News – Page 86

06/05/1999 News

Drepung monk Ngawang Samphel re-arrested

A Tibetan monk from Drepung monastery in Lhasa, Ngawang Samphel (33), was arrested in early April 1999 for suspicion of political acts. At present his whereabouts are unknown. This is the second time that Ngawang has been arrested. His first detention in Gutsa Detention Centre was for taking part in a peaceful demonstration on 27 September 1988, with five other monks from Drepung monastery.

On 27 September 1988, Ngawang Samphel and five other Drepung monks, Ngawang Zegen (22), Ngawang Chemey (30), Ngawang Thosam (28), Jamphel Wangchuk (28) and Jamphel Sherab (31) staged a peaceful demonstration in the Barkhor in Lhasa, shouting slogans calling for Tibetan independence. The officials of the People’s Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) immediately arrested them. They were taken to Gutsa Detention Centre, located to the east of Lhasa. While in detention, the six monks were subjected to severe torture. As a result of the torture Ngawang’s friend Ngawang Zegen from Toelung County, died in 1989 approximately one month after his release.

07/10/1998 News / TCHRD Statements

TCHRD doubts China’s sincerity in signing ICCPR

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) welcomes China’s signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on October 5 but expresses reservation at both China’s sincerity and the efficacy of this action in improving the human rights situation in Tibet and in China.

China’s decision to sign the ICCPR appears to be a response to persistent international pressure on the Chinese government to uphold international human rights standards, culminating in the recent visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Mary Robinson, to China. “We are concerned that the signing of the ICCPR is another political manoeuvre by the Chinese government to deflect attention from its deteriorating human rights record,” said Lobsang Nyandak, Executive Director of TCHRD. The signing of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in October 1997 was similarly timed to coincide with the visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin to the USA.

23/05/1998 News

Over 3,993 monks and nuns expelled: religious repression continues in Tibet

In its recently released report entitled “Closing the Doors: Religious Repression in Tibet”, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) reported the expulsion of over 3,993 monks and nuns from their monasteries and nunneries under China’s “Strike Hard” Campaign. The report documents widespread repression of freedom of religion in Tibet ever since the launching of the “Strike Hard” campaign in Tibet in April 1996.

The principal part of the report is based on testimonials gathered in interviews with Tibetan refugees who have arrived in exile since 1997. The core of China’s “Strike Hard” and “re-education” campaigns is to force the monks and nuns to oppose notions of Tibetan nationalism and to denounce the Dalai Lama. Those who refuse risk severe repercussions. As of February 1998, 3,993 monks and nuns were expelled from their monasteries or nunneries, 294 were arrested and 14 deaths have been reported. Six monasteries and nunneries were completely closed down.

05/05/1998 News

Two prisoners shot dead in Drapchi Prison

Two prisoners in Tibet’s Drapchi Prison died instantly on May 4, 1998, when prison officials opened fire on unarmed prisoners staging a protest in the prison. Sources from Tibet report that 200 other prisoners were seriously injured in the shooting and beatings used to suppress the revolt. The identities of the dead prisoners are unknown.

Earlier reports stated that the May 4 protest was begun by a group of 80 Drapchi prisoners from units 5 and 6. The group reportedly disrupted a prison function commemorating “Youth Day” by shouting slogans and pasting posters around the prison. Recent information indicates that the protesters distributed pamphlets and demanded the release of prisoners who had been placed in solitary confinement following an earlier protest in Drapchi on May 1.

15/09/1997 News / Thematic Reports

The next generation: the state of education in Tibet today

A report released by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) today describes wide-spread and systematic violations by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of Tibetan children’s rights to education. “The Next Generation: The State of Education in Tibet Today”, a 100 page report based on interviews conducted in Spring 1997 with 50 Tibetan children who have fled from Tibet in the previous two or three years, reveals the imposition of prohibitively high school fees, the phasing out of Tibetan language and culture, discrimination, indoctrination lessons and excessively cruel punishments.

The children interviewed by TCHRD ranged in age from 9 to 21 years and represented all three provinces of Tibet. Ninety-six percent of them had fled Tibet for reasons of education, generally under the most hazardous conditions and at great financial and personal cost to their family.

15/08/1997 News

Profile: Six years for prisoners list

In 1993, Topgyal, together with Sholpa Dawa, decided to do something concrete to make the world aware of the situation in Tibet. They began the task of putting together a list of current and former political prisoners in the Lhasa area. It was the hope of both Tibetans, both elderly men, that they would be able to somehow get the…

30/12/1996 News

70 year old monk flees Tibet after 13 years prison

Thupten Tsering is a 70 year old monk, formerly of Sera monastery. He arrived in Dharamshala on December 18, 1996 and spoke with TCHRD the next day. Thupten Tsering entered Sera monastery at the age of seven. From 1956 to 1959 he served as the treasurer or store-keeper at the monastery. During the 1959 uprising, Thupten tsering and others were…

17/11/1996 News

PRC sentences pro-democracy leader

On 30 October 1996, the PRC sentenced pro-democracy leader Wangdhen to 11 years imprisonment. Just weeks earlier, Liu Xiabo, another prominent pro-democracy activist, was sent to Labour Camp for 3 years for “re-education through labour” without trial for penning an open letter to China calling for Tibetan autonomy and labour reforms. A speaker for Human Rights Watch stated, “The government…

15/11/1996 News

Activist flees Tibet

The following is taken from an account provided to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy this week by Jamyang Dhargyal, a new arrival from Tibet. He fled Tibet for India in 1993 but returned to his homeland in 1995 determined to make Tibetans aware of international support for the Tibetan cause. He carried with him speeches of the Dalai Lama, copies of the foreign-produced…

15/11/1996 News

Discrimination in school

The following information was provided by Jamyang Dhargyal who had studied in this school for three years. Bayan County Nationality School in Amdo (Ch:Qinghai) is a day-cum-boarding school admits Tibetans and Chinese Muslims. In the early 1980’s the school fees and expenses were taken on by the government and a monthly stipend of 24 yaun per student was provided. Most…