TIBETAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE
July 15, 1997
Volume II: Number 13
PRISONER MISCARRIES
A recent report describing the inhumane treatment of prisoners in Chinese prisons in Tibet has been received. The report recounts the case of a pregnant woman who was arrested on suspicion of independence activities and subjected to intensive interrogations. The woman's pleas that she felt weak were ignored and two days later, denied recommended hospital care, she miscarried her child.
At the time of arrest in June 1993 the woman (name withheld) was 3 months and 17 days pregnant. The night of her arrest she was reportedly kept standing in a cold room while being interrogated about her activities. The woman told her interrogators that she was pregnant and was feeling weak, however the pleas were ignored and the questions continued.
When the officials realised that the woman was not going to tell them anything, they finally halted their questions but kept her standing, under guard, until 8.30 a.m. the next day. The interrogation session had begun at 6 p.m. the previous night.
By the next morning the woman had been standing for 14 hours in a row and she was reported to be so stiff that she could scarcely move. When a policewoman offered her some boiled water and biscuits she could not eat anything and was suffering such incredible pain that she was unable to bend her legs or sit down.
The woman was taken to hospital where doctors said she should be admitted immediately. The prison officials refused the advice and she was returned to the prison. The woman was given some pills but did not take them for fear they would be harmful to her child.
It was reported that the following day, while trying to go to the toilet, the woman was suddenly struck with dizziness and fell unconscious. The woman later said that she had realised before losing consciousness that she had lost her baby.
Following the miscarriage the woman was hospitalised for one week from 12 June 1993. Although still not completely well, she was then taken back to prison where she was once again lectured and interrogated. This time her interrogators reportedly told her that it was her own fault and her problem alone that she had lost her child and that "next time you should think before involving yourself in political activities".
Despite testifying in court about losing her baby due to the maltreatment of the prison officials and pleading with the prosecutor to speak to the doctor of the hospital who had treated her, the woman was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
The special needs of pregnant women under detention are recognised by the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners which states that "there shall be special accommodation for all necessary pre-natal and post-natal care and treatment" in women's institutions.
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ARRESTS IN REBKONG
In 1995 Lobsang Lungtok, a monk, was arrested for independence activities.
After 18 months imprisonment he was expelled from his monastery in April this year. In January 1997 three other monks and one layman were arrested on similar grounds.
22 year-old Lobsang Lungtok, from Rebkong county (Ch: Qinghai province), Amdo, joined Rongpo Gonchen monastery at the age of seven. There are a total of 500 monks in the monastery.
One night in March 1995, Lobsang pasted wall posters at the Rebkong monastery and the nearby Teacher Training School. Lobsang had been inspired to act after listening to the VOA Tibetan news service that exile Tibetans were planning to undertake a peace march to Lhasa.
The posters read: "Tibetans and Chinese are distinct in every sphere of life"; "Tibet is an independent country with a recorded history. Thousands of Tibetans died as a direct consequence of Chinese occupation of Tibet"; "All valuable religious artefacts, gold statues and antiques have been hijacked into China"; "Sinocisation policies including birth control are being implemented with an aim to completely eliminate Tibetans as a race" and "Chinese stop wanton destruction of Tibetan environment".
Ten days later, PSB officials came to arrest Lobsang. Not at the monastery at that time, he was finally arrested on 5 June 1995 and taken to Rebkong county prison. Chinese officials told him, "You are now convicted, therefore if you provide us with the names of anyone who is propagating Tibetan independence we can help you."
Lobsang refused and was subsequently sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and
deprivation of political rights for two years. While in prison he was frequently beaten and was served meals just once in the morning and once at night.
In January 1997, independence wall posters and the Tibetan national flag began appearing in the courtyard of the Teacher Training School and in the monasteries. Lobsang reports that three Rebkong monks named Gedun Dhondup (senior), Gedun Dhondup (junior) and Dakpa Gyaltsen, and one layman named Menpa Dorjee, were arrested in March 1997 for their involvement.
Gedun Dhondup senior and junior were released in May after one month, and it is believed that Dakpa Gyaltsen may also have been released. Menpa Dorjee is said to be still in detention. There are reports that more arrests are to follow.
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CHINA'S GOLD MINING IN TIBET
China's mining practices in Tibet reveal a two-way policy: to transfer massive population numbers into Tibet so as to lessen the burden of its own population problems while marginalising Tibetans and to exploit Tibet's mineral resources. At a gold mining conference held in Lhasa in 1995, officials of the "Tibet Autonomous Region" announced that minerals account for about 20% of Tibet's industrial output and reported the existence of 148 mine zones in the "TAR", of which six had deposits. Tibetan sources reported in the same year that in Gansu province in eastern Tibet and from Tso-ngon province (Ch: Qinghai) to the districts to the west of Nagchu (borders eastern Tibet) in central Tibet, there are about 12,000 gold miners unlawfully extracting gold from the area. Nomads and farmers have raised serious objections to heavy extraction of mineral resources and destruction of green pastures, to no avail. The following two accounts from Golok reveal that such mining exploitation continues.
