Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 4:53 p.m.

	From left: Jamyang Jinpa, Gedun Gyatso, Kelsang Jimpa, Lobsang Gyatso and Jigme Gyatso, who recently escaped to India speak to international media on the repressive policies initiated by the Chinese government in Tibet since 10 March 2008 during a press conference in Dharamshala, India,  on 19 May 2009/ Photo: Sangay Kep

Dharamshala:
Since 10 March 2008 the Tibetan people living inside Tibet expressed
their strong indignation and pent-up resentment in the form of peaceful
protests throughout Tibet against the wrong policies of the People’s
Republic of China (PRC). The Tibetans call for respect of human rights
and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet was brutally
suppressed by the Chinese authorities leading to deaths of more than
220 Tibetans and 1,294 seriously injured. Over 5,600 were arrested, 290
sentenced and more than 1,000 have simply disappeared.

 Five
Tibetan monks of Labrang monastery with indomitable courage and
sincerity participated in the peaceful protests in Sangchu County in
Tsongon (Ch: Kanlho Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, incorporated into
China’s Gansu Province). The five Tibetans are Gedun Gyatso, Kelsang
Jinpa, Jamyang Jinpa, Losang Gyatso and Jigme Gyatso.

Gedun Gyatso and
Kelsang Jinpa took the leading role in organising peaceful protests in
Sangchu County in Labrang on 14 March 2008. On 9 April 2008,
Jamyang Jinpa, Losang Gyatso and Jigme Gyatso spoke openly in front of
a visiting international media exposing the repressive policies
initiated by the Chinese authorities in Tibet and the state of Tibetans
living under constant fear and intimidation. They heard the news of
visit by foreign journalists through the Amdo dialect programme of
Radio Free Asia (RFA).

They went through great ordeal by spending the past one-year hiding in
deep pits, jungles and valleys, but finally managed to escape torture
and death by coming into exile.

According
to their testimonials, the peaceful protest in Tibet is an expression
of Tibetan people’s deep-seated resentment and concern about the
repressive policies of the Chinese government in Tibet during the last
50 years. The existence of Tibetan as a nationality is on the verge of
extinction due to large influx of Chinese migrants into Tibet. Contrary
to the Chinese government’s rhetoric of development, the living
conditions of Tibetans still remain poor and marginalised, particularly
in the rural areas of Tibet.

The
Tibetan language has been marginalised despite the provision to
preserve and implementation of the Tibetan as the primary language as
enshrined in the PRC Constitution.

 In
terms of human rights and civil liberties, the Chinese Constitution
guarantees many rights and freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom
of opinion, freedom of religious belief and practice etc but these are
not implemented on the ground. When Tibetans exercise their basic
rights and freedom, they are arrested and tortured.

Under the rule of People’s Republic of China, repressive policies led
to deaths of one million Tibetans and destruction of every aspect of
Tibetan civilization, including Tibet’s unique identity, culture,
tradition and religion. Therefore, the resentment against the Chinese
government is deeply rooted in Tibetan people’s mind.

 The
Chinese government’s rejection of the Middle-Way Approach proposed by
His Holiness the Dalai Lama to resolve the Tibet issue increased the
Tibetan people’s growing frustration leading to the peaceful protest.

The Tibetan people have deep-seated resentment against the campaigns
such as patriotic re- education sessions initiated by the Chinese
authorities of denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In their hearts,
the Tibetan people consider His Holiness the Dalai Lama as sun and
moon, and the faith in His Holiness can never be destroyed by the
Chinese government.

