August 2000
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Exile students forced to return to Tibet
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29 Tibetan tour guides dismissed
[ read ]
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Less school, more fees
[ read ]
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Forceful withdrawal of juvenile monks and nuns
[ read ]
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A Village without school & hospital
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Statement by Mrs. Sonam Dekyi on her visit to Tibet to see her imprisoned son
[ read ]
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Eight years sentence for posters and protest
[ read ]
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Testimony of a political prisoner
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Monks expelled from Bon Monastery
[ read ]
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Press conference for Sonam Dekyi
[ read ]
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China opposes TCHRD's accreditation to the World Conference Against Racism
[ read ]
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New TCHRD publications
[ read ]
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Our staff attend Kalchakra at Spiti
[ read ]
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New staff at TCHRD
[ read ]
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Human rights talk at nunnery
[ read ]
[ top ]
Waves of withdrawal of exile students from various schools in
India were reported in August following the intensification of
1994 ban on children of cadres and government employees going
to schools administered by Tibetan exile government.
At least 20 students have left this month
from five schools and the number is expected to increase.
Many parents from different occupational background working
for the Chinese government have reached India to take
their children back to Tibet.
The school authorities have expressed serious concern over this
policy but are unable to do anything. The majority of the children
are adolescent and attending high school, some of them are in their
last year of completing school. The youngest child to have left one
of the schools is an eight-year-old girl who joined a school in 1996,
and was in her third grade before leaving. In 1996 at the age of four,
she walked across the Himalayas with a group of escapees in order to
join a Tibetan school in India.
At the time of departure, the children express regret for having
to leave school unfinished but are reluctant to put their
parents at risk.
The parents share the same sentiment about having to retrieve
their children,
however they are left with no choice but to comply due to the
consequences involved.
These consequences of neglecting the orders are
serious including sanctions, expulsion from jobs and party,
freeze in promotion and salary increase,
and forfeiting the residential permits of their children.
This is supported by the contents of the 6th General Body
meeting of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the 'TAR'
Party Committee held from 15 to 17 March 2000 which states clearly,
"all party cadres and government employees are strictly
instructed to observe orders prohibiting their
children to study in schools administered by the Dalai Lama."
Those who fail to comply "should never be promoted.
Those who are leaders and who are in important positions
should be transferred to other places without hesitation."
This policy was launched as a result of the Third Work Forum
on Tibet in June 1994 whereby it was decided that all party
members, especially the leading members
"are not allowed to be sent abroad to study in schools
run by the Dalai clique."
The policy was specifically designed for party members and government
employees, however it did not entirely exclude the lay community.
It stated that if the parents were citizens, peasants or herdsmen, the
authorities should "enhance our work on educating them, but if they are
party members in government departments or are cadres, then we should
let them call back their children within a specified period." The policy
clearly stated that "those who do not call back their children should
be dealt with seriously, and their children's residence cards should be
cancelled."
The ban was first introduced in 1994, whereby the same
instructions were given to government employees to bring back
their children within three months.
At the time 37 children in total returned to Tibet.
Most of them took up jobs as tourist guides upon their return.
Unfortunately, the recent July crackdown on tour guides
left 29 of them jobless.
They were all exile returnees.
While restrictions are intensified to bring back
children studying in Tibetan schools in exile,
employment opportunities are strictly denied to exile returnees.
The Tibetan youngsters bear the brunt of such a void logic.
"Those graduates from schools of the Dalai clique
who have come to work in Tibet should be controlled strictly;
they should not be allowed to work in the party or the
government or in any other department"
as stated in the Third Work Forum.
In a similar incident, in 1998 three parents came to India
to take their children back as they were facing serious reprisals,
including suspension from work until they complied with the order.
The authorities issued parents with travel documents
when they found out that they had not left and were ordered
to pay 1000 yuan as a deposit until they had
returned with their children.
Every year over a thousand children flee across the Himalayas
to study in India and some of them perish in the perilous
journey yet,
parents spent their entire life savings and risk the lives
of their children to send them to schools in exile.
This exodus of children into India is perceived as
deserting the idea of 'unity of motherland' and fostering
nationalism.
