JULY 2003
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Kardze County in grip of tense security in the aftermath of prayer ceremonies
[ read ]
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Release of Two Tibetans imprisoned in connection with Trulku Tenzin Delek’s case
[ read ]
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EU to work on China's ratification of Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
[ read ]
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Searching for Tibet: A Journey through a Changing Land
[ read ]
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Memorandum to the Australian Delegetion Visiting Tibet
[ read ]
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15 years' imprisonment for breaking signboard and postings
[ read ]
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Solidarity Network Meeting in Dharamsala
[ read ]
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TCHRD recruits two reseachers
[ read ]
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Information Officer visits Chauntra settlement as resource person for workshop
[ read ]
In early winter of 2002, Tibetans in Kardze County held
a series of long life prayer ceremonies for the Dalai
Lama. The Prayer ceremonies organised in 64 villages and
two nunneries, took almost half a year to complete. The
authorities considered the prayer ceremonies to carry
political motives and after an investigation began
arresting those involved in the events. The main
organisers —
Dorjee Phuntsok (52), Jampa Sangpo (40), Namgyal Choephel (35),
Tsering Dorjee (42), Tsering Nyima (26) —
were arrested and subsequently sentenced to three
years' imprisonment in April 2003. Unconfirmed reports
indicate as many as 20 Tibetans detained in connection
with the prayer ceremonies. Many either went into hiding
or fled the area for fear of being arrested.
Pema Tsewang, a monk at Kardze Monastery escaped to India
in May 2003 to evade arrest. Pema recounted to TCHRD:
"In 1990, when I was studying at Sera Monastery in South
India, I received news of my father's sudden death in
Tibet. I immediately left to Tibet. At Shigatse County, I
was arrested by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials
and was detained for a month and half. In Nyari Detention
Centre, I sang songs in praise of the Dalai Lama. The
guards on hearing the song came to check who was singing
the reactionary song. They came to my cell and asked
whether I was singing the song but I declined. They pounced
on me and started to beat me. The beating lasted for around
two hours but I never accepted that I sang the song.
"When I arrived at home in Kardze County, I offered prayers
to my late father and conducted all the religious rites
that a Tibetan undertakes when someone dies.
"I joined the local Kardze Monastery and began my religious
studies. After two years, I was appointed as teacher of
Buddhist Dialectics and worked for the next six years. I
taught the students about the history of Tibet and the
state of Tibet under Chinese authorities with religious
freedom being one of the main rights deprived. I also
urged the students to adhere to the principles taught by
the Dalai Lama and work for the flourish of Buddhism and
Tibetan culture.
"In June 2001, I screened a documentary film on the
Dalai Lama during a congregation of monks who gathered in
hundreds. Since then I became an object of suspicion.
"In early 2002, I was appointed as the organiser of a
religious fast (tib: smyug gnes). People from 13 villages
gathered at a nunnery for fasting. During the fast, I
informed the mass of the ongoing cultural destruction of
Tibet under the Chinese leadership, and urged the people
to rise up against the oppressor.
"Begining from late 2001, the people of Kardze organised
a series of long life prayer ceremonies starting from
Gaden Choeling Nunnery in Shershul Village.The biggest
congregation was at Lugu Village where around 4000 people
gathered for the prayers. When the prayer ceremonies were
being conducted in our village, people heard the sad news
of the Dalai Lama's ill health in the midst of Kalachackra
teachings. At that time, Namtso, a friend, and I brought a
portrait of the Dalai Lama which was placed on a throne to
signify His Holiness' presence during the occasion. After
the prayer, I spoke to the people about the repression
of religious rights, destruction of monasteries and of
more than a million Tibetans' loss of life in the wake of
Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959."
On learning about the long life prayer ceremonies,
Kardze PSB officials started investigations. In October
2002, the organisers: Dorjee Phuntsok, Jampa Sangpo and
Namgyal Choephel, were arrested. Later on, Tsering Dorjee
of Chulen Village and Tsering Nyima of Sertok Village and
five others were arrested secretly. They were all given
three years' imprisonment sentence. Dhargay, 29, who was
in a dance troupe, was arrested. He was severely beaten
by the officials and almost died while in detention. When
he was returned to his family, he could hardly walk. The
authorities fined 3000 Yuan to the family.
