August 1999
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Tibetan translator detained in Qinghai
[ read ]
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Themchen refugee portrays injustice in Amdo
[ read ]
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"Work-Team" in Bora Monastery
[ read ]
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Family flees to seek education for their children
[ read ]
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Gyaye Phuntsok released on medical parole
[ read ]
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Profile of political prisoner
[ read ]
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Discrimination of Tibetans in work sector
[ read ]
Tsering Dorjee,
26, was detained in China on August 15
for assisting two foreigners investigating the impact of
a World Bank Project.
Tsering Dorjee, a Tibetan who was working as a Chinese
translator was arrested on August 15, 1999 on the charge
of having assisted two foreigners who were investigating a
proposed World Bank project. Tsering, from Rebkong County,
Malho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was arrested along
with two western scholars - Gabriel Laffite, an Australian
and Daja Meston, an American.
While the two westerners have been released, the
whereabouts or physical condition of Tsering is still
unknown. There is no information of China having brought
formal charges against Tsering, nor has China officially
confirmed Tsering"s detention.
On Thursday, August 26, 1999, Human Rights Watch expressed
concern about the detention of Tsering and stated that
he is likely to be "at serious risk of torture."
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, similar
organisations and other supporters, also fear that Tsering
may be severely punished because of his ethnic Tibetan
background. After his release, Gabriel Lafitte expressed
serious concern over the condition of his detained
translator Tsering by stating "far worse still is the
fate of my translator Tsering Dorje, who has no foreign
government to intercede on his behalf. When the secret
police yell that they can do anything they want, this is
undoubtedly true of their own citizens, especially those
of minority ethnicity such as my friend." According to
the International Campaign for Tibet, Tsering, Lafitte
and Meston had been detained in Dulan County, Qinghai
Province, the site of the proposed World Bank poverty
reduction and resettlement project. Just a few months ago,
China promised the World Bank that it would allow foreign
media and researchers to investigate the project site
at "any time". However, Chinese authorities broke their
vow, accused the researchers of engaging in an "illegal
investigation", and wrongfully detained them and Tsering.
Tsering was a junior middle school teacher from Tsekok
County who spoke Tibetan, English and Chinese. In 1997,
he reportedly worked as an official translator for the
Brussels-based non-government organisation, "Medecins Sans
Frontieres" in Yushul County and for a project funded by
the European Union in Darlag County, Golok Prefecture in
Qinghai Province. ]
URGENT ACTION
Join the TCHRD's campaign in writing to the Chinese
President and the President of the World Bank to ask for
the immediate and unconditional release of Tsering Dorjee.
Jiang Zemin
The President of the PRC
Guojia Zhixi, Beijingshi
People"s Republic of China
James Wolfensohn
President, World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433, USA
Mrs. Mary Robinson
Email - webadmin.hchr@unog.ch
[ top ]
Kunsang Gyal,
a 23-year-old from Themchen County in
the Tso-Nub Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,
Qinghai (Amdo) Province, arrived Dharamsala, on August 21,
1999. During his testimony he gave a detailed account of
the unfair education and political systems in Themchen
County in Amdo.
Kunsang attended the Tsonub Mongolian
and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture's Nationalities
Teacher Training School. In this school there are 380
students, of which 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. In fact, the school
has established a quota system which limits admission to
60 Tibetan and 60 Mongolian students each year. With such
quotas in place, the vast majority of minorities cannot
further their education as the Teacher"s Training School is
the only higher education schooling available to students
of Themchen. Kunsang 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."
According to 1995 population statistics, a total of
17,000 people live in Themchen County, of which the
vast majority are Tibetan. The survey reported that
approx. 9,000 Tibetans were illiterate. However, based
on the results of a simple exam which was administered in
1998, the Chinese authorities claim that only 400 people
are illiterate. Kunsang reports however, that the Chinese
administered exams are misleading. Kunsang reports 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 Department allotted only about 5,000 yuan
for literacy training.
Themchen County Political System: Illustrations of
Injustice According to the election laws of China, no
person has the authority to dismiss a county leader (such
as Themchen) that has been elected by the People's Congress
of that county. However, in Themchen, many Tibetans who
have been elected by the People's Congress have been
sacked by the higher level Prefecture authorities, for no
justifiable reason, while the elected Chinese officials
are being retained for the full term. Additionally,
after Tibetans are either dismissed or transferred, the
Prefecture leaders replace them with Chinese leaders. In
this way, the rights of the Tibetan people are clearly
being violated.
