December 2000
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Monk beaten to death for independence posters
[ read ]
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Personal attendants of Sonam Phuntsok subjected to severe maltreatment
[ read ]
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Three minors testify on the educational drawbacks in Tibet
[ read ]
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Detained for freedom slogans
[ read ]
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Religious restrictions in Dhingri County
[ read ]
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Security Office in Sera Monastery
[ read ]
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China town on Tibetan area
[ read ]
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Hounded for independance leaflets
[ read ]
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Restrictions in Tsanag Village
[ read ]
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Three monks expelled from Lora Monastery
[ read ]
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TCHRD releases three new reports
[ read ]
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TCHRD members of the month
[ read ]
Choephel,
a monk of Litha Monastery in Kandze County,
was beaten to death by police on 6 February 1995,
for having distributed "Free Tibet"
leaflets in all the prominent areas in Litha Township,
including Police Station and around
the township administrative blocks.
On 3 February 1995, Choephel dispersed leaflets proclaiming
slogans such as "Free Tibet",
"China forcefully occupied Tibet", and
"Chinese quit Tibet".
He was arrested the following day after his handwriting
was identified.
Eyewitnesses that the informant spoke to saw Choephel
after the arrest being thrown into and taken out of
police van like a sack. He was beaten so severely that
his swollen face and body were hardly recognisable. Later,
relatives were asked to claim the body of the deceased. The
police offered no explanation for his death and the family
members dared not ask anything about it. Choephel was in
his early twenties and had also been a good artist. He
came from a family which included his mother and
several other brothers.
In order to prevent independence-related activities,
a police barracks has been established in Litha
Monastery which keeps a strict 24-hour vigilance over
the monks. Between 20-30 policemen were stationed in the
monastery.
It took three months for informant, Thinlay Dawa, to
reach Nepal from his home town in Litha Township. He
brought along with him five children and teenagers
from families and relatives in Litha who wanted him to
take them to be enrolled in schools and monasteries in
India. He came in a group of 25 via Dram, and wishes to
rejoin Drepung Monastery in South India.
Thinlay Dawa originally joined Drepung Losel Ling Monastery
in South India soon after his first escape from Tibet in
1985, and stayed there for 14 years.
Upon his return to Tibet in 1999,
Dawa was detained at Dram and imprisoned
in Shigatse Prison along with his two companions
Dawa recalled,
"There were 12 of us returning to Tibet.
All of us were detained in a small house. We were not permitted
to go outside to the toilet and the room was stinking of
human waste - the conditions were unbearable. The seven
days' detention was like hell for us."
At one stage they were without water for three days,
and they were eventually released after one and half months.
Thinlay and the other returnees from India continued
on to Lhasa but were once again detained, this time
in Nyari Detention Centre, in Shigatse Prefecture, for
seven days. They found restrictions just as strict when
they finally reached Lhasa and had to hide most of the
time behind locked doors. Thinlay eventually reached his
native village in July 1999, where he stayed for just over
a year before starting his return trek to India in
September 2000.
[ top ]
Thinley Dolma,
from Kandze County, reported on the monstrous treatment
meted out to Agya Tsering and Sonam Choephel (aka Shodhrug)
the personal attendants of Sonam Phuntsok in 1999.
According to Dolma, the attendants endured harsh beatings
during their detention. Sonam Phuntsok and his
two attendants were arrested on 24 October 1999, under
suspicion for political activities.
"Sonam Choephel and Agya Tsering were singled out for cruel
treatment and beatings following their detention in Kandze
Detention Centre. Sonam Choephel suffered dislocation
of both his arms and his face was brutally battered. He
also suffered damage to his neck. As for Agya Tsering,
prison authorities threw boiling hot water on his back,
resulting in severe blisters."
Prison authorities released the two after one month
and ten days' detention. Sonam Phuntsok, however, is
still detained in a prison in Dartsedo County,
Kandze.
For more details on the arrest of Sonam Phuntsok,
please refer to our
November 1999 Human Rights Update.
[ top ]
Panchen Dorjee is a 17-year-old boy who hails from Sangchu
County, Gucha Township in Gansu Province. He is the eldest
son of five siblings, including him. Although his family
subsist by farming, Dorjee never worked on the farm as a
young child.