The ban is aimed at cutting off ties between the exile
Tibetans and the Tibetans in Tibet thereby enabling the PRC
to wield total control over dissident activities in Tibet.
[ top ]
29 Tibetan tour guides from Shigatse Prefecture Tourist
Travel Agency in Lhasa were reportedly dismissed from
their jobs on 1 July 2000 following a major investigation
to identify and expel guides who are exile-educated Tibet returnees.
'TAR' Tour Guide Discipline Management Department,
established June this year,
conducted an extensive investigation into 18 branch
Tourist Agencies in Lhasa that comes under
China International Tourist Service (CITS).
According to Sonam Wangdu, one of the 29 expelled Tibetan guides
who reached Nepal on 27 July 2000,
"An Inspection Committee dispatched by the newly set up
Guide Discipline Management Department,
conducted strict investigation in various tours and travel
agencies in Lhasa City functioning under
'TAR' International Tourist Service.
Inquiries are made regarding the guides' personal background,
particularly names of educational institutions where we have
studied and any history of political activism.
We were further interrogated concerning our knowledge
of guide regulation and made to produce documents to prove our
credentials.
These led to the dismissal of 29 tourist guides educated
in India just five days before the Dalai Lama's birthday
celebration this year.
However, three Tibetan graduates from Chinese universities
were not stripped off their tour guide jobs."
Wangdu returned to Tibet in 1997 after four years of schooling
in a school administered by the exile Tibetan government.
In Tibet, he worked in Shigatse Prefecture Tourist Travel Agency
in Lhasa,
as a tour guide for three years from August 1997 till
his expulsion last month.
According to Wangdu, his office employed a total of 75 staff
with 43 office personnel and 32 tourist guides.
The 'TAR' Chinese authorities with the Inspection Team members
brought out a 13-Point Regulation for Tourist Guide that
restricts the guides from explaining the real condition of Tibet
and Tibetans to foreign tourists,
thereby violating their individual freedom of expression.
The 13-point guide regulation forbids discussion with tourist
about Tibet's cause, political prisoners and prisons,
deforestation, mining and taking photographs of chapels,
beggars and poor people in Tibet.
Both tourists and guides are prohibited from displaying and
distribution of Dalai Lama photographs among the local Tibetans.
Guides are restricted from taking tourist into prohibited areas.
No guides are allowed to show the direction of army encampments
or discuss about the strength of military force.
Impoverished state of Tibetans and the mass population transfer
of Chinese into Tibet are not to be discussed with
the foreigners.
Similar cases were reported in 1997 when 69 tour guides were
sacked and refused renewal of guide permits.
That came on the heels of scrutiny stepped up against
Tibetans returning from trips to India,
as the authorities were concerned over 'splittist' influences
from foreign countries in general and India in particular.
At the sixth "Tibet Autonomous Region People's Congress"
in June 1994,
it was announced that "acts of some tour guides colluding with
foreign tourist to harm state security"
should be put to an end.
In May 2000, more than a hundred Chinese tour guides were
reportedly recruited threatening employment opportunities of
Tibetan tour guides. Tibetan guides are required to pass
a political examination and produce a middle school certificate
either from a Chinese or Tibetan school.
Chinese fears of 'splittist forces' and 'stability risks' are
exemplified amply in the dismissal of Tibetan tour guides from India.
Tibetans from India are at greater risk of arrest and imprisonment
for they are perpetually viewed with suspicion for
political involvement.
A recent report indicates that the Chinese authorities restrict
Tibetans from keeping contacts with their relatives and friends
in exile community.
Shigatse Prefecture Tourist Travel Agency in Lhasa, from where the
29 expulsion took place, is one of the 18 Branch Tourist Agencies
in Lhasa.
Information as to any expulsion of Tibetan guides from 17 other
Branch Tourist Agencies in Lhasa is unavailable as yet.
[ top ]
The only school facility available in Keru township,
Derge Jomda County in Chamdo Prefecture, is in the far-off
Marmak township where the school fees are set as high
as 500 yuan per annum for students of poor nomads. The
school fees also include 8 gyama of butter and 30 gyama
of meat. Unaffordable high school fee drains the meagre
source of income of the poverty-stricken nomads in the
area thereby increasing the school drop-out rates.