The PRC government distorted facts and levelled baseless allegations
against the His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his supporters for
instigating violence in Tibet last year. In order to counter China’s
propaganda, the Tibetans voluntarily initiated peaceful protests to
tell the truth based on principles of non-violence and dialogue
espoused by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Tibetans have hard feelings and resentment against China’s failed Tibet
policies, their misrule in Tibet and their mistreatment of Tibetans.
The Chinese authorities’ brutal crackdown of Tibetans during their
peaceful protests made them determined to express the true feelings in
front of the visiting foreign journalists in Labrang monastery on 9
April 2008. Having witnessed torture, arrest and imprisonment of
Tibetans and the Tibetan areas overwhelmed with the presence and
vigilance of armed police and security personnel, it became imperative
to let the international community know the actual situation inside
Tibet.

It is important that the international community support human rights
of Tibetans. All the nations that uphold peace and democracy have been
working to better human rights all around the world. But the naming and
shaming alone of China is not effective. There should be special focus
and emphasis on human rights situation inside Tibet. United Nations is
an international body where people all over the world repose their
faith and trust. It is important that the UN considers the Tibet issue
and investigates the cases of deaths of Tibetans since 1959 and
especially those killed, arrested and missing during peaceful protests
in 2008. In freedom struggle movement, it is inevitable that human
lives are sacrificed. But in the eyes of Chinese government, there is
no value for human lives.

The five Tibetan escapees express their strong commitment to support
the Tibetan people living in Tibet in their peaceful struggle towards
resolving the just cause of Tibet.

Details of the five monks are as follows:

Testimony of Labrang MonksJamyang JinpaDue
to influx of Chinese population inside Tibet, Tibetans are reduced to a
minority group in their own land. Tibet witnessed infrastructure
development but its main beneficiaries are the Chinese immigrants.
Contrary to Chinese rhetoric of development, the living conditions of
Tibetans in the marginalised and remote areas of Tibet still remain the
same.In terms of human rights and civil liberties, Chinese
Constitution guarantees many rights and freedoms such as freedom of
speech, freedom of opinion, freedom of religious belief and practice
etc but these are not implemented on the ground. When Tibetans exercise
their basic rights and freedom, they are ostracized and tortured.Tibetans
have hard feelings and resentment against China’s failed Tibet
policies, their misrule in Tibet and their mistreatment of Tibetans. We
are no political activists. We are just monks. But when political
protests broke out in Tibet in March 2008 and subsequently engulfed the
whole of Tibet, the Chinese authorities brutally crushed down the
protests. When we saw the Chinese suppression of Tibetan
demonstrations, we became determined to express our true feelings in
front of the foreign journalists.We witnessed torture, arrest
and imprisonment of Tibetans. The Tibetan areas have been overwhelmed
with the presence and vigilance of armed police and security personnel.
We wanted the international community to know the actual situation
inside Tibet. So, we spoke in front of the foreign journalists.Jamyang Jinpa recounts:“I
went to the prayer session in Labrang Monastery but could not
concentrate on my Buddhist sessions. I always think about how to share
the true situation inside Tibet. Our protest was not organized by
underground organizations but it was totally spontaneous. We were a
group of monks who trust each other. We heard the news of impending
visit by foreign journalists through the Amdo dialect programme of RFA,
but we could not get detailed information on them.The PRC
government knows that Tibetans protested against their policies,
misrule and prevailing human rights violations in Tibet. But the
Chinese government indulged in lots of distortion and misinterpretation
of the protests. They distort truth and even forge some films of the
protests. Unable to bear such lies, we expressed the truth based on the
guidelines of non-violence as espoused by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Buddhism is the heart and light of Tibetan culture. China
considers violence as a solution to settle the Tibetan issue. I think
it is not the solution and this is proved by the 2008 protests. Chinese
government cannot control the mind of the Tibetans and their sufferings
are inscribed in their hearts.Lobsang GyatsoI
tolerated Chinese mistreatment before. There were many issues, which
were unfair and unjust. At that time, I had no courage to speak out. I
had tolerated for a long time and it reached a breaking point.  I
expressed my feelings in a non-violent way and struggled for my freedom.On
the evening of 8 April 2008, we hid Tibetan flags in a secret place. We
gathered together, wrote slogans and could not sleep. Next morning, we
prayed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the success of our mission.
We went separately to the prayer session at Labrang Monastery and saw
huge number of police dressed in civilian clothes. It led to the
suspicion that journalists might come. We watched carefully.During
tea break, we came out of the assembly hall and saw people come out of
cars. We saw foreigners and it immediately confirmed our suspicion that
they were a group of foreign journalists. We immediately protested in
front of them. Soon after, other monks joined the protest.We
protested and the plainclothes police did not arrest us. We went inside
the monastery along with the journalists. After the assembly was over,
we went separately to different monk’s room. We had no idea to escape.
When we came back from the meeting, we decided it was not good to get
arrested. It was not possible to escape that night as the monastery was
surrounded by army.On the night of 10 April 2008, I managed to
come out of the monastery and walked towards the nearby nomadic area
and stayed with a nomadic family. I was very cautious about getting
arrested.  I spent one night in a deep pit. I hid and escaped from
police like a wild animal. Only few of the relatives and family members
knew about our whereabouts. After the protests in Labrang,
drivers and visitors to the area were checked for their identification.
There was no incident of crackdown on the first day of protest as the
Chinese authorities seemed unprepared for the protest. The Tibetans
protested and dispersed the first day. Next day, tear gas was thrown at
the protesting crowd causing several injuries.It is important
that the international community support human rights of Tibetans. All
the nations that uphold peace and democracy have been working to better
human rights all around the world. But only engaging in naming and
shaming of China is not effective. There should be special focus and
emphasis on promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental
freedom of the Tibetans inside Tibet.The United Nation is an
international body where people from all over the world repose their
faith and trust. It is important that the UN take up the Tibet issue
and investigate the cases of deaths of Tibetans since 1959 and
especially of the events, nature and course of  the 2008 protests. In
freedom struggle movements, it is inevitable that human lives are
sacrificed. But in the eyes of Chinese government, there is no value
for human lives. Reasons for ProtestKelsang Jinpa and Gedhun Gyato voluntarily engaged and initiated the political protest in Labrang area on 14 March 2008. “We
are monks. There is no freedom of religion. The photo of our root guru,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is banned, and we are forced to denounce
him. He has been living in exile for the past many decades. The Chinese
authorities impose limitation on the monastic populace and place
restrictions on religious activities and practice.Since the
invasion and occupation of Tibet by China, massive human rights
violation has taken place. Destruction was caused both to Tibetan lives
and their property. China had exterminated 1 million Tibetans out of
the 6 million Tibetans. Based on our experiences, our resentment
against the Chinese government is rooted in our mind. There is absence
of freedom of expression. We Tibetans are arrested for merely
exercising our freedom of expression.His Holiness the Dalai
Lama has proposed a mutually beneficial solution of genuine autonomy to
resolve the Tibet issue. However, the Sino-Tibetan dialogue is
currently deadlocked and the Chinese side has not responded positively
to the proposal put forward by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We Tibetans
are unable to tolerate such intransigent attitude of the Beijing
leadership and this was also one of the reasons why we protested. With
the influx of Chinese population into Tibet, the main beneficiaries of
China’s development in Tibet has been the Chinese immigrants. Tibetans
are marginalised in their own land. Despite guarantees of preservation
of Tibetan language and its use in the PRC Constitution, the Chinese
language has become the main language in administration and commerce in
Tibet thereby sidelining the Tibetan language.Anti- Dalai Lama CampaignIn
the minds of the Tibetan people, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is like
the sun and moon of the Tibetan people. The Chinese authorities can
never exterminate our faith in HH the Dalai Lama and they will never
succeed in changing and controlling Tibetan minds through development,
political indoctrination and brutality. Future PlansWe
will continue to strive and work towards the Tibetan cause. There are
many brave young Tibetans inside Tibet who resent the Chinese rule and
their failed policies. We will support them.