At the age of seven, Dorjee joined Sangchu County Tibetan
Primary School and studied there for six years, where
there were about 600 students. His younger sisters were
also studying at the same school. Ninety percent of the
students were Tibetan and the remaining were Chinese. They
had to pay 200 yuan per semester, resulting in an annual
cost of 400 yuan. They study six subjects and Dorjee
attended as a day scholar.
Later Dorjee joined the middle school where there were 800
students. In this school 85 percent of the students were
Tibetan and most of the teachers were also Tibetans. There
they are taught six subjects, including Tibetan, Chinese
and Mathematics. However, they teach mostly Chinese,
though Dorjee enjoyed learning Tibetan the most.
In this school, the students are strictly instructed not
to practice any form of Tibetan religious ceremonies,
however some of the students practice secretly. Every
month, Chinese authorities came to the school and gave
speeches regarding the Chinese religious practices.
The Tibetan students are majorly discriminated against
compared to the Chinese students. One example was how
children of the Chinese staff were given an extra ten
minutes during examinations.
Dorjee was promoted to a high school and where he studied
for one year. In that school they studied more of the
Tibetan language. Most of the student's parents were
farmers and they had to pay 700 to 800 yuan annually as
fees. Additional fees were imposed for books. He left
the high school after one year because his parents
could not afford the exorbitant fees for their three
children. Moreover, his parents were not financially in
a position to manage all these expenses.
In Dorjee's town the government launched a two-child
policy. A third child would result in a fine of 1000
yuan. Other major restrictions on the village are the bans
on photographs of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama
recognised by the Dalai Lama. The people are prohibited
from possession and display of these photographs.
One of his neighbours, Tenzin, a monk of Amdo Labrang
Monastery, was arrested at the age of 18 for pasting
posters of Free Tibet and generating awareness of the
Tibetan Freedom protest. He was put in County Prison for
10 months and released on bail. Not permitted to
stay in Amdo, Tenzin is currently residing in Lhasa.
Dorjee left Amdo in October 2000 and arrived in Dharamsala
in November 2000.
Jamyang Dolma,
a 15-year-old, was born in Sershul County,
Kandze, Sichuan Province. She hails from a nomadic
family which consists of seven members. At the age of
six, she attended a primary school, where she studied for
six years. At that school, there were almost 60 Tibetan
students, who were taught Chinese, Tibetan, Mathematics,
Science, Politics and Horticulture, and did not have to
pay any fees.
Jamyang later joined Sershul County Middle School for
two years. There were approximately 700 students in the
school out of which around 500 were Tibetans. In her
class all 35 students were Tibetan. The majority of
the teachers in this school were Tibetan but there were
some Chinese as well. Jamyang had to pay approximately
180 to 190 yuan annually as school fees. This was in
addition to the expenditures for books, uniforms and other
miscellaneous items. Uniforms alone cost 150 yuan. Students
were not allowed to observe Tibetan festivals in this
school.
Jamyang's family suffered a huge loss during a snow
storm in 1992 which claimed the lives of many of their
livestock. The consequential financial hardship that
her family suffered caused Jamyang to leave school as
her parents could no longer afford the expenses of her
schooling.
In August 2000, along with a group of 25 people from
the same region, Jamyang made her first attempt to flee
Tibet. Five among the group were children below 16 years
of age, Jamyang being the eldest of them. The group left
for Shigatse from Lhasa and continued on to Lhatse. On
their way to Dhingri, the group encountered three military
men (probably PAP), two of whom were Tibetan and one
Chinese. As the three were grossly outnumbered
they were powerless to do anything. The escapees threw
stones at the Chinese police, who had no choice but to
run away.
However, no sooner had they left when 30 policemen from
Dhingri County arrived and arrested the group,
taking them to Dhingri Police Station, where they were
locked in cells. Detained for two days, they were
then transferred to Nyari Detention Centre where they were
detained for almost 25 days. While in Nyari, all of them,
including the children, were beaten with sticks by the
policemen. A monk named Thuptu received the worst beatings
of all from the group.
