Annual Report, 1999 - Tibet: Tightening of Control
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite
having ratified the CRC in 1992, the Chinese government
continues to violate the rights of Tibetan children. These
most egregious violations of the Rights of the Child are
the illegal detentions and imprisonment of children for
prolonged periods of time. A more fundamental and insidious
violation is the Chinese government's education policies,
which deny Tibetan children the right to participate
and develop their unique culture and traditions. Tibetan
children must choose to either assimilate into Chinese
society, or face meagre prospects for future employment.
Tibetans below 18 years old are being barred from joining
religious institutions through the imposition of age
limits on entrance to monastic institutions. Those already
enrolled in monasteries and nunneries are being expelled in
increasing numbers. In 1999, 244 juvenile monks and nuns
below the age of 18 were expelled from various religious
institutions.
The low quality of Chinese education coupled with excessive
fees and the irrelevance of education to Tibetan children
discourage parents and make them question the practicality
of sending their children to Chinese schools. The
Chinese government has made education compulsory for
all children at the risk of severe penalties. Parents
therefore are left with little choice but to send their
children into exile in India. By doing so, they exhaust
their savings to pay the guide and also risk the lives of
their children crossing the Himalayas in the worst time
of the year. They choose winter to minimise the threat
from the Chinese authorities. There are cases in 1994 and
1998 where parents who work in Chinese offices were made
to bring their children back from India. People who do so
are often viewed as "traitors" and treated suspiciously
if not punished severely.
The state of education in Tibet is of grave concern
to the Tibetan people. In 1999, approximately 1,115
children below 18 years old left Tibet in order to
receive a "Tibetan" education in India. In Tibet, high
school fees, combined with the predominance of Chinese
language negatively effect Tibetan's ability and desire to
participate in the education system. The Chinese government
claims that in the "TAR", primary school enrolment rates
are 81.3 per cent. The UNDP maintains that actual rates
could be "somewhat lower".
High school fees, course content, medium of instruction,
procedures of enrolment and the futility of obtaining
education due to extremely narrow chances of employment are
some of the challenges facing Tibetan children. Catriona
Bass, an expert on Tibetan education stated during an
interview with Associated France Presse, "An official move
launched at the end of the 1980s by Beijing to 'Tibetanise'
the education system has been rapidly repealed in recent
years, in line with the development of the nationalist
movement there. All policies for minorities' education
gets over ridden by the need for stability," The Chinese
government views with suspicion efforts to preserve the
culture and language of Tibet.
In an official Chinese document on human rights, the
government declared that "the pass marks for admission
are appropriately lowered and students are chosen on the
basis of their test results."
This claim is refuted by
testimonies from children whose parents had pay bribes
in order to gain admission in schools. A 17 year-old
from Meldrogungkar County reports that he had to bribe
officials in order to get into a newly established
government vocational training centre. This training
centre, established in 1998 in Peting under the Lhasa
City Municipality is one of the 158 ethnic secondary
vocational schools. Approximately ten different vocations
are taught in such training centres including: painting,
cooking, medicine, translation, engineering, electrician
and journalism. Applicants do not require specific
qualifications if they can afford the fees, which are 600
yuan annually. In addition, 100 yuan is charged as a board
fee and about 700 yuan is charged per session. If students
can not pay in cash, they are asked to pay "in-kind."
Payment have included yaks, goats and sheep. In one
year, a student needs almost 3000 yuan to remain in the
centre. This student reported that the best vocations were
normally "reserved for the children of leaders and higher
authorities or those who have connections." He left the
centre after a year because he could not afford the fees.
A former student of Daru Middle School in Tsolho (Ch:
Hainan) "TAP", Qinghai.
Namdhar Tsering
(18)
reports
that there are approximately 800 students in the school,
out of which only 10 are Tibetans. This is considered the
biggest and the best school in Hainan, "TAP". The Chinese
students are mostly children of Chinese officials and
big Chinese businessmen. Not many Tibetans can attend
this school. Only children from rich families or those
who have parents working for the Chinese government may
attend this school. There are about 50 teachers; none of
them are Tibetan.
Tsering Gyatso,
a 17 year-old student, from Dzoge County School, Sichuan
Province, who escaped to India in May 1999, gave a
brief account of the school he attended in Tibet and the
discrimination he had experienced:
"In the Dzoge County School, there are around 200
students. The school is divided into Tibetan and Chinese
sections. The Tibetan section holds 150 students. The
Chinese studying section get a grant of 60-100 yuan a
month issued directly from the County government while the
Tibetan section get only 25-30 yuan. The school however,
does not exempt fees. In fact, the Tibetan section students
are discriminated against and have to pay more fees than
the students of the Chinese section who have to pay only
1500 yuan. The students in the Tibetan section pay 3500
yuan per year. This fee excludes the 'miscellaneous fees'
for buying school materials."