The composition of political leaders in Kunsang's county
demonstrates the disproportionate representation of the
Tibetan population that occurs with such an unfair election
system. Amongst the four deputy governors in Themchen, 2
are Tibetan and 2 are Chinese, although the vast majority
of the inhabitants are Tibetan. Kunsang points out, "the
election is not conducted democratically, rather it is a
one way traffic." An illustration of the unfairness of the
political system is the story of Hren-pe, a 38-year-old
who was elected by Themchen County's People's Congress as
a deputy governor in August 1998. The higher Prefecture
authorities later dismissed him and transferred him to
a lower ranking position in a factory in Wu-lan County
for no justifiable reason. Hren-pe was well known for his
contribution to the Tibetan people and was a good person.
Further adding to the injustice, all candidates in a
county election are nominated by the higher Prefecture
leaders. Therefore, the Tibetans have no choice but to
select from the list provided.
Kunsang believes that every individual has the freedom
to learn, to write factual history and to express his
opinion. He believes that it is important to respect
the right of everyone to practice the religion of their
choice. However, Tibetans in Tibet are denied these
rights. The following accounts from Amdo are testimonies
of such injustice.
Chakdor Tsering, a 30-year-old from
Amdo Lhabrang, was under much scrutiny by the district
security officials and Chinese teachers while studying
at the Tibetan Teacher"s Training school in the Tsoe City
from 1989 to 1992. His moves were always observed as they
suspected him of holding anti-Chinese views and feared he
would create some unpleasant stir in the university. After
the completion of his studies, he worked as the editor of
the ěDaserî, a quarterly Tibetan journal of the Kan-Lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Gansu Province. In
June 1997, Chakdor was reportedly detained for political
reasons. To date, nothing is known of his whereabouts.
The story of Menlha Kyab, a famous Tibetan comedian
and writer from Tsolho (Ch: Hainan),Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture in Qinghai (Amdo) Province, also illustrates
the injustice towards Tibetans. Menlha was arrested along
with 28 other Tibetans, and detained in June or July 1993,
just prior to a visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin
to the province. They were suspected of distributing
pro-independence leaflets during the President's
visit. Menlha was recently reported to have suffered a
serious mental breakdown as a result of his imprisonment.
Another man named Monlam, a singer from Lhabrang in
Gansu Province, was arrested sometime in 1997-98 and
later released after being detained for three months.
He was arrested for having composed a song, which contained
political undertones.
[ top ]
Sonam Choephel is a 20-year-old from Bora town in Sangchu
County in Gansu Tibetan Autonomous prefecture. He belongs
to an agricultural family. From the age of 8-9 he went
to the Bora County Primary School for five years.
The main subjects taught were tibetan, chinese and
mathematics. After completing his primary school he joined
the middle school at his shang. He studied in this school
for a year and a half and later dropped out of that school
in 1994. At that time he was only fifteen years old.That
same year he became a monk at the Bora Monastery.
The Bora monastery was demolished during the Cultural
Revolution 1969-79. Prior to 1979, there were 300 monks in
the monastery. The monastery was renovated in 1980 by the
funds gathered from the local people. There was not even a
single yuan subsidy from the government for the renovation.
The renovation finished in 1995, and the monastery has
been running as usual with 300 monks, the same number
prior to the cultural revolution.
From the period of
1994 to 1997, the County Religious Department sent seven
staff members per year to supervise the operation of
the monastery and to hold meetings with the heads of the
monastery. In June 1998 a four-member Chinese "work-team"
came from the County Public Security Bureau (PSB) to the
monastery for the first time. They took pictures of all
the monks and collected 10 Yuan from each monk to make an
Identity Card. They called all the monks at the monastery
into the main prayer hall and encouraged them to embrace
"patriotism". They left after two days.
About a month later, in July 1998, a seven-member Chinese
"work team" arrived at the monastery. At that time there
were 350 monks, out of which 310 monks were issued ID
cards.The rest of monks who were were all between 60-70
years of age, were not issued ID cards. The authorities
collected an additional 10 yuan from all those who were
issued with the ID card. After a day the "work team"
left the monastery.
