31 October 1998
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Parents forced to bring back their children from India
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Authorities admit to shootings in Drapchi Prison
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14-year-old minor sentenced to three years
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Profile:
Solo demonstrator dies from prison beatings
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Employment cuts
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With thanks to our Sponsor
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According to a reliable source from Tibet, parents in Lhasa are being
forced to bring
back their children who are being educated in India. This enforcement took
place earlier in 1994 when 37 children studying in schools run by the Tibetan
government in exile were forced to return to Tibet against the will of
both the children and their parents following an order stipulated on October
22, 1994.
Three parents from Lhasa Middle School in the "Tibet Autonomous Region" have
reportedly arrived in Dharamsala recently to take back their children who
are currently studying in the Tibetan Children's Village in Dharamsala.
This school is included in the top 1000 schools in China. The school authorities,
in an attempt to boost its image, conducted an investigation as to whether
its staff were complying with the 1994 orders. Out of the 200 staff, including
160 teachers, they found three who still had their children studying in
schools in exile. The staff are required to be "politically clean", which
included returning any children who were being educated in India back to
Tibet.
The Lhasa Middle School was established in 1955 is located behind the Potala
Palace. It is the largest and most reputed school in Tibet and accepts
children from all regions. Of the 3,000 students who attend, half are Chinese.
This school and Tibet University are the only two educational institutions
that are under the direct administration of the "Tibet Autonomous Region".
On March 20, 1998 the head of the school asked the three parents to comply
with this order within six months. However, their inability in immediately
acquiring travel documents as well as the fear in travelling during the
heat made it difficult for them to act upon the order. In September 1998
they were asked by the school authorities to explain why they had not been
to India to collect their children. They were suspended from their work
until they complied with the order.
Any monetary incentives, which staff are usually entitled to, from working
the previous year, were revoked.
Presently it appears that the Lhasa Middle School alone is pursuing the 1994 orders.
When authorities found out that the parents had not left their travel documents
were immediately issued by the Public Security Bureau (PSB). They were
also required to pay 1,000 yuan (approximately $US125) as a deposit until
they had returned with their children. Chances are, if they failed to do
so, the parents would face expulsion from their jobs.
Other reports indicated that various administrative departments within the "TAR"
are competing over "political purity" of staff. Those departments with
staff who have children studying abroad (India) are looked down upon. This
instigates concerned departments to implement measures to "clean up" the
staff.
The demands follow an order stipulated on October 22, 1994 under document #
58 of the "Tibet Autonomous Region's" Disciplinary Action Committee. Of
the nine points listed, the third states that "the party members and cadres
must not send their children to a school run by the deserters' administration.
Those who have already sent them must bring back within the specified period."
The order also stated: "After this announcement those who fail to bring
back and allow their children to study at the schools run by the separatist
group and the escapees must be castigated depending on their mistake through
the code of the communist party and through political process."
According to information provided to TCHRD by a student of TCV who visited Tibet
in April 1998 and returned to India in July 1998: "returned students below
the age of 15 were admitted to primary schools with poor facilities. Children
above 15 were either employed on their return as tourist guides or in a
state department. However, they are constantly subjected to strict scrutiny
and often discriminated against on pretext of fictitious grounds. Many
face expulsion from work on suspicious grounds of organising clandestine
political activities or having contacts outside."
"I found some of them doing petty business in Barkhor selling incense, prayer
flags, rubber shoes, ordinary mat etc. For instance two former students
Ngawang Seldon and Yeshi Tsogyal from TCV in Dharamsala were among them.
Some students who became unemployed lived in poor family conditions resorted
to excessive drinking. In May 1998, when I was in Lhasa I heard of one
returned student who had committed suicide after excessive drinking. Those
who have returned to Tibet say that they are not trusted", he added.
[ top ]
After three months of China's denials of the protests at Drapchi prison in early
May, authorities have now admitted that a shooting actually took place,
although they claim that no deaths resulted.
The admission was made to a visiting delegation of politicians from the European
Democratic Union (EDU) that prisoners began to shout slogans including
"Free Tibet" and "Long Live the Dalai Lama" during a flag-raising ceremony
on May 1. Previous delegations that visited Tibet after May included a
group of Italian senators and a Danish delegation who were given contradcitory
explanations of the incident. The Governor of Drapchi prison told the Danish
government officials that "nothing had happened" at the prison, while the
vice-governor told the Danish delegation that "something had happened."
They were told by the Justice Bureau state that "prison guards were so frightened
that they fired guns into the air to attract the attention of policemen
outside the prison. The statement confirms that guards were armed with
guns and does not explain why they were so intimidated by the slogan shouting
if this was the case" as stated by TIN in their October 21, 1998 News Update.
The statement from the high-ranking prison officials comes after three months
of denials that any incident occurred. This ran contrary to reports by
human rights groups, including TCHRD, that 11 deaths occurred. The entire
incident is reflective of China's ongoing assertions about respecting international
laws on human rights issues in Tibet, while acting on the contrary.
According to the same report by TIN "the British government held the presidency of
the European Union during the visit of an EU delegation to Drapchi Prison
on the same day as the second protest on 4 May. The flag raising ceremony
mentioned by officials at the Justice Bureau is said to have been in preparation
for the arrival of the EU Troika, consisting of Beijing-based ambassadors
from Britian, Austria and Luxembourg, to the prison."
The British government is yet to receive any response on the Drapchi incident
from the Chinese authorities.
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Tsering Choekyi,
formerly of Shugseb nunnery, Toelung Dechen county of Li-Yu township,
arrived in Dharamsala on October 22, 1998. She recounts her experiences of
three years ago when she was arrested at 14 years old.
