March 2002
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Geshe Sonam Phuntsok suffering serious health condition
[ read ]
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Exile returnees pay heavy price
[ read ]
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Heightened security in Lhasa on 10 March
[ read ]
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No relief for Tibetans detained in Nepal
[ read ]
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Two-year sentence for pro-independence activities
[ read ]
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Drapchi inmates foiled Chinese propaganda film
[ read ]
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"Work team" visits Shugseb Nunnery
[ read ]
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Ex-political prisoner re-arrested
[ read ]
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TCHRD welcomes new Executive Director
[ read ]
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Swedish Parliamentarian Briefing
[ read ]
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New TCHRD staff
[ read ]
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Open Discussion Forum for Young Tibetans
[ read ]
According to reliable information received from Tibet,
Geshe Sonam Phuntsok is suffering from serious ill
health. Geshe Sonam Phuntsok, a well-known Buddhist
practitioner and teacher from Karze County, Sichuan
Province, was arrested in 1999 and is now serving a
five-year prison term for purportedly conducting "illegal"
religious activities. Geshe's followers and family in
Karze County are gravely concerned about his ill health
and suspect that the authorities are not providing him
with sufficient medical care.
Reports indicate that on 21 November 2001, Public Security
Bureau (PSB) officials from Karze County visited Geshe
Sonam Phuntsok's father, Agya Phuntsok, in Rongbachan
District, hometown of Geshe Sonam Phuntsok. The officers
informed Agya Phuntsok that Geshe was suffering from
"high fever" and was "currently bedridden in Tsangtung
Chayul hospital".
The officers explained that Geshe caught the fever owing
to the hot weather conditions prevailing in his place of
imprisonment, reportedly Chuandung Prison #3 in Tsangtung
Village, Dartsedo County, Karze "TAP", Sichuan Province
(the same prison which held Chadrel Rinpoche until his
recent release to house arrest). After hearing the news of
Geshe's illness, Agya Phuntsok left for Tsangtung to see
his son and reached there on 4 December 2001. He managed
to speak with Geshe for a total of 40 minutes. The two
were only allowed to converse on the phone with a large
glass partition between them. Prison officials closely
monitored their conversation.
Our source said that Agya Phuntsok was shocked to witness
Geshe's deteriorating health. Geshe has reportedly become
very thin. He could not move properly and seemed to require
support while walking.
Geshe reportedly explained to his father, "Initially,
I felt a loss of appetite and I could not eat. I felt
dizzy and lethargic. I had diarrhea for sometime and very
often I would fall unconscious. This continued for quite a
long period until the time that I got seriously ill. The
prison officials took me for a blood test in the nearby
military hospital. As soon as the check-up was over, I
was immediately brought back. On my second visit to the
hospital the following day, I was kept in the hospital for
seven hours and kept on IV drips. These check-ups and IV
drips did not bring much improvement. I feel sick every
other day and I would often lose my memory".
TCHRD has now written an urgent appeal to the United
Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to intervene
in the matter and request the People's Republic of China
to secure Geshe's immediate release on medical parole.
Information recently obtained by the Dui Hua Foundation
based in San Francisco, USA, reveals the existence of
a 1990 Regulation under Chinese criminal laws by which
prisoners can be released on medical parole when they have
fallen ill while in prison and completed at least a third
of their sentence. Geshe has now served two and a half
years of his five-year sentence, and is clearly ill. He
therefore qualifies for being released on medical parole.
Geshe Sonam Phuntsok was arrested on 25 October 1999. He
was forcibly removed from religious retreat in Karze County
and detained in Dartsedo Prison in Dartsedo County, Karze
"TAP". Following Geshe's detention, a mass spontaneous
demonstration took place in Karze County resulting in
detention and imprisonment for many of his followers.
Geshe was in detention for one year and four months before
the court pronounced his sentence in March 2001. The court
found him guilty of "1) inciting splittist activities
among the masses; 2) travelling to India on an illegal
document procured from Lhasa, for seeking an audience with
the Dalai Lama and for taking photographs with him; 3)
illegally conducting religious ceremony in Karze county;
and 4) donducting long-life prayer ceremony for the Dalai
Lama in Rongbatsang."
