UPRISING IN TIBET 2008 Documentation of protests in Tibet zôh-ˆÛ-ºIô-z-¤ÛºÛ-fôz-fP-hP-¤P-G®ô-ºwï¾-MÅ-¿eï-GmÅ-DP-ü Tibetan Centre for Human Rights & Democracy 1 This report is dedicated to all the Tibetans who lost their lives in the 2008 Uprising in Tibet 2 Content 1. Introduction ............................................................................ 5 2. A Chronological Review of the Events ..................................... 9 3.Conclusion............................................................................ 101 4. Testimony by a Tibetan Youth in Lhasa ................................ 103 5. TAR Party Committee Discipline and Inspection Department is- sue “Regulations to decide the issue of children of Party members and state employees taken abroad for education in schools run by the Dalai Clique” ..................................................................... 108 6. Measures for dealing strictly with rebellious monasteries and individual monks and nuns ...................................................... 109 7. Urgent Appeal ...................................................................... 113 8. EndNotes ............................................................................. 114 3 Hundreds of protesting Drepung monks on a peacful march towards the Barkhor Street, Lhasa on 10 March 2008 4 Introduction It’s been almost fifty years since China occupied Tibet, crushing its people, govern- ment and its religion, and forcing the Dalai Lama into exile. Since then, tens of thou- sands of Tibetans have fled to all parts of the world. However, they have not given up hope. Continued human rights abuses and lack of democratic freedom have been a constant feature for the last 49 years of its rule in Tibet. On the contrary, Beijing authorities’ have indulged in the age-old rhetoric of remarkable achievements made in the field of human rights protection and enjoyment of human rights and freedom in accordance with the law in China at every opportune time. In March 2004, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) amended its Constitution to include the clause: “the State respects and protects human rights” and cited it as the “first time ever”. Despite the guarantee in the Chinese Constitution to uphold rights to freedom of expression and religion, the Chinese government tightly controls all religious activities in China as well as in Tibet and severely represses those perceived as politically danger- ous. Often, this kind of repression is aimed specifically at the monastic communities, who are seen by the Chinese government as the primary cause of civil unrest in Tibet. 70% of the political prisoners in Tibet are nuns and monks.1 Many spiritual leaders were forced to flee under threat of enforced or arbitrary detentions.2 Those who re- main are forced to undergo “Patriotic re-education”, to live with the fear of arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearance, torture3 and inhuman treatment4. The “Patriotic re-education” Campaign’s official objective is to educate monks in patriotism but the real aim is to eradicate support for the independence movement mainly by forcing the Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama and to deny the whole Tibetan tradition that goes with it. These patriotic re-education campaigns initially intended for the monas- tic communities and started in 1996 were heavily reinvigorated in the aftermath of major protests across Tibet since the beginning of 1 April 2008 for a period of 2 months and today are imposed on all sections of Tibetan society.5 In addition to restrictions on their freedom of religion and culture, the Tibetans have suffered an evidently increasing marginalization in access to health care, to work and to education.6 The number of unemployed people in Tibet has increased consider- ably and been further exacerbated by a massive influx of Chinese migrants facilitated by the launch of Qinghai-Tibet railway in July 2007.7 This situation is further aggra- vated by the Chinese policy of forcing Tibetan nomads to abandon their traditional way of life for more sedentary lifestyles that they have never known and for whose inherent difficulties they find themselves seldom prepared.8 This situation could only lead to the events of 10 March, with the Olympic Games creating an unexpected occasion to draw the international community’s attention to the ongoing crackdown in Tibet. Still, nobody could have predicted what followed the 5 commemoration of the forty-ninth anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising in Lhasa on 10 March 2008, especially not the International Olympic Committee, when in July 2001 it decided to give China the honour of hosting the Olympic Games in 2008. The surprise grew evermore pronounced when demonstrations quickly overwhelmed the traditional area of Lhasa and rose to a scale unprecedented in the history of Ti- betan protests. Today, it can incontrovertibly be said that the events of that day constituted the largest Tibetan uprising since 1959. The most striking element of the recent protests across Tibet was their spontaneous nature, and the manner in which