15 November 1996
-
The words of Ngawang Choephel
[ read ]
-
Activist flees Tibet
[ read ]
-
Discrimination in school
[ read ]
-
PRC sentences Pro-democracy Leader
[ read ]
-
Tibet's Longest Imprisoned Political Prisoners
[ read ]
-
The Dalai Lama Condemns Cultural Genocide in Tibet
[ read ]
-
Tibetan Dissident Under House Arrest
[ read ]
Last month the People's Republic of China (PRC)
officially acknowledged the detention of Ngawang
Choephel, a Tibetan musician and scholar arrested by
Chinese authorities in August 1995 while travelling in
Tibet. Ngawang was undertaking some preliminary research
for the creation of a documentary on the traditional
folk music and performing arts of Tibet.
According to Mr. Shao Wenguang of the Chinese Embassy
in Washington DC, Ngawang Choephel is suspected of
gathering "sensitive intelligence" and engaging in
"illegal separatist activities" with the funding of
certain unnamed Americans and at the instigation of the
Tibetan Government-in-Exile. It appears that Ngawang is
thereby suspected of violating article 4, section 2(5)
of the PRC's National Security Law. If convicted under
this section Ngawang can even face the death sentence.
Such accusation was officially and strenuously denied by
the Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, and further
support for the verity of Ngawang Choephel's purpose
in Tibet is to be found in his own words. Upon arrival
in Kathmandu, Nepal, Ngawang wrote to a close female
relative in Dharamsala (her name has been withheld for
security reasons) and sent the letter from there before
proceeding on to Tibet. The letter arrived in Dharamsala
on 7 July 1995.
The original of this signed letter, written in English,
was passed on to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and
Democracy (TCHRD), and the following has been reprinted
exactly as written by Ngawang: "My main reason to go into
Tibet is to research and collect as many folk songs as I
could. My friend Kathryn is a photographer and I have a
camcorder. This is really very exciting and little scary
too ... Anyhow I'm determined to do what I'm supposed to
rather than any political activities and propaganda."
The TCHRD has also been privy to Ngawang Choephel's
original signed submission in which he outlines the
purpose of his filming in Tibet. The goal is, he writes;
"of creating a film that both examines the causes of
the decay of Tibetan culture and documents and preserves
the remaining oral and cultural traditions ... In order
to prepare for footage in Tibet, an organizational solo
trip will also be necessary." He goes on to propose the
subjects of his footage; ceremonial songs and dance, and
personal interviews with elders regarding the history of
their knowledge of dance, music and storytelling.
There is not a single reference, either in his letter or
his submission (both have been made available in their
entirety on World Tibet Network electronic mail), to
any purpose other than the research of customary musical
practices. Ngawang was a member of the Tibetan Institute
of Performing Arts and a Fulbright scholar at Middlebury
College in Vermont, and his planned visit to Tibet revealed
only the most peaceful of intentions.
These two documents illustrate the glaring inconsistencies
in the claims of the PRC. To accuse a young Tibetan scholar
and musician, armed only with an amateur camcorder, of
funded espionage is not only outlandish but completely
groundless.
We again urge the Chinese authorities to provide some
support for their accusations of illegal intentions
and conspiracy regarding Ngawang Choephel. Ngawang has
been held incommunicado for more than 14 months without
charge or trial. We call upon the Chinese authorities to
grant Ngawang Choephel his full civil and political rights
including access to legal representation and a fair trial,
and to abide by the universal standards applicable to
those in detention.
We encourage those innumerable groups and individuals who
have shown overwhelming support for Ngawang Choephel to
make similar calls in their continuing demand for justice.
[ top ]
The following is taken from an account provided to the
Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy this week by
Jamyang Dargyal,
a new arrival from Tibet.
He fled Tibet for India in 1993, but returned to his homeland in 1995
determined to make Tibetans aware of international support
for the Tibetan cause. He carried with him speeches of
the Dalai Lama, copies of the foreign-produced Chinese
"Democratic Magazine" and other publications.
"Unfortunately upon reaching Kyidong I was caught by the
Chinese Army, detained for 18 days, and systematically
tortured during interrogations. I was than transferred
to Shigatse, Lhasa, Xiling and Drotsang within the space
of a year and endured various forms of torture in each of
these prisons."
Whilst detained in the Nyari Detention Centre at Shigatse,
Jamyang met with a number of prominent Tibetan political
prisoners, including Gyaltrul Rinpoche, Jampa Tendar and
Ngawang Choephel. "The majority of prisoners in Nyari were
Tibetans and I had realised from my own experience that the
prisoners were forced to endure innumerable treatments of
an inhumane nature". Jamyang still carries the scars from
severe torture inflicted upon him during his detention
at Nyari.
