A Brief Overview of the Human Rights Situation in Tibet 1994-1995

Human Rights Desk, Department of Information and International Relations, Tibetan Government in exile, Dharamsala, India

CONTENTS

Introduction 2

A. Population Transfer: The Final Solution ? 4

1. An Overview of.Chinese Population Transfer in Tibet 4

B. The Right to Freedom of Religion 7

1. China Politicises the Panchen Lama Selection Process 7

2. The Arrests of Monks and Nuns in 1994 and 1995 for

Peacefully Exercising their Right to Freedom of Expression 8

3. Monasteries and Nunneries in Tibet Stormed, Nuns and

Monks Expelled and Work Teams Sent in to "Re-educate" 8

4. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance

Visits Tibet in 1994 10

C. The Right to Freedom of Expression and Information 10

1. Prisoners of Conscience, Peaceful Demonstrations and

Defiance against Chinese Occupation 10

2. The Right to Receive and Impart Information Denied 11

D. The Right to be Free from Torture 12

1. Torture and Ill-Treatment of Tibetan Political

Detainees and Prisoners of Conscience 12

2. Deaths in Custody and After Release of Tibetan

Prisoners of Conscience 13

E. The Illegal Deportation of Tibetan Refugees from Nepal 14

F. The Right to Education in Tibet 15

G. The Rights or Children in Tibet 16

H. The Rights of Tibetan Women 16

1. Chinese Birth Control Discriminates Against

Tibetan Women 16

2. Tibetan Women Harassed at the Beijing Conference 17

3. Tibetan Nun Prisoner of Conscience Wins Reebok

Human Rights Award 17

* Map of Tibet

* Demographic Maps of Tibet: Percentage of Chinese in Tibetan Counties in 1949 and 1995 (Tibet Support Group, U.K.).

Introduction

In 1995, reports of arbitrary arrests and detentions more than doubled: the 1994 figure of I 10 reported known arrests escalated in 1995 to around 230. The majority were monks and nuns. A sharp increase in demonstrations was also recorded in 1995 - 39 reported in 1995 versus 19 reported in 1994. The three main grievances were: China's occupation of Tibet; Chinese population transfer and China's interference in the Panchen Lama reincarnation selection process.

Chinese population transfer continued into Tibet and the policy was officially outlined at the Third Work Forum on Tibet held in Beijing in July 1994. The increase in Chinese settlement became evident throughout 1995 as reports were received of Chinese army recruits, administrators, students, miners and laborers moving to Tibet for employment after being granted economic incentives by the Chinese government or encouraged by international development projects controlled by the Chinese government.

The Chinese government stepped up violations of the right to religious freedom. In late 1994 CCP (Communist Party of China) orders banned the display of photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This policy shift challenges the Dalai Lama's religious role. The motivations were revealed at a CCP meeting in 1994 which stated that the struggle with the "Dalai clique" ( meaning His Holiness the Dalai Lama, his supporters and "western hostile forces" ) was not about religion but about "safeguarding the motherland and opposing splittism". In 1994 and 1995 raids on monasteries and nunneries were reported resulting in arrests, detentions and expulsions. "Work teams" were installed to "re-educate" the monks and nuns.

From May 1995 the Chinese stepped up their personal attacks on His Holiness the Dalai Lama, after he announced a six year old boy as the Panchen Lama reincarnation, Tibet's second highest spiritual leader. The Chinese government declared the choice invalid and, as a countermove, enthroned their choice of Panchen Lama in December 1995. Gendun Choekyi Nyima "disappeared" shortly after His Holiness the Dalai Lama proclaimed him Panchen Lama and to date his whereabouts are unknown. The child is now Tibet's youngest political prisoner at six years old.

The Chinese authorities are also punishing any -Tibetans who dare to express their support for His Holiness. the Dalai Lamaor Chadrel Rinpoche, former head of China's Panchen Lama Search Committee, who has been detained since May 1995, accused of "colluding" with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. To date a list of 50 known arrests have been recorded in connection with the Panchen Lama selection process. Work teams have been sent into Tashilhunpo monastery, seat of the Panchen Lama, which was raided by armed police on the night of July 12, 1995 after monks protested against Chinese interference in the Panchen Lama issue. 32 monks were arrested on the night of the raid and it is reported that they were tortured and beaten during interrogation sessions.

Frequent reports of deaths and ill-treatment of prisoners of conscience continued to be received throughout 1994 and 1995. Six detailed reports were received between 1994 and 1995 of Tibetan prisoners of conscience dying due to torture and medical neglect in prison. 1995 also saw the illegal deportation of 300 Tibetan refugees from Nepal between April and September 1995. 25 of these known cases involved Tibetan children.