Dekyi Dolma, a 37-year-old nomad from Keru township, Derge
Jomda County in Chamdo Prefecture could sent her eldest
son to school for only four months. As Dolma was unable to
afford the school fees, her son had to leave the school
after a short duration of four months. Widowed in 1996,
Dolma has only 25 yak and dri to make her both ends meet.
Dolma stayed for eight years in Lhasa with her late husband and owned a
butter shop. Her husband used to teach in Machu County. She faced lots
of financial difficulties with her husband's death in 1996. She met
Chega in Lhasa and escaped to Nepal with her three children through
Solukhumbu border. She paid 2000 Nepali rupees to a guide and reached
Nepal on 22 June 2000.
[ top ]
An official order that compelled mass withdrawal of
juvenile monks and nuns from religious institutions has
created a furor amongst the Tibetan cadres and government
workers in Tibet. Cases of such forceful removal have been
reported in various counties under Lhasa City.
In accordance with the order, the official cadres and
government workers were instructed to withdraw their
children from monasteries and nunneries or else face
imprisonment or expulsion from job. Approximately,
13 nuns from Potoe Nunnery and 20 monks from Sera
Monastery in Phenpo Lhundup County were withdrawn from
their respective religious institutions following the
official instruction. Tsering Karma, an official from
Chusang township in Toelung Dechen County removed his
three children; two nuns and a monk. Lhabu and Paldon
from village number two of Tsodue township in Phenpo
Lhundup County withdrew their son and daughter from their
respective monastery and nunnery. Tenpa Samphel and Pema
Youdon withdrew their son while Jampa Wangyal took his
daughter back from her nunnery.
In recent times, Chinese authorities have launched a
series of campaigns designed specifically to purge the
influence of religious belief amongst the Tibetan cadres
and government workers. In a work meeting on Tibet held
in Chengdu on 20 April 2000, attended by Chen Kuiyuan
(the Party Secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region), Raidi
(Executive Deputy Secretary for CCP in 'TAR') and Kao
Chinglung, it was mentioned that religion is the root
cause of instability in Tibet. The minutes of the meeting
was secretly circulated to all officers holding the rank
of county head and above, in June this year.
The circulated document attributes the prevailing
instability and disharmony in Tibet to religion and
accuses the Dalai Lama of using it as a tool to oppose the
Chinese government. It calls upon all concerned communist
members and officials to enforce laws that restrict people
from participating in religious practices, setting up of
religious altar in their homes, and keeping pictures of the
Dalai Lama, to achieve systematic effacing of religion from
the Tibetan horizon. Reference is also made to the young
17th Karmapa's sudden flight from Tibet, considered as a
defiant act against the Chinese government. The official
document further denounces as illegal, the observance of
customary Sangsol (Incense-burning ceremony) near Kuru
Bridge in Lhasa on the third day of the Tibetan New Year
and the Dalai Lama's birthday celebration in July, and
directs the local authorities to curb such practices in
future.
Two beggars living near Kyichu River, at the instruction
and on payment of 100 yuan by Lhasa Security Bureau
officials, destroyed the incense-burning hearth where
celebration of the Dalai Lama's birthday is observed every
year. The Chinese officials of Ngachen township built a
hall to hold dance competitions on the ruins of the Sangsol
(incense-burning ceremony) area. A long fence is built
around the hall to prevent Tibetans from entering this
sacred area.
Reports of deployment of additional police personnel in and
around Potala Palace were received. Since 28 June 2000,
movement of monks in Sera, Gaden and Drepung Monasteries
have been restricted and monitored.
During the third meeting of the seventh Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference held on 10 May 2000,
one of the members, Dongbu Tsering Dorjee stated,
"To achieve obliteration of religious faith that is
manifested in our sensibility and mannerism is an important
responsibility."
With the rights and freedoms of individual Tibetans being
curbed and stringent laws enforced, Tibetans in Tibet are
reeling under the repressive communist policies that might
eventually lead to total annihilation of Buddhist culture
and religion.
[ top ]
A village of about 200 population has no school and
hospital. Almost all the 60-odd children in Lekhama
village do not receive education, confirmed Chaka,
a resident of the village who reached India in August 2000.
In Lekhama village in Drakgo County, there are 40 nomadic
families amounting. Many of these families are very poor.