Then on July 13, 1998, a 12-member "work-team" arrived at
the monastery from the three levels of Province, Prefecture
and County. The formal "patriotic re-education" started at
that time. All the monks were called for a meeting where
30 novice monks below the age of 13 were expelled from the
monastery and instructed to join schools in the place of
their origin. Another 36 who were between 13-18 years of
age were expelled. In this case they were not allowed to
rejoin other monasteries. In total, 66 monks were expelled.
There are currently only 285 monks at the monastery. The
remaining monks were divided into four groups, and a leader
was appointed for each group. Political leaflets were
distributed. The group leader was supposed to collect and
distribute the documents regarding the "re-education." For
four days the "work-teams" continuously came at 8:00 in
the morning and stayed till 5:00 in the evening. Within
the four days they collected all the pictures of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama and Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the
reincarnate Panchen Lama appointed by His Holiness the
Dalai Lama. They also set the schedule for the groups to
study. Everyday the monks had to study for five hours from
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Each monk after a day"s study, was
expected to give in writing to their group leaders what
they studied during the day. This system was to go on for
six months. Every month about eight "work-team" members
came back to the monastery to check on the progress of the
"re-education". The main component of the "re-education"
was to oppose His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to make
them study the Chinese Constitution and the Chinese Legal
System. The "work-team" finally left on December 7, 1998.
In May 1999, a ten-member "work-team" came to the monastery
for the fourth time. They claimed that the six month
"re-education" programme in the previous year was not
up to the expectation of the "work-team" members. They
insisted that by the end of the session, each monk have his
thumb prints on a document which denounces His Holiness
the Dala Lama. In 1998, not just the Bora Monsastery,
but all of the 108 monasteries in Sangchu County were
visited by a "work-team" for six months. Upon assessing
the effectiveness of the "re-education", the Chinese
authorities found out that some monasteries still displayed
pictures of HH in their monasteries. This instigated the
"work-team" members to announce on April 21, 1999 to visit
monasteries again. It is not decided for how long the
"re-education" will last this time.
Sonam could not bear the thought of another "re-education"
in his monastery ; therefore, on June 21, he voluntarily
left his monastery and reached Lhasa on July 5, 1999. He
reached Nepal on July 23, 1999 and finally Dharamsala on
August 22, 1999.
[ top ]
Tashi Gyaltsen,
a 27-year-old nomad from Serchen Township
of Drongpa County in the Ngari Region of Tibet, arrived
in Dharamsala on July 31, 1999 with his wife and two sons
ages two and six. The family came to India in hopes of
procuring proper education for their children. The harsh
living conditions in Tibet have apparently worn on the
children as they appear feeble and malnourished. Upon
reaching Dharamsala, Tashi's older son was able to secure
admission to the Tibetan Children's Village School in
Dharamsala, India.
Tashi explained that he cannot afford to send his children
to school in Tibet. The fees charged are simply too high
for his family which lives in very poor conditions. In
addition to a monthly fee of 300 yuan, Tashi had to pay
the school 2 gyama (1kg) of butter, a part of sheep's leg,
4 gyama (2kg) of roasted barley flour, 3 gyama of rice
(11/2 kg) and 4 gyama (2 kg) of wheat per year.
In Tibet, Tashi owned 24 livestock including four yaks
and 20 goat and sheep, on which the Chinese authorities
imposed various taxes. These taxes were not collected in
accordance with either the central or the state regulated
tax system but rather on an arbitrary basis. During the
butter-procuring period from April to June, Tashi's family
like other Tibetan nomads had to pay 150 yuan per month
from the butter procured. Every summer during the wool
sheering season, the nomads have to pay 5 yuan for every
four gyama of wool. Tashi's family was also charged 10
yuan per animals as a grass tax. Tashi's family received
about 20 gyama (10 kg) of wool from the animals, ad thus
had to pay 25 yuan last summer. As a nomad Tashi's family
was completely dependent on their livestock and lived in
a tent which they had to move from one place to another
to seek greener pastures every season. The imposition of
various taxes on these livestock and their products made
it difficult for their family to meet basic necessities
like food and clothing. Therefore, Tashi had to work for
a wealthier Tibetan family for three years for a meager
salary of 30 yuan per month.
