Ah, Assassination Policy of Tibet? You ask me? Here is present policy
- they must have joined NATO? Or Madiline Albright is head Butcher?
So what was once and peaceful and passive still prays with Dalai Llama
- who somedy someone will make fur rug? I have Lllama Rug - beautiful
and is beige and darkish beige and chocolate brown with Llama in center?
Maybe I have old Dalai Llama?
Here we go - President Murder and or Assassination Policy - Sounds like
our CIA in War and Peace aided by Reno and Freeh and Albright?
A
Saba
Tibet Dossier:
CHINA'S HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND OCCUPATION OF TIBET:
Contents:
INTRODUCTION
OCCUPATION OF TIBET: 1950 onwards
TIBETAN INITIATIVES FOR PEACE
RESPONSE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
SOURCES
compiled in
November 1993*
for
TIBETAN BUDDHIST SANGHA OF DUNEDIN
TIBETAN COMMUNITY OF DUNEDIN
FRIENDS OF TIBET, DUNEDIN BRANCH
DHARGYEY BUDDHIST CENTRE
and sent to all members of the Parliament of the government of New
Zealand
* [This Web edition with some additions March 1997]
"... human rights issues are of concern to the world community; it is
the responsibility of those whose circumstances permit them a free voice
to speak out on behalf of those whose rights are suppressed. Tibet is an
unfortunate example of a place where suppression prevails, making
international attention essential."
Asia Watch Report, February 1988
"... serious, repeated and fundamental breaches of the basic norms of
human rights have occurred and continue to occur in Tibet ..."
proceedings of The Permanent Tribunal of Peoples
Strasbourg, France, 16-20 November 1992
This dossier was compiled by
Ven. Sonam Chokyi
Tibetan Buddhist Sangha of Dunedin
22 Royal Terrace, Dunedin, New Zealand
November 1993
None of the material contained herein is copyright.
Any or all of it may be reproduced
INTRODUCTION
Until 1950 Tibet was a sovereign state inhabited by a people with a
distinct language, culture, religion, history and customs. In 1950 Tibet
was invaded by the army of The People's Republic of China. It is
occupied by the Communist Chinese to the present day.
Escalating unrest among the Tibetan people in response to Chinese
occupation culminated in the Tibetan Uprising of 1959. According to
Chinese sources 80,000 Tibetans died in Central Tibet alone during and
immediately after the uprising. It is estimated that since 1959, 1.2
million Tibetans have died as a direct result of Chinese incursion into
the country. During 1959 many thousands of Tibetans, including the
leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, sought asylum in India. The exodus of
Tibetans from Tibet continues to this day.
In 1960 the International Committee of Jurists found that the Chinese
had committed genocide in Tibet in the most flagrant violation of human
rights. China has continued to do so.
Between 1959 and 1977 all but 12 of more than 6,000 monasteries were
destroyed. Many of them were used as target practice by Chinese
artillery. A thousand years' worth of priceless Buddhist literature,
religious paintings and artifacts have fetched millions of dollars on
the international market in an effort by the Chinese to raise foreign
currency and to wipe out Tibet's rich heritage.
In the last decade the Chinese have stepped up their efforts to
repopulate the country. Tibetans are now a minority in their own country
-- there are said to be at least a million more Chinese than Tibetans in
Tibet today. Inducements of higher pay and other privileges continue to
bring a stream of Chinese settlers into the country. The aim of this is
to forcibly resolve China's territorial claims over Tibet by means of a
massive and irreversible population shift. In May 1993 the Chinese
authorities proposed another massive population transfer as one element
in what they hope will be a final solution to their "Tibetan problem".
Tibet, once a peaceful buffer state between India and China, has been
transformed into a militarized zone. There are at least 300,000 Chinese
troops stationed there at any time, as are at least one quarter of
China's nuclear arsenal of 350 nuclear missiles at 5 different missile
bases.
It is believed that approximately 3,000 religious and political
prisoners are held