September 2001
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Nepali authorities imprison 10 Tibetans to 10 years for
lack of official documents
[ read ]
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Obituary of a former political prisoner
[ read ]
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A 12-year sentence for pasting posters
[ read ]
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Two separate bomb incidents rock Kandze "TAP"
[ read ]
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Derge County farmers reel under enforced plantation
[ read ]
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Human cost of Chinese Birth Control Policy
[ read ]
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An arrest of a Tibetan PLA
[ read ]
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Profile of a former political prisoner
[ read ]
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Historic Moment for TCHRD during WCAR at Durban, South Africa
[ read ]
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TCHRD Executive Director appointed Kalon
[ read ]
-
"Future with Asia" NGO Conference
[ read ]
-
Human Rights Awareness Week
[ read ]
-
Human Rights Training
[ read ]
On 20 August 2001, in a restaurant in Boudhnath, Kathmandu,
Nepali police arrested two monks for failing to possess
appropriate residential documents.
Two days later, eight Tibetan students (four male,four
female) were arrested by Nepali security personnel
at Thangkot checkpoint, the largest checkpoint on the
Nepal-India border. The students were attempting to travel
through Nepal to return to Tibet after finishing their
schooling in India. They were arrested for failing to
possess the relevant travel documents.
Tibetans in Tibet require three official documents from
Chinese authorities to leave the country, which are
expensive and difficult to obtain. People who wish to
travel to India or return from India are looked upon
with suspicion because they are suspected of having
association with the "Dalai clique" and bringing back
"splittist" ideas. Consequently, most Tibetans leave Tibet
without official permission and therefore cannot obtain
appropriate documentation for entry into Nepal. Although
there are great risks involved, every year many Tibetans
cross through Nepal on their way to India to visit family
or seek audience with the Dalai Lama, attend schools,
or flee from Chinese persecution in Tibet.
On 23 August 2001, all ten arrested Tibetans were fined
by the Nepali Immigration Department, operating under
the Ministry of Home. Huge fines were imposed and any
non-payment carried a default sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.
The eight Tibetan students were each fined US $1,365 and
an additional penalty of 20,000 Nepali Currency (NC) for
illegally crossing the border, totalling NC Rs 121,897.25 per person.
The two Tibetan monks received an even harsher
penalty. Their sentencing papers state "Your entry
into Nepali territory without a visa and valid travel
documents is liable to a punishment/fine of US$2,215.00
(equivalent to NC Rs 165,349.75) under section 3 (1) of
the Foreign Regulation Act of 2040 [Nepalese calendar]
and an additional penalty of NC Rs 40,000 under section 10
(4). You are therefore, ordered to deposit a total fine
of NC Rs 205,349.75, failing payment of which you shall
be liable to imprisonment up to 10 years from 2058/5/6
to 2068/5/5 [Nepalese calendar] under section 53 and 38
(4)." (translated from original text in Nepali)
Given that a standard annual salary in Nepal is around
NC Rs 30,000-60,000, these fines appear extremely
severe. Considering that these Tibetans are students
and monks, without any sources of income, there is
no possibility that they would have the funds to pay
such exorbitant fines. All ten have therefore now been imprisoned.
The Tibetans are reportedly being held in the largest
prison in Kathmandu, in Dili Bazaar. Tibetan officials
in Nepal, the UNHCR, and the US Embassy in Nepal have
attempted to intervene with the Nepali authorities to
obtain the Tibetans' release at the earliest possible
date. The two monks were formerly with the Sera monastery
in India. Their names are:
- Sonam Lama
- Sechya Lama
The eight students are from Amdo in Tibet and had visited
India for schooling. Their identities are as follows:
- Sangye Dhondup Male 19 years
- Lobsang Dorjee M 19
- Dorjee Tashi M 21
- Drukar M 26
- Tenzin Yangzom F 19
- Sheri Tso F 23
- Tsepel F 25
- Kyizom F 22
Kyizom is being held at the Tibetan Reception Centre,
Kathmandu, under surety, to receive treatment for a heart
condition. She will be returned to the Nepali Immigration
Department when her health stabilises.
This type of arrest and penalty appears to be a recent
instigation by the Nepali authorities as the first known
case occurred only 14 months previously. On 22 June 2000,
Gendun Samten, a monk from Rebkong, Amdo in North Eastern
Tibet, was also arrested by Nepali security officials. He
was arrested in Jiri, one hour's drive south of the
Nepal-Tibet border and similarly charged with failure to
possess residential papers. Gendun Samten was initially
fined NC Rs 50,000 (US$675). When he failed to pay this
amount, he was imprisoned. After several months, he was
given the option of paying in instalments of US$25 per
day until a total of US$900 was reached. As he couldn't
afford these repayments, Gendun Samten is currently in
Jiri Prison for a default sentence of ten years.