In Tashi's village there are 68 families, out of which
about 20 are poor like Tashi's family.
[ top ]
In August 1998, the Qinghai Public Security Bureau (PSB)
raided
Gyaye Phuntsok's house,
in Gyaye village, Chabcha County (Ch:Gonghe) in
Tsolho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Ch:Hainan) in Qinghai Province,
and found documents and speeches of the Dalai Lama.
Gyaye (68) was immediately
arrested and taken in a truck to Siling (Ch:Xining) Prison,
in the capital of Qinghai. From August 1998 to July 1999,
his whereabouts were kept a secret. TCHRD treated his case
as disappearance and reported the incident on April 7,
1999. In July 1999, he was sentenced to six years by the
Tsolho Intermediate People's Court.
Recently received information indicated that Gyaye was
interrogated for eight days after his arrest. Throughout
this time he was kept standing and was denied food and
sleep. After this harsh treatment his feet swelled and
he had to use crutches to walk. He was denied any medical
treatment. According to an unofficial source from Tibet,
Gyaye was released on medical parole. The exact date of
his release is yet to be discerned; however, the source
reported on August 20, 1999 that all medical expenses of
Gyaye were to be covered by his family. Gyaye was also
reported to have been kept under strict surveillance
and restricted from leaving Qinghai by the Tsolho PSB.
He is reportedly now admitted in Chabcha People's
Hospital. Gyaye was a well known figure in Chabcha County
for his altruistic contribution in giving free education
to the young Tibetan children in the village. He sought
the funds himself and built a school that had over 60
students to whom he taught Tibetan, English, Chinese
and mathematics. He was also a member of Chabcha County
Political Consultative of Tsolho TAP. Gyaye Phuntok had
earlier visited India in March 1992 for a pilgrimage with
valid Chinese travel documents. Upon his return from India
in June 1992, he was interrogated several times.
[ top ]
Over the past few years Tibetans have been sentenced for
long prison term for exercising their rights. Tibetans who
show their allegiance to the Dalai Lama are considered to
have disregarded the constitution of the state. Staging
peaceful demonstrations and raising freedom slogans are
considered as endangering to the state security law.
Yeshi Ngawang
is an example of one who is facing fourteen years
imprisonment and deprivation of political rights.
Yeshi Ngawang is a 32 year-old from village #3, Chideshol
Kyimshe town in Gongkar County, Lhoka Region. Before
his arrest, he was a monk in Sungrabling Monastery in
Chideshol.
On March 10, 1989, when Yeshi was 21 years old, Yeshi and
five other monks, Yeshi Damdul (23), Yeshi Tsering (22),
Paljor Choegyal (22), Chemi Tsering (19) and Tsultrim Jampa
(23) planned to put up independent posters to commemorate
the March 10th Uprising of 1959. The six monks wrote
freedom slogans such as ěChinese get out of Tibetî,
"Long Live HH" and "Free Tibet" on eight 2 x 3 sized
posters. They then pasted the posters next to the gate
and surrounding walls near the office of the People's
Government of Kyimshe Township at 11:00 p.m. They also
wrote freedom slogans with red paint on the same gate. On
March 15, 1989 while Yeshi Ngawang, Yeshi Damdul and
Yeshi Tsering pasted three posters in the market place of
Chideshol Township, the rest of the monks kept watch for
policemen patrolling in the night. Although they managed
to get back to their monastery, a patrolman saw what they
did. On March 17, 1989, Gongkar County Public Security
Bureau (PSB) Officials came to the monastery, ransacked
the rooms of the six monks, and found all the instruments
used to make the posters.
On April 20, 1989, Yeshi Ngawang, Yeshi Tsering,
Chemi Tsering and Tsultrim Jampa were arrested at the
monastery. They were detained in Lhoka PSB Detention
Centre. Each was interrogated 10-15 times within four
months of detention. They were formally arrested in May
1989. On August 9, 1989 the six were taken for trial by the
Lhoka branch procuratorate. Subsequenlty on October 30,
1989, TAR Lhoka Intermediate People's Court held a trial
whereby the six were charged with ěcounter-revolutionaryî
propaganda. Their court verdict stated that the six
had shown disregard to the Constitution of the state
by showing allegiance to His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and by "disrupting" peace and harmony by pasting
"counter-revolutionary" posters. They were charged
with having violated Article 102 and sections 22, 23,
24, 52 and 60 of the Criminal Law. Yeshi Ngawang and
Yeshi Damdul were sentenced to five years imprisonment
and three years deprivation of political rights. Yeshi
Tsering was sentenced to four years imprisonment and
one-year deprivation of political rights. The others were
all sentenced to three years imprisonment and one-year
deprivation of political rights. In November 1989, all
six were transferred to Drapchi Prison.