After six months in Nyari, he was handed over to Public
Security Officials, detained a further four months,
subjected to further interrogations and finally placed
under house arrest. Following his arrest, Jamyang again
fled Tibet for India, arriving in October 1996.
[ top ]
The following information was provided by
Jamyang Dargyal
who had studied in this school for three years.
Bayan County Nationality School in Amdo (Chinese:
Qinghai) is a day-cum-boarding school primarily for
ethnic minorities. The school admits Tibetans and Chinese
Muslims. In the early 1980's the school fees and expenses
were taken on by the government and a monthly stipend of
24 yaun per student was provided. Most of the boarders in
the school were Tibetan while Chinese Muslims and other
Chinese stayed with their parents all of whom lived nearby.
Since the Tibetan parents lived far from the school, their
children were compelled to stay in the school's hostel.
From early 1985 many Chinese students were admitted to the
school which led to the exclusion of the Tibetan language
from the curriculum. All of the Tibetans in the boarding
school were then required to pay 180 kg. of barley, one
kg. of potatoes, two and a half litres of oil, and some
charcoal to the school authorities in addition to expenses
for stationery.
Tibetans are referred to as "pagmi" (Chinese: phiya)
which is a derogatory term for those who wear animal
skins. They are also called "chedak" which means one who
licks utensils. "Allo" is the Chinese term for "kugpa"
or fool which is also a common insult. The Tibetans are
systematically humiliated in this manner. The teachers
and the authorities in the schools are condescending and
dislike Tibetans. In all disputes between a Chinese and
a Tibetan pupil it is invariably the Tibetan student
who is expelled.
Tibetans are harassed by the Chinese when they leave
the school and are often beaten. Tamdin, a pupil at the
school, was stabbed and had to be admitted to hospital
for two months. These events cumulatively forced a large
number of Tibetan students to leave the school. In 1992,
30 Tibetan students left the school (which has a strength
of 850) and a similar number are reported to have left
the school every year since.
The school has a faculty and staff of 80 people of which
there are only five male Tibetans: Kelsang (50), Sonam
(35), Shenpa (27), Norbu (48), and Pemakyi (85).
All decisions regarding the functioning of the school are
made by the Chinese. Of the 850 students 250 are Tibetans
while the rest are ethnic Chinese. The subjects taught in
the school are: Chinese Language, Mathematics, Political
Science, Science, Geography and History, Environment
and English.
Most of the teachers are Chinese. The Political
Science teacher is Chinese and he teaches; Marxist and
Chinese ideology, the Chinese constitution, and Chinese
administration. However the Tibetan students are not
interested in any of these subjects.
[ top ]
On 30 October 1996 the PRC sentenced pro-democracy leader
Wang Dan to 11 years imprisonment. Just weeks earlier,
Liu Xiaobo, another prominent pro-democracy activist, was
sent to labour camp for 3 years for "re-education through
labour" without trial for penning an open letter to China
calling for Tibetan autonomy and labour reforms.
A speaker for Human Rights Watch stated; "The government
has effectively wiped out the Chinese dissident movement
for the foreseeable future". Amnesty International, in an
open letter to PRC Prime Minister Li Peng, expressed grave
concern at the trend towards increased repression in China,
despite international claims that Beijing is working to
improve human rights protection in China.
While Wang Dan was charged with "conspiring to subvert
the government", Amnesty International says, "It is
clear that the "crimes" imputed to Wang Dan amount to
no more than the peaceful exercise of his fundamental
right to freedom of expression and association... Amnesty
International considers that Wang Dan's detention violates
international standards." Wang Dan's harsh sentence has
similarly attracted criticism from several countries
including Britain, France, Sweden and Germany.
While there are plans to reform the criminal law of the
PRC in 1997, including the abolition of ill-defined
"counter-revolutionary crimes", there is widespread
concern that the new State Security and State Secrets
legislation will similarly provide for arbitary detention
and politically motivated prosecution.
[ top ]
Tibetans suspected of opposing policies of the PRC
have frequently been detained as political prisoners
for extraordinarily lengthy periods. Many remain in
detention today, having spent the best part of their
lives behind bars. We shall be profiling some of these
prisoners of conscience in future Human Rights Updates,
beginning in this Update with Tibet's longest imprisoned
political prisoner, Tanak Jigme Sangpo.