Kunsang Gyal,
a former Themchen County resident in the Tsonub Mongolian
and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (MTAP) Qinghai Province
(Tibetan: Amdo) maintains that unfair quotas are placed
on Tibetans and other minorities in the Teachers Training
School (Tibetan: Ge-wos Lobdra) in Themchen County. After
completing lower and middle school, Gyal attended the
Tsonub TAP's Nationalities Teacher Training School. In
this school there are 380 students, 240 are Chinese, 60 are
Tibetan and 60 are Mongols. The remaining 20 are from other
ethnic communities. While the school was established for
minorities, the school admits more Chinese students than
all minority groups combined. The school has established
a quota system, which limits admission to 60 Tibetan and
60 Mongolian students. These quotas inhibit the ability
of minorities to further their education as the Teacher's
Training School is the only higher education schooling
available to students of Themchen County. Kunsang Gyal
expressed his disdain for the quota system, stating that,
"receiving more Chinese students is a direct contradiction
of the purpose of the school." He further believes that
"quotas imposed on the numbers of Tibetans and Mongols in
the school is aimed to restrain their numbers."
A former student of Lithang County Teacher's Training
School stated that in his school there were approximately
1,000 students, out of which 200 are Tibetan. Lithang
County Teacher's Training School is a Prefecture (Kandze
"TAP") Teacher's Training School. Admissions are from 18
different counties, but only 50 students are accepted from
Lithang County every year. 80 per cent of the 50 students
are Chinese.
Ngawang Wangdu
from Gaga township in Ngamring County, Shigatse Prefecture,
"TAR" admitted his two children in schools in India in
1997. Upon his return from India, county authorities
detained him in County Prison for 15 days with both his
hands and legs chained. He was later fined 500 yuan for
sending his children to school in India. During a meeting,
the authorities ordered a ban on sending children to
schools in India. They threatened local Tibetans with
imprisonment and heavy fines if they failed to uphold this
order.
In a similar incident in Rongshar township, Tingri County,
Shigatse Prefecture parents were summoned to a meeting
and regulations restricting sending children to India for
education was announced. From Rongshar, 20 children had
been sent to school in India. These parents were labeled
as "traitors", "part of the 'Dalai clique'", and fined
500 yuan as punishment. If the parents were unable to
pay the amount, they were threatened with confiscation of
their belongings and animals.
The Chinese government asserts that illiteracy has been
reduced from 95 per cent in "old Tibet" by 47 per cent.
The U.S. State Department's Human Rights Country Report
(Tibet section) noted, "The current illiteracy rate was
estimated at 40 per cent and in some areas it reaches 80
per cent." Chinese official statistics estimate the school
age children attending schools at 81.3 per cent but most
students "end their formal education after graduating from
village schools."
According to Kunsang from Themchen County in Tsonub "TAP",
Qinghai Province (Tibet: Amdo), the 1995 population
statistics reports a total of 17,000 people live in
Themchen County, of which the vast majority are Tibetan.
The survey reported that approximately 9,000 Tibetans
were illiterate. However, based on the results of an
exam administered in 1998, the Chinese authorities claim
that only 400 people are illiterate. Kunsang reports
that the Chinese administered exams are misleading,
that the exams are not conducted on a systematic basis,
that not all individuals are tested, and that literate
individuals often take exams for their illiterate friends.
Kunsang believes that the Chinese are attempting to
hide the true illiteracy rate of the Tibetan people in
order to avoid having to allocate funds to eradicate the
problem. Last year the county government allocated about
5,000 yuan for literacy training.
A recent report, "Historical Progress in Guaranteeing
Human Rights in Tibet," claims that China has "effectively
protected" the Tibetan's right to education by "providing
free and compulsory education from primary school
through university." The report also claims that the
primary schools in remote areas provide students with free
clothing, room and board. However, reports received from
Tibet continue to contradict the Chinese claims on the
Tibetan children's right and access to education.
Refugee children testify that, although education is
compulsory in several areas, it is far from free. Tibetan
students have to pay prohibitively high tuition fees
and often parents cannot afford to send their children
to schools. In some areas, procuring primary education
may not be as difficult as continuing further studies
in middle school. A former resident of Tsekhog County
in Malho "TAP" in Qinghai Province testified that "about
130 students dropped out of the middle school this year."
The students or the parent's of these children could not
afford to pay the school fees. He had to pay 600 yuan
for one semesters' education. "The middle school costs a
lot of money," he added.