While in prison, Yeshi Ngawang was sent to work in the
vegetable garden (greenhouse). In December 1990, when
another political prisoner, Lhakpa Tsering (20) died in
custody, the political prisoners created an uproar in
which Yeshi also participated.
On April 27, 1991 five political prisoners were singled
out and transferred as punishment for attempting to hand
over a letter to U.S. Ambassador James Lilley. Thinking
that the five men had been killed, the prisoners initiated
a mass protest which was violently suppressed by prison
officials. Because Yeshi Ngawang was one of the main
leaders of the protest, he received severe beatings and was
solitarily confined for a month along with a fellow inmate.
Several other prisoners were confined for a week. While
confined, Yeshi received further beatings.
On April 20 1993, at the time of prison visits, Yeshi
reportedly handed over an entire list of political
prisoners and the prison conditions in Drapchi to his
visiting family. This was discovered by the prison
officials who subjected Yeshi to another one-month of
solitary confinement. He was charged with "leaking state
secrets" and his sentence was extended by another nine
years, bringing his total sentence to 14 years. Yeshi's
health has deteriorated considerably since the time he
was arrested. Yeshi is expected to be released in 2003.
[ top ]
Upon his arrival in Dharamsala on August 23, 1999,
Luthar Gyal,
age 22, from Chanong Village in Chekok township, Thongren County,
Malho (Ch: Hainan) Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, testified to
TCHRD of the discrimination he faced at his work in Gold
Refinery. Luther went to Lobchung Lower School for five
years, from age eight to thirteen. After graduation,
he attempted to secure admission in the Malho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture Middle School; however, he had
difficulty passing the entrance exam because it was
conducted in Chinese. He therefore returned to his
parents" home for six years to help them with their
farming work.
At the age of 19, Luthar obtained work at
the Throngren County Gold Refinery in Mapa Village (Ch:
Thongren County Shungpung Chu Chenkhang). Luthar's job was
manual, requiring him to put gold ore into the furnace
to be processed and refined. The refinery employed a
total of 170 workers, out of which 20 were Tibetan. The
Chinese workers were paid around 500-800 yuan per month,
and Tibetans were paid from 200-400 yuan per month. Luthar
reports that all the Chinese counterparts in the industry
are engaged in white collor jobs, whereas Tibetans are
entrusted with manual, physically risky jobs.
The actual mining of the ore, which began in 1991, is
being carried out in Shungpung Chu, Gertse Shang, Thongren
County in the Malho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It
is estimated that every day, 10-truck loads of mineral
ore are transported from Shungpung Chu to be refined. It
is estimated that every four months 50 trucks of gold
(9 tons per truck) are transported from the refinery
to China via Xining. Luthar reported that the pollution
generated from the mining industry has negatively affected
the health of the local nomads. The Chinese authorities
have destroyed vast expanses of forest and farming land
in order to construct offices, quarters, guest houses
and hotels and to build roads to facilitate easier and
faster transport of minerals. The Tibetans are not even
compensated for their confiscated land. Many of the local
Tibetans in the area are also believed to be suffering
from lung diseases. He also reported that the gold in the
area is almost exhausted. The authorities are currently
investigating a new spot called Lunche in Thongren County
for excavation.
In September 1998 Luthar Gyal went to Lhasa on pilgrimage
and stayed for 10 days. When Luthar returned to work, the
authorities told him that he had been sacked from work
for having tried to escape to India. Luthar's repeated
request to reinstate him in the job was unheard. Luthar
was therefore compelled to return home and continue to
do his farming work. On June 29,1999, Luthar left for
Lhasa via Xining. Along with 28 other Tibetans, he fled
for India after making payment of 500 yuan to a guide.
He finally reached Nepal after 18 days, and arrived in
Dharamsala on August 23,1999.
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