Published by: World Tibet Network News Wednesday - September 10, 1997

South China Morning Post

September 10, 1997

A total of 200 monks and nuns are in prison in Tibet, out of 1,800 in prison in the region for breaking national security laws, a group of German parliamentarians said yesterday.

The seven members of the Bundestag subcommittee on human rights and humanitarian aid held a news conference in Beijing after spending three days in and around Lhasa.

They visited the Drapchi prison in Lhasa and quoted officials as saying 200 monks and nuns were in prisons in Tibet.

"The visit to the prison was totally set up," said Gerd Poppe, a member of the Greens Party and a former dissident in East Germany.

"There were a couple of prisoners weaving carpets. It was very obvious that the prisoners were not allowed to look at us. It was a very bizarre scene."

He said the group was restricted in Tibet and not allowed to contact people directly. "It reminded me of my past in East Germany."

The leader of the group, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, a member of the ruling Christian Democrats, said they asked repeatedly about the whereabouts of the boy Panchen Lama chosen by the Dalai Lama.

"We were given no details and were not allowed to see him. We insist that the fate of this boy be clarified. Whatever his religion, an eight-year-old boy should not be the playball of national politics," he said.

Beijing announced its own choice, a six-year-old boy, Gyaincain Norbuof, to

succeed the 10th Panchen Lama.

Officials declined to tell the delegation where the other boy was, saying only that he was under official protection for his own safety.

A senior abbot, Chadrel Rinpoche, who was in charge of Beijing's search for the reincarnation, was sentenced to at least six years in prison for separatism and disclosing state secrets and two of his aides received sentences of four and two years.

He was suspected of informing the Dalai Lama of the choice of his search team.

Mr Schwarz-Schilling said the overall dialogue between China and Germany on human rights was positive and constructive and further visits would follow.