In Marthang County, Ngaba "TAP" in Sichuan province,
parents who have more than two children can send only
two children to the Meba Primary School. The third one
is denied admission. Two residents of Marthang reported
that attending primary school was not so difficult, but
"continuing further in middle school or university was
impossible, especially if you are poor as the costs are
very high."
"Re-education" Extended to Schools
"Patriotic re-education" in schools has become part of the
curriculum for students and teachers. In political science
classes, teachers instruct students to embrace atheism, and
oppose the Dalai Lama. Children are instructing to respect
and recognise the Panchen Lama selected by China and
denounce the Panchen Lama recognised by the Dalai Lama.
Lhalung Gyal,
24 years old, from Tso-ngon High Teacher's Training School
in Qinghai reported that Chinese officials conducted
"re-education" in his school three times a month. The
students were instructed to write protest letters to the
Dalai Lama and express their opposition over the Panchen
Lama chosen by him. Gyal and his friend Tamding once did
not attend the "re-education" session. Upon their return
to the school, they found that their names were listed
on the notice board. They were branded as "students with
unsound minds." They were prohibited from attending the
political class for four months and they forfeited four
months of "pocket money" worth 70 yuan. Later, the school
security police searched their rooms and discovered a
small photograph of the Dalai Lama in Lhalung Gyal's
room. The school authorities then called the parents of
the two students and instructed them to "educate" them
within four months. The parents were also made to sign a
letter of agreement, and both the students were ordered
not remain in the town during the four month period.
This year, of the 2,474 Tibetan refugees who escaped into
exile, 1,115 were children below 18. A majority of them
were unaccompanied by their parents and were sent through
guides. Tibetan children suffer frostbite, hypothermia,
and other ailments as a result of this journey. Girls are
susceptible to sexual assault by Chinese as well as Nepali
police. There are confirmed cases of children dying from
gunshot wounds inflicted by Chinese security personnel,
as well as succumbing to the harsh weather conditions.
On November 20, 1998, 15 year-old
Yeshi Ngodnup
died when
local Chinese security police began firing indiscriminately
at a group of 47 Tibetan refugees who were trying to escape
into Nepal. Yeshi Ngodrup was shot in the back and the
bullet penetrated his abdomen. During the same incident,
a second escapee from Kandze County, Sonam Tri, was shot in
the left knee. Both Yeshi Ngodup and Sonam Tri were taken
to a Chinese hospital. Yeshi Ngodnup died the following
day. On January 23, 1999, his family traveled from Lhasa
and the body was cremated in Saga County. They were part
of a large group of children all fleeing to India to be
admitted in Tibetan schools.
Five policemen in their uniform (three Chinese and two
Tibetans) raped three Tibetan girls, both in their late
teens, after they were caught trying to escape across
the border into Nepal. They were arrested in the Tibetan
border town of Burang at a guesthouse in late 1998 with
three other girls. One of the girls, a 17-year old from
Lhasa, was beaten with an electric baton and raped while
she was unconscious.
The two Tibetan girls escaped into exile with three other
Tibetan women whom they had met during their journey. All
five girls were taken to an empty building where two of
them were tied to a chair, gagged and forced to witness
the rape of two others. The fifth girl was taken upstairs
and was also repeatedly raped. The next morning, the police
agreed to take the 17-year old and one of her friends who
had witnessed the assault to a hospital. They remained in
the hospital for three days, and managed to escape on the
fourth day. The two girls reached Kathmandu on December 19,
1998. The whereabouts of the other girls are unknown. It is
feared that they may have been transferred to a detention
centre.
In a separate incident in January 1999, a 17 year-old
Tibetan girl from Shigatse was raped by a Nepalese
driver in Barabise, on the Nepalese side of the border,
approximately 90 kilometres from Kathmandu. The girl's
plea to the man not to rape her because of her plans to
join a nunnery was rejected.
Tibetan children in Tibet are sent to religious
institutions to acquire Buddhist philosophly, which are
omitted in the secular curriculum of schools. The study of
Buddhist principles and philosophy for individuals as well
as for dissemination to lay communities are restricted
to these religious institutions. The introductions of
regulations that prohibit and expel novice monks and nuns
from religious institutions violates Article 30 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child which guarantees:
... states in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities
or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to
such a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied
the right, in community with other members of his or her
group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and
practice his or her own religion, or to use his or her
own language.
Of the 440 novice monks and nuns who were expelled from
their religious institutions, many were sent back to their
respective villages, others have fled Tibet in order to
join religious establishments in exile.