Kunga Gyatso, aged 20, is from Thakmar shang (township) under Golok Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture (TAP) in Pema county, Amdo (incorporated into the Chinese province of Qinghai). Kunga was a gold miner prior to his escape to India on 8 June 1997.
Kunga reports the existence of massive gold mines in his locality of Dokha and says Chinese authorities began mining in the area as early as 1988. From 1988 to 1990 thirty workers, all Chinese, were employed to dig the area.
Kunga says that, unlike Lhasa and other tourist prone areas, Golok is extremely remote and not easily accessible to the outside world. "Any opposition by local inhabitants will be crushed with brute force. People do not dare to protest against the Chinese authorities who declare that the land belongs to China", he says. The Dokha gold mines lie in a nomadic area and Kunga reports that Chinese authorities have used various means, from monetary payment to force, to evict the local Tibetan inhabitants from the area.
"This sort of project has least benefited the local inhabitant", Kunga says, "Rather, it brings huge numbers of Chinese into Tibet which creates problems for the Tibetans in every sphere of life".
In 1990 the Chinese introduced a new mining boat machine, known in Chinese as Tse-jing Trang no. 2, in order to increase its yield or output. The number of workers was subsequently increased to 330, of which only 20 were Tibetans.
Kunga Gyatso joined the mines in July 1995 at the age of 18 and worked there for two years before leaving Tibet. He recalls that the pure gold output was (1 gyama is equivalent to 500 grams) in 1991, 240 gyama in 1992, 240 gyama in 1993, 212 gyama in 1994, 240 gyama in 1995, and in 1996 it was 200 gyama. The gold is transported to China via Chendu.
Kunga was paid 500 yuan per month as he belonged to the lowest grade worker known as Kangwa Kung in Chinese. All the top posts were held by the Chinese and therefore he had no access to detailed information about the mine.
Kunga reported that if the annual output exceeded the prescribed target, the miners would receive a bonus of between 3000 to 5000 yuan. He said there is no discrimination between Tibetans and Chinese with regard to remuneration and bonus and all miners were levied 20 percent of their remuneration as a tax.
Kunga also reported that Dornyi village in Machu county under Golok TAP in Amdo, is rich in copper, gold, silver, aluminium, lead and iron. Copper makes up 70 percent of the mineral resources.
Kunga learnt from another source that in 1997 Chinese authorities plan to bring 20,000 Chinese migrants into Golok to work in the mines in Dornyi. For this purpose, necessary infrastructure such as electricity is being introduced.
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24 year old Jigme Sonam arrived in Dharamsala, India, in June 1997 and provided an account of mining activities in his Raktrom township of Serta county under Golok TAP.
Chinese authorities began mining sometime in 1984-1985 and approximately 200 workers were engaged in the work. The authorities compulsorily conscripted 20 people from every township to work in the mines and if a worker failed to turn up at the mines a penalty would be imposed on his friends and other members of his group. Workers are told they will be paid 150 yuan per month but this amount is reportedly never received. Each year the workers are told by Chinese authorities that their salary has been automatically deducted from the annual tax payable.
The gold mines are kept under strict guard by Chinese armed personnel and Jigme did not have access to information regarding the exact output of the gold mines. He reported that the Chinese transport both the pure gold and the residue.
The workers had to provide all food for themselves and thus if a miner has to work for fifteen days he must also carry food for 15 days. If his work is extended, he asks relatives to bring food for him which must be handed to the guard.
According to Jigme, Chinese scientists have revealed that Serta county has abundant gold resources. The county has in fact received the name "Serta" because people believe that there is a horse-shaped gold nugget beneath the earth (ser is the Tibetan word for gold and ta is horse). Serta's gold mining area lies just behind the Labrang mountain where for a long time nomads have subsisted. Regardless of the nomads, Chinese authorities have ordered evacuation of the area for mining, telling the inhabitants that the land belongs to the Chinese government. Local Tibetans have been used by the Chinese to evict the nomads without any compensation payment or resettlement.
LOGGING
Kunga Gyatso also reports that in Pema county the Chinese authorities have established two forestry departments called Dokhog Forest Department (Chi: Dokhog Ling Trang) and Makhog Forest Department (Chi: Makhog Ling Trang) which are responsible for logging the area. Vast portions of forest land in the area have already been reduced to arid desert land.
Loggers must deposit a huge sum of money for logging rights; the Dokhog gold mining company pays 750000 yuan, Dokhog Forest department pays 150000 yuan and Makhog Forest Department pays 100000 yuan. The total amount of 1 million yuan goes directly to the Chinese government treasury.
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PROFILE: STRUGGLE IN DRAPCHI
Ngawang Pekar was halfway through his eight year sentence in Drapchi Prison when his sentence was extended by six years. Already being punished for his attempts to broaden awareness of the situation in Tibet, Ngawang had been caught by the Chinese prison authorities trying to alert the international community to the conditions for political prisoners in Drapchi.
