Rights Groups Urged to Press China to End Tibet Repression

Saturday, 2 August 2008, 5:19 a.m.

Dharamshala: The Tibetan Solidarity
Committee has urged countries and particularly the human rights organizations
around the world to press the Chinese government to immediately halt all
activities of repression and to respect the fundamental human rights and
religious freedom of the Tibetan people.

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration has,
since the beginning, supported the Beijing Olympic Games as a fitting tribute to
China’s ancient civilization and a respect to the Chinese people’s aspirations,”
noted a press released issued by the committee on 2 August.

“However, in the name of Olympic security, the government of China has
intensified security clampdown amounting to stifling of Tibetan people’s
religious freedom and human rights,” the press note added.

The Tibetan Solidarity Committee – constituted by the Kashag and the Tibetan
Parliament-in-Exile – aims to plan, inform, co-ordinate and lead the movement in
exile in unity under the policy of Middle-Way Approach of the Central Tibetan
Administration to resolve the present crisis in Tibet.

The full text of the press release follows:

The Olympics symbolize peace, harmony and progress. The Principle 4 of the
Olympic Charter states, “(the) practice of sports is a human right”. Similarly,
Principle 5 of the charter stress the importance of the Olympic spirit against
any form of discrimination when it states, “any form of discrimination with
regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender
or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement”.

Mr. Liu Jingmin, the Vice President of the Beijing Olympic bid told that in
2001 that, “by allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help the development
of human rights.” Accordingly, Mr. Jacques Rogge, the President of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) in April 2002 reassured that “the Olympic
Games will improve human rights in China”.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration has, since
the beginning, supported the Beijing Olympic Games as a fitting tribute to
China’s ancient civilization and a respect to the Chinese people’s aspirations.
However, in the name of Olympic security, the government of China has
intensified security clampdown amounting to stifling of Tibetan people’s
religious freedom and human rights. Following are some of the examples to
validate these concerns:

1. At present, whole of Tibet and Tibetan inhabited areas are under heavy
military clampdown with the free movements of the Tibetan people highly
restricted. The monasteries around Lhasa, including Drepung monastery, have been
turned into a virtual prison with movements, in and out, of the monasteries
strictly controlled.

2. Those Tibetans living in Beijing and other Chinese cities are put under
scanner with majority of them asked to return back to their native places.
Similarly, all the hotels and lodges wherever Tibetan people are found to be
staying, the relevant police departments are ordered to conduct thorough
inquiries, leading to embarrassment and harassment of the Tibetan origin
customers. This is an outright discrimination on the basis of one’s nationality
and ethnic belonging.

3. Whole of Tibet is undergoing through an intense period of “patriotic
reeducation campaign”. The monks and nuns are forcibly asked to denounce His
Holiness the Dalai Lama. Moreover, all the monks and nuns under the age of 18
years old are being expelled from their monasteries.

4. In some places as in Karze prefecture, the new regulation to close down
the monasteries and demolition of monk’s accommodation are under implementation.
This regulation was recently enforced on the monastic communities in Tibet and
is based on certain percentage of monks and nuns taking part in the protests.

5. Continuous crackdown on the peaceful protesters and unfair trial of the
prisoners is still rampantly followed.

6. As the month of August approached, the movements of Tibetan people have
been restricted almost in all the Tibetan areas. In some places such as Drago
(Ch: Luhou) county in Karze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the authorities have
even closed down the gas vending stations apparently to restrict the movements
of those Tibetan who have their own vehicles.

7. A widespread clampdown on the communication facilities is undergoing with
particular emphasis on the use of telephones and internet. Eavesdropping and
surveillance of telephone conversations is in place with the police
interrogating every incoming call from outside Tibet.

8. All the Tibetan officials and government employees have been debarred from
seeking any leave during the month of August. Frequent and randomly conducted
raids and arbitrary detention or arrest has become order of the day.

In sum, at this point of time, Tibet has become a large prison with all the
restrictions imposed on the Tibetan people, whereas Chinese immigrants are free
of any checks and control. In terms of human rights, the situation has markedly
deteriorated in all of Tibet, without any significant improvement, in comparison
to periods before.

In ancient Greece, a truce used to be announced before and during each
Olympic festival. Wars used to be suspended, the carrying out of death penalties
forbidden and safety of travellers and visitors were guaranteed. Even during the
most infamous 1936 Olympic Games in the history of modern Olympics, Hitler’s
oppression of the Jews is no match to what China is doing in Tibet.

While China complains about the politicization of Olympics to avert
international criticism of her rights records, it is but China herself who from
the very beginning of the present Olympic Games has involved the issue of human
rights to politicize the Games at the first place. China is still using the
Games as a tool to push forward its political agenda.

Therefore, we urge all the countries and particularly the human rights
organizations around the world to press the government of China to immediately
halt all activities of repression and to respect the fundamental human rights
and religious freedom of the Tibetan people.

Tibetan Solidarity Committee