Residents of Kardze County are gripped in a tense
fear following the wave of arrests and detentions. The
crackdown has left the residents in a complete fear of
being arrested. Investigations are still going on.
[ top ]
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD)
received confirmed information that Luzi Tashi Phuntsok,
who was serving seven years' imprisonment sentence in Yakra
Phuk Prison (Tib translit: gyag ra phuk), was released on
28 July 2003. It is reported that on 30 July, Tashi arrived
at Jamyang Choekhorling Monastery in Nyakchuka County.
Tashi was arbitrarily arrested on 17 April 2002 from
his monastery and detained in Nyakchuka County PSB
Detention Centre for a day. Later he was transferred to
Yakra Phuk Prison. In the end of November 2002, Kardze
People's Intermediate Court sentenced him to seven years'
imprisonment on alleged charges of colluding with Trulku
Tenzin Delek, a respected Buddhist teacher in eastern
Tibet, who was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve
for alleged charges of "causing bomb explosions".
At the time of Tashi's arrest, he was suffering from
Tuberculosis. It is reported that due to ill treatment and
lack of proper medical attention, his health deteriorated
while in prison. When report last came to TCHRD, Luzi
Tashi Phuntsok had developed critical health complications.
Luzi Tashi Phuntsok, 42, was born in Othok Village,
Nyakchuka County, Sichuan Province. Being the
disciplinarian of the monastery, Luzi Tashi shouldered many
responsibilities including organising prayer ceremonies
and festivals. In 1993, he protested vehemently against
Chinese deforestation activities in the locality. Prior
to the bomb explosion in Chengdu, Trulku Tenzin Delek was
constantly targetted by the local Chinese authorities for
his social activism. The local Tibetans protested against
the authorities. Tashi was one of the main protesters.
Tsering Dhondup, 74, was released on 11 July, reports
Human Rights Watch. Tsering was arrested in June 2002
and given a sentence of five years' imprisonment for
colluding with Trulku Tenzin Delek. When reports last came
to TCHRD, Tsering was in a critical health condition. He
couldn't walk and had turned blind in one eye during his
incarceration in Nyakchukha Detention Centre and later in
Ra-nga-kha Prison.
In late last year, Trulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and Lobsang
Dhondup were convicted for involvement in a series of
five explosions in Sichuan Province. Tenzin Delek was
sentenced to death with a suspension of two years in
December 2002. Lobsang Dhondup, however, was executed on
26 January 2003. Officials have never explained Tenzin
Delek's alleged role in the incidents or provided evidence
of either man's guilt.
Tsering was arrested for protesting the alleged charges
against the benevolent socialactivist. Tsering being the
head of Othok Village was alleged of inciting the mass
against the government and the party.
The arrests of Luzi Tashi Phuntsok and Tsering Dhondup were
part of a sweep against Tibetans associated with Trulku
Tenzin Delek. Apart from Trulku and Lobsang Tenphel,(the
name has been earlier mistakenly written as Taphel), all
the others have been released after various prison terms
and detentions. The whereabouts of Lobsang Tenphel is
unknown. The Chinese remains silent on the case of Tenphel
and has so far not disclosed any information regarding him.
TCHRD calls upon the Chinese authorities to immediately
release the two who are believed to be falsely accused
and held without proper trial.
[ top ]
Chris Patten,
the European Commission's Commissioner for External Relations,
pledged that the EU will work
to support the ratification and implementation of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) by China.
Addressing a human rights seminar in Brussels organized by
the European Commission's Human Rights and Democratization
Directorate for the NGO community on July 14, 2003, Patten
said the Commission's European Initiative for Democracy
and Human Rights (EIDHR) has been entrusted the task
of supporting the implementation of EU's human rights'
commitments.
China signed the ICCPR in October 1998, but its
legislature, the National People's Congress, is yet to
ratify it.