Women in Tibet continued to be subjected to discriminatory birth control policies through heavy fines for having children above the quota allowed. Tibetan-related groups were also excluded from attending the Beijing Women's Conference with only nine Tibetan women with foreign passports being able to attend the NGO Forum. These exile delegates were harassed and constantly surveilled by Chinese security.

The rights specifically targeted in this overview are by no means a complete list of the rights being violated in Tibet. Other rights - such as the right to employment, housing and the right to an adequate standard of living, have not been dealt with. The statistics are also not an accurate representation of the true situation in Tibet due to reporting difficulties. The numbers of arrests, demonstrations and deaths in custody recorded therefore represent a minimum of known and reported cases.

***

A. Population Transfer: The Final Solution ?

1. An Overview of Chinese Population Transfer in Tibet

In the past few years, the Chinese government has been concentrating on settling more and more People's Liberation Army troops (hereinafter referred to as PLA) and administrators into Tibet to gain more political control in a country where political activism against occupation is on the rise. Today new recruits joining the 300,000 - strong PLA occupation force are expected to settle permanently in Tibet and in 1995 the PLA military headquarters were moved from Chengdu to Lhasa. China has created another channel to transfer Chinese into Tibet: internationally - funded development projects are now the vehicles for Chinese migration.

On May 12, 1993 a top secret meeting was held in Chengdu to work out strategies to solve the problem of Tibet. According to the leaked report of the meeting, the strategy adopted was to flood Tibet with more Chinese settlers (1). Reports in the Hong Kong press in May 1994 suggested that leading figures in Beijing have been pushing for the rapid development of the TAR with a massive programme of preferential policies aimed at attracting more Chinese settlers. Then in 1994 the authorities in Tibet publicly outlined their population transfer policy at the Third Work Forum on Tibet held in Beijing in July 1994 where it was officially stated. that former soldiers, paramilitary troops, cadres, technicians and entrepeneurs were to be encouraged to move to Tibet through incentives provided by the central government in Beijing, such as preferential employment and housing. It was also stated that permanent settlement would be encouraged.

Ever since the 1949/1950 invasion, China has been illegally occupying Tibet and using this occupation to transfer its population into the areas of Tibet known as Kham (Chinese: Chinese provinces of Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan) and Amdo (Chinese: Qinghai province) (2). What China refers to as Tibet, refers only to what has been redefined as the Tibet Autonomous Region ("TAR") and incorporates the region of U-Tsang. The regions of Amdo and Kham, are now annexed to "China". This is significant because the Chinese claim that the annexed territory is not Tibet, so according to their locic they are not transferring their population to Tibet (Refer to the map of Tibet provided).

The Chinese government has always denied a policy of population transfer and justified the high numbers of Chinese settlers in Tibet by claiming that Tibetans are "backward" and need specialists from China to advance Tibet's economy. Evidence collected from our sources in Tibet confirms that population transfer only serves the economic interests of the Chinese government and its citizens. Chinese population transfer leads to direct discrimination against Tibetans. Chinese settle in Tibet because they are attracted by economic incentives which the Chinese government offers to tile detriment of Tibetans.

International development projects initiated by China to support their population transfer results in direct and indirect discrimination against Tibetans today. Two major international development assistance projects in Tibet have been criticised and one postponed due to complaints related to the discrimination and exclusion of Tibetans living in the area. The Panam Integrated Rural Development Project, to have been funded by the European Union and designed to create the "wheat granary" of Tibet, was postponed in 1994 and the UN World Food Programme Project "3357" in the Lhasa river valley is criticised for disadvantaging Tibetan farmers and encouraging and benefiting Chinese settlers in the area.

Reports Received in the Past Two Years of Chinese Population Transfer in Tibet:

* The Human Rights Desk reported on June 14, 1995 that the Chinese authorities planned to settle 5,000 Chinese families in Thartso district, Tso-ngon, Amdo sometime in 1995. The population of Tso-ngon until 1995 was four million Chinese and 970,000 Tibetans.

* At the end of 1993 a secret decision was made by the Military Commission of tile Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCCP) that from 1994 all new Chinese military recruits to Tibet would have to transfer their household registration to their place of posting. The aim is to facilitate demobilised soldiers to permanently settle in Tibet.

* The Chinese authorities announced on February 25, 1995 that one thousand "outstanding leading officials and technicians" from China were to be sent to the Tibet Autonomous Region.

