Appeal letter from Drapchi political prisoners
(translated from Tibetan)
"The subject of human rights has been widely recognised by the well informed
people of this world since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Countries have drafted articles to protect and promote the values of human
rights yet some countries continue to disrespect these basic human values.
The UN Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International, Red Cross
Organisation, nations, non-governmental organisations and some interested
individuals have earnestly appealed for the United Nations to oversee the
brutal suppression of one country by another. Nevertheless the UN has not
been able to take strict measures to protect the ongoing human rights
violations.
We want to single out the fact that the Chinese have pretended to respect
human rights in China and Tibet before international representatives. Being
signatories to this declaration, China continues to violate the basic and
fundamental freedoms of the Tibetan people. They greedily entered through
our eastern border in 1949 and finally occupied Tibet by force in 1959.
Since the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the land and the people of Tibet has
been destroyed; His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to whom the Tibetan people take
refuge for this and the next lives has been compelled to leave his country
and his people. There were unaccountable cases of Tibetans slaughtered or
injured, and families torn apart. These facts are clearly known to the world.
During the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese imprisoned many learned Buddhist
nuns and monks, destroyed large numbers of monasteries, burned all religious
texts and scriptures, sterilised Tibetan women and carried out countless
brutal actions aimed at eliminating the religion and culture of the Tibetan
people.
Under the Chinese policy of "liberalisation", the monks were allowed to stay
in the monasteries but were deprived of the study of religious texts.
Chinese authorities claim that there is religious freedom in Tibet, but
basic requirements for admission to monasteries and nunneries have been
intensified. Even when monks are allowed admission to the monasteries, they
are forced to work on renovating monasteries destroyed during the Cultural
Revolution. The Chinese take away all the money donated to the monasteries
by local people.
In order to indoctrinate young Tibetans the Chinese do not give them the
opportunity to study Tibetan language and the unique culture related to
Tibetan Buddhism, described by the Chinese as "blind faith" and "backward".
Chinese constantly urge the people to be firm and stable in communist
beliefs. In addition, all the natural resources from various parts of Tibet
are being exploited and taken to China. Shameful and demoralising activities
are being encouraged inside Tibet.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and on behalf of the
six million Tibetans, His Holiness the Dalai Lama described the critical
condition of the Tibetan people before the United Nations and to many other
nations including the United States and requested urgent action. In 1987 in
particular His Holiness the Dalai Lama proposed a five-point peace plan with
the hope of beginning peaceful negotiations with China. The Chinese
government rejected this proposal and condemned His Holiness. This is
unbearable to us and we are unable to remain silent.
Since 1959 and the brutal occupation and colonisation of the Chinese regime,
the Tibetan people have been aroused to call for their freedom and
demonstrate against the brutal Chinese suppression. This resulted in the
death of 1.2 million Tibetans and the ongoing imprisonment of Tibetans still
today. However the truth will last forever.
>From 27 September 1987, Tibetan people once again staged a peaceful
demonstration against China. Led by monks and nuns, hundreds of Tibetans
joined the uprising to demonstrate their opposition to Chinese rule in
Tibet. In the clamp-down of successive demonstrations, the Chinese army
opened fire, killing and critically wounding many on the spot and
imprisoning thousands of unarmed demonstrators. The Chinese authorities
forced the detainees to confess under harsh interrogation.
In Tibet torture is the only method of interrogating. In prison, cruel and
degrading methods of torture are inflicted to extract confessions. These
include: deprivation of food, water, and air; confinement in a freeze room;
setting guard dogs onto prisoners and the use of electric cattle prods. In
some cases prisoners are charged as 'criminals' and administrative detention
is imposed by local authorities without supervision by an independent
judiciary. The legal procedure established by the Chinese authorities is
regarded as the highest authority, thus the Tibetan people have no right to
appeal before the court.
After imprisonment, political prisoners are detained incommunicado. They
are kept under strict vigilance by special guards sent by the Chinese
authorities and there are limits placed on their visitation rights. Only a
single member of a political prisoner's family is allowed to visit once a
month, while the other prisoners have no limit on their visitation rights.
Political prisoners are frequently prohibited from receiving rations
provided by their relatives, while other prisoners have no restrictions on
such rations.
Political prisoners have no bed, instead they must use rubbish cloths as
their bed. Political prisoners are forced to eat rotten and contaminated
food and no one has the right to appeal for their good health. On political
grounds prisoners are required to denounce from their heart His Holiness the
Dalai Lama and Tibetan freedom, and to pledge their love for the Communist
Party. At the same time, prisoners must accept the Chinese laws and
regulations upon prisoners, renounce what they have done in the past and
agree to accept the laws in the future.
If the prisoners refuse to accept these principles, they are subjected to
cruel and inhuman treatment using all torture instruments: beating with iron
rods, sticks, iron padlocks and cuffing of hands and feet for many days
without any food. This resulted in the death of Sangay Tenphel1. The Chinese
do not take any responsibility upon themselves for sick prisoners. Even if
sick inmates are taken for consultation, only outdated medicines and
equipment are used. It was as a result of this that Lhakpa Tsering2 and
Kelsang Thutop3 died in prison.
Political prisoners are regularly subjected to forced blood extraction and
intensive exercises. Political prisoners are also compelled to praise
whatever the jailer or prison guards say. Even when the guard makes a false
statement we are forced to praise the communist values and ideologies.
Nonetheless we are united and never listen to these statements. That is why
we are severely beaten and deprived of food, water and sleep. It is very
hard to write the whole story in detail. If we complain about the
maltreatment in the prison to the relevant offices, they not only ignore the
complaint but also our prison sentences are greatly extended. We are kept
under strict surveillance and brutal suppression. In this way the prison
guards are promoted and rewards are presented to them by the higher
authorities.
In the "Tibet Daily" newspaper it was stated that, during an official
meeting, the Public Security Bureau and the Judicial Office of the Tibetan
Autonomous Region (TAR) decided to award those guards who had worked hard in
disciplining the political prisoners with the extra facilities. Now we have
153 political prisoners in Drapchi Prison, ranging in age from 15 to 70 and
with prison terms ranging from 1 year to 19 years. The present condition in
Tibet is critical and more restrictions are being imposed. We are
especially susceptible to the above mentioned atrocities which are directly
inflicted upon us. Therefore we appeal to people of the world who love and
support truth, peace, democracy and human rights.
>From all political prisoners of Drapchi Prison.
10th March 1997.
1 Sangay Tenphel - 19 year old monk, lay name Gonpo Dorjee, died on 6 May
1996, from torture-related injuries.
2 Lhakpa Tsering died in Drapchi prison on 15 December 1990.
3 Kelsang Thutop - 49 year old monk from Drepung monastery died in Drapchi
prison on 1 July 1996.
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THE OFFICE OF TIBET, TIBET HOUSE, 1 CULWORTH STREET
LONDON NW8 7AF, UNITED KINGDOM
The Office of Tibet is the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Tel: 0044-171-722 5378 Fax: 0044-171-722 0362
E-mail: tibetlondon@gn.apc.org
Internet: http://www.gn.apc.org/tibetlondon
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