In October 2000, Jamyang, along with her family members
and some other friends, made a second attempt to flee
Tibet. After walking for a month they reached Nepal in
the following month, and finally reached Dharamsala on 17
December 2000.
Yangchen Lhamo is a 14-year-old girl hailing from Kandze
County "TAP" in Sichuan Province. She comes from a family
of seven members. Her family owns a small field on which
the entire family is dependent on, and Yangchen's father
and elder brothers sometimes undertake additional work as
labourers at construction sites.
At the age of seven years, Yangchen attended the Ngaba
"TAP" Primary Day School. The school had about 300 Tibetan
students with the eldest student being 15 years old. The
school taught seven subjects, including four major subjects
- Tibetan, Chinese, Mathematics and General Science.
Chinese subjects however, were given more importance
than Tibetan subjects. The students had to pay 90
yuan as annual fees with addtional expenses for
books, pens and ink etc.
Every Monday morning the Chinese flag was hoisted and the
children had to sing the Chinese National Anthem. The
school also conducted weekly "patriotic re-education"
sessions with the children.
After her primary education, Yangchen went to the Hong
Yen Middle School in Kandze Township for one year,
after which she had to leave as the fees rose with
higher education. The annual fee there was 2000 yuan,
and Yangchen's family could not afford these fees, as her
family was quite large. Moreover, her mother was constantly
bedridden from a long-term illness.
The school had about 500 students, including both Tibetans
and Chinese. The main subjects taught there were Chinese
and English, however, once again, Tibetan was not given
as much importance as Chinese.
The Chinese population has increased considerably in
Yangchen's locality. Chinese owned most of the shops and
restaurants, and as a result the local Tibetans are forced
out of business. Consequently, their children are withdrawn
from school as they cannot afford the fees.
[ top ]
Four monks were arrested for chanting pro-independence slogans during a
religious ceremony on 11 May 1996. Acho, a former monk of
Phugon Monastery who spearheaded the protest, was accused
of placing the Dalai Lama's picture on the highest seat
in the main prayer hall that day. The three other monks
detained belong to Konpon Monastery.
During a religious ceremony in Phukon Monastery led by
Khenpo Bara, Acho (aka Ngawang Thupten), brought a photo of
the Dalai Lama from his room and placed it on the highest
seat of the main prayer hall at around 11 am. An hour
later he commenced beating a drum to summon the large crowd
gathered there for the incense-burning ritual outside
the monastery, while simultaneously shouting slogans like,
"May Tibet regain freedom! Long Live His Holiness the Dalai
Lama". Three monks immediately joined in with him. They
were Kunga (36), Urgen Dorjee (23) and Jamyang (50), who
were all briefly detained and then released on bail.
Charged for their negligence in letting the protest happen,
both Khenpo Bara and Shilong Rinpoche were released after
two months detention with a bail payment of 4000 yuan
each.
Acho, however, was detained for a further 15 days. He was
told that the display of Dalai Lama's picture is a much
more serious crime than killing a hundred men, and that
his act had stained the reputation of the entire monastery
and the community. He was finally released on bail, on a
payment of 6000 yuan to the policemen.
Five to six Chinese officials from Sichoe County would
regularly visit Phukon Monastery to conduct "patriotic
re-education" sessions where the monks were forcibly taught
to "love their motherland and to oppose Splittism".
The monastery has a current strength of around 600 monks.
Acho joined Phugon Monastery when he was 13 years
old. Originally from Arab Za Village, Arab Za Township,
Sichoe County, Kandze "TAP", Acho reached Tibetan Reception
Centre in Nepal on 26 November 2000.
[ top ]
In February 2000, the Dhingri County People's Administration
prohibited all farmers and nomads under
its purview from possession and display of photographs of
the Dalai Lama in their homes. The order to remove all
Dalai Lama related articles was also issued at the same
time.
In Paljor Gan Village, in Chuglok Township, the
officials and heads of Dhingri County confiscated
many photos of the Dalai Lama after a thorough search
of each house was conducted. The 45 families of the
village were threatened with legal punishment and
imprisonment if found with the banned picture in the
future.