Geshe was sentenced to five years imprisonment. During a
five-minute speech in the courtroom after the sentencing,
Geshe said, "My arrest and court trial belies Chinese
high claim of religious freedom in Tibet and this should
be made known to the public".
Geshe Sonam Phuntsok is a popular figure in the
Karze region. Tibetans revere him as a great Buddhist
practitioner and scholar. He had taught Tibetan literature
to monks from 35 different monasteries in the 1980s,
and tutored monks from Dhargyeling Monastery on Tibetan
grammar, Tibetan History and Buddhism. He had also recorded
historical description of 13 monasteries in Karze "TAP".
[ top ]
According to recent information received from Tibet, four
exile returnees were detained and subsequently sentenced
to six years imprisonment in May 2001. The four detainees
are all monks from Rabgya Monastery, which is located in
Machen County, Golog "TAP", Qinghai Province. The monks
were targeted because they had visited India for pilgrimage
or for study. It appears that the act of visiting India
was in itself proof of splittist activities.
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Mathok Damchoe, 27, (father's name Tsering) was a monk at
Rabgya Monastery until 1992 when he travelled to India and
studied at Sera Monastery in South India. After two years,
he returned to Tibet and re-entered Rabgya Monastery,
completing his studies in 1997. In 1998, he again came to
India and studied at Sarah Buddhist Dialectics School. By
the end of 1999, he returned to Tibet and continued his
studies in the field of Tibetan medicine. He was arrested
in May 2001 and sentenced to six years on charges of
engaging in political activities.
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Sonam Gyatso, 34 (father's name is Woeser) joined Rabgya
Monastery in 1996. On 25 November 1993, Gyatso arrived in
Nepal, then went on to Sera Monastery in South India. In
1994, he returned to Tibet and continued his studies at
Rabgya Monastery. Gyatso was reportedly arrested in May
2001and sentenced to six years on charges of engaging in
alleged political activities.
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Kunchok Dhargay, 32 (father's name is Jinpa) became a
monk of Rabgya Monastery in 1987. Dhargay travelled to
Nepal in February 1993, then in 1994 Dhargay went for a
pilgrimage tour of sacred Buddhist sites in India. Some
time after this tour he returned to Tibet and continued
his monastic studies at Rabya Monastery. In May 2001,
he was sentenced to six years for involvement in alleged
political activities.
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Phuntsok, 26, travelled to Nepal in January 1996 on a
pilgrimage. At the end of that year, he also went for
a pilgrimage tour of sacred Buddhist sites in India. On
completion of the tour, he returned to Rabgya Monastery and
continued his studies there. In May 2001, he was sentenced
to six years on alleged political crimes.
TCHRD awaits additional information about the exact
charges against each person, the name of the court that
passed sentences, and the names of the detention centres
in which these Tibetans are being held.
[ top ]
According to reliable information again received from
Tibet, pro-independence leaflets were found pasted in
various parts of Lhasa on 10 March 2002, the Tibetan
National Uprising Day.
This 10 March saw tight security in Lhasa. A large number
of security officials both uniformed and in civilian
dress were seen patrolling the street, presumably as a
preventative measure to curb any political activities.
Despite this, a number of leaflets such as "Tibet is
Independent" and "Long Live His Holiness the Dalai
Lama" were found pasted in and around the Barkhor, the
circumambulation area around Jokhang Temple. Similar
leaflets written in oil paint appeared on the rear walls
of the Potala Palace.
Our source commented, "These are clear outlet of
discontentment against restrictive policies imposed by the
Chinese authorities. Keeping the spirit of freedom alive
against all odds, Tibetans inside Tibet have continuously
voiced their anger and frustration against the brutal force
and atrocities committed by the Chinese government. The
repeated and unending call for independence for Tibet is
a clear indication that Tibet is an occupied country."
At a time when China is blowing trumpets of having brought
economic prosperity into Tibet, Tibetans throughout Tibet
are opposing the Chinese government through a variety of
protest measures at every opportunity.
Such display of opposition has resulted in intensification
of security measures during major Tibetan festivals and
events in Tibet. Large deployments of security officials
and heightened security measures in Lhasa, particularly
on national highways, have restricted freedom of travel
for Tibetans and tourists alike.