[ top ]
Watching a television program in a hotel room in Yangshuo,
a traveler became mildly amused at foreigners preaching
to a Chinese camera crew that they saw no evidence
of religious repression, nuclear waste dumps, etc. on
the Tibetan plateau. The group on the show had also
been traveling with an official Chinese camera crew.
Thanks to a traveler, TCHRD is able to convey what life
is like for Tibetans when the camera crew isn't there.
What follows are her observations and experiences in Tibet
over the last year. Unlike most foreigners, she journeyed
through Tibet accompanied by Tibetan friends, and thereby
got a much deeper understanding of the problems, changes,
and relations within Tibet.
The notorious tug-of-war between Tibetan and Chinese
language is still raging, though the former is losing
badly. At a nearby college training center, she noted that
English was taught through the Chinese medium, drastically
complicating the process for Tibetans who were not fluent
in Chinese. Transliteration of Tibetan into the pinyin
English alphabet stumped a number of the students, who
had mostly come from TAR. A friend had complained to her
that the procedures for entering Tibet University were
designed unfairly, as Chinese students not only have
the language advantage, but even if they fare poorly,
low scores are dismissed if those students go to work in
Tibet once they have completed their studies. While in
attendance at Tibet University, all exams except those
for explicitly Tibetan language courses are administered
in Chinese-presenting the challenge of mastering both the
material and a language that many Tibetans find perplexing
and unfamiliar. Despite the hurdles erected by the Chinese
language, one Tibetan, who had studied in India, said
that unless someone goes to a Tibetan University, they
wouldn't be able to properly read or write in Tibetan.
Noting how marginalized Tibetan language is in the one
place where it is mastered, the future does not bode well
for the indigenous language. The traveler, who had used
Tibetan in the Barkhor, was told by a Chinese merchant who
mocked her for using Tibetan, telling her that if she's
not Tibetan, then she should use English or Chinese.
This linguistic labyrinth commences for Tibetans at an
early age-the traveler reported that in one area where
she spent time, there was only one Tibetan middle school,
where two or three teachers come from Tibet every semester
to teach Tibetan language and culture in an otherwise
standard Chinese curriculum. Though Chinese instruction
is not only available, but often mandated from an early
age, Tibetans grow up speaking Tibetan at home and in
social circumstances with other Tibetans, at least in this
current generation. In this area, some Tibetan students
had taken on Chinese names for official purposes, in the
same way that there is an increasing trend toward mastering
Chinese to make the climb up the social ladder easier.
The rural regions of Tibet face conditions of extreme
poverty with regard to education.
Tibetan teachers who underwent special training for
teaching English discovered that they would not be able
to use their skills after all, for there were no textbooks
in the regions they were teaching in. Two of her friends
only got a position after fighting with the school's
administration, but those she knew in Lhasa got teaching
positions easily.
The poverty extends beyond education in the rural regions
of TAR. It was observed that many, if not most of
the Tibetans, are relegated to small-scale commercial
enterprises, commodifying their religion and culture
to survive. Items such as Buddhist accessories, animal
skins, dried paws, hones, herbs and jewelry were found
among the displays. The traveler observed that many
Chinese had also adopted this business practice, though
they sold Tibetan merchandise at highly inflated prices in
shops that were advertised as Tibetan, but actually owned
by Han Chinese. This was not an uncommon practice, as
there were specially priced menus for foreigners as well.
After one such experience, the traveler asked a friend
about these inflated pricing schemes, and she responded
that the Chinese who come to Tibet are very bad, and that
they only want money.
The perception of Tibetans as rendered by some Chinese
with whom the traveler spoke were a combination of
misunderstanding and propaganda. Some Chinese who had
very little interaction with Tibetans swore that they
were "backward, dirty, and lazy." Not surprisingly, the
traveler encountered Tibetans who also maintained this
belief about their own people, who were dismayed that Tibet
lagged behind the rest of China and that the best Tibetans
had gone overseas. These opinions were offered along with
the caveat that Chinese have encouraged drinking among the
Tibetans, so they were much lazier than their forefathers.