they completely defied a repressive regime supported by heavy military forces. Unlike the September 1987 protest in Lhasa, and others that have followed in subsequent years, this year’s protests erupted across all traditional provinces of U-Tsang, Amdo and Kham, cover- ing scores of counties. In most cases, the starting point of the demonstrations was a prayer session or a peaceful demonstration, primarly lead by monks or nuns and gen- erally joined by civilians. Progressively, the movement incorporated all strata of Ti- betan society, including students from middle schools to universities, religious institu- tions and civilians from small villages to big cities. The messages are the same each time: “long live the Dalai Lama; independence and freedom for Tibet; let the Dalai Lama return; democracy and human lives are precious; Tibetans should be granted freedom and independence through peaceful dialogue; may the exiles and Tibetans inside Tibet be reunited”. The initial reaction of the Chinese authorities was surprisingly measured, but it rapidly became bloody and exaggerated. Currently, Tibet is completely cut off from the rest of the world. Foreigners were expelled from the early days. Despite all the international calls that have been made so far, China has systematically denied access to the media and international observers in Tibet. It has allowed only three “guided tours” by a few selected international media under strictly monitored and controlled conditions on 27 March9 in Lhasa, on 9 April 200810 in Labrang and on 3 June 200811 in Lhasa. Two monks, Thabkhey and Tsundue, who defiantly spoke out in front of the government-managed media tour in Sangchu County on 9 April 2008, have disap- peared. The family members of the two monks have tried to obtain information from the local PSB, but the authorities have feigned ignorance about them. TCHRD be- lieves that this is a case of enforced and involuntary disappearance enacted by the state law enforcement bodies.12 The total lack of independent media in Tibet is aggravated by the fact that most of the telephone lines are cut and the conversations intercepted. Moreover, all Chinese websites,13 as well as several foreign websites14 likely to carry the information about the Chinese crackdown in Tibet, are censored. With the outbreak of a series of major protests in various regions of Tibet since March 10, massive reinforcements of PAP and PSB officials were deployed and mili- tary tanks rolled into the protest sites. Although Martial Law is not officially imposed, all the elements of the Martial Law imposed in 1989 by the then “TAR” Party Secre- tary Hu Jintao, currently the President of People’s Republic of China, are present. 6 There is a pervasive presence of the military and the movement of citizens is strictly controlled. Furthermore, since 10 March the law enforcement authorities have issued several ultimatums to protesting Tibetans to surrender, but each time the arrests have begun days before the deadline.”TAR” PSB Headquarters also issued a wanted list of 93 Tibetans15 involved in the 14 March Protest in Lhasa. According to the Chinese gov- ernment, 3635 Tibetans from various parts of Tibet have “surrendered” to the Chi- nese authorities following the official issuance of the surrender notices: 362 from the “TAR”16, 2204 from Gansu Province (Kanlho “TAP”)17, 57 from Lhasa City (Tartse County, “TAR”)18 and 1012 from Ngaba County, Sichuan Province. Given China’s past record in dealing with suspects in custody, it is highly probable that those who have “voluntarily surrendered” or were arrested following demonstra- tions in various parts of Tibet will face torture and extremely inhuman treatment inflicted by Chinese authorities in order to obtain confessions. The risk is even higher for those suspected of being the “ringleaders”. Torture is endemic in the network of Chinese-administered prisons and detention centers and several cases of torture and inhuman treatment have already been reported since 10 March 2008. Thabkhey, one of the monks arrested from Labrang Monastery in Sangchu County on 1 April 2008, was released after several days’ detention in a mentally unstable condition with bruise marks all over his body. This clearly indicates that the monk was brutally tortured in police custody. It is also highly probable that the authorities have released Thabkhey in order to shun responsibility for his current condition. It is regu- lar practice for prison authorities in Chinese-administered prisons in Tibet to release Tibetan detainees and prisoners in near-death or unstable condition. A nun named Tsering Lhathog, arrested after protests on 15 April in Lhasa Mu- nicipality, and who normally has hearing problems, was brutally beaten and tortured. Her head has been badly injured and she was admitted to Jang Ga-shang Hospital. In another instance, a 38 year-old Nechung, mother of four children who was arrested after the protests on 16 and 17 March in Ngaba County and was held in detention for 9 days, died after being subjected to brutal torture. At the time of her release from prison, her health was in an extremely critical condition.