In an interview that the Centre conducted with the
Mr. Kelsang Chime, the Director of the Tibetan Reception
Centre in Nepal, it came to light that Nepali police
arrested six more Tibetan escapees in May this year at
Barabisi. The detainees were reportedly handed over to
Chinese police at Dram border. The identities and the
current conditions of the detainees are still unavailable as yet.
[ top ]
Namgyal Tashi,
a 66-year-old former political prisoner and
father of Ngawang Sangdrol, the longest serving female
political prisoner in Tibet, passed away at his home
in Lhasa on 20 August 2001. Due to maltreatment that
he received in prison, Tashi had frail health and was
reportedly receiving medical treatment.
Namgyal Tashi spent eight years in Drapchi Prison
for alleged political activities, and was released
at the end of 1998. Following a flag-raising incident
at Samye Monastery, and suspected involvement in other
pro-independence activities, Tashi and his son, along with
four other relatives, were arrested in June 1991.
For his active pro-independence involvement in the 1959
March Lhasa Uprising and the Cultural Revolution, Tashi
was detained for many years in "reform through labour"
camps. He endured harsh beatings and torture during his
imprisonment. Tashi is originally from Chideshol Towship,
Gongkar County, Lhoka Prefecture, "TAR".
Ngawang Sangdrol, the second youngest of his eight
children, was detained a year after Tashi's arrest. The
24-year-old former nun of Garu Nunnery is serving a total
of 21 years in Drapchi Prison for exercising her right
to freedom of expression and participation in "separatist activities"
[ top ]
In 1999, a monk was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for
pasting up pro-independence posters.
Gonpo,
a former monk of Tawu Monastery in Tawu County, Kandze "TAP",
Sichuan Province, aged 18 years, pasted independence posters on
the buildings of a Chinese police station, a bank and on
electric poles in 1994.
Five years later, Gonpo was arrested by four police
officers while he was at the Tawu market. He was taken to
Tawu Police Station and detained for 10 months, after which
he was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for involving
in "political activities". He is presently serving his
sentence in a "reform-through-labour" (Ch: laogai) camp at
Sheduk Kyang, which is a day's drive from Tawu County. He
is reportedly kept in isolation from the other prisoners.
In addition to these kinds of arrests, the Chinese
authorities in Tawu County recently announced that all
monks and nuns are required to supply photographs of
themselves and allow inspections of their rooms, or else
face closure of their institutions.
Of the two nunneries in Tawu County, Tsalpo Nunnery
was closed down in mid-2000 owing to its refusal to
abide by the announcement. The doors of the nunnery are
officially closed with red ribbon bearing the seal of the
local authorities. All the 300 nuns returned to their
families. Palmo and Tashi Lhamo (aged 17 and 18 years
respectively), two nuns from Tsalpo Nunnery, are presently
working in the fields with their families.
According to a recent information, Raptrol Nunnery, with
approximately 300 nuns, faces possible closure owing to the
defiance of the Chinese order by the nuns. The officials
pay frequent visits to the nunnery to collect photographs
of the nuns who decline to toe the official line.
Lobsang Tsundue, the informant, had been herding and
working in the fields since his childhood. None in his
family has ever attended school. Though there are three
schools in his locality, Tsundue was unable to join due
to exorbitant fees. He reached Nepal on 17 August 2001.
[ top ]
TCHRD has received information from refugees of two bomb
incidents in Kandze "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture".
A bomb explosion rocked a building complex in Zakang
Township, Derge County, Kandze "TAP", in August
2000. Despite the powerful nature of the blast, no
casualties were reported.
In the search and investigation operation that followed,
the needle of suspicion pointed to the monks of Guesa
Monastery, located in the area. In due course of time, a
Tibetan hunter by the name of Guepon Wangchuk was arrested
and subsequently detained for six months on grounds of suspicion.
Due to his limited source of income and financial
constraints, Wangchuk hunts for a living. He earlier
participated in protest relating to Geshe Sonam Phuntsok's
arrest in 1999. Along with many other monks, he was
detained for six days and suffered tremendous torture at
the hands of Chinese policemen at that time.