Three years previously, in 1997, the Religious Committee of
Dhingri and Shigatse issued a decree which called for a ban
on admission of new monks in Songachoe Monastery, which
has a current total of approximately 100 monks. Thirty
monks left the monastery to reduce the numbers to the
maximum set limit.
From 1993 to 1999, in Songachoe Monastery 10-day long
"patriotic re-education" sessions were carried out
annually. During these sessions, "work team' members forced
each monk to accept the Chinese political stand.
Photos of the Dalai Lama were also banned in the monastery.
Songachoe Monastery has a history of 450 years. Prior
to 1959, there were approximately 150 monks. During the
Cultural Revolution (1966-76), most of the valuable
religious assets and artefacts of the monastery were
looted, burnt or transported to China. Except for the main
hall, all the other buildings of the monastery suffered
complete destruction. Under the leadership of some senior
monks and with donations from the local populace, the
reconstruction of Songachoe Monastery began in 1982.
Lobsang, a former monk of Songachoe Monastery, reached
Kathmandu on 17 August 2000. He said, "My main reason for
escaping into exile is to seek an audience with the Dalai
Lama, and afterwards I plan to return."
[ top ]
In 1996, under the supervision of Tenzin, Deputy Party
Secretary for "TAR", Sera Monastery was subjected to
"patriotic re-education" for four months. A political
security office for Sera Monastery was established which
called the monks for meetings every Monday, Wednesday and
Saturday. Currently, there are 450 monks in the monastery
with ID cards and another 200 visiting monks without ID
cards.
The officials of the Security Office made the monks revise
three books on "patriotic re-education" including the
"White Paper" and the monastery rules. At every meeting,
the attendees were given a red ticket and those who failed
to produce enough at the end of each month were not allowed
to take part in any events of the monastery. Furthermore,
they were called to the Security Office and interrogated
as to why they failed to attend the meetings.
As early as 1989, the Chinese government installed a
Security Office in Sera monastery with 18 staff members,
all of whom were Tibetans. These officers were assigned
the responsibility to prevent, or failing that, detect and
terminate any untoward incidents such as freedom-related
plans or meetings.
On 4 June 1998, the security men failed to notice on
time a Tibetan flag found flying at the gate of the main
prayer hall. Another flag was flown from the water tank at
the monastery restaurant. Consequently, the head of the
Security Office, Mr. Lhundup, was sacked from his post
and was replaced by another Tibetan named Jaring. After
Jaring's take-over vigilance was intensified and maintained
day in and day out. Since then, no freedom-related
incidents have been reported.
Lobsang Guegan (layname Pasang), from Drashue Village # 2,
Dhargyal Township, Taktse County, became a monk of Sera
Monastery in 1977. At that time, there were only
56 elderly monks. Between 1979 and 1986, 450 more
monks were admitted in the monastery. Originally a
cook and a caretaker, Guegan worked as a security person
in the monastery from 1989 to 1993. He reached Nepal on
20 November 2000.
[ top ]
Lobsang Guegan also reported that in the winter of 1999,
Chinese authorities began construction of a new building
complex to house Chinese immigrants, on a large picnic
reserve at Village #2, Taktse County. As per
the region's ten-year development plan, resettlement
of 100,000 (1lakh) Chinese civilians from China is
underway. All the trees in the area have been cut down,
and at present, the authorities have completed 500 new
buildings. Anyone who hinders construction work in Taktse
County is threatened with severe legal punishment.
This picnic reserve was originally built by monks expelled
from Sera Monastery during the Cultural Revolution. These
monks were summoned by the authorities to level the
area and it was then fenced. With the implementation
of liberalisation policy in 1980, all the sacked monks
were readmitted to the monastery and the reserve area
was equally divided between the 43 families of Karshue
Village #2. During the past 20 years, the picnic reserve
has been transformed into a big garden orchard where the
local people grew various types of trees.
In the winter of 1999, five Chinese officials with
authorisation from "TAR" government called a meeting of the
villagers, and gave each family one duck. They announced
their plans to develop a satellite town to facilitate
better transport and communication between the towns and
cities. Consequently, the picnic reserve of 650 mu of land
(1 mu is equal to 67 square meters was confiscated and the
authorities used the land for their own benefit without
any compensation to the villagers. However, it is alleged
that some district leaders accepted bribes of 2000 yuan
each for the people's land.