[ top ]
The number of Tibetans incarcerated in Nepali jails for
being in Nepal without the appropriate travel documents
has reached twelve. The latest prisoner, Tenpa Rabgyal,
16 (mother's name Tsering), from Lhasa, "TAR", was
arrested last month. Tenpa, was arrested in Durbar
Square, central Kathmandu, where he had been dropped off
by his Sherpa guide. Police approached Tenpa after they
sighted him wandering around the Square. He was detained
for failing to possess the necessary immigration papers.
He was fined 14,000 Nepali Rupees (NRs) and as he cannot
afford this fine, he remains in prison.
There are now twelve Tibetans incarcerated in Dilli
Bazaar Jail, Kathmandu, for being in the country illegally.
Three are monks - one of whom was arrested in June 2000
and is already halfway through his five year sentence -
eight are students from Amdo, who were returning to Tibet
after studying in India and the final prisoner is Tampa.
All of the incarcerated Tibetans have clearly stated that
they are Tibetan refugees, having escaped Tibet being
unable to bear the violations of their civil rights.
In what is already a difficult situation for the detained
Tibetans, one of the female student prisoners, arrested
in late 2001, gave birth to a baby girl in late February
whilst in jail. The woman had been able to conceal the
fact that she was pregnant up until labour began; both the
woman and her child are both reported to be in good health.
Appeals from UNHCR to release the woman for two months
into the custody of the Tibetan Reception Centre have
been denied by the Justice Department and the woman and
her baby remain in jail.
The Tibetan refugees are being treated relatively well,
although the conditions, under which they endure, are
difficult. The prisoners told NGO representatives, who
recently visited the jail, that the males and females are
not allowed to mix and that their exercise periods were
restricted. This treatment is different to other prisoners
held in the jail. One of the women suffered an emotional
breakdown at her sentence hearing and was transferred to
the Tibetan Reception Centre for supervised medical care.
The eight Tibetan students have been sentenced under
the Immigration Act and a fine of NRs 20,000/- imposed.
A total fine of NRs 121,897/25 for living without visa and
passport in Nepal has also being imposed. As none of the
eight were able to pay their fines, they were sentenced
to ten years jails. Two of the other monks were fined
US$2,000 plus 25,000 NRs, which amounted to NRs 200,000
or ten years jail.
The detention of the Tibetan refugees occurred despite
an agreement between the United Nations High Commission
for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Nepalese Government that
enables Tibetan refugees to travel through Nepal on
their way to a third country. The informal agreement
between the UNHCR and the Nepali Government is a verbal
agreement and states that the UNHCR will ensure that all
Tibetans are genuine refugees and will not remain in Nepal.
In return, the Nepali Government will not return Tibetans
to Tibet once in Nepal. Under this agreement, Tibetan
asylum seekers who are arrested on Nepali territory are
to be brought to the Department of Immigration Detention
Centre in Kathmandu. They are then meant to be released
to the UNHCR.
Royal clemency for the imprisoned Tibetans was requested
during Democracy Day on 19 February, but no clemency was
granted. Clemency for the imprisoned Tibetans is now being
requested on the King's birthday in July. Both the Office
of Tibet and representatives from various embassies based
in Kathmandu have approached different Nepali government
departments, who indicated that the matter was before the
courts and as such, it would be inappropriate for them to
intercede.
The State of Emergency imposed in Nepal is also making the
travel of Tibetan refugees through Nepal more treacherous.
Whilst there is no evidence of either the Nepalese
security forces or the Maoists targeting Tibetan refugees
particularly, the journey out of Tibet and through Nepal
to India now has new risks.
It is generally believed by agencies and organisations
responsible for Tibetan refugees whilst they are in Nepal
that while the UNHCR/Nepali Government agreement still
holds, mistakes by the border police in honoring the
agreement have been made, resulting in the deportation
of Tibetan refugees back to Tibet. Particularly in the
Kodari area, there had been increased reports of Tibetan
refugees being returned to Tibet.
Some sources go so far as to allege that there was
a possibility that some Nepali border police may be
acting in collusion with the Chinese authorities up to 30
kms inside Nepal sovereign territory to return Tibetan
refugees back to Tibet. It is difficult to substantiate
the numbers involved due to the fact that there are
few supervisory mechanisms in place, no opportunity to
maintain ongoing monitoring in the area and the Nepali
Government's suspension of visits by UNHCR personnel to
the border regions.