There is a primary school in the township, approx 50
kilometres away from the village. This distance deters
parents to send their children to school. Except for the
two children of a wealthy family who can afford to go to
school, the rest of the children spent their childhood
doing hard labour with the adults.
There is not a trace of 'development' in the village
as it is remotely located. The village does not receive
any aid from the government. Not one clinic is found in
the village and if people fall sick they have to go the
township where there is a health centre and for serious
illnesses, villagers have to travel to the County hospital
which is known for being very expensive.
Every year in November, the villagers have to give to
the County authorities; 70 gyama (35 kg) of butter for
which they receive payment for 35 gyama at a very minimal
rate, 20 gyama of wool for free and three yaks at half
the price. At the time of tax collection on animal feeds,
these payments are included. Every year, each family has
to pay 100 yuan and firewood worth two loads of yak to old
age homes. The same minus the 100 yuan has to be paid to
the township office.
Township authorities hold an annual meeting where
the people are 'educated' that the number of children
they procreate have a strong bearing on their economic
prosperity. Therefore, if families exceed the limit of two
children they would be fined 1500 yuan accordingly. The
officials from the county and township health centres
visit families to inspect the number of children they
have. As a result many women after having two children
undergo sterilisation in order to 'respect the rules of
the state'.
Chaka, the informant is a resident of Lekhama
village. Since his childhood, he and his brother has worked
with their parents and never been to school.
[ top ]
I was filled with mixed emotions when I received permission
from the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi to travel into Tibet
to visit my son,
Ngawang Choephel,
who is serving 18 years prison sentence.
My mind was reeling with the prospect of going to Tibet,
meeting my son after six long years and
the apprehension of seeing him in an enfeebled state.
On 1 August 2000, my brother, Tsering Wangdu, and I
flew from Kathmandu to Lhasa. Upon reaching Gongkar
airport, near Lhasa, we were not allowed to board off
the plane. Five Chinese officials boarded the plane and
one of them introduced himself as the head of the Tibet
Autonomous Region (TAR) Prisons. He informed me that my son
was transferred to another prison in Chengdu for better
medical care upon his request and that he continues to
receive proper medical treatment. Two Tibetans, a male and
a female, who were introduced as officials from the Lhasa
Overseas Tibetan Reception Centre, attended to us. They
escorted us by air to Chengdu. At Chengdu airport, we were
received by a Chinese official who claimed to be from the
Chengdu Reception Centre.
The next day, on 2 August, we were driven to the Chengdu
General Hospital where Ngawang was supposed to have
received medical treatment. We were introduced to a
renowned Chinese doctor who is attending to my son. The
doctor briefed me on Ngawang's health and told me that
he is suffering from four different ailments. He further
explained that my son was already treated of his urinary
tract infection and that he is continuing to attend to
his liver, lung and stomach ailments.
The following day, we were taken to a huge prison complex
near Chengdu Railway Station where I was to meet my son
for the first time in six years. As soon as we reached the
prison compounds, we were shown to a room where a Chinese
official met with us. The officer laid down pre-conditions
prior to meeting my son. He made it clear that I was not
allowed to speak in any language other than Tibetan and
that it cannot be political, illegal and derogatory to
the Chinese government. I was also informed that I would
get two meetings with my son, both of which should not
exceed an hour each. I pleaded for more time but it was
to no avail.
When I saw my son, I could not even recognise him. In
front of me, separated by two counters and two layers of
wire-netting, stood this frail body with mere skin and
bones. There were three prison guards with him, one at
the back and two beside him.Tears rolled down incessantly
from my eyes and I asked him if he was indeed my son. All
he could say in response was, "please don't cry." I
immediately recognised my son's voice. When I inquired
after his health, he held his chest and told me that he
had constant pain in the chest. With his forehead down on
the counter, he broke down in front of me. We all cried
for a long time until we were told that the visit would
be terminated if we did not stop crying. I was desperate
to have physical contact with him and so I requested if I
could touch his forehead and hold his hands. I could hear
my son requesting for the same. But all our pleadings
fell on deaf ears.
My son told me that he had written numerous appeals for
both his medical treatment and to see me but was unable
to submit them. He was told he has no illness and that
he was just pretending. Frustrated with the indifference,
he went on a hunger strike.