Despite obvious tensions between Tibetans and Chinese,
some of which erupted into fights, the traveler also
encountered several Chinese youth traveling and working in
Lhasa in order to fund their travels and accrue Tibetan
handicrafts and artifacts. Swept away by the idealism
and fantasy of the commercial projection of Tibet, many
Chinese she encountered thought of Tibet as magical and
innocent, holding something pure, yet indescribable.
Even after visiting Tibet, certain tourists walked away
with this fantastical illusion intact. The maintenance of
the Shangri-la projection is made possible by a carefully
crafted tourism policy. Tour guides who stray from the
officially sanctioned sites in Tibet are fired, given a
prison sentence and forbidden to legally guide, although
some informal tours are still conducted. The traveler took
one tour accompanied by a Tibetan guide who was fluent in
English, incredibly knowledgeable about Tibetan history
and mythology, had been to visit the Dalai Lama in India
and had spent three months in a Chinese prison for taking
tourist to a site the government did not approve of.
One might expect that an increase of Chinese tourism would
foster more understanding about the Tibetan culture, yet
the traveler reported that The Tibetan festival of Shoton
had far more Chinese tourists than any other audience.
However, seeing Tibet does not translate into respect
for its culture-Chinese tourists were led by their guides
through monks' living quarters at Tashilhunpo, proceeded
to take flash photos of ancient murals despite signs
explicitly requesting the opposite, and guides scraped up
against already flaking artwork on the walls.
This observation clarifies the larger picture of how
the Chinese perceived Tibet. The traveler was told by
a Chinese woman seduced by Shangri-la that her parents
claimed that Tibet was for visiting, not for living.
All over Tibet during her travels, the traveler noticed
a distinct divide between the Tibetans and Chinese.
The former had homes without electricity or clean water,
and the Chinese settlement was always marked by modern
concrete structures, built in the Communist style.
Some wealthier middle class Tibetan families had framed
portraits of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin.
Her experiences indicate that Tibetan culture is only
put on a pedestal if a price tag can be attached to it.
The Chinese have not moved to Tibet with the interest
of living with the Tibetans; they live above them,
around them, and have cut a path straight through them,
their language, culture, and landscape by Sinicizing it.
The transformation of Tibet from a distinct entity into
"not-quite-China" is well underway.¨
The information in this write up are provided by a
western tourist who wishes to remain anonymous because
of the informant’s wish to make a second trip to Tibet.
It might be noted that the article has been edited for
any information that can lead to the informant’s arrest
and also the Tibetan friends in Tibet.
[ top ]
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD)
is pleased to know that Australian delegation headed by
Dr. Geoff Raby,
Deputy Secretary of the Australian Foreign Ministry,
will visit China and Tibet this week. Through
submission of this memorandum, TCHRD would like to request
Australian delegation to raise human rights situation of
Tibetans with the officials of People's Republic of China.
It is imperative that the delegation request free access
within Tibet to assess the actual human rights situation in
terms of political, civil, economic, social and cultural
rights of the Tibetan people. It is usual procedure for
visiting delegations to be taken on guided tour and shown
and told only what the Beijing government wants others to
see and believe.
It is important for the delegation to pressure China on the
whereabouts and well-being of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the XI
Panchen Lama of Tibet; to withdraw Trulku Tenzin Delek's
death sentence with a two-year reprieve; to interview
prisoners of conscience such as Ngawang Phulchung, Phuntsok
Nyidron, Jamphel Jangchup, Lobsang Tenzin etc currently
languishing in Chinese administered jails; to witness real
living condition of Tibetans living in the rural areas;
to ascertain Chinese claims of religious freedom within
Tibet by random and discreet interview of monks and nuns;
and to halt hydroelectric power projects in eastern Tibet
which could impact displacement of local inhabitants.
TCHRD is a non-governmental organization established in
1996 with the primary goal of promoting and protecting
human rights of the Tibetan people and to educate the
Tibetan community on human rights concepts and democratic
principles. Based in Dharamsala, North India, TCHRD
monitor, document and highlight human rights situation
of the Tibetan people through its research publication,
educational and awareness activities, UN mechanisms and
through international conferences.