[ top ]
Damchoe,
lay name Wangchen Gyal, 30, was born in Tsodruk Village, Chentsa County,
Malho 'TAP', Qinghai Province.
He is from a farming family.
Damchoe reported to the TCHRD:
When I was seven years old,
I went to the village school and learnt Tibetan, Chinese
and Mathematics. At 14, I stopped my schooling. For a
period of one year. From 1987-1988, I did farming on our
family field."
In 1989, I became a monk at Kehu Shedup Dhargay Monastery,
which was founded by Kehu Jangchub Shonnu in the 15th century.
Before 1959 some 500 monks studied at the monastery.
During the Cultural Revolution, the monastery
suffered total destruction. In 1980, some dedicated monks
collected donations and re-built the monastery. Currently
there are about 130 monks in the monastery, although
there is a government ceiling of 80. Lama Lobsang Thupten
Wangchuk, a renowned person in the Chinese government
circle, is the head of the monastery.
In the past few years, monks of the monastery have
shown dissent against the Chinese authorities by pasting
pro-independence posters in and around the monastery. No
one was arrested, as the Chinese authorities had no clues
of the people responsible.
In the winter of 1993, I left the monastery along with
19 other monks to pursue education in India and most
importantly to seek audience with His Holiness the Dalai
Lama. We first went to Lhasa and then left for India. We
crossed the Nepal border of Tarapani and finally escaped
to India.
In India, I was admitted to the Tibetan Transit
School, Dharamsala, where I stayed for one year and ten
months. Later I decided to return to Tibet. On my return
journey I carried some political booklets, an autobiography
of the Dalai Lama, W.D Shakapa's 'Political History of
Tibet', 'Guidelines for future Tibet's polity and basic
features of the constitution' and audio-tapes containing
speeches of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
In late 1995 when I made my journey back home alone, I
followed my earlier route in the dead of night and later
in the day hitched a ride in a truck carrying grass. I hid
myself under the grass and reached Lhasa where I stayed
for three days and then went straight to my village. Around
Tibetan New Year 1996 I reached my home.
In the summer of 1996 I along with some of my trusted
friends began distributing the materials that I had
brought from India to the students of the minority
school in Chentsa County, Malho 'TAP', and in Kangtsa
County, Tsochang "TAP", and Tsigorthang County, Tsolho
'TAP'. Many of the materials were given to known people in
our county. They were totally unaware of Chinese invasion
in Tibet because they were completely kept in the dark
for so many years.
During the 1997 Tibetan New Year, I travelled to Lhasa and
stayed there for some months doing small business and odd
jobs. In May 1997, during the holy month of Saga Dawa (the
festival of Lord Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death),
I pasted a poster in front of the Jokhang Temple during
the night. The poster contained slogans, which called for
Tibet's independence, an end to forced sterilization of
Tibetan women and mining in Tibet, and various other human
rights abuses.
Later I drew a Tibetan national flag in my room and
thought of staging protest on 1 July 1997, the Hong Kong
hand-over ceremony day. On 13 June 1997, around 7 p.m in
the evening, when my wife, two of my friends (identities
protected) and I were having a conversation, four armed
policemen from the 1st unit of Lhasa PSB barged into our
room. They searched our room, leading to the discovery of
the hand-drawn Tibetan national flag. On seeing the flag
their search became all the more aggressive for further
incriminating evidence.
We were handcuffed and taken to the Lhasa City PSB
Detention Centre for interrogation and we were later
transferred to PAP (People's Armed Police) Office for
four days of interrogation. We were kept without food and
water all four days. One of my friends was released after
the interrogation but my wife, my other friend and me
were taken to Gutsa Detention Centre. After two months'
detention my wife was released. My friend and I were
detained for five more months, making it a total detention
of seven months.
During our detention the Chinese used all their tactics to
extract information from us. All of us were interrogated
separately. One time, the officer threw a huge bundle of
money (approx 50,000 yuan) on the table and said I will be
released, given employment and could also take the money
if I tell him the whole truth. I told him that I knew
nothing of politics, for which I was beaten and tortured
severely. Later I became unconscious. The torture continued
for four months. Then one day they showed us our sentence
papers and told us that we had been sentenced to two years'
imprisonment.
