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.