* On June 23, 1995 a three-day training class was convened in Beijing for cadres of central and state organs bound for Lhasa on June 26. The work of dispatching selected cadres from China to Tibet was reported to be nearly completed with some 500 cadres having already arrived in Tibet. (3)

* In December 1994 it was announced that students would also be added to the list of Chinese migrants and in 1995 100 college graduates from China moved to Tibet after being guaranteed employment in Tibet. 400 students applied for the 100 posts in the TAR after attending China's first "nationwide job fair" held in Xian, Shaanxi province in December 1994.

* VOA (Voice of America) reported on July 6, 1995 that a group of about 30 Chinese administrators had arrived in Ngari region (Western Tibet) to fill administrative posts.

* On April 22, 1995 Xinhua News Agency reported that nearly 2,000 officials in eastern China's Xhejiang province have applied to work in the Tibet Autonomous Region. A total of 1,970 officials sent applications to Xhejiang Communist Party, Committee to compete for 45 jobs in Tibet. (4)

* At the Sixth People's Political Consultative Conference - Third General Body Meeting in Lhasa, the secretariat held from May 16 - 22 1995 stated that: "Moreover in Gansu and from Tso-ngon province to the districts to the west of Nagchu in central Tibet there are over 12,000 [Chinese] gold miners".

* Construction of the mammoth Three Gorges Dam Project on the Yangtze river in China has put pressure on the population growth in the region. Critics such as Human Rights Watch Asia warn that the 1.3 million Chinese people who will be displaced by the Three Gorges Dam Project will be moved to distant higher areas (like Tibet and Xinjiang province) and they may be transferred to new jobs in the new areas.

* The US$17.5 million U.N. World Food Programme's Project #3357 in the Lhasa valley was supposedly designed to increase agricultural productivity. It is estimated that this project alone has attracted more than 130,000 Chinese to migrate to central Tibet and today most of them are permanently settled.

Chinese population transfer to Tibet merely serves to strengthen China's claim that Tibet is an inalienable part of China and further reduces Tibetan people to a minority in their own country. Chinese population transfer directly discriminates against Tibetans in that Tibetans are deliberately excluded by the Chinese authorities from economic development policies and internationally-funded development projects in Tibet.

B. The Right to Freedom of Religion

1. China Politicises the Panchen Lama Selection Process

The search and recognition of Panchen Lama's reincarnation is a religious matter.

H.H. the Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the political and spiritual leader of Tibet, announced the reincarnation of the late Panchen Lama (the second highest spiritual authority in Tibet who passed away in 1989), on May 14, 1995. six-year old Gendun Choekyi Nyima was proclaimed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be the new Panchen Lama reincarnation. The Chinese authorities in Lhasa recently announced a rival Panchen Lama, on November 29 1995, to be a six year old boy from Nagchu near Lhasa, claiming that His Holiness had no right to announce the Panchen Lama reincarnation.

The safety of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, his parents and brother who have been declared missing" since mid May 1995 is seriously in doubt. Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the Panchen Lama of Tibet, is now Tibet's youngest prisoner of conscience. The Chinese authorities have failed to reveal his whereabouts despite consistent inquiries by various governments and international non-government organisations. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mr. Guofangsaid on November 30, answering questions as to the whereabouts of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, that "lie should be amongst China's 1.2 billion people".

We are also concerned for the safety of Chiadrel Rimpoche, the abbot of Tashilhunpo Monastery and former head of the Chinese-appointed Search Committee for the reincarnation. Chadrel Rimpoche has been reported missing since May 1995 and was last reported to be under house arrest, accused of "colluding" with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the selection process of the reincarnation of the late Panchen Lama.

To date a list of over 50 known arrests of monks, nuns and lay people in connection with tile Panchen Lama controversy have been compiled. The majority of these are monks who were arrested on the night of July 12 during a police raid on Tashilhunpo monastery, the seat of the Panchen lamas. This list includes senior lamas and the head of Tashilhunpo monastery, Chadrel Rinpoche, who were arrested for expressing their support for His Holiness the Dalai Lama's candidate.

Ever since His Holiness the Dalai Lama's announcement in May 1995 the Chinese authorities have been sending work teams into Tasliilhunpo monastery to "re-educate" those monks who may support His Holiness the Dalai Lama's candidate. The monks at Tashilhunpo have also been forced to denounce Chadrel Rinpoche and those who refuse are forced to sign confessions or face the threat of expulsion from the monastery. After the July 12 incident, the work teams intensified their "re-education campaign" inside the monastery.