Additionally, further government plans include the building
of an international airport along a 30 km stretch of land
along the Jichoe River, from Tsame Tsal, Taktse County to
the area of Tsa Tu, that commenced in January 2000. This
project has dire consequences for the local people as their
land comes directly under this project plan, and all the
trees previously planted there by the locals have already
been removed.
[ top ]
On 19 June 2000 the ban on Dalai Lama photographs was
reinforced in Songue Township, Kandze "TAP", which
coincided with the timing of the Dalai Lama's visits to
western countries.
Coincidentally, around the same time, a monk and
two accomplices who widely circulated "Free Tibet"
leaflets around some prominent places in Kandze
County, fled to Lhasa with the police in hot pursuit.
In May 2000, Sonam Wangyal (30) of Khoma Monastery, Rinchen
Gonpo (33) and Yeshi Dorjee (27), made approximately 1200
pro-independence leaflets with hand written slogans such as
"Free Tibet" and "Down with Communist China."
They also carved the same slogans onto woodblocks and printed
around 18,000 leaflets in June 2000. Printing papers were
bought from various shops to avoid suspicion. All
leaflets were then widely distributed over the entire
Kandze County, especially at prominent areas such as
the Police Station and the gates of the Administation
Block. Some leaflets were pasted on walls whilst
others were carried along the street with the gentle blow
of the breeze.
The three men hid in the monastery for a week after the
distribution of the leaflets. When police arrived
at the monastery looking for them, they fled to the
nearby hills. They then played a dangerous game of hide
and seek with the police until they reached Lhasa.
Even there, during their week-long stay, the fear of arrest
hung largely over them, since eight policemen from Kandze
County were constantly on the lookout for them there.
In Lhasa, Sonam Wangyal joined a group of 10 Amdo people,
and they each paid 1300 yuan to to a Tibetan guide.
The guide took them as far as Shar Bhumpa, where they were
arrested by the Nepali police and taken to the Immigration
Centre. Staff members of the Tibetan Reception Centre
collected the group on 17 November 2000.
Sonam Wangyal entered Khoma Monastery at the age of 17,
and there are currently 60 monks there.
[ top ]
Takbumgya, a 23-year-old nomad, is from Tsanag Village,
Gomang Township, Koenan County. He came from a family with
seven members, including one elder sister who is married,
and three younger brothers. When Takbumgya was young he
went to his village primary school for six years. After
which he left school as his parents could not afford the
school fees. One of his younger brothers was also attending
the same school. The annual school fees were 300 yuan, and
the subjects taught were Chinese, Tibetan and Maths. There
was no local middle school, the nearest being in
Gomang Township.
As they were nomads, Takbumgya's family owned around 80
head of livestock, but their annual livestock tax was
3,500 yuan. There is no avoidance of these taxes for the
villagers, even when faced with major difficulties. There
was a man in his village named Doedar who had only
10 sheep, but had three family members: himself, his
mother and his wife. He could not afford the taxes and
consequently, the tax officer of Gomang Township searched
his house and confiscated everything of value, including
some animal skins. He was then arrested and taken to a
prison in Koenan County. This happened in August 1998.
Normally, taxes have to be paid during the months of July
and August. If someone failed to pay within the stipulated
time, then they were forced to pay a fine of 100 yuan per
1000 yuan of unpaid tax.
Families in Takbumgya's village are allowed one child
only, or a fine of 3000 yuan is levied for any extra
children. There is also no place of worship in his
village. If anyone wishes to make any religious offerings,
they have to travel to Tharshul Monastery. The ban on
photographs of the Dalai Lama and the minimum age limit
policy of 18 years are enforced in this monastery.
In the village listening to "Voice of America", and other
news, is strictly prohibited. If anyone is discovered
listening to these programmes, they would be arrested,
but even so they do listen surreptitiously.
Takbumgya travelled by bus from Lhasa to Shigatse,
but from there to Nepal he walked for approximately 21
days. Takbumgya finally reached Dharamsala on 16 December
2000 and would like to to attend school.