Tsering Choekyi joined Shugseb nunnery at the age of eight, when there were 90
nuns in the nunnery. On December 12, 1993, Tsering Choekyi, then 14 years-old,
and two friends Yeshi Tsundue (20) and Tsultrim Tharchin (14) led a demonstration
around Barkhor, the marketplace in Lhasa. They marched across the Barkhor
shouting slogans such as "Tibet is independent", "Chinese quit Tibet",
and "Long Live His Holiness the Dalai Lama." After demonstrating for about
10 minutes, three Public Security Officials in plain dress arrested them.
They were first taken to the local police station and later to Gutsa Detention
Centre. While at local police station, they were kept in a small room and
interrogated. "I told them I had initiated the demonstration and they slapped
me, used electric prods and beat me with a nailed wooden plank," said Tsering.
"I was asked: Who is behind you? Are you being told by the Dalai Lama to
carry out such activities? What has the Dalai Lama done to help you?" The
three were told that if they confessed and apologised, they would be released.
"They interrogated me for about three to four hours, after which we were
taken to Gutsa. On reaching Gutsa we were forced to stand in front of main
gate for an hour and read what was written on the board. They kept us separately
during the first day in a cell with no mat or bedding facilities — there
was only a pot. I was then joined in the cell by Jampa Choekyi (21), who
was sentenced to six years and Yeshi Chosang (25), who was sentenced to
four years."
Tsering's friends, Yeshi Tsundue and Tsultrim Tharchin, were sentenced to five years
and three years imprisonment respectively. They were transferred to Drapchi.
Over the next month, Tsering was interrogated daily, then once or twice a week
for a further two months.
In all, Tsering was detained in Gutsa Detention Centre for one year. For the
first three months she was not allowed any visitors. After three months
she was allowed to receive visitors twice a month, although she could not
meet them personally.
While in Gutsa, despite being a juvenile prisoner, she was housed with other
prisoners and had to work every day from 9 am. She was provided with a
steamed bun and a mug of boiled water for breakfast and rice and vegetables
at 1 pm. "Since I had not attained 18 years old, I was formally sentenced
for three years "re-education through labour" (Laojiao). A week after
her sentence, she was transferred to Trisam Detention Centre.
Of three cell blocks in Trisam, one block is for women. There, she was subjected
to further interrogations. "Every morning between 6am-8am we had to
do military exercise. At 9.30am the prisoners had to clean the staff's
quarters until midday. Then at 3pm we had to pick pig food for four hours,"
says Tsering. "During winter we had to attend education sessions for a
month. The subjects taught were Chinese, Tibetan and maths."
Tsering says she had demonstrated because of continued Chinese rule in Tibet and
continued deprivation of the basic rights of the Tibetan people.
[ top ]
The People's Republic of China signed the United Nations Convention Against
Torture in 1986. Since then more than 60 Tibetan political prisoners are
known to have died directly as a result of torture by police or prison
officials. Pasang's death exemplifies one such case inflicted upon people
who strive to defend and promote human rights. Pasang was only 21 years
old when he died for beatings in prison followed by insufficient medical
treatment.
On December 8, 1994, Pasang held a short solo demonstration in Lhasa, Barkhor
(central market). This peaceful demonstration condemned the Chinese regime
in Tibet and called for Tibet's freedom.
Pasang was immediately arrested by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and was severely
beaten at the time of arrest. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment
and subsequently taken to Drapchi prison. By the time he reached Drapchi,
Pasang required medical treatment due to prison beatings while in custody.
Prevented from receiving ongoing medical treatment, his health deteriorated extremely.
He was finally allowed to leave the prison complex during the day to visit
a hospital, but was required to return to the prison every evening.
Pasang was eventually admitted to the "Tibet Autonomous Region" Chide (Public
Welfare) hospital when prison officials felt that his condition was critical.
On December 17, 1997 at around 5.30 in the evening, Pasang passed away.
He was 21 years old at the time of his death.
Pasang was a monk from Dechen Sangak Monastery in Dechen township, Taktse County
in Lhasa City.
From October to December 1994, monks from Dechen Sangak Monastery staged a series
of independence demonstrations earning it the label of a "problematic monastery".
This meant that the Monastery was liable to strict survelliance and restrictions.
Eleven known arrests were made in 1994 alone at the same monastery and
prison sentences of up to six years were imposed to those arrested.
[ top ]
As reported in the September 15, 1998 issue of Human Rights Update,
a new campaign is launched since the beginning of 1998 to downsize
the employees in the various government sectors such as business,
industrial, judicial and the administrative division.
This earlier report of September gave the impression
that the campaign was applicable to only Lhasa City,
whereas latest report from Dhrango County, Kanze Prefecture,
indicate the implementation of the campaign in other places of Tibet.
Khando Dekyi (24) and Kelsang Dolma (22), from Sichuan province, Kanze Prefecture,
Dhrango County, were two of 51 Tibetan employees in a petrol station in
Dhrango County. They had both been employed for the last eight years. The
station was run by the Chinese office of the County Commerce Department.
In January 1998 they received a letter from the County people's government
ordering staff cuts in various government offices as "businesses were running
at a loss". The petrol station was to be privatised. As a result, 60 jobs
were terminated including the positions of Khando and Kelsang. Seven jobs
remained and six of them went to Chinese staff. In all, 50 Tibetans lost
their jobs.
The officials were all sacked in February 1998, given a month's salary and
told to look for alternative work. Many of them face subsistence problems
and are unable to find other work. Consequently, Khando and Kelsang felt
they had no alternative but to come to India.
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This is the second issue sponsored by Les Amis Du Tibet-Belgique.
TCHRD would like to thank the organisation for their generous contribution.
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