Meanwhile signs of opposition to China's interference in the selection process of tile Panchen Lama appeared in wall posters around Shigatse, Chamdo and Lhasa expressing support for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and condemning China for selecting a rival candidate. Reports of Tashilhunpo monks showing signs of opposition to the Chinese candidate have also been received, resulting in arrests and detentions.

2. The Arrests of Monks and Nuns in 1994 and 1995 for Peacefully Exercising their Right to Freedom of Expression

Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople in Tibet have openly opposed Chinese occupation since 1949: organised resistance flared from 1987 with demonstrations led by monks or nuns circumambulating the Jokhang temple in the Barkhor area of Lhasa, peacefully chanting "Free Tibet" or "Long Live His Holiness the Dalai Lama". They are immediately arrested ( almost all of the 3,500 political prisoners arrested since 1987 have been detained for participating in brief demonstrations calling for independence).

In 1994 the majority of known Tibetan demonstrators were once more monks and nuns. Out of the I 10 known arrests over 50 were monks and over 40 were nuns demonstrating for Tibetan independence. In 1995 these figures drastically increased as 71 nuns and 112 monks were reported arrested. The total number ofmonks and nuns known to have been arrested for political reasons in 1995 therefore totalled 183. The overall number of known arrests for 1995 amounted to over 230 with the majority being nuns and monks. The reasons for the high number of arrests is Tibetan resistance to interference in the Panchn Lama selection process and the frequent number of raids oil monasteries and nunneries that occurred in 1995.

It must be stressed that the above statistics are of known and reported arrests and do not represent the total number of arrests that have actually taken place over the past two years due to reporting difficulties from Tibet.

3. Monasteries and Nunneries in Tibet Stormed, Nuns and Monks Expelled and Work Teams sent in to "Re-edtucate"

The following reports were received of police raids oil monasteries and nunneries in 1995 which resulted in expulsions of monks and nuns and work teams being sent in to "re-educate" monks and nuns.

* Police raided Yamure Monastery, 5km east of Drigung (central Tibet), on January 8, 1995 and again on January I 1, after pro-independence leaflets were found in the area and oil the monastery walls. The monastery was raided twice in the space of four days. The first time troops and police numbering 100 arrested one monk and three days later 120 troops raided the monastery and arrested two other monks. After the raids work teams were sent ill to hold thought reform sessions and the abbot and one of the teachers were expelled from the monastery for "political reasons". 24 "unregistered" novices were also expelled.

* Nalanda Monastery, situated in Phenpo Lhundrub county, north of Lhasa, was raided in the last week of February, 1995, after its monks demonstrated against the arrest of a fellow monk who was beaten for wearing a badge displaying a photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Troops were sent but when they began to search the monastery the monks reacted by throwing stones and yelling at the troops. Later paramilitary troops arrested 32 monks and expelled 64.

* On February 17, 1995, armed police surrounded Taglung Monastery, situated in Phenpo Lhundrub county, north of Lhasa and issued a warning that the monastery would be closed if any further protests were staged. There were accounts of resistance and of severe injuries sustained by monks during the raid.

* In late February 1995, a raid was carried out by the armed police at Gyab-drag Nunnery, 25km south of Taglung Monastery, after 13 nuns were arrested for staging a protest in Lhasa. According to reports from Gyab-drag, police demanded 2,000 yuan (about three years average wage) from the nuns families for their release.

* After a demonstration in June 1995 at Drigung AymariMonastery, during which the monks shouted "Free Tibet" and "China Quit Tibet" slogans police raided the monastery and arrested four monks, expelling the remainder and closing down the monastery.

* Tashilhunpo Monastery, Shigatse, the seat of the Panchen Lama was raided, by armed police, on the night of July 12, 1995. TAR authorities had called a meeting the previous day and instructed the monks to attend. At the meeting a 15-page document was read denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Chadrel Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama's announcement of a new Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995. The monks protested as the TAR officials left, resulting in the arrest of 32 monks. Many of the monks arrested were reported badly beaten during interrogation (see cases page 13). A reliable source reported to T.I.N: "The monks who won't accept that they committed any errors are badly beaten in the prison and they are forced to admit that they did something wrong". A Work Team was sent into Tashilhunpo Monastery after the July 12 incident. Two Tashilhunpo monks who recently escaped to India told the Human Rights Desk that they escaped because of pressure the indoctrination sessions inflicted. Tashilhunpo monks were

being forced to denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

* Two monks from Rongbo Monastery, Amdo, were accused of distributing pamphlets that called for the independence of Tibet and acclaimed His Holiness the Dalai Lama. As a consequence Chinese police officials raided the monastery and arrested the two monks in July 1995.

4. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance Visits Tibet in 1994.

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Mr Abdelfattah Amor, a Tunisian Jurist, spent two days in Tibet in November 1994. After his visit he published a 40-page report criticising China's religious policy in Tibet and most notably he highlighted China's inadequate and inconsistent definition of "freedom of religion". In his report he stated that China should introduce a law on religious tolerance and that it should amend its Constitution. He also recommended lifting a ban on monks and nuns rejoining their monasteries and nunneries after being released from prison.

On November 26 the Special Rapporteur spoke with Yulo Dawa Tsering - a monk-scholar and prominent political prisoner who had been conditionally released 20 days earlier, about his experiences over 27 years in prison. Yulo Dawa Tsering expressed his concern about the religious rights of prisoners who were punished if caught praying and the Special Rapporteur has included the case of Yulo Dawa Tsering in his report to the 52nd UN Human Rights Commission. Yulo Dawa Tsering is at present being detained by the Chinese authorities for speaking to the Special Rapporteur about human rights violations in Tibet. In his report the Special Rapporteur stated: "with regard to the alleged arrest or detention of members of religious orders and believers belonging to unofficial religious organisations (including members of sects and Tibetan monks) and restrictions affecting them, the special rapporteur reiterates his requestthat these persons be freed."

C. The Right to Freedom of Expression and Information

1. Prisoners of Conscience, Peaceful Demonstrations and Defiance against Chinese Occupation

During 1994-1995 the Chinese authorities continued to severely punish and arbitrarily arrest any Tibetan for engaging in peaceful protest or for belonging to any clandestine organisation that threatened to "Split the Motherland".

Amnesty International listed 628 Tibetan prisoners detained in Chinese prisons in Tibet in 1994. Nineteen independence demonstrations were reported to have taken place in 1994, all resulting in arbitrary arrests and detentions. In 1995 the Human Rights Desk recorded 39 known Tibetan demonstrations and over 230 known arbitrary arrests. The number of known arbitrary arrests and demonstrations reported in 1995 therefore increased drastically compared to the previous year. In the first three months of 1995 over 120 Tibetans were known to have been arbitrarily arrested, with 18 demonstrations being reported. The highest recorded number of demonstrations recorded since 1989 occurred in February, one month before a proposed Peace March from India to Lhasa organised by Tibetan non-government organisations in exile (the march was cancelled). The main complaints of the demonstrators were; Chinese occupation of Tibet, Chinese immigration into Tibet and the Chinese interference in the Panchen Lama selection process.

Again it must be stressed that due to the difficulties in receiving reports from Tibet on arbitrary arrests and detentions, these statistics do not represent the true numbers of arrests and demonstrations in Tibet from 1994-1995.

In 1994 and 1995 poster campaigns and subsequent arbitrary arrests were reported in the regions of Yamure (Central Tibet), Nguira and Labrang (Amdo) and Chamdo (Kham). The posters called for Tibet's independence and for an end to Chinese occupation as well as leading to the arbitrary arrest of political activists in the area. The appearance of pro-independence posters in Labrang and Nguira resulted in the Chinese police launching an official campaign in 1995 to control the "wave of splittism" titled "Strikiing a powerful blow campaign". This campaign led to at least five reported arrests in the course of which one Tibetan is said to have received a seven year prison sentence and one monk has been partially paralysed and another has disappeared. Then on January 28, 1995, eight Tibetans including three monks were arrested at Katsel, Meldrogongkar county,Central Tibet, after pro-independence posters appeared and socalled "dissident" books were found in their rooms.

2. The Right to Receive and Impart Information Denied

Restrictions on receiving and imparting information inside Tibet tightened as the Chinese authorities sought desperately to prevent the outside world from gathering information on the serious human rights violations in Tibet. In November 1994 the Chinese authorities mounted a tight security operation to prevent non-official communication with the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance when he visited Tibet. However, 25 reports and letters prepared before and after his visit were later carried from Tibet and received by the Rapporteur in Geneva. Tibetans inside Tibet, during 1994 and 1995 were also prevented from receiving information or materials that may strengthen their cause by the arrest of foreigners who were passing information to Tibetans regarding His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1995 there were reports of foreign tourists being strip-searched on their way to Nepal: they were suspected of carrying letters from Tibetans to their friends and families in India. Two French women and one American woma

n reported such violations over the year.