My friend and I were then taken to Trisam Prison, Toelung
Dechen County, Lhasa Municipality. There were three units
in the prison. The first was for the political prisoners,
the second for criminal prisoners and the third for the
women. At the time when I was imprisoned there were about
20-30 political prisoners.
On 16 June 1999, Sonam and I were released on the
completion of our two years' sentence. Our detention at
Gutsa had been included in our sentence but still we spent
about one year and five months in Trisam Prison.
After my release I stayed for a month in Lhasa. I was
constantly watched by the PSB so I had to go back to
my village. Even there the PSB frequented my home and
constantly asked me about my activities. Such constant
surveillance got to me and I left for Gade County, Golog
'TAP' where I stayed for more than two years doing jobs
and small business.
Regarding schooling in my area, there are two middle
schools in the place where I live. In one, most of
the students are Chinese and few children of the
Tibetan cadres. The students there are smart and very
knowledgeable.
The other school has only nomad children and the total
strength was around 700. There are about 40 teachers
who are mostly Tibetans. But Chinese staff held the top
positions in the school administration.
The students in the latter school are required to
give about 50 Yartsa Gunbhu (medicinal plant known as
Cordyceps Sinensis) on admission to the school and the
number increases by 50 each subsequent years. There is no
discipline in the school and the students can do whatever
they wish. The students gamble, watch videos and play
snooker in the market.
Concerning medical facilities in Gade County, there is one
hospital named Gade County People's Hospital. The doctors
are mostly Chinese but there are few Tibetan nurses. The
Tibetan patients are not given proper care and charged
extra fees on the contrary. There were few death cases
caused due to negligence by the doctors. As such people
stopped going to the hospital and the hospital had to
ultimately close down. Patients started consulting the
private doctors.
There are six private clinics in the county. Due to growing
demand for the private clinics, the People's Hospital wrote
an application to the county authorities for the closure
of the private clinics in the county. The authorities
in turn ordered that all private clinics would have to
close. Despite the official ban, the local people still go
to the doctor's residence secretly for consultations. If
a patient is serious, he or she is taken for check-up to
Pema County, Xining County.
Some people from my village came to Gade county for
business purpose and since they knew my whereabouts,
I left for Lhasa in December 1999 fearing that the word
might spread in the village and I might be taken back to
face further interrogation. In Lhasa I met Phakmo Dhundup
and we decided to go to India.
In early 2002 we crossed over the Nepal border and reached
the Tibetan Reception Centre in Kathmandu on 20 Febuary
2002. After fifteen days I was sent to Dharamsala, India,
reaching there on 11 March 2002.
[ top ]
TCHRD has received some reports regarding disturbances in
Drapchi prison just before Losar, the Tibetan New Year.
According to these reports, on 9 February 2002,
government authorities had organised to film a "documentary"
in Drapchi prison that would project well-fed, well-treated
prisoners living in a well-maintained prison.
However several political inmates made their disapproval of
their conditions clear on the day of the filming. Reports
indicate that some prisoners were beaten while others
were kept in solitary confinement as punishment for their dissent.
There have also been reports of sudden transfers of
political prisoners from Drapchi. In some instances, family
members have not been told where the prisoners have been
moved.
TCHRD awaits detailed information on both these incidents.
[ top ]
Kunsang Tenzin
is an ex-abbot of Shugseb Nunnery, Chushul County, Lhasa City.
At 15, he commenced his religious
studies under the tutelage of Khendron Norbu Thupten.
At 21, Tenzin joined Serthar Monastery in Karze County,
Sichuan Province, where he pursued religious studies for
the next eight years. In 1994 he became an abbot at Shugseb Nunnery.
The abbot arrived in India in 2001 and reported to TCHRD
about restrictions imposed on religious activities in
Shugseb Nunnery:
In late 1994, the authorities of Shugseb Nunnery requested
my installation as khenpo (abbot) of their nunnery. I was
the abbot there until my arrival in India in 2001.
According to official Chinese statistic, there were 208
nuns when in fact there were 270. Of the 208 nuns, 130 were
permanent nuns while approximately 80 attended the nunnery
on a temporary basis. There were 20-30 unregistered nuns,
some of whom have been expelled from other nunneries. These
nuns would disappear during the "work team" visits.