He stated later, "The police came to the detention
cell. They kicked andtamped on our face while we lay with
our face down. Later, I was hung up in a crucified position
and the pain was unbearable".
In a separate incident in Tawu County, Kandze "TAP",
Sichuan Province, a Chinese shop was blasted with
explosives late one night with no reported casualties.
The authorities suspect the act to be carried out to
agitate the regime of the Chinese Communist Government
yet there is no clear proof. Since the operation was
shrouded in secrecy, the identity of the "culprit" is still unknown.
[ top ]
The practice of enforced plantation has been rampant in
Zakong Township in Derge County since mid-2000.
Lobsang Namshi,
a recent escapee from Tibet, reported that farmers
in his neighbourhood face constant threat of their land
being confiscated by the local government and the farmers
are forced to plant vegetation on the confiscated lands.
The farmers have to give a certain portion of their
total landholding to the government. They receive some
compensation but it is insufficient. For example, in return
for one and half mu of land, the government compensates
Namshi's family with 436 gyama (unit of measurement
equivalent to 500 grams) rice and 437 gyama wheat per year.
Four out of Namshi's seven-member family, aged over19
years, holds a certain portion of land. The plantation
drive is a huge strain on the family's meager source of
income. By the end of 2000, Lobsang's family was forced
to move to Lhasa to beg on the streets. To make matters
worse, the beggars in Lhasa now have to pay 6 yuan every
month to the local Police Station or face arrest.
Under Zakong Township, there are nine villages; Sadrong
Village, Dotha Village, Nyenge Village, Gaye Village,
Gaye Yada Village, Yulo Village, Hotha Village, Thongchu
and Grana Village. In Grana Village, there are about
30 families, and approximate total population of 130
Tibetans. All the farmers in these villages have had to
sacrifice some part of their land towards the enforced
plantation campaign.
The whole campaign has invoked a mixed reaction from the
farmers. Some farmers fear that the government will cease
the compensation after few years. The farmers' greatest
fear is that the government will eventually take all their
land for enforced plantation.
Lobsang Namshi hails from a farming community in Zakong
Township, Derge County, Kandze "Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture" ("TAP"). He enrolled in Guesa Monastery
in Kandze "TAP" and studied for three years from 1998
to 2001. He reached Tibetan Reception Centre in Nepal
on 13 September 2001 and plans to join Sera Monastery in South India.
[ top ]
Losa Kyi,
who used to work for the Family Planning Committee,
reported that the Chinese authorities strictly
implements a two-child per family policy in Xinghai
(Tib: Tsigorthang) County, Tsolho Prefecture, Tsongon Province.
The local authorities use forced sterilisation, IUD
(intra-uterine device) implantation and dispensing of
contraceptive pills. The authorities even determine
the timing of the birth of the second child. Having
unauthorised children results in the imposition of
exorbitant fines and total denial of the rights usually
entitled to a child, e.g., food rations, access to education
and health care.
In Xinghai County, 70 percent of the population are
Tibetans, the remainder consisting of Han Chinese and Hui
Muslims. The Chinese authorities set a maximum limit on
the number of children born annually and also enforce a
minimum gap of two to three years between children.
Women who already have one child are constantly reminded of
either the need to sterilise or the exact period when they
are allowed to give birth to their second child. For any
extra child, the authorities fine the family 3,000 to 4,000
yuan. The poor families are sometimes compelled to sell
their domestic herds to meet the payment of this fine.
Approximately, 100-200 cases of forced sterilisation are
reported every year from this area. The operations, which
are usually performed in the nearby county hospitals, cost
nearly 1,000 yuan. Sometimes the doctors themselves go to
the villages to perform these operations. The operation
costs less for healthier women than for those with a
history of illness.
Many Tibetan women have suffered permanent disabilities
or death from these involuntary sterilisation and
contraception procedures. Generally, contraceptive pills
are distributed free of cost whereas the insertion of an
IUD device cost a patient approximately 50 yuan.
At the age of seven, Losa Kyi was admitted to her local
primary school, after which she studied at the County
Middle School. Later, she enrolled in Tsolho ("TAP")
Medical School where she studied medicine for three
years. Upon graduation in July 1993, she was given job
at the Xinghai County Nursing Hospital. Since 1995, she
was employed in the Family Planning Committee of Xinghai County.
Losa Kyi left Tibet in June 2001 with her sole child and
reached Dharamsala in August 2001. She escaped to India
so that she can educate her child in Tibetan language,
culture, and religion along with a modern education. She
also has plans to study Tibetan language herself.