D. The Right to be Free from Torture

In 1994 there was one report of a Tibetan prisoner of conscience dying due to maltreatment and torture in police custody but in 1995 five such reports were received and we outline the cases below. Three of these deaths were female prisoners of conscience and two were children. In several of the cases reported the prisoners had been released but they were still technically in custody as they died whilst on "medical parole".

The Tibetan Government in-Exile is concerned by the frequent reports of the deaths and ill treatment of prisoners of conscience and the appalling prison conditions that they are subjected to, especially in Lhasa's Drapchi Prison. The effects of torture are exacerbated by a lack of medical care and inadequate nutrition, as well as the imposition of hard labour on prisoners who are physically weak.

1. Torture and Ill-Treatment of Tibetan Political Detainees and Prisoners of Conscience

The following detailed reports of torture and ill-treatment of Tibetin political prisoners of conscience were received in 1995:

* Jigme Gyatso: a monk detained at Labrang Monastery, Amdo, was detained on May 19, 1995 on suspicion of involvement in putting up pro-independence posters at the monastery. According to an unconfirmed report, the monk was beaten very badly by a "young policeman who was drunk". It did riot name the policeman. "After the beating Jigme couldn't move his arms and legs", said the source, who cannot be identified.

* Konchog Jigme: a monk from Nguira, Machu county, Amdo, was arrested by the Xiahe county police in June 1995, on suspicion of involvement in putting up posters in Nguira in March. Konchog Jigme is said to have been badly beaten.

* Ngawang Chiendrol, aged 19 in 1995, became ill, suffering from kidney damage, whilst she was serving a three year sentence in Drapchi prison for pro-independence activities. She was transferred to a hospital on medical parole in January 1995 and is now believed to be at home on medical parole. Her present condition is unknown.

* Yeshe Khedrup, a 24 year old monk from Ganden Monastery, Lhasa, was transferred to a police hospital from Drapchi Prison in a serious condition in November 1994. He was serving a six-year sentence. Hospital officials stated he was being treated for leg injuries, but according to well-informed sources he was suffering from kidney damage after being kicked by prison staff. His present condition is unknown.

* Doije Gyaltsen: A monk at Tashilhumpo Monastery, Shigatse, aged tinder 30, detained on the night of July 12, 1995, during a police raid on his monastery was hospitalised for 19 days due to severe beatings during or after his arrest.

* Chime Dorjee and Tendor, both monks from Tashilhunpo Monastery were arrested on the night of July 12, 1995 in the course of a raid on the monastery. Both were reportedly beaten.

* Gyatrul Rimpoche, a reincarnate lama of Tashilhunpo Monastery arrested during the major police raid on the night of July 12 was hospitalised after severe torture in detention. The informants are two Tashilhunpo monks who recently escaped to India and who were imprisoned with Gyatrul Rinpoche.

* Dhonkyab: the Human Rights Desk reported on June 15, 1995 that Dhonkyab was arrested, by the Nepalese authorities, with 23 other Tibetans who he had escaped from Tibet. While in custody Dhonkyab was rendered unconscious after suffering a head injury caused by the beatings given to him by Nepalese police and underwent medical treatment in India.

* The Human Rights Desk also reported on June 15, 1995 that two 13 year old children from Kham and one six year old child from Amdo, eastern Tibet, who were amongst the 23 arrested and deported back to Tibet, were also severely beaten and rendered unconscious. After suffering this ordeal in the Nepalese prisonthey were then forcibly deported back to Tibet.

* Tibetan Demonstrator Hospitalised: according to a reliable source from Tibet, on September 9, 1995, five people from the region of Dhamshung under Nagchu district, Central Tibet, led a demonstration in the Barkhor area of Lhasa. The five demonstrators condemned China's interference in the Panchen Lama reincarnation issue. One of the demonstrators was badly beaten by the police authorities. Later he was taken to the "Men zhen Bu" Lhasa city hospital in a critical condition.

* Lodroe Gyatso: a prisoner in Drapchi, was tortured and severely punished in May 1995 for distributing pro-independence leaflets in prison and shouting slogans for a "Free Tibet".

2. Deaths in Custody and After Release of Tibetan Prisoners of Conscience

The following six reports were received in 1994 and 1995 of known deaths caused by torture and ill-treatment of Tibetans prisoners of conscience.

* Phuntsog Yangkyi, then 20 and a Tibetan nun and prisoner of conscience, serving a five year sentence in Drapchi Prison, died in a police hospital in Lhasa on June 4, 1994 from head injuries. According to unofficial sources she was beaten by guards after she and other nuns sang nationalist songs to celebrate Losar (the Tibetan new year) on February 11, 1994. She was arrested in February 1992 at the age of 17 for taking part in a brief pro-independence demonstration.

