DHARAMSALA, October 2, 1995 (DIIR) -- A reliable report received by the Human Rights Desk from a source in Lhasa, provides a general account of the 30th Anniversary of the founding of the so called T.A.R by the Chinese Government which was held on 1st September this year. The following accounts are extracts taken from the report (English Translation) written by the source in Lhasa.

" The Public Security personnel were strictly ordered not to tolerate any disturbances prior to the celebration. Any illegal disturbances, if they occurred during the celebration, was to be the responsibility of the Public Security Bureau.

" At the time of the celebrations the People's Armed Police carried out raids on the monasteries. People entering and leaving the monasteries were also searched and checked and their movements recorded. Foreign pilgrims and tourists in Tibet were ordered to leave the country by 10th August. The hotels were also ordered not to keep any foreigners in their rooms. The only foreigners allowed to stay in the hotels during the celebration were those directly invited by the Chinese government.

" The actual celebration was held at the huge plaza below the Potala palace .This plaza is among the 62 development projects that the Chinese have initiated in Tibet. What Tibetans want are projects aimed at the preservation of Tibetan culture like Libraries and schools and not ostentatious plazas. Tibetans in Lhasa have taken a particular dislike to the plaza and are being quite open about it. The Tibetans have secretly named this plaza "Kalachakra ground" in the hope of H.H. the XIVth Dalai Lama conducting Dhuekhor Wangchen in the near future.

" The Chinese authorities before the celebrations, asked the delegates and participants to the celebration, to attend in their best clothes with flowers in their hands and wear a contented look on their face. Those who were instructed to attend were warned that, as it was a politically related event, non attendance would be treated severely and heavy fines would be imposed for non attendance.

" One of the Tibetans who was assigned to dance in the celebrations said, " We peasants do not know if this (Event) is bad or not. As we face immense hardship in our living conditions, we welcome the bit of extra money that we will receive for dancing in this event as it will enable us to buy much needed tea and butter. We will dance in this event but we are not here to welcome or celebrate the event".

" One old Tibetan living near Shigatse said, " I set out to attend the function before the sun came up and arrived at 6.30 p.m." Asked if he had not used the bus service, he replied that there is one vehicle but as he would have to pay a ticket for that, he had preferred to walk. Asked again how much the ticket cost, he said it cost 2 Chinese Yuan. When he was asked if he did not have 2 Chinese Yuan, he complained, " We peasants face so much problem of money that we even face difficulty in paying the price of tea. Apart from the fear of being fined, we would not have come at all".

" The chief guest of the Celebration was China's Vice -Premier, Wubang Guo and in his inaugural speech he said, " For the past 30 years, Tibet has experienced great strides in the field of economy due to investment pumped in by the Central Government in mainland China and many young Tibetan officials have been produced."

After his speech, the Tibetan audience neither applauded nor showed any signs of welcome. Therefore the TV reports did not broadcast the coverage of the audience and only showed footage on those giving the speeches.

" In reality, many Tibetans, especially nomads and farmers face the same problem that they were facing before. The much propagandised economic development projects of the Chinese Government in Tibet has not at all alleviated their financial problems. They even face problem of paying for bus tickets like in the case of the above farmer. About the training and bringing up of young Tibetan cadres, it is like saying that the colour of milk is black. The Tibetan officials, like in the earlier times, don't have any real power and recently in the `Clean-up Campaign', repressions and containments became widespread. The Chinese Government has brought into Tibet hundreds of Chinese cadres from inland China for security, to replace Tibetans occupying positions of power. The selection of China's vice-Premier Wubang Guo as the Chief guest is itself a sign of Tibet's not having genuine autonomy. Why did they not choose a Tibetan as the Chief guest?