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The whereabouts and well being of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima,
the XIth Panchen Lama of Tibet, remains unknown since May
1995. The Chinese authorities continue to insist that the
boy is safe and well but have provided no evidence of this
to date.
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In January 2003, a 28-year-old Lobsang Dhondup was
shockingly executed while Trulku Tenzin Delek's death
sentence with two-year reprieve was upheld. Charged
for their alleged involvement in a series of bomb blast
incident in eastern Tibet, both men were denied proper
legal representation during court trial. Trulku Tenzin
Delek used to work towards environmental protection
and restoration and preservation of Tibetan religion
and culture.
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Chadrel Rinpoche, the former abbot of Tashi Lhunpo
Monastery and Head of the Search Committee for the
Reincarnation of the Xith Panchen Lama, is under house
arrest in an isolated resort (Chinese: dujian cun)
south of Dib Military Camp in Lhasa, despite his alleged
release in January 2002. He served six years in prison
for having communicated with the Dalai Lama on the issue
of reincarnation of the Xth Panchen Lama.
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Geshe Sonam Phuntsok, a respected Buddhist teacher from
Sichuan Province, is serving five years' prison term for
having met the Dalai Lama in exile and for having offered
long-life prayer ceremony for the Dalai Lama. His health
condition is critical and requires immediate attention.
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Construction of hydroelectric power projects in eastern
Tibet will lead to forcible displacement and loss of
livelihood of the local inhabitants. It is feared that many
holy Buddhist shrines and other age-old landmarks would
submerge. The areas where the dams are to be constructed
are Drakbar, Kyomkyo, Damba, Chuchen County, Dzongbud,
Tawei, Tsodun, and Kokyab.
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Xinhua cites the illiteracy rate of young people to be
34.27% though the White paper on Modernisation in Tibet
in 2001 declared the illiteracy rate among the youth as
32.5%. An yet another report found that the illiteracy
rate may be as high as 70%.
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In Tibet, there is a high incidence of diseases resulting
from malnutrition, outbreaks of plague, frequent
occurrences or retardation and goiters due to Iodine
Deficiency Disorders, and rates of child and infant
mortality so high that Tibet can be categorized as one
of the least developed regions on earth, according to
London-based Tibet Information Network.
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As of June 2003, TCHRD record approximately 208 prisoners
of conscience in various Chinese administered prisons and
detention centers in Tibet. It is commonplace for Tibetans
to be arbitrarily arrested and detained on suspicions
of being involved in political activities that China
deems "endangering state security". The common grounds
for arrest in Tibet are sloganeering activities, poster
pasting incidents, and possession of the banned photos
and videocassettes of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and
temporal leader of Tibet.
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In the past, Chinese "work team" members used to conduct
"patriotic re-education" campaign on a regular basis
whereby monks and nuns are forced to study China's version
of Tibetan history and to denounce the Dalai Lama and
Gedhun Chokey Nyima, the Xith Panchen Lama.
Currently, this role and responsibility has been
transferred to the Democratic Management Committee (DMC)
on Tibet's monasteries and nunneries. Failure to follow
official diktats results in expulsion from the religious
institution or arrest and subsequent imprisonment.
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Restrictive measures are placed on observance and
celebration of important religious and traditional
festivals such as Saga Dawa, the fourth holiest month
of Tibetan calender, and the Dalai Lama's birthday on 6
July. Ban on photos of the Dalai Lama and Gedhun Chokeyi
Nyima is still enforced.
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In spite of being a State Party to the United Nations
Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and
Degrading Treatment or Punishment since 1988, torture is
still used to extract confession and to crush patriotic
sentiments of political detainees.
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The much-vaunted Western Development Programme (WDP),
originally launched in 1999, and the Chinese government's
current Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005) for National,
Economic and Social Development which encompasses a massive
transfer of resources from the Tibetan plateau to eastern
China violates the Tibetan's right to livelihood. The
Tibetans do not have any active, free and meaningful
participation in development and in the fair distribution
of benefits resulting there from in the government
development projects.