On our second visit to the prison on 7 August, a day
before we were to leave for Nepal, once again we were
shown to the office before meeting with Ngawang. I took
this opportunity to plead with the officer on my son's
behalf. I told him that there is nothing left of my son
except for his skin and bones and that he is suffering from
multiple ailments. I urged him to allow me to stay where my
son is so that I can attend to his needs. I further pleaded
that my son be kept in hospital until his proper recovery
and then send back to Tibet. I requested him to continue
with the medical treatment and not to torture him mentally
with interrogation. His response was that my son has been
very stubborn and difficult and that he refuses to confess
to his crime. I also gave my appeals to him in written.
Since this was my last opportunity to be with my son,
I could not help crying. Being very anxious about his
health and well being, I asked him to show me his arms and
hands and move backwards so that I can examine his legs
and other parts of his body. I inquired if any torture was
being inflicted upon him. He responded negatively and said
that Nyari prison incident was a past event and did not
say anything further. He asked me to convey his sincere
gratitude to all those who supported him in this time of need.
Initially when I received permission to see my son, I was
looking forward to being with him and spending all six
days taking care of him. But I was only able to see my
son twice and that too from a distance. I was not even
allowed to make physical contact with him.
I am 66 years old and my only child is serving18 years
prison sentence since 1995. My son is suffering from a
serious physical and mental trauma in prison. His health is
deteriorating day by day and if he does not receive timely
and adequate medical treatment, he may not survive. I
make an urgent appeal to the international community and
in particular to the Chinese government to hand over my
only son to me for medical treatment.
Prepared by Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
19 August 2000
[ top ]
Tenzin,
aged 27 years is from Norbu Village, Kyiru
township, Dranang County, Tibet Lhoka Region. He is a
former monk of Dranang Dhargye Choeten Monastery.
His family consists of six members including four siblings.
His family members eke out their living by farming. During
childhood, he studied in local 'mangtsuk' school for about
three years and later worked with his parents. In 1991,
he joined Dhargye Choten Monastery, located in Kyiru
township. Dhargye Choten monastery was ruined during the
Cultural Revolution and was later reconstructed from the
donations and contributions of the local Tibetans. Tenzin's
complete devotion to religious study during his stay
in the monastery earned him respect amongst the fellow
monks. Owing to his famed integrity and high moral
character, Tenzin was later assigned the responsibility
of dealing with the business matters of the monastery that
involved money transactions.
One night in June 1995, Tenzin pasted posters on the gates
of Druyul township in support of Tibetan independence
and the Dalai Lama. The posters called for 'Free Tibet'
and 'Long Live His Holiness the Dalai Lama'. When these
posters came to the knowledge of the Dranang County Public
Security Bureau (PSB) the next day, investigations and
search for the culprit went on in full swing.
Only a month later in July did the Dranang County PSB
officials arrested Tenzin on suspicions of involvement.
He was later taken to Lhoka Region PSB Detention Centre
in Lhoka Tsethang where he was tortured during severe
interrogation. He was detained for four months in Lhoka
Detention Centre.
By the end of November, Lhoka Region People's Intermediate
Court, sentenced Tenzin to four years imprisonment. He
did not appeal at the court after the sentencing knowing
that it would bore no positive result. Tenzin was later
transferred to Drapchi Prison in December in Lhasa, 'TAR'.
During his imprisonment, Tenzin was subjected to ' regular
exercise' and hard labour. Anyone violating the strict
prison rules are punished in the form of beatings, solitary
confinement and deprivation of food for days together.
His arrest caused his relatives immense anxiety. Lhoka
Region is quite far from Lhasa where Drapchi Prison is
located, hence, it poses problems for Tenzin's relatives
in terms of accommodation and general expenses in Lhasa
during their monthly visitation to the prison. Tenzin has
no frequent and regular visitors like other prisoners.
Tenzin was one of the active participants in the May 1998
Drapchi Prison's protest that occurred on the prison ground
during a flag-raising ceremony. He was severely beaten
and kept in solitary confinement for many days following
his participation in the protests. Furthermore, Tenzin
received an increased sentence of four more years making
his total sentence a period of eight years.
