A 23-year-old Ramoche monk called Loedo, from Dayab, has been reported missing for eight months. Loedo, who had joined Ramoche Monastery in 1993, was reportedly arrested by PSB officials from the Ramoche Monastery in August 1996 but the reason for his arrest is unknown. He was detained for approximately one month in Lhasa and was later shifted to Chamdo prison.…
Recent reports from Tibet detail the drastic changes which have taken place in Dayab Ma-gon Monastery, situated in the Dayab county of Chamdo region, under Chinese occupation. Most recently this has taken the form of “Patriotic Re-education” activities, part of China’s implementation of their “Strike Hard” campaign in Tibet. This had the drastic effect of pushing one monk to take…
Sholpa Dawa’s strong pro-independence beliefs have resulted in his arrest on three occasions and a current prison sentence of 16 years. He has gone to great lengths to print material on Tibetan independence and record the experiences of Tibetan people under Chinese occupation so as to distribute it amongst fellow Tibetans. Dawa is a 56 year old Tibetan tailor from…
Tibetan asylum seekers face serious dangers not only from the perilous crossing of the Himalayan mountains, but also in attempting to cross the border into Nepal. There is a consistent stream of reports detailing beatings, extortion and sexual abuse by Nepalese border police. Several months ago a 22-year-old Tibetan girl was serially raped by 12 men led by a man…
Jampa Ngodrup, a doctor from Lhasa, is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence in Drapchi Prison in Tibet. He was charged as an “agent” for his efforts to record the names of those arrested or injured during two pro-independence demonstrations which took place in Lhasa in 1988. Ill-treatment in prison has meant that Jampa is no longer able to walk…
The Chinese Government’s policy of transferring Chinese settlers into Tibet represents an immediate threat to the existence of the Tibetan people. In contravention of humanitarian law which stipulates that “an occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” (article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, 1949), there are today an…
China announced plans on 6 March to introduce harsh new provisions to its Criminal Law targeted at “terrorist” control in Tibet and Xinjiang. Stressing the need “to deal telling blows at such offences”, the vice chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC), Mr. Wang Hanbin, announced draft provisions that would add up to 10 years in prison to any sentence…
Ngawang Rigdrol is a 24-year-old nun. She is currently serving seven years’ imprisonment for taking part in a peaceful demonstration and today is almost completely blind. In mid-June 1992, she carried the forbidden Tibetan national flag during a pro-independence protest around the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. For the first one month and twelve days following her arrest, Ngawang was…
In May 1996 a Chinese “work team” raided the Chamdo monastery for photographs of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. Finding pro-independence leaflets, three monks connected to this were arrested. One of those monks is now dead, following severe beatings and torture by prison authorities. More than five hundred monks have now been expelled from the monastery. On 30…
A source from Tibet reports than an 18 year old boy (name withheld for security reasons) from Sanae Lobdring (Middle School) in Shigatse was recently deprived of the opportunity to go to China for further studies. The required mark to proceed on to tertiary education in China is 185 and the boy, coming fourth in his class, had secured a…
Result of Essay Competition: “Release of Tibetan Political Prisoners” Organised by: Tibet Bureau for UN affairs & TCHRD First: Master Sherab Woesar Choephel (X-D) Upper TCV School Topic: Release Tanak Jigme Sangpo Second: Master Palden Kyab (VIII-D) Upper TCV School Topic: Release Panchen Lama Third: Miss Phurbu Dolkar (XI-A, Arts) Upper TCV School Topic: Release musician Ngawang Choephel Congratulations! Winners…