A reliable source from Tibet has reported the arrest of a 58 year-old monk named Bhagzo (English: Mask maker) of Chokla Monastery in Rinpung Dzong under Shigatse Prefecture where he was responsible for the overall management of the monastery. Bhagzo was arrested by Public Security Officials in July 1996 for the alleged possession of audio cassettes which contained detailed information…
According to a new arrival from Kyekudo (Chinese:Yushul) in Kham region, now incorporated into the Chinese province of Qinghai, Tibetans in Jyekudo and nearby Serchul Dzong were deprived of foreign relief funds meant for the region following massive snow storms. Since October 1995 the Kham region has been hit by a series of severe snowstorms. Foreign monetary funds which were…
A broadcast from VOA on 17 January 1997 reported a steady flow of Tibetans across the Nepal border into India in January as a result of repressive events in Tibetan religious institutions. Sangye Chodon and three other nuns from Lhoka Chenpue Vodde Monastery were amongst them. The four nuns fled Tibet as a result of the “Political Re-education Campaign” launched…
A letter dated 12 December 1996 describing recent brutal events in Tibet reached TCHRD from Tibet in January 1997. All events described in the letter took place in Tawo Dzong, Kham Province, a small sparsely populated prefecture 1800 km east of Lhasa. According to the source, the following incidents are representative of the moral and social disintegration which is taking…
The U.S. State Department’s Human Rights Report for 1996, released on 30 January 1997, reports that during 1996 Chinese government authorities continued to commit widespread human rights abuses in Tibet. These included deaths in detention, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention without public trial, prolonged detention of Tibetans for the peaceful expression of religious and political opinions, and intensified controls on religion,…
According to a radio broadcast from VOA on 27 January 1997, the long-anticipated regulations on all publications has been formally declared by the Chinese Government’s State Council. Materials including books, radio, television and audio cassettes must first undergo a thorough scrutiny before they are permitted to be published. The publications should propagate the merits of socialism and educate the masses…
Five Serwa monks, all from Chamdo Prefecture, are presently serving sentences of 12 to 15 years for pasting posters and shouting slogans calling for an independent Tibet and the long life of the Dalai Lama. They have been tortured and used as public examples of what can happen to those who disagree with Chinese policy. Chime Dorje, now 29 years…
According to unconfirmed reports from Tibet, Rinzin Wangyal was sentenced on December 13, 1996, to 16 years imprisonment. Rinzin (alias Rinwang), a 49-year-old worker at a cement factory in Lhasa, was arrested in August 1995 by the Public Security Bureau for political reasons. Prior to his arrest in 1995, Rinzin was arrested once before between 1966-67 for allegedly organising an…
The above informer expressed great concern over the possible destruction of two revered spiritual sites in Tibet. The first relates to the notion propagated by the Chinese that a large diamond lies at the bottom of Lake Lhamo Lhatso, in Gyatsa district 332 Km S.E of Lhasa, one of the most sacred lakes in Tibet. This legend is being used…
The following is an excerpt of an appeal letter received from Lhasa, Tibet. The letter, dated December 1996, describes the new problems of unemployment and prostitution found in the capital today under Chinese rule. Tibetan people are suffering tremendously from Chinese suppression. It is very hard to live under Chinese occupation. In Tibet’s major cities, Tibetans are outnumbered by Chinese.…
A former political prisoner of 13 years, (name withheld for security reasons) recently fled Tibet, arriving in India in late 1996. He reported the arrest of three monks from Rabten Monastery in Rong Village under Nagchu, in the beginning of 1996. They were charged for pasting wall posters which condemned the Chinese choice of Panchen Lama and praised the Dalai…