He is currently serving his prison term in Drapchi Prison.
[ top ]
My name is
Sonam Gonpo
and I am 33 years old, from Uyak township in Zokhang County,
Chamdo Prefecture. My mother
passed away before I joined Zokhang Monastery at the age
of 19. I have ten other siblings who help my father with
the animals and farm. The monastery was destroyed during
the Cultural Revolution and local people renovated it in
early 1980s.
For five years I was at the monastery as a regular monk
after which I joined Jampaling Monastery for Dialectics
studies along with another monk named Soepa, also from
Zokhang Monastery. Soepa is 29 years old and his religious
name is Lodoe Thupten.
We stayed together in a rented place for four years. During
those years, on 24 March 1996, we pasted some political
leaflets on the electric pole on the Chamdo Highway and
two days later at the circumambulation road of Jampaling
Monastery. The posters read "Long Live His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, Tibet is independent and We accept the Panchen
Lama chosen by the Dalai Lama."
The next day, seven Chamdo Police men came to the
monastery and ransacked all the 60 rooms of the monks
located south of the monastery. When they came to our
room they confiscated a few prayer books which contain
handwritings of Soepa.
On 2 May 1996, Chamdo region PSB officials came to the
monastery in the night and took us away to Chamdo PSB
office where we were detained in two separate cells. Upon
reaching there, the officials started interrogating us and
simultaneously, received severe beatings. I got kicked,
punched and slapped numerous times, including being
beaten with a stick on my knee. The worst was when they
threw water on me and hit me with the electric shock. I
often found myself unconscious. On one occasion, the PSB
official kicked me on the chest and I threw up blood. A
day after we were transferred to Chamdo Region Detention
Centre where we were detained for three months.
There too we were kept in different cells and
interrogated. We faced beatings according to how we
responded to the authorities' questions. The condition in
the detention centre was appalling. We were served black
tea in the morning with a steamed dumpling or rice and
soup for lunch. For a month I was sick and could not sit
up straight.
On 25 June 1996, 21 prisoners including the two of us were
taken to a public rally. We were tied with a rope and a
white cardboard was hung on our necks where our 'crime'
was specified. We were divided into four separate vehicles
guarded strictly by PAP and PSB forces and taken to Chamdo
City Municipality.
There amidst 15,000 people, mass rally sentencing of
all 21 of us was held. That day ten criminal prisoners
were sentenced to be executed, nine others were on
probation of two years for execution. Soepa and I were
the only political prisoners. Soepa was sentenced to
five years' imprisonment and three years deprivation of
political rights under article 102(2), 52 and 60 and I
was sentenced to two years under article 162 (1) of the
Criminal Procedure Law of the PRC. A month after the
sentencing, three political prisoners and 17 criminal
prisoners were transferred to Drapchi Prison. The third
political prisoner was Yeshi Tenzin, a 16-year-old from
Drayab Chithang County. He was sentenced to five years
for sticking political posters. While we were being
transferred from Chamdo Detention Centre to Drapchi Prison,
we stopped for four nights in various detention Centres.
Starting from Riwoche, we stopped in Pakshoe, Tramo,
Nyintri and finally Meldro Gongkar Detention Centre before
we reached Drapchi Prison on 16 October 1996. We were
detained in the then new unit #5. At the time, the Unit
had approximately 126 political prisoners.
Life in Drapchi was hard although it did not include the
ruthless beatings and torture in the detention centres.
After I completed my prison term, I was released on 1 May
1998.
Upon my release, I was prohibited from joining the
monastery. I stayed at home and helped my family at
farm. At the end of July 2000 I secured documents that
allowed me to travel till Dram. After walking for seven
days, I reached Nepal and finally on 25 August I came
to Dharamsala. Soepa is still in prison.
[ top ]
Fifteen monks, including 12 juveniles and three elderly
monks above the age of 65, were expelled from Yungtrung
Peri Monastery following a visit by 'work team' officials,
reported Tsultrim Tenzin, a 26-year-old monk of the
Monastery who fled to India in April 2000.