[ top ]
The Chinese authorities in Nagchu Prefecture arrested
a member of the People's Liberation Army for pasting up
independence leaflets.
According to reliable information received from Tibet,
the Public Security Bureau officers initially arrested
a Tibetan named Kochok in March 2001 for pasting
pro-indepenedence leaflets which were written both in
Chinese and Tibetan languages read "Tibet is an independent
country", and "Long Live His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The
leaflets were put up in many strategic areas around the region.
However, one month after Kochok's arrest, a Tibetan
PLA member named Khedrup claimed responsibility for the
leaflet-pasting incident. Subsequently Kedrup was arrested
and detained and Kochok was later released.
Kedrup is 28 years old, originally from Sog County, Nagchu
Prefecture,"TAR". He joined the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) when he was young.
[ top ]
Sey Khedup
is currently 27 years old. He is originally from
Yona Township, Sog County, Nagchu Prefecture, "TAR". Born
to Thinlay and Choeyang Chozo, he has three brothers and
seven sisters.
During his childhood, Sey Khedup studied in the local primary school at Yona Township for five years. In 1994, he became a monk of Sog Tsendhen Monastery, which is one of the biggest monasteries in the area.
In March 2000, Chinese authorities arrested six Tibetans from Sog County, including Sey Khedup, on different dates and locations. The other five arrested were Tenzin Choewang (64), Tsering Lhagon (41), Yeshi Tenzin (33), Trakru Yeshi (45) and Gyurmey (29).
The Chinese authorities viewed Sey Khedup with suspicion regarding his level of loyalty to the "Chinese motherland". Sog Tsendhen Monastery is noted for being the most politically active monastery in the area. There have been scores of arrests and imprisonment from there in connection with independence activities.
Independence leaflets printed on wooden block stencils had begun to appear in and around the monastery, calling for the Chinese to leave Tibet and to give the Tibetans the freedom that is due. As Sey Khedup was carpenter and carved wooden block stencils in the monastery, he was suspected of being involved in these past political activities.
After his arrest in March 2000, Sey Khedup was taken to Sog County Detention Centre. After few days, he was returned to Nagchu Detention Centre where he underwent an extended period of interrogation in an attempt by the officials there to extract a confession.
Until his trial, his whereabouts remained completely unknown to the family. Upon learning it later on, the officers denied visitation rights to his family members, who underwent as harrowing an experience as the detainee himself.
Exactly nine months later, in mid-December, the Nagchu Intermediate People's Court held a public trial for Sey Khedup and the other detainees. All of them were charged with colluding with the "Dalai splittist clique and carrying out activities endangering state security". The court produced independence posters, wooden block prints, and cassettes containing speeches of the Dalai Lama as evidence of the charges levied against them.
Sey Khedup received the harshest sentence of life imprisonment. It is presumed that this was because he claimed sole responsibility for all the charges brought against them. The harsh sentence could also be attributed to his skills and background in the work of carpentry and carving on the wooden printing blocks.
It is believed that the authorities closely monitored the movements and activities of the detainees with the tacit cooperation of an insider from Sog Tsendhen Monastery. Owing to its past political activities, monks there are under strict surveillance and restricted freedom of movement.
After the sentencing to life imprisonment, Sey Khedup was transferred to Drapchi Prison, where he remains currently incarcerated.
[ top ]
For the first time in the history of Tibetan NGOs, Tibetan
Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) received
UN accreditation to attend the World Conference on Racism
(WCAR) held recently at Durban, South Africa. Three staff
members of the Centre participated in the conference:
Mr. Lobsang Nyandak Zayul, Executive Director, Ms.Youdon
Aukatsang, Senior Programme Officer, and Mr. Jampa Monlam,
Field Officer.
At the first Tibet Briefing during the preliminary NGO
Forum organised by the Tibetan delegation, Jampa Monlam
presented his personal account of life as a political
prisoner in Chinese-occupied Tibet. Other Speakers at
the Briefing were Ela Gandhi, Member of Parliament,
South Africa; Jampel Choesang, the Representative of the
Office of Tibet, South Africa; John Ackerly, President
of International Campaign for Tibet; and Xiao Qiang,
the Director of Human Rights in China.
During the course of the NGO Forum, the TCHRD organised
a panel discussion regarding the People under Foreign
Occupation. Representatives of Palestine, Kurdistan,
Aceh, West Papua, Eastern Turkestan, and Tibet exchanged
views on the suffering of their peoples living under
foreign occupation. The meeting, conducted in an
informal atmosphere, decided to organise collaborative
follow-up events in the near future. Both Mr. Nyandak and
Ms. Aukatsang participated in the discussion.