Samdup Lungtok,
18 years old, from Gyamo town, Sangchu County, Gannan
"TAP", in Gansu Province, fled to India to avoid
denunciation of the Dalai Lama and potential expulsion
from his monastery. There were 500 monks when he joined
Gyamo Monastery at the age of 14. In June 1998, the first
"work team" comprising of three members came to the
monastery and remained for two days. On the first day,
a meeting was called in which the "work team" denounced
the Dalai Lama and instructed the monks to accept the
Panchen Lama selected by Chinese government. On that day,
the "work team" also imposed a ceiling of 300 monks in
the monastery and announced that novice monks below 18
years old will not be allowed to remain. Samdup Lungtok
left for Lhasa on July 12, 1998. While he was in Lhasa,
he learned that in August 1998, another "work team" had
visited the monastery and expelled all the monks below
18 years old. There were approximately 70 novice monks in
the monastery at that time.
Article 37 (b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states:
No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty
unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or
imprisonment of a child shall be used only as a measure
of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of
time.
Article 37 (c) of the CRC states:
Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with
humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the
human person, and in a manner which takes into account the
needs of persons of their age. In particular every child
deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless
it is considered in the child's best interest not to do
so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his
or her family through correspondence and visits, save in
exceptional circumstances.
Despite these guarantees, Tibetan children continue
to be imprisoned for prolonged periods of time,
with adult inmates. There are currently two juvenile
political prisoners and 21 of who were below the age
of 18 at the time of arrest, incarcerated in various
Chinese-administered prisons in Tibet.
Most of the testimonies received to date reveal that
juvenile political prisoners are subject to complete
separation from their family members until their trial
or sentencing. The duration of such separation can
sometimes be more than ten months. In such cases, minors
or juvenile political prisoners are at greater risk of
being ill-treated and tortured.
Phuntsok Legmon (lay name: Tseten Norbu), 16 years old was
sentenced to three years' imprisonment on July 9 by "TAR"
People's Intermediate Court for a protest on March 10,
1999. He is currently held in Drapchi Prison along with
other adult prisoners. Phuntsok Legmon and another monk,
Namdrol, reportedly shouted slogans for a few minutes
in Lhasa on the anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising
Day. They were charged with "plotting or acting to split
the country or undermine national unity." There are reports
that the monks were beaten with batons and fists at the
time of detainment.
15-year-old
Yeshi Yarphel
was detained in late February 1999, accused of being a
spy for the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. In 1991,Yeshi's
parents sent him to Dharamsala, India to receive a Tibetan
education. After studying in India for eight years,
he left school in late February 1999 because of family
problems. The PAP arrested Yarphel and he was taken to
Nyari Detention Centre in Shigatse. PRC officials later
alleged that Yarphel was carrying out espionage activities
for the Tibetan government in-exile. He was released
in late April 1999 after being detained for a total of
two months without formal charges. During his detention,
his parents were not allowed to visit him.
In 1997, three Tibetan students from Dzoge County
School were arrested for pasting publicity materials
of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile on the school notice
board. The three implicated students
Tsering,
Kunga
and
Tenpa
were interrogated and detained in the County Prison
and released after one month. They were expelled from the
school upon their release.
Norzin Wangmo,
a former nun from Shugseb Nunnery was 16 years old when
she was sentenced to five years in prison on September 13,
1994. Wangmo, along with seven other nuns demonstrated in
front of the Jokhang in Lhasa. She was detained in Gutsa
Detention Centre for 11 months and during this time, she
was denied visits from her parents and relatives. "The
prison guards kept all the food and clothes and issued
fake receipts to our family members," she stated in an
interview upon reaching Dharamsala, India.
Article 37 (b) and 16 (1) of the CRC stipulates:
No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his or her privacy, family, home or
correspondence. Nor to unlawful attacks on his or her
honour and reputation.
The Chinese government continues to hold
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima,
the XI Panchen Lama in an unknown location.
He is currently 10 years old, and is the youngest prisoner
of conscience in the world. The Chinese government has
resisted efforts to see the child, including a request by
Mary Robinson,
the UN High Commission for Human Rights.
His current condition is unknown.
He has been missing since May 1995.
Evidence from Tibet conclusively demonstrates that
the Chinese government is violating the rights of
Tibetan children. They are denied the right to free
and non-discriminatory education. Tibetan children are
fleeing Tibet in increasing numbers in order to retain
their cultural traditions; including the use of the
Tibetan language, which is becoming irrelevant in Tibet.
Tibetan children are denied the right to practice their
religion and are banned from joining monastic institutions
before they reach 18. Children are subjected to restrictive
and violent penal measure and legal protections are
disregarded. The fundamental obstacle for children in
Tibet is that the Chinese government is perpetrating these
violations, thereby hampering Tibetans ability to resist
these repressive measures.
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