Due to a fear of political activity, the nuns were
restricted to the nunnery grounds. They were not permitted
to travel to Lhasa during important anniversaries such as
50 years of Chinese Liberation of Tibet.
"Work team" members of 4-20 officials, mainly from the
Religious Department, would normally attend the nunnery
for one to two months every three to four months. During
important official events, a "work team" would be ensconced
at the nunnery for the whole duration.
During the work team visits, the officials would force the
nuns to study political history of Tibet. The officials
would explain that the nuns are already good in Buddhist
studies and should now be able to devote more time to
political study.
I refused to obey their orders and retorted that I could
not choose for the nuns what they desired to study. There
were other lamas in the nunnery that advised me to counsel
the nuns against engaging in political activities. During
my six years stay in the nunnery, Shugseb Nunnery had no
political activity.
Once I was subjected to intensive interrogation that lasted
for about an hour. The "work team" officials checked my
room for banned portraits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
After my departure, it is unlikely that there will be a
replacement for the khenpo post at Shugseb Nunnery.
[ top ]
Lobsang Dhargyal
is originally from Machen County, Golog "TAP", Tsongon (Ch: Qinghai) Province.
He was born to Shergyam and Tsodon in 1962.
Shergyam, his father,
committed suicide in 1970 to evade arrest by Chinese
authorities for his involvement in many "reactionary"
activities in the aftermath of the Chinese invasion of
Tibet.
Dhargyal helped his mother in nomadic works and studied
Tibetan language. At 22, he became a monk of Rabgya
Monastery. He undertook the responsibilities of security
personnel in Rabgya Monastery, as well as serving as
caretaker of Tamding Monastery.
Lhasa witnessed a surge of pro-independence demonstrations
in the late eighties. When this news spread to Golog,
Lobsang Dhargyal and his two friends, Lobsang Palden and
Yeshi Gyaltsen planned to initiate political activities
in their area. They printed about 40,000 pro-independence
leaflets. The four wrote and printed the leaflets on
wooden block prints. The leaflets contained slogans such
as "Free Tibet" and "Chinese Quit Tibet" and had the stamp
of the Tibetan national flag on the back. They had Tibetan
national flags with them as well.
A grand enthronement ceremony for the then 13-year-old
Shingsang Tenzin Choekyi Gyaltsen Rinpoche was
scheduled to be held at Rabgya Monastery on 15 November
1992. Shingsang Rinpoche, head of Rabgya Monastery, and
the XXth reincarnation of the mother of Jetsongkhapa,
the founder of Gelug School, is considered one of the
leading lamas in Tsongon Province.
The night before the ceremony, Dhargyal and his companions
pasted and distributed the leaflets in 20 strategic places,
such as national highways, busy street malls, and the
circumambulation area around the monastery's stupa. They
hoisted a Tibetan national flag on the rooftop of the
assembly hall of the monastery and pasted a smaller paper
flag on one side.
Consequently, Public Security Bureau officers from
Machen County and Golog "TAP" arrived in the evening
of 15 November 1992. An intensive interrogation session
followed for all the monks. On 25 November 1992, Lobsang
Dhargyal was arrested while his companions could make their
escape. The officers ransacked his room in the monastery
for political evidence and discovered the wooden block
prints.
Lobsang Dhargyal was detained in Golog Prison for almost
a year. In 1994, the Golog Intermediate People's Court
sentenced Dhargyal to two and half years in Golog Prison,
and an additional deprivation of political rights for two
years. He was handcuffed and his feet manacled during his
imprisonment. He even lost his two front teeth when he was
beaten severely. Despite all the sufferings, his dauntless
spirit always remained high.
On 25 May 1995, Lobsang Dhargyal was released. Though he
was forbidden to rejoin his monastery, he still continued
to contribute to the Tibetan cause in whatever way he
could. The Tibetan Youth Congress based in Dharamsala,
awarded Lobsang Dhargyal, Lobsang Palden and Yeshi Gyaltsen
with Martyr's Awards in August 1995, to pay tribute to
their courageous deeds and sacrifices.
