DHARAMSHALA: Amnesty International, a prominent human rights group has condemned the Chinese police firing on peaceful Tibetan protesters in Driru county in Nagchu Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), on Sunday, 6 Oct, which left over 60 Tibetans injured.
“It is outrageous for the police to start firing on a peaceful gathering. This latest incident shows that the Chinese authorities have done nothing to rein in excessive use of force by their security forces or to increase respect for Tibetans’ right to freedom of peaceful assembly,” Corinna-Barbara Francis, Amnesty International’s China Researcher, said in a statement on 9 October.
“Across the Tibetan region the situation remains tense, the Chinese authorities are doing nothing to improve it by continuing to deny Tibetans their most basic human rights. The daily harassment and humiliating treatment have to end,” said Francis.
Police Firing and Beating
The police firing on Tibetan protesters at Dathang township in Driru county on Sunday (6 Oct) followed the arrest of a man named Dorjee Dragtsel on 3 Oct. Dorjee Dragtsel was picked by the police from Nagchu township, apparently for his persistent advocacy of freedom and truth on the issue of Tibet.
On 6 Oct, Tibetan residents held a peaceful protest to demand the release of Dorjee Dragtsel. Over 60 Tibetan protesters were injured, some severely, when Chinese police indiscriminately beat them with batons, fired gunshots and tear gassed them. Seriously injured Tibetans include Tagyal, Tsewang and Lobsang Wangchen. Condition of Tagyal was reported to be critical due to profuse bleeding as a result of broken thigh bone in the police firing. Tsewang, who sustained broken jaw bones, was rushed to a hospital in capital Lhasa.
The authorities have issued orders restricting Tibetans from Driru county, who are in Lhasa and Nagchu, from going to their county, and many of those injured from getting treatment in Lhasa. The whereabouts of a man from Driru county, who went to meet injured Tsering Gyaltsen in Lhasa People’s Hospital, remain unknown.
Prison Sentence
Dayang, a 63-year-old Tibetan man from Rudo village in Tsachu township in Driru county, who was detained for raising slogans on 3 Oct was sentenced to 2 years and 5 months in prison. The elderly man was severely beaten after he raised slogans during a propaganda cultural show organised by the local governments. He shouted slogans calling for Tibetan independence and long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. As on 7 Oct, he was receiving treatment at a hospital in Lhasa under strict surveillance.
Mass Protest Against Repression
Days ahead of the police firing on Tibetans in Driru county, the Chinese government dispatched a large number of work teams to the region to carry out a new wave of political indoctrination campaigns, which local Tibetans say are reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. A large number of officials and work team arrived in the region on 10 Sept to carry out the measures which include forcing Tibetans to denounce their supreme spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and fly Chinese flags on their homes.
On 29 Sept, over 40 Tibetans were arrested when they protested against the repressive measures in Mowa village in Driru county. The protest followed 48-hour crackdown during which residents of Mowa village and their livestock were denied access to food and water at one point.
The arrest drew strong protest from Tibetans in the neighbouring villages of Taklhay, Bahro, Lavog and Kona, who gathered in Mowa village to demand the release of those arrested. Instead of listening to grievances of the protesters, the Chinese police severely beat them. Over 100 Tibetans, who sustained injuries, were denied access to medical treatment.
Among those arrested, 25-year-old Tsering Gyaltsen was severely beaten by the police and kept in confinement from 29 Sept – 5 Oct. He has sustained life-threatening internal injuries due to beatings and is currently in a hospital in Lhasa.
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