[ top ]
Lobsang Choezin is a 22-year-old from Lora Monastery in
Noney Township, Markham County, Chamdo Prefecture. His
parents are semi-nomads. He never attended school as
there were none in or nearby his village. He joined the
monastery at the age of 16. Lora Monastery was destroyed
during the Cultural Revolution and, from 1985, was
reconstructed with donations from local Tibetans.
In 1998, there were 115 monks at Lora Monastery, and
in July an eight-member "work team" from Markham County
visited the monastery for the first time. During their
two-month stay at the monastery, regular "patriotic
re-education" sessions were held and a total ban was
imposed on photographs of the Dalai Lama. The "work
team" members forced the monks to thumbprint letters of
opposition to the Dalai Lama, set a limit of 100 monks
in the monastery,and expelled three monks for not
attending a session. Furthermore, 100 monks were issued
with ID cards. Twelve monks voluntarily returned to their
own homes during the presence of the "work team", returning
to the monastery only upon their departure.
In February 1999, a 14-member "work team" re-visited the
monastery and stayed there for another two weeks. The
five Tibetan and nine Chinese members conducted "patriotic
education" sessions, and after that regular meetings and
inspections were held in the monastery.
In October, Choezin fled from Lhasa, and reached Dharamsala
on 14 December 2000, joining the other 26 monks from Lora
monastery already in exile.
[ top ]
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
released three new reports in December titled
"Prisoners of Tibet: Profiles of Current Political Prisoners",
"Impoverishing Tibetans: China's Flawed Economic Policy in Tibet",
and
"Tibetan Lives under Torture: Profiles of Deceased Political Prisoners".
"Prisoners of Tibet" includes profiles of current political
prisoners serving prison sentences of five years or
more. At the time of compilation of this report there were
approximately 500 known Tibetan political prisoners in
Chinese administered prisons in Tibet, out of which 233
are known to be serving five years and above.
The report is designed to be used as an informative
literature and reference material on political prisoners
on Tibet. Often little information is available about
political prisoners, due to the difficulty that surrounds
the ability to acquire information following their
arrest. Monitoring information on political prisoners is
difficult due to the isolation of political prisoners,
the secrecy surrounding political trials, and the lack
of response from the Chinese authorities. Information for
this report was collected primarily from interviews with
former political prisoners.
"Impoverishing Tibetans" examines subsistence issues
and standard of living of the Tibetan people inside
Tibet. This report seeks to analyse the claims of the
Chinese government that Tibetans in Tibet have benefited
from the development policies implemented by the Chinese
authorities and contrast them where possible with
independent statistics and figures, as well as with the
oral testimonies of refugees who have come to India.
The report describes the devastating economic effects for
Tibetans due to the population transfer of Chinese settlers
into Tibet. Settlers, encouraged by government incentives,
arrive in search of jobs in Tibet. Their presence threatens
the livelihood of the Tibetan people. Chinese settlers
have come to dominate the Tibetan economy, and they own
virtually all the businesses in Tibet.
The report accounts numerous Tibetans having performed
forced labour for various Chinese projects without
receiving any remuneration. Even where workers are paid,
often the amounts given are negligible and there are fines
levied if they do not attend in any case. The report also
dwells on unemployment, excessive taxation, food shortages
and poverty.
"Tibetan Lives under Torture: Profiles of Deceased
Political Prisoners" investigates the cases of 24 prominent
political prisoners who died directly due to torture in
prisons. Ever since China signed the UN Convention Against
Torture in 1987, TCHRD has recorded deaths of 66 political
prisoners due to inhumane treatment. A brief description of
the other 42 deceased political prisoners is also brought
out in the report. This Tibetan language report was also
sourced via recently exiled political prisoners.
To request printed copies of these reports, please
write to us.
Members will receive free copies upon request only.
[ top ]
We welcome Warren Smith, Beckah Voight, Thupten Sherab,
Prof. Ramesh Chandra, Tiwari, Prof. Krishna Nath,
Ven. L.N. Shastri and Pema Tulotsang.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
would like to wish all our members and readers a very
Happy New Year and a bright and joyous start to the new
millenium.
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