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The imposition of Chinese urban and industrial modes of
production amongst Tibet's nomads is leading to increasing
poverty and contributing to grassland degradation.
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According to China Human Development Report 2002 released
by the United Nations Development Program, the educational
index for Tibet ranks dead last against China's other 31
provinces. The gross enrolment rate and adult literacy
rate for Tibet are also the lowest in comparison with
other provinces of China.
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Although much progress has been made in primary healthcare,
an intrinsic element in the right to subsistence, it
remains out of reach for the majority of Tibetans. Contrary
to Chinese claims that healthcare is "free in arming and
pastoral areas", prohibitive fees continue to compromise
the Tibetan's health, augmented by discriminatory treatment
and a general lack of adequate health facilities.
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On 15 April 2003, a group of 100 Chinese guides were
sent to Tibet to bolster the tourist industry and this
will be sent to Tibet every year for the next ten years,
according to Xinhua, Official Chinese news agency. The
recent lay-off scores of Tibetan tour guides indicate that
the motivation may be political rather than economic. The
recent layoff of the Tibetan guides only makes sense in
the context of discrimination, suspicion, and paranoia
that is characteristic of China's policy toward Tibetans
especially exile returnees for years.
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To immediately ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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To invite Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups of
the United Nation, to provide them unfettered access
to information and to give due consideration to their
recommendations.
-
To clarify the scope and extent of the term "endangering
state security" in its Criminal Procedural Law. The term's
ambiguity is used to suppress multiple legitimate rights
including the right to freedom of expression and speech.
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To respect the rule of law, its universal relevance
and application and to create a system of free and fair
trial for people accused for political, religious or
other reasons.
-
To release all prisoners of conscience held in prisons,
labour camps and detention centers in Tibet for exercising
their right to freedom of speech and expression.
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To release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the XIth Panchen Lama of Tibet.
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To withdraw death sentence with two-year reprieve passed on Trulku Tenzin Delek.
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To allow free movement of Tibetan people wishing to travel
within or outside Tibet without fear of harassment or fear.
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To stop the ongoing anti-Dalai Lama campaign and to stop
limiting the number of monks and nuns in the religious
institution and to desist from coercing them to conform
to communist ideology.
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To carry out its obligations to recognize and provide
implementation mechanisms to safeguard the right to work
and an adequate standard of living.
-
To allow the Tibetan people direct control of the content
of the curriculum and medium of instruction in Tibetan
schools and monasteries.
-
To ensure participation of Tibetan people at all levels
of development projects that is being undertaken in Tibet,
particularly the Western Development Programme.
-
To provide its citizens and Tibetans the right to free or
affordable healthcare services.
-
To lay down transparent taxation policy especially in
rural Tibet, to ensure a realistic system and a cessation
of the misuse of power by the local authorities.
[ top ]
Lobsang Tsegyal was born in 1963 to a farming family in
Sana Village, Pashoe County, Chamdo Prefecture, "TAR".
Early in his childhood he joined the local Serwa Monastery
and studied Buddhist philosophy and scriptures.
Lobsang was a meritorious monk at the monastery and
excelled in his studies.
On 28 March 1994, Lobsang and four of his monk friends —
Chime Dorjee(b1967), Lobsang Palden (b 1970),
Lobsang Jinpa (b 1971) and Jampa Tashi (b 1968)
— wrote independence posters and leaflets in their
room. In the cover of darkness, the monks proceeded
to Lingkha Township and then went to the headquarters
of Township People's Government. From the main gate of
the government headquarters they removed and broke the
sign boards inscribed "Township People's Government" and
"Party Headquarter". In place of the signboards, they
pasted posters calling for Tibet's independence and long
life of the Dalai Lama.