Unable to bear the various restrictions imposed on
Shingsang Tenzin Choekyi Gyaltsen Rinpoche by the Chinese
authorities, Lobsang Dhargyal and Rinpoche secretly left
the monastery on the night of 2 April 1997. Dhargyal served
as the main escort to Rinpoche and they reached Dharamsala
on 27 April 1997. Afterwards, they went to Sera Monastery
in South India.
In the beginning of 2001, Lobsang Dhargyal was returning to
Tibet to visit his aging mother when PSB officials arrested
him somewhere near Shigatse, "TAR". He was immediately
handed over to Chinese authorities in Golog "TAP". It is
reported that Dhargyal was subsequently sentenced to 15
years. However, the prison where he remains detained and
his charges are still unconfirmed.
[ top ]
Staff members and volunteers of TCHRD welcome
Mrs. Tsewang Lhadon,
who was unanimously selected to head the Centre on
19 February 2002. She joined the Centre on 1 March 2002.
Mrs. Lhadon graduated from Punjab University, Chandigarh,
and has experience working as Research Assistant to
the Political and Economic Section of the Canadian High
Commission, New Delhi. She has also worked as Assistant
to the Bureau Chief of South Asia Globe and Mail, Canada,
based in New Delhi.
Mrs Lhadon had taken a break of eight years to be with her
family. She also worked as Manager of Chonor Guest House,
Dharamsala, for a period of two years.
The Centre held a formal hand-over ceremony of the post
of Executive Director by Mr. Lobsang Nyandak Zayul to
Mrs. Tsewang Lhadon on 13 March 2002.
Mr. Nyandak, the former Executive Director of TCHRD,
led the Centre from a fledgling organisation to a
well-known and internationally recognised non-governmental
organisation within a period of six years. TCHRD pays
tribute to his outstanding leadership and wishes him all
the very best in his post as Kalon (minister) for the
departments of Finance and Health.
At the same time, the TCHRD welcome Mrs. Lhadon and wishes
her luck in all her future endeavour.
[ top ]
On 9 January 2002, an eight-member delegation of
Swedish parliamentarians came on a four-day visit to
Dharamsala. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) based in
Dharamsala, including the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights
and Democracy (TCHRD), Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC),
Tibetan Women's Association (TWA), National Democratic
Party of Tibet, and Gu-Chu-Sum held a joint meeting at
the office of the TWA.
Open discussion and briefings took place among the
parliamentarians and members of Tibetan NGOs.
Mr. Ugyen Tsewang, Information Officer at TCHRD,
represented the Centre.
He briefed the parliamentarians about the Centre's
objectives and its past and present activities.
The parliamentarians raised several questions relating to the
human rights situation in Tibet, to which Mr. Tsewang gave
an overview of the ongoing human rights abuses in Tibet.
In the end, the parliamentarians unanimously agreed that
they were not aware of the gravity of the human rights
violations going on in Tibet.
They assured the Tibetan NGO's that they would raise
the Tibet issue in the Swedish Parliament.
[ top ]
Mr. Tenzin Norgay
has been recruited as the new Field Officer of TCHRD,
following a written test and oral
interview conducted by the Centre on 26 February 2002.
He joined the Centre on 1 March 2002.
Mr Norgay has Masters degree in Linguistics. He graduated
from Delhi University, and did his M.A. at M.S. University,
Baroda.
[ top ]
On 10 March 2002, the occasion of the 43rd Tibetan Uprising
Day, TCHRD co-hosted an Open Discussion Forum for Young
Tibetans with Tibetan Jewish Youth Exchange Programme. More
than 50 young Tibetans turned up for the event.
Among the speakers were Ms. Tsering Yangkyi, Head
of the Environment Desk, DIIR, Mr. Tsering Thar,
Ex-Mustang Fighter, and Mr. Negan, a recent arrival from Tibet.
Ms. Youdon Aukatsang, Senior Programme Officer,
also provided information on TCHRD and the current human
rights situation in Tibet.
During the open discussion session, the participants
were divided into four groups and given topics related
to Tibet to discuss and strategise on,
followed with presentations by group leaders.
A Forum was also provided to the participants to express
their feelings and concerns regarding their identity
as Tibetans.
The evening ended with prayers and a candlelight vigil led
by Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok, President of National Democratic
Party for Tibet.
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