Tibetan Escapees Bear Witness to China’s Atrocities in TibetTuesday, 12 May 2009, 10:24 a.m.
Dharamshala:
Five Tibetan youths, who participated in the peaceful protests in
northeastern Tibet last year against the five decades of wrong policies
initiated by the Chinese government in Tibet, gave a detailed account
of China’s policies of marginalising the Tibetans, their identity and
the brutal crackdown unleashed by the Chinese authorities since 10
March last year.The five Tibetans are Gedun Gyatso, Kelsang Jinpa, Jamyang Jinpa, Losang Gyatso and Jigme Gyatso.Gedun
Gyatso and Kelsang Gyatso took part in the protests in Sangchu County
in Labrang (Ch: Kanlho Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, incorporated into
China’s Gansu Province) 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 spent the past one year in forest fearing arrest and torture by the Chinese authorities and finally managed to flee Tibet.The
five Tibetan escapees spoke to the media on Monday after their safe
arrival in Dharamshala in India, the seat of His Holiness the Dalai
Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration. The press conference was
organised by the Central Executive Committee of Domey based in
Dharamshala.They testified about the Chinese government’s
repressive policies targeted at the Tibetan people and recounted the
unimaginable sufferings undergone by Tibetans following the Chinese
government’s violent suppression of Tibetans’ unprecedented call for
more freedom, independence and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to
Tibet. In their testimonials, the five Tibetan youths said
unequivocally that the Tibetan people had voluntarily initiated the
protests in Tibet as the existence of Tibet’s identity is on the verge
of extinction.They vehemently denied the Chinese government’s
claim that His Holiness the Dalai Lama had orchestrated the peaceful
demonstrations.They said the Chinese authorities particularly
target Tibetans in the monastic community and students who are the
backbone of Tibetan identity by enforcing ideological indoctrination
and patriotic education sessions.The Chinese government’s
violent crackdown on Tibetan protesters since 10 March 2008, left 220
Tibetans dead, 1,294 injured and 290 sentenced. More than 5,600 were
arrested or detained and over 1,000 disappeared.