In June 1998, a six-member 'work team' members came to
Yungtrung Peri Monastery and summoned all the residents
of the monastery for 're-educaton'. Documents were
distributed for study and each of them was individually
interrogated. All the 65 monks were asked to put their
thumbprints on a piece of paper assuring the authorities
that they would not involve in any political activities
against the motherland. They stayed at the monastery around
two months.
In September 1999, two 'work team' members re-visited the
monastery for five days as a follow up of the previous
visit. The 'work team' members held a meeting with the
Democratic Management Committee of the monastery to
review the functioning of the monastery and conduct
of the monks. The DMC was instructed to continue the
're-education' campaign and that the officials will come
again to check if the discipline as set out by the 'work
team' is maintained at the monastery.
Yungtrung Peri is a Bon Monastery and is located
in Sershung township in Tingchin County, Chamdo
Prefecture. This monastery was partially destroyed
during the Cultural Revolution. In 1985 the monastery was
renovated and reopened.
Tsultrim Tenzin reported that "the rules and restrictions
imposed on us hindered our religious practices."
[ top ]
After six years of relentless appeal by Mrs. Sonam Dekyi,
mother of Ngawang Choephel, the Chinese authorities
finally granted her permission to visit her son in
prison in Tibet August this year. The Centre has since
his arrest, launched numerous campaigns and issued press
releases on Ngawang Choephel and Mrs. Dekyi. Soon after
her return from visiting her son, the Centre organised a
Press Conference in New Delhi on 19 August 2000 at Kanishka
Hotel. It was attended by 11 press agencies, both national
and international, and received wide coverage.
[ top ]
The Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to
the United Nations Office in Geneva has opposed TCHRD's
accreditation to the World Conference Against Racism.
Specifically, the Mission stated that TCHRD is a "political
organisation aimed at and engaged in splitting the
territorial integrity of China." The Centre has written
to the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee of the World
Conference to defeat China's attempt to stop human rights
NGOs from taking part in UN human rights conferences.
[ top ]
The Executive Summary of the
1999 Annual Report
was brought out in Hindi and Nepali languages to reach a larger
audience. The Branch office in Kathmandu, Nepal produced
the Nepali translation.
The Centre produced a report on torture entitled "Torture
and Ill-Treatment in Tibet" which was submitted to the
UN Committee against Torture for consideration during its
review of Chinese compliance to the convention (CAT) during
the 56th session held in Geneva in May 2000. This report
is an assessment of the Chinese government's compliance
to the Committee Against Torture. It evaluates the past
submissions to the Committee by the PRC in accordance with
the Convention. The report examines the revised Criminal
Procedure Laws of China and evaluates those laws in light
of the PRC's treaty obligations. The report provides a
comprehensive review of the history and patterns of torture
in Tibet, including an evaluation of current conditions.
Five different educational posters and a leaflet were
produced to time the forthcoming 13th general election of
the Tibetan parliament members. It is in response to the
need to build awareness in the Tibetan community regarding
democracy and the people's roles and responsibilities
towards building a democratic society. The posters and
leaflet were sent to all Tibetan settlements and religious
institutions in the exile Tibetan community.
[ top ]
Lobsang Tsering
and
Jampel Monlam,
Researcher and Field Officer of TCHRD,
spent two days at Kyil village prior
to the Kalchakra Initiation in August, distributing
TCHRD publications and talking to people about human
rights situations in Tibet and activities of the Centre.
They have pasted educational posters at key public
meeting places and distributed leaflets to generate
awareness on democracy and election. Besides they met a
few newly-arrived Tibetans from Tibet and exchanged views
and thoughts about the exile community.
[ top ]
Tenzin Tseten,
who worked as a human rights officer in our
Kathmandu office for two and a half years, resigned from
his duties due to personal reasons. In his place, a new
staff, Dorjee Damdul, was selected from nine candidates
who sat for an examination and interview on 30 August.
Mr. Damdul graduated from Loyala College, Chennai in
English literature. Mr. Damdul will commence his work
from September 2000.
[ top ]
Lobsang Tsering,
our Tibetan Researcher, gave a talk to approximately 120 nuns at
the Dolmaling Nunnery in Sidhbari.
He spoke mostly on concepts of human rights and also dwell
on human rights situations in Tibet. Literatures of the
Centre, including the two International Covenants and UDHR
in Tibetan, were distributed.
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