* Tashi Tsering: died in May 1995 aged 59 as a result of prolonged torture and medical neglect.

* Tashi Tsering: died in May 1995 aged 59 as a result of prolonged torture and medical neglect in Drapchi Prison. Tashi was a monk at Drongtse Monastery in Yangmo township, Shigatse, and was arrested on November 28, 1989 for distributing pro-independence literature in the township. He was released in September 1994 on medical grounds as his health was deteriorating due to years of torture in prison.

* Gyaltsen Kelsang: died aged 24 on February 20, 1995. Gyaltsen was a nun at Garu Nunnery, near Lhasa when she was arrested on June 14, 1993 for pro-independence activities. She was taken to Drapchi Prison where she served three quarters of a two year sentence. In late November 1994 she was taken to a police hospital where she was diagnosed a suffering from severe kidney problems. She was reported to have been badly tortured whilst in prison and medically maltreated and neglected. She was later sent home on medical parole and died. 1995.

* Sherab Wangmo: a source from Tibet revealed that an 18 year old female, Sherab Wangmo died in April 1995 as a result of severe torture which she received whilst in Drapchi Prison. When a thomdhen (the Tibetan traditional disposer of dead bodies) cut up the corpse he found that the liver, kidneys and womb of the deceased were severely damaged.

* Sherab Ngawang was 15 when she died on May 15, 1995. She was then believed to be the youngest political prisoner in Tibet. She was a novice nun at Michungri Nunnery, on the outskirts of Lhasa, when she participated in a pro-independence demonstration in 1992 with four other nuns and was sentenced to three years of administrative detention as a prisoner of conscience at the age of 12. She was repeatedly tortured and ill-treated whilst in detention at Trisam Re-education Through Labour Camp. She was released in February 1995, after completing her term of detention, but died three months later at a police hospital in Lhasa.

* Sonam Tashi, a member of staff at the Woser Cooperative Society in Lhasa, died at the beginning of 1995. He had participated in the May 25, 1993 demonstration in Barkhor and was arrested on May 26, 1993 from his house. He was reportedly severely beaten during the interrogation sessions which caused multiple internal injuries.

E. The Illegal Deportation of Tibetan Refugees from Nepal

During 1995 many Tibetans trying to escape to India through Nepal for fear of political persecution, or for a better education in exile, were handed over to the Chinese authorities by Nepalese police at Dram, the border area of Nepal and Tibet. Between April and September 1995 the Office of Tibet in Kathmandu recorded the illegal deportation of 300 Tibetan refugees escaping Chinese occupation in Tibet. Tibetan refugees who are deported back to Tibet and handed over to Chinese border police face the threat of torture, imprisonment and the denial of economic and political rights.

UN procedures agreed upon and previously followed by the authorities in Nepal were ignored. According to standard UN refugee procedures Tibetan escapees are first transferred to the Central Immigration Office in Kathmandu where UNHCR officials begin assessing claims for refugee status. Contrary to normal practice the deported cases were, not handed over to immigration officials but held in the Maharajganj jail beside the police training center. They were then taken to the Nepal-Tibet border where they were handed over to Chinese border police and further detained.

These deportations were carried out despite strong official protests from the United States, Australia, and the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nepal.

F. The Right to Education in Tibet

The right of Tibetan parents to choose their child's education was further violated in September 1994 when the Chinese authorities in Lhasa issued orders to government employees and cadres to recall their children from schooling in India. Warnings were issued that those who failed to obey the order would be demoted or possibly expelled from their jobs, that their promotions and pay increments would be withheld and that Party members would be expelled. The order further stated that children being educated in India would also lose their rights to residence permits and entitlement to rations if they did not return to Tibet within a specified time. The Department of Security of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile recorded that around 75 children were removed from Tibetan schools in India by parents who came from Tibet after the ord er was announced.

Considerable data relating to discrimination against Tibetan students in education in Tibet was collected in 1994. TIN research revealed that in 1994 only 45 per cent of students admitted to Lhasa's Tibet University were Tibetan, 55 per cent being Chinese. (5) Amnesty International reported in 1995 that: "Many Tibetans also express deep concern about the poor quality of education provided for their children and the limited access to primary and higher education." (6)

Schooling in Tibet is being dominated by ideological indoctrination. In September 1994 the CCP launched a three-year "patriotic education" campaign to "quash youthful visions of an independent Tibet or the return of the Dalai Lama". The hoisting of the PRC's national flag and singing of its national anthem in schools has been made mandatory under the new campaign.