On the same day, the Tibetan delegation to the WCAR
organised a Chinese-Tibetan Dialogue on Racism. Chinese
and Tibetan delegation to the NGO Forum held an informal
discussion on how the two communities can develop a better
understanding on the racism issue in the future. Jampa
Monlam of TCHRD was among the Tibetans participating in this dialogue.
TCHRD worked hard with the other Tibetan delegations
to ensure that the NGO Declaration included paragraphs
relating specifically to the Tibetan situation. The members
of the Tibetan delegations lobbied all caucuses and the
Tibetan issue received a high level of support from many of
the attending delegations. However, in the final draft, all
wording relating to the Tibet issue had been inexplicably
deleted. Following further intensive lobbying and with
the continued level of support, particularly from the
Asia-Pacific caucus, not only were the three paragraphs
reinstated into the NGO Declaration, but an additional
four paragraphs were included into the Programme of Action.
Consequently, in the Programme of Action, in one of the
paragraphs on the Tibetan issue, the NGO Forum calls "on
all states to exert pressure on the Chinese government to
open negotiations with the Tibetan government-in-exile,
headed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in order to find a
mutually acceptable and lasting solution to the situation
in Included in the NGO Declaration is to "recognise the
situation of the six million Tibetan people suffering
from 50 years's of Chinese occupation who continue to
suffer institutionalised forms of racial discrimination
under the Chinese occupation, and condemn actions of the
Chinese government that continues to exploit, explore
and and extract the rich mineral resources of Tibet,
causing irreversible damage to the fragile eco-system on
the Tibetan plateau".
At the following official WCAR conference, TCHRD closely
followed the proceedings of two Working Groups, on
Draft Declaration and Draft Programme of Action. These
groups negotiated the adoption of the two documents in
particular and due attention was paid to the developments
surrounding the paragraphs with explicit references to
foreign occupation, colonialism and population transfer.
In yet another historic move, Mr. Lobsang Nyandak
Zayul delivered a three-minute oral intervention to the
Plenary session of the III World Conference Against Racism
(WCAR). The statement was delivered in the name of TCHRD,
but was actually on behalf of the four NGOs accredited to
the WCAR, namely the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and
Democracy (TCHRD), the International Campaign for Tibet
(ICT), the Worldview International Foundation (WIF),
and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation(
IFR). The Foreign Occupation Caucus of the NGO Forum,
Human Rights in China, the Tibetan Women's Association,
and the Tibetan Youth Congress, also associated themselves
with the statement.
In the joint statement, Mr. Nyandak appealed to the
WCAR to recognise Tibet as a de facto colony of China. He
expressed grave concern over institutionalised and cultural
discrimination implemented and encouraged by the Chinese
government against the Tibetan people, as a direct result
of foreign occupation. He further requested all delegations
to include China in the country-specific references in
the Declaration, for the widespread and institutionalised
racism committed against the Tibetan people over the past
fifty years.
Staff members of TCHRD gained another opportunity to
present oral statements to the Plenary Session of the
Third World Conference Against Racism, when Ms. Youdon
Aukatsang, presented a three-minute statement on behalf
of the Asia Pacific Caucus. In her statement, she
mentioned that the on-going illegal occupation of Tibet
continues to perpetrate highly discriminatory practices
against the Tibetans, enforced population transfer, and
oppressive state control over every sphere of existence
of the Tibetan people, including religion, education and
political decision-making.
On 4 September, as a follow-up to the Tibetan Vigil during
the NGO Forum, the Tibetan delegation organised another
Vigil outside the ICC Building, the venue of the official
WCAR session. Carrying a huge banner, "China's Tibet -
The World's Largest Remaining Colony" and placards which
included, "Racism Begins in Beijing Too!", members of the
Tibetan delegation received a lot of media attention and
support from the participants in the conference.
The Tibetan presence in Durban received both local and
international media coverage. Major newspapers in Durban
and other cities of South Africa ran feature articles on
the Tibetan issue, and the participation of the Tibetan
delegation to the NGO Forum and WCAR. The Natal Witness,
published from the city of Pietermaritzburg, ran a
feature article on Jampa Monlam, on 5 September with the
heading, "Soft voices taking on Chinese Racism".
[ top ]
On 21 August, TCHRD released a report on Drapchi Prison
in both English and Tibetan languages. A media briefing
was also held on the same day which was attended by both
local Tibetan and international media personnel.The english
report is titled "Drapchi : Tibet's Most Dreaded Prison".