At the crack of dawn, Lobsang and the monks walked
towards Pashoe County to stage demonstration near the
County headquarters. On the way, the group rested for
a while when they met Lobsang, the Party Secretary of
Lingkha Township. The Party Secretary was, apparently,
on his way to inform the County authorities about the
breakage of signboards and political postings in the
township. He suspected the monks of Serwa Monastery to
be respobsible for the offence. But when he saw the monks
resting, he pretended to know nothing and offered ride to
the monks. The monks boarded the vehicle and were driven
straight to the compound of County Public Security Bureau
(PSB).
The Party Secretary handed over the monks to the
PSB officials and narrated their activities in the
night. The PSB officials interrogated the monks with
severe beatings. Lobsang Tsegyal was hit with a pistol
in the back which damaged his kidney and he collapsed
on the ground. Later he discovered that he couldn't walk
properly. He was to limp permanently.
In order to make a public example of the monks, the five
were kept in aerial suspension with their thumbs cuffed
at the gate of the County PSB. The officials demanded to
know who among them led the postings, the monks unanimously
claimed responsibilty.
Chamdo Intermediate People's Court tried and sentenced the
monks to lengthy imprisonment sentences. Lobsang Tsegyal,
Chime Dorjee and Lobsang Jinpa were given 15 years'
imprisonment sentence while Jampa Tashi and Lobsang Palden
were sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment sentence.
Lobsang Tsegyal, Chime Dorjee and Lobsang Jinpa are
currently serving their sentences in Drapchi Prison whereas
Jampa Tashi and Lobsang Palden are imprisoned in Powo
Tramo Prison.
[ top ]
Representatives of the Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan
Women's Association, TCHRD, Environment and Development
Desk of DIIR and Habitat International Coalition (HIC)
participated in a meeting on Solidarity Network held in
Dharamsala on 26 and 27 July 2003.
Initially conceptualised during the 1996 Habitat Conference
in Istanbul, the members of Solidarity Network comprise
of Tibetan, Palestinian, and Kurdish people. The network
was formed to address common areas of concern with regard
to land and housing rights issues and to undertake joint
actions nationally and internationally.
The first day focussed on reviewing and strategising future
plan of actions from the Solidarity Network. The following
day, Ms. Murielle Mignot from HIC, took a training session
on Urgent Action Methodology for the participants.
Ms Norzin Dolma represented TCHRD at the Solidarity Network meeting.
TCHRD welcomes Mr. Tsering Topgyal and Ms. Tashi Yangzom
as the centre's new Researchers. The two were recruited
after a writen examination testing their research skills
on 24 July and an oral interview the following day.
They were selected from a pool of 13 short-listed
candidates who sat for the test. Both the staff joined
office from 1 August 2003. Mr. Tsering Topgyal ad done
his Master's degree in Political Science from the Madras
Christian College, South India. Upon finishing his Master's
degree, Mr. Tsering taught at the Upper Tibetan Children
Village School, Dharamsala, for a period of two and half
years. Later he went to the United States to pursue his
Master's degree under the Tibetan Fulbright Scholarship
program. He earned his Master's degree in International
Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher's School of Law and
Diplomacy, Tufts University.
On his return from the US, Mr. Tsering worked in the
Department of Information and International Relations under
the Tibetan government-in-exile until his recruit to TCHRD.
Ms. Tashi Yangzom has a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from
Pune University. She has also done a two years' computer
application diploma from St Anthony's college, Shillong.
Ms. Tashi was the General Secretary of Pune Tibetan
Students Association. She is also the Joint Secretary of
the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Shillong.
Ms. Tashi has volunteered in TCHRD for a period of 11
months during which she represented the centre at the Asian
Social Forum held in Hyderabad, India, in Janaury 2003.
The Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Chapter of Chauntra
invited Mr.Ugyen Tsewang, Information Officer at TCHRD,
as a resource person for the Human Rights and Democracy
Workshop conducted at Chauntra Tibetan Settlement on 21
July 2003. Mr. Ugyen took the afternoon session on the
concept of Democracy and Tibetan Democracy.
The workshop was part of a series of workshops commissioned
by the Social and Resource Development Fund (SARD) under
the Department of Finance, Tibetan government-in-exile.
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