G. The Rights of Children in Tibet

The Tibetan Government-in-Exile is gravely concerned about the numbers of juvenile Tibetan prisoners of conscience who are/or have been incarcerated in Chinese prisons in Tibet. At least 34 Tibetan male and 11 Tibetan female political prisoners who were reportedly still in prison in 1994 were under the age of 18 at the time of their arrest. The two youngest were aged 12 when arrested and one has since died due to torture (see page 13). In December 1994, 26 of these juvenile prisoners were stillunder the age of 18, of whom the 13 under the age of 16 included seven girls.

The vulnerability of Tibetan children attempting to escape from Tibet was highlighted in reports received of deportations from Nepal which included children. 25 cases of children being deported between April and September 1995 are known. In one case a report was received of two 13 year old children from Kham and one six year old child fromn Amdo, eastern Tibet, being severely beaten and rendered unconscious whilst in Nepalese police custody ( see page 13).

In 1995 the Chinese added their youngest-ever Tibetan prisoner of conscience to their list: Gendun Choekyi Nyima was six years old when His Holiness the Dalai Lama proclaimed him as the Eleventh Panchen Lama. Within weeks he was "missing" and is today in grave danger.

The fundamental denial of the right of Tibetan children to a proper education is addressed under The Right to Education in Tibet (page 15).

H. The Rights of Tibetan Women

1. Chinese Birth Control in Tibet Discriminates Against Tibetan Women

In 1994 a draft law on birth control was submitted to the central legislator in Beijing under the title Mother and Child Health Care Law. This law came into effect in June 1995. (7) Its underlying purpose was to "upgrade the general qualities of the new population" by limiting the number of "inferior births".

Evidence collected by T.I.N in 1994 (8) confirmed exile testimonies that considerable force is applied to women, particularly in villages through the mechanism of impossibly high fines and administrative sanctions, to have abortions even though Chinese law does not specifically demand abortions or the use of surgical controls, confining its formal coercion to fines and other punishments. The implementation of the Chinese birth control policy in Tibet differs greatly from region to region. TIN establishes that in Ganze, Kham, there are reports of fines reaching 7,000 yuan (approx. US$830) in some cases: this amounts to five years income for an urban employee and about eight years income for anaverage peasant. Areas such as the TAR with more aggressive laws have lower fines. Since the majority of Tibetans are far poorer than Chinese the only conclusion can be that the implementation of birth control in Tibet is discriminatory. (9)

2. Tibetan Women Harassed at the Beijing Conference

Beijing was host to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women from September 4-15, 1995 and as aresult eight Tibetan-related groups were denied accreditation to attend the parallel NGO conference by ECOSOC. Only nine Tibetan women with international passports from countries such as Canada, Australia and Norway and the U.S.A attended the NGO conference. The nine Tibetan women were constantly under surveillance and harassed by Chinese security and the large group of Tibetans forming the official Chinese delegation. The open intimidation of exile Tibetan women led to diplomatic protests by several nations including the Scandinavian countries, Holland and Australia.

3. Tibetan Nun Prisoner of Conscience Wins Reebok Human Rights Award

Phuntsok Nyidron, a 27-year old nun from Michungri Nunnery, near Lhasa in Tibet, who is currently serving a prison sentence of 17 years in Tibet's most notorious Drapchi Prison, was awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award at a New York ceremony on December 5, 1995. His Holiness's representative in New York received the award on her behalf. Phuntsok Nyidron's prison sentence was doubled after she sang songs in front of prison guards calling for Tibet's independence and worshipping His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

(February 1996)

***

(1) Tibet Support Group, U.K. 'New majority: Chinese population transfer in Tibet', London 1995. p.60.

(2) Refer to the demographic map included, published by (the Tibet Support Group U.K., highlighting the Percentage of Chinese in Tibetan counties in 1949 and 1995 in 'New Majority: Chinese Population Transfer into Tibet', 1995, London.

(3) Xinhua News Agency domestic service, Beijing in Chinese 0839.gmt June 23, 1995.

(4) Monitored by BBC, SWB April 25 1995: Text of report by Xinhua News Agency.

(5) TIN News update, April 19, 1994. London

(6) Amnesty International, 'People's Republic of China: Persistent Human Rights Violations in Tibet'. May 1995. London p.2

(7) WTN News issue 94/11/16.

(8) TIN Background Briefing Paper, March 30, 1994, 'Survey of Birth Control Policies in Tibet', p.2-3.

(9) TIN Background Briefing Paper, March 30 1994, Survey of Birth Countrol policies in Tibet. p.2-3