Ngawang Pekar (layname: Paljor) is a 34 year-old monk from Drepung monastery. He was born in Toelung Aangkar under Toelung Dzong (county), just west of Lhasa.
His father, Topgyal, and one of his younger sisters are still living in Toelung. Ngawang has a total of two younger sisters, one elder sister and three younger brothers.
His brother Khedup has served a five year sentence in Sangyip and Drapchi prisons. Khedup was a Drepung monk and, now released, lives with his father. Ngawang's mother died while Ngawang was serving one of his terms in Sangyip Prison.
Ngawang was first arrested on 5 March 1988, along with three other Drepung monks, as a result of participating in the massive "March Demonstration" in Lhasa.
Ngawang was sentenced to approximately eight to nine months which he served in various prisons. He was first detained in Gutsa Detention Centre and later was transferred to Outridu, a "Re-education-through-Labour" centre in the Sangyip prison complex located in the outskirts of Lhasa, and then to Sangyip prison itself.
The sentence received by Ngawang was a relatively short one. This was said to have been a result of the general influence of the 10th Panchen Lama at that time.
Ngawang Pekar was arrested for the second time on 12 July 1989. He was alleged to have put up pro-independence posters and participated in demonstrations. He was also said to have spoken with and to be "linked" to certain foreign delegates and organisations.
Ngawang was sentenced to eight years, reportedly around the end of November 1989. At the time of this second arrest Ngawang was said to have been planning an escape to India.
Ngawang was first taken to Sangyip prison and later transferred to Drapchi Prison in Lhasa. On 28 April 1991 a number of Drapchi prisoners, including Ngawang Pekar, were subjected to a massive beating by prison guards. This was a punishment to those who had not renounced their "criminal splittist activities".
While in Drapchi, Ngawang wrote appeal letters to the United Nations and certain human rights organisations and was caught trying to smuggle out a list of political prisoners and a document describing human rights violations being perpetrated in Drapchi Prison. Such activities led to Ngawang being sentenced in June 1996 to an additional six years imprisonment.
It is reported that Ngawang is not having any health problems at present. He is described by a fellow prison mate as a "giant of a man", reaching approximately six feet tall and weighing 180 gyama (90 kg). He is well-educated and fluent in both English and Chinese and remains extremely patriotic in his calls for Tibet's freedom.
Ngawang Pekar is now serving a total of 14 years in prison, a result of his expression of opinion and his attempts to reveal to the world the conditions of Chinese prisons in Tibet. To protest Ngawang's arbitrary detention, write a letter addressed to the Chinese premier Li Peng asking for his immediate and unconditional release and send it to TCHRD for forwarding.
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PROCURATORATE FLEES TIBET TO LEARN THE TRUTH
Lhakpa Tsering, 24 years old from Toelung Dechen Dzong, near Lhasa, was one of the staff at the Dzong (county) Procuracy Office (the Chinese governmental office responsible for investigating and prosecuting criminal cases), earning a salary of 670 yuan (around US$ 85) per month. He confirms the much-reported futility of the Chinese appeal system in Tibet and reveals why, despite his well-paid, privileged position in the Chinese administration, he felt compelled to leave Tibet in May 1997.
"I was able to attend a Lobchung (primary school) for five years in Tibet, a Lobdring (secondary school) in China for three years and then for three years I studied law in a special technical secondary school.
In 1993, after completing my studies, I returned to Tibet to work as a
procuratorate. There were 12 other staff in my office, all Tibetan except
for the Chinese office head.
Cases of political prisoners did not come under my category but I know that the procedure of appeal is useless. The appeal system exists solely for the sake of formality and has never been successful.
I did not agree with the attitudes of Communist China but to be honest I had no personal problems with Chinese. I was fortunate compared with other Tibetans to have received education and my post as a procuratorate meant that I enjoyed a lot of facilities.
But it pained me immensely that I hadn't been educated about Tibet. There are so many youngsters in Tibet who do not know the real history of Tibet. Ever since I was able to think and act for myself, I could not bear what was happening to my country. Especially after reading books on Tibet and listening to the VOA, I felt I could no longer tolerate being a Tibetan in Tibet.
In Tibet, when riots or protests break out, the media plays a manipulative role. I had previously felt that the Chinese were justified in punishing the monks as in Tibet we are always shown television broadcasts of monks indulging in mob-like activities such as throwing stones at the police. When I came to India I saw a video tape of the same incident but this time I saw monks being beaten by groups of policemen or being thrown off the roof of the Tsuklakhang (Lhasa's main temple). I was so sad and distressed because I had never before seen such things."
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The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is an independent centre which aims to promote and protect human rights and a democratic polity and procedure for Tibet, to educate Tibetans on human rights principles and to work with other human rights and democracy groups as part of a world-wide movement towards these ends. The TCHRD is registered under the Indian Societies Registration Act 21 of 1860.
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