Rights Hearing

Human Rights Caucus United States Congress Washington D.C.

Testimonial on the 15th Anniversary of the Tiananman Crackdown

Update on the Human Rights Situation in Tibet

I am Karma Dorjee, deputy director of the Tibetan Service, at Radio Free Asia. It is my honor and privilege to appear before this august body and testify on the current situation of human rights in Tibet. The Tibetan Service of Radio Free Asia is the only Tibetan language news media that interacts directly through call-in shows with the Tibetans inside Tibet. We are also the only such media organization that broadcasts in all three of the Tibet's major dialects.

Recently the Chinese Government issued two white papers on Tibet. One on March 30, dealt with human right conditions in Tibet and the other on May 23 addressed the issue ofTibetan autonomy. Both documents claim that Tibetans enjoy "full political rights" and that" Tibetans have full decision-making power in economic and social development" and the freedom to "develop their traditional culture and practice their religious beliefs." But we have confirmed and broadcast more than a few stories which contradict these official Chinese claims.

I would like cite a few such stories for which we were the primary source. In October 2003, Khenpo Lobsang Chodak, lead chanter of Sera monastery in Lhasa was expelled from his monastery and sent back to Amdo County in Nagchu Prefecture. His only crime was saying a prayer for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Similarly on February 12, 2004, Choeden Rinzen, a young monk at the Gaden Monastery near Lhasa, was arrested when Chinese Public Security Bureau officials found a photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a Tibetan flag in his room. No one knows where the monk is detained.. These two stories known to us through our sources indicate that the Tibetans in the Lhasa areas do not have the full freedom to practice their religious beliefs. At many monasteries in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) there are police posts and lay democratic management committes that oversees religious activities, including the kind of prayers that the monks can or cannot say. Amnesty International confirmed our stories and said in May report, "In Tibet, over 100 people, mainly Buddhist monks and nuns, continued to be imprisoned." At the same time the authorities intensified their anti-Dalai Lama campaign.

Let's move on to the Kham region of Tibet.The crackdown on the Larung Gar Buddhist Insitute in Golok Sethar and restrictions on the activities of the institute's head, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, are well documented The Chinese authorities evicted 7,000 monks and nuns and imposed a ceiling of 1400 monks and nuns. on the institute Still more striking was the arrest of Trulku Tenzen Delek Rinpoche and the execution of Lobsang Dhondup. We were the first to break the news about their arrrest and the trial We also obtained the only statement made by Tenzen Delek Rinpoche from his prison cell in Dartsedo (Kanting in Chinese) in which he explained, "Whatever (the authorities) do and say, I am completely innocent." He said this on a tape smuggled out of the prison. He added,"I have always urged people to be kind hearted and caring." Mr Zhao, the judge of the Ganzi court in Sichuan, admitted to RFA that Anak Tashi (Tenzen Delek's lay name) was very popular and had about 30 to 40,000 followers. Over 20,000 Tibetans in the Nyakchu area sent a signed petition to the Chinese government vouching for the monk's innocence, but he was convicted in a secret trial. Therefore,"in spite of China's rhetoric about legal reform, Tenzen Delek's case shows that when it comes to Tibet, the Chinese government still does not tolerate uncontrolled political or religious activity," said Human Rights Watch in a major report on the case earlier this year.

We also have obtained stories from the Amdo region of Tibet which indicate deteriorating human rights conditions. On August 29, 2003 four monks of Khangmar monastery in Amdo were also arrested and sentenced to length imprisonments from eight to twelve years for conducting prayers for the Dalai Lama. On March 10, this year the Chinese authorities arrested Namkha, a popular young singer, and Bokocha, a monk composer in Tongde County in Qinghai Province, allegedely for singing songs with political implications. They were taken to an unknown place. All of CDs were confiscated. Bokocha, a monk from Ba Shangtse monastery was in retreat at the time of his arrest. The two were later released. The above stories indicate that Tibetans don't have even the basic right to express their feelings in the form of songs. As one of our callers from Tibet said, if the Chinese want to arrest someone, they find all sort of excuses.

Meanwhile Gedun Chekyi Nyima, the 10th Panchen Lama recognized by the Dalai Lama is still under detention. Tibetan monks in Shigatse at the Pachen's home monastery are daily subjected to re-education programs meant to force them to revere and accept a Chinese selected Panchen Lama

In conclusion, many of the stories covered by the Tibetan Service of Radio Free Asia indicate that human rights conditions in the three major regions of Tibet are not improving and indeed may be deteriorating. This is a matter of great concern.