Geshe degree is the highest level of erudition in the Tibetan Buddhist curriculum of philosophical study. )

Reliable sources confirmed to TCHRD that phone calls made by exiled Tibetans to their relatives in Tibet, particularly to monasteries have come under severe scrutiny. Tibetans in Tibet have advised their relatives and friends in exile not to discuss any political matters during telephone conversation.

News of introduction of the test on loyalty to the state "love your country, love your religion' (trans lit: rgayl khches ring lugs bsam bloi slob gso) in the Geshe degree examination received by TCHRD, clearly indicates that loyalty to the State is not only a pre-requisite but also obligatory for acquiring a Geshe degree. This illustrates unrelenting interference by the Chinese state administration in the religious affairs of the Tibetan people.

Since 1994, after the Third Tibet Work Forum was held, Beijing authorities intensified anti-Dalai Lama campaign in Tibet. China views the Dalai Lama as the root cause of instability in Tibet. The anti-Dalai Lama campaign involves ban on portraits and celebration of the Dalai Lama’s birthday, severe sentences and punishments for expressing faith and support for the Dalai Lama. The "Patriotic Re-education" campaign was launched in the TAR region in May 1996. This campaign was later extended to monasteries and nunneries in Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan prefectures.

Measures of control such as the above used by authorities in China to monitor private conversation and information flow are in direct contravention of Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks." As the member of the UN, China clearly violates this basic fundamental human right of the Tibetan people.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy deplores China’s use of culpable behaviour when it comes to human rights issues in Tibet. High handed restrictions on fundamental freedoms of people living within its jurisdiction contradict all that China’s numerous laws and White Papers seem to proclaim. The tightening of restrictions on religion in Tibet reflects China's aim to erode the influence of the Dalai Lama in Tibet.