The report provides insight into one of the most notorious prisons in Chinese-occupied Tibet, based on reliable information gathered over the years.
Contrary to a recent claim made by a top-level official that Tibet has currently only 115 Tibetan political prisoners, TCHRD recorded 252 known Tibetan political prisoners as of June 2001. From the total figure, 129 political prisoners remain incarcerated in Drapchi Prison alone, including 26 female political prisoners.
Since 1987, 27 deaths have occurred in Drapchi Prison, and 47 political prisoners have received sentence extensions on alleged charges of non-conformity and disobedience to prison rules and regulations.
The report details 21 protest incidents within Drapchi Prison, both major and minor, initiated by individuals or a group as a whole. The largest and consequently most violently suppressed of all protests have been the May 1998 protests that resulted in the known death of eight political prisoners and sentence extension of many more.
Drapchi Prison has, over the years, mutely witnessed Chinese brutality and beatings, deaths and deceit, from the days of Chinese invasion in the 50's, to the infamous Cultural Revolution of 60's and 70's, to the 80's active pro-independence period, and up till the present time - where the passion of the incarcerated Tibetans still burns just as brightly.
[ top ]
Ms. Tenzin Chokey, English Researcher at the Centre,
attended a four-day conference organised by Sweden
International Development Agency (SIDA) from 28-31 August 2001.
The main aim of the conference was to strengthen relations
between Asia and Sweden, by arranging an opportunity
for new networks to be created between representatives
from different non-governmental organisations for future co-operation.
The participants came from Sweden and 18 other Asian
countries, and represented a wide variety of popular
movements and NGOS. These range from small local groups to
national organisations and included grass root activists,
staff members and executives.
One of the highlights of the conference was the speech
given by the Swedish Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh.
After her impressive talk, she gave speakers the floor for
opportunity to ask her any questions. Ms. Chokey asked
what the Swedish government's position was with regard to
human rights situation in Tibet. Ms. Lindh gave a very
assertive and positive answer, much to the annoyance of
the eight Chinese delegation members. She said the Swedish
Government has raised the Tibet issue with China in the
recent European Union Meeting taking into account the
deteriorating human rights condition in Tibet.
Ms. Chokey forged some new and invaluable relationships
between TCHRD and many Swedish and other NGOs and had some
interesting discussion with some of the Chinese delegation.
[ top ]
TCHRD organised the Human Rights Awareness Week programme
from 3-7 September 2001 at the Tibetan Community Centre
in Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala. It dealt with topics related
to human rights, refugee rights, and environmental issues in Tibet.
On 3 September 2001, Bagdro, a former political prisoner,
presented personal account of his life history, with the
use of some documents and pictures. He introduced his
biography entitled "A Hell on Earth".
On 4 September, the Centre organised a panel discussion
on the issues affecting refugees chaired by Mr. Lobsang
Tsering, a Tibetan researcher at the Centre. The panelists
included Mr. Choegyal from the Tibetan Reception Centre,
Mr. Lobsang Gelek, Deputy Secretary of the Planning
Council, and two recently arrived refugees from Tibet.
On 5 September, Mr. Lobsang Tsering talked about Tibet
and the United Nations to a group of approximately 20
people. A video on the Panchen Lama was shown later on.
On 6 September, Ms. Tenzin Chokey, English Researcher
at the Centre, gave talk on human rights situation in
Tibet to a group of approximately 20 people followed
by interesting question-answer session. After the talk,
a video show was shown.
On 7 September, Ms. Tsering Yangkee, Head of the Environment
and Development Desk, Department of Information and
International Relations, gave a talk on the environmental
issues concerning Tibet. Ms. Yangkee discussed in detail
on the Chinese government policy of building a railway line
from Golmod to Lhasa.
[ top ]
Mr. Dorjee Damdul,
the Field Officer at Kathmandu Branch Office,
recently attended a 15-day human rights training
course in Kathmandu, Nepal. The "Second Orientation Course
in South Asian Peace Studies" held from 1 to 15 September
was organised by the South Asia Forum for Human Rights.
The course was attended by peace and human rights
activists, media personnel, researchers, and
academicians. The course included the examinations of
themes related to Justice, Reconciliation, Peace and
Non-violent practices and various forms of violence such
as state violence, structural violence etc. The course
also took into account issues of legality, pacific but
coercive policies, forms of justice, and the ethics of
reconciliation.
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