Born 1926, Tanak Jigme Sangpo was reportedly first
arrested in 1960 while teaching at Lhasa Primary School
and charged with "corrupting the minds of children with
reactionary ideas". In 1964 he was sentenced to three years
imprisonment in Sangyip Prison over comments regarding
Chinese repression of Tibetans, and was then sent to labour
camp in Lhasa. In 1970 he was sentenced to ten years hard
labour in Sangyip Prison on charges of inciting his niece
to escape to India and report Chinese atrocities to His
Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Tanak Jigme Sangpo was released from prison in 1979
and transferred to the Reform-through-Labour Unit 1 in
Nyethang, 60 km west of Lhasa, but was arrested again
on 3 September 1983 by the Lhasa City Public Security
Bureau. Tanak had been seen on 12 July 1983 pasting a
personally written wall-poster protesting against Chinese
authority at the main temple of Tsuklhakhang Temple in
Lhasa, and several days later had worn a white banner
over his body to symbolise the ultimate realisation of
Tibetan people's freedom and independence. Even after
arrest Tanak's determination was unabated as he sang the
Tibetan national anthem and repeated his claim that he
would continue to struggle for Tibetan independence.
In the official sentence paper, issued on 30 November 1983,
the Lhasa City Intermediate People's Court noted that the
defendent had evidently never seriously reconsidered his
past "counter-revolutionary propaganda" and sentenced to
15 years imprisonment in addition to five years deprivation
of civil and political rights.
On 1 December 1988, Tanak was again prosecuted for raising
"reactionary slogans" relating to Chinse suppression of
Tibet whilst in Drapchi Prison (also called the "Tibet
Autonomous Region" Prison). Found once more guilty of
"spreading and inciting counter-revolutionary propaganda",
his sentence was increased by five years and the period
of deprivation of civil and political rights extended a
further year.
On 6 December 1991, 64-year-old Tanak led a protest at
Drapchi Prison during a visit by Swiss government officials
in which a number of political prisoners shouted slogans
supporting the Dalai Lama and calling for Chinese to leave
Tibet. After the delegation was requested to leave, Tanak
was dragged from the room and beaten so severely that his
body turned numb. Six weeks later he was reported to still
be in solitary confinement and suffering a new form of
'cold cell' torture. Large sheets of metal had been erected
on either side of him to lower the temperature if the cell
and he had been refused any extra clothes.
Tanak was subsequently sentenced on 4 April 1992 to
a further eight years imprisonment and an additional
three years deprivation of civil and political rights.
This brings his current sentence to 28 years and by the
time he is released on 3 September 2011, at the age of 85,
he shall have spent 41 years in prison.
Today Tanak is 70 years old, he is extremely weak and his
eyesight is rapidly deteriorating. Yet his great belief in
the Tibetan cause and his prevailing sense of justice has
never waned. It is vital that the international community
similarly continues to demand justice for Tanak and the
many other political prisoners like him.
[ top ]
During an interview with Le Monde daily newspaper in
his recent visit to France, His Holiness the Dalai Lama
condemned China's cultural genocide in Tibet, although he
stressed that he remained open to negotiations with Beijing
without pre-conditions. His Holiness emphasised that he
was not demanding Tibet's independence, only its autonomy.
The human rights situation had worsened in Tibet,
said His Holiness, and emphasised that protecting the cultural
heritage of Tibet has become his main concern.
[ top ]
Yulo Dawa Tsering,
a 58-year-old abbot at Ganden Monastery
and former teacher of Philosophy at the University of
Tibet, was the first Tibetan to be arrested when the
Tibetan independence movement regained vigour in 1987. He
was arrested in December 1987 and sentenced for 10 years
as a result of having spoken about Tibetan independence
with an Italian tourist six months earlier.
The Tibetan lama, now 68 years old and having spent a total
of some 27 years of his life imprisoned, was released
on parole on 4 November 1994. When, three weeks later,
a United Nations Human Rights team was officially invited
to Lhasa to assess China's record on religious freedom,
Yulo Dawa Tsering was allowed to meet with the UN Special
Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, M. Abdelfattah
Amor. The lama spoke of his concern about the version
of Tibet's history that is known to the international
community and said that he had been arrested for political
reasons. He did not accept official statements that he
had been released for good conduct and recognition of
his guilt.
The Tibet Information Network (TIN) recently reported that
Yulo Dawa Tsering has been placed under what is effectively
house arrest, apparently as a punishment for his comments
to UN officials two years ago.
Three members of the European Parliament visiting Lhasa
in early November were insistent that they should be
allowed to meet with Yulo Dawa Tsering. Finally a ten
minute meeting was arranged at an unnamed destination,
amidst high security, with Chinese officials present and
photographs forbidden. A Tibetan-English interpreter was
not provided, and communication took place through two
interpreters; the first from Tibetan to Chinese and the
next from Chinese to English.
Despite these difficulties, the MEPs concluded that
Yulo Dawa Tsering appeared to be under some kind
of restraint. While officially "under parole", they
reported that the lama was not the master of his own
movements. M. Amor has commented that he will be paying
very close attention to this report.
|
