INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET ICT Special Report July 31, 2014 http://www.savetibet.org/acts-of-significant-evil “Acts of significant evil” The criminalization of Tibetan self-immolations Executive Summary Since 2009 there have been 131 self-immolations of Tibetans in Tibet and China whose common call » Findings has been for the return of the Dalai Lama and for freedom in Tibet. The Chinese Communist Party Since 2012, at least 11 has responded with an intensified wave of repression in Tibet, by punishing those allegedly Tibetans have been “associated” with self-immolators, including friends, families and even entire communities. sentenced to prison terms or even to death on “intentional homicide” According to guidelines announced in the state media by the end of 2012, Tibetans can be charges, because they sentenced on homicide charges based on their alleged ‘intent’ and presumed ability to allegedly have “aided” or influence a Tibetan who has self-immolated. “incited” others to self-immolate. As a consequence, since 2012, at least 11 Tibetans have been sentenced to prison terms or even to death on “intentional homicide” charges, because they allegedly have “aided” or “incited” others to self-immolate. There is no indication about a formal legislative process This report lists 98 having been observed by the Chinese authorities justifying the application of such a Tibetans who since 2010 provision. However, such process is mandatory according to the Chinese constitution when have been subjected to introducing new criminal offenses. punishments because of their alleged association This approach has been complemented by a considerable number of other sentences, to a self-immolation. detentions and disappearances of Tibetans. This report lists 98 Tibetans who since 2010 have been subjected to such measures because of their alleged association to a self-immolation. The number of detentions may be higher, as Chinese media has reported that there were nearly 90 arrests linked to self-immolations in Qinghai and Gansu In a number of cases provinces alone. documented in this report, there is no In a number of cases documented in this report, there is no evidence that those convicted evidence that those either spoke to the self-immolator beforehand or even knew the self-immolator. Often, there convicted either spoke to is no further detail available on the underlying legal background. However, it is notable that the self-immolator the guidelines passed in 2012, while – apart from “intentional homicide” – stipulating further beforehand or even knew punishable behavior, may have provided yet another framework for persecution. Given the the self-immolator. systematic disregard for principles of due process in the People’s Republic of China, it must be assumed that affected Tibetans did not enjoy their right to a fair trial. In fact, in a number of cases documented in this report, there is reason for concern that those Chinese authorities have convicted did not receive a fair trial, as prescribed by international law. stepped up deliberate attempts to penalize Furthermore, the Chinese authorities have also stepped up deliberate attempts to penalize families and the broader families and the broader community when a Tibetan self-immolates. In a set of new community when a regulations passed in April 2013 in one of the areas where several self-immolations have Tibetan self-immolates. occurred, the entire community is faced with financial and other penalties. http://www.savetibet.org/acts-of-significant-evil The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) is deeply concerned about the apparent contravention of these new measures to both national and international law and criticizes the apparently new quality of repression in Tibet inherent to the authorities’ approach. » Recommendations ICT calls for the release of those imprisoned for being associated to self-immolators, e.g. for allegedly “aiding” or “inciting” them. ICT is also highly concerned about the cases of ICT calls for the release of “disappearances” connected to self-immolations and calls for a full disclosure of the those imprisoned for whereabouts of the individuals concerned. Moreover, the Chinese authorities must abolish being associated to all measures of collective punishment for families and entire communities. self-immolators, e.g. for allegedly “aiding” or ICT calls on the international community to raise with Chinese officials the inconsistency of “inciting” them. the measures with international and Chinese law. The approval of new guidelines, involving three of the highest institutions in the Chinese ICT calls on the political system, and their implementation, appear to reflect a political imperative of the new international community leadership under President Xi Jinping to continue hard lines policies in Tibet that rely on to raise with Chinese deterrence and repression. ICT is calling upon the Chinese government to instead address officials the inconsistency the underlying grievances of Tibetans by respecting their universal rights and by entering of the measures with into meaningful negotiations with the Tibetans. international and Chinese law. ICT calls upon the Note on Methodology Chinese government to address the underlying This report presents 23 cases involving 98 individuals persecuted for alleged association with 33 grievances of Tibetans by self-immolations by Tibetans, covering a period from February 2009 to February 2014. It is not respecting their universal intended to provide a comprehensive or exhausting list of all people who have been arrested, rights and by entering detained, disappeared or sentenced due to this alleged self-immolation. Given the tight controls on into meaningful information flow by Chinese authorities and the dangers faced by Tibetans in passing along negotiations with the information to the outside world, such a comprehensive accounting is not possible. The cases listed Tibetans. in the report come from information published by Chinese state media, independent media outlets, and from information gathered by ICT from sources inside and outside Tibet.[1] Troops are seen closing in on Dorje Rinchen’s body after he has self-immolated. Laypeople and monks are trying to protect him from being taken away by troops. Six people were sentenced in association with Dorje Rinchen’s self-immolation. They are believed to have been in the crowd trying to prevent his body from being taken away. http://www.savetibet.org/acts-of-significant-evil A. Criminalizing self-immolations: strategies and goals 1. Context: The drive against Tibetan self-immolations and “stability maintenance” In Tibet, there has been a dramatic intensification of state control, which has taken the form of a Hover over picture of self-immolator(s) to see names of Tibetans punished for violent crackdown since protests swept across the plateau in 2008. Since the self-immolations alleged association. (Please view online) began, the authorities have gone so far as to characterize their approach in Tibetan areas as a “war against secessionist sabotage.”[2] Jia Qinglin, former chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a key figure in Tibet policy, outlined the hardline policies in the buildup to the Party Congress in Beijing in 2012 when he said that: “The country is in a key period of fighting against the Dalai Lama group.”[3] Instead of addressing the grievances of Tibetans as indicated, for example, in the countrywide protests in 2008 and in ongoing protests against, for example, discriminatory educational policies, environmental destruction, restriction on religion, or loss of cultural identity, the Party has deliberately chosen to react to dissent expressed by Tibetans with repression and a politicization of criminal law. According to the Party’s narrative, it is outside forces, the Dalai Lama and his “clique,” “conducting separatist activities for a long time to sabotage the development and stability of Tibet,” while “at present, Tibet presents a picture mixing traditional and modern elements, featuring economic and political progress, cultural prosperity, social harmony, sound ecosystem and a happy and healthy life for the local people.”[4] As a result, and in order to remain in coherence with its interpretation of the state of affairs in Tibet, the Party has chosen to employ a “stability maintenance”[5] approach which includes a systematic attempt to block news of the arrests, torture, disappearances and killings that have taken place across Tibet. Furthermore, the Party pursues the strategy of actively establishing its presence in all layers of Tibetan society; for example, Chinese government or Communist Party officials are being stationed in monasteries permanently.[6] This has led to a more pervasive and systematic approach to “patriotic education” and a dramatic increase in work teams and Party cadres, for example, in rural areas of the TAR. Consequently, the Party portrays Tibetan self-immolations as a result of outside interference by the Dalai Lama, and not as an expression of legitimate grievances of those who self-immolate. Likewise, Beijing may see them as a threat to the legitimacy of China’s rule, as they challenge the claim of the Central State that there is a “happy and healthy life for the local people.” The response of the Party state is twofold: firstly, it creates a narrative that those who self-immolate have been incited by others, necessarily outside forces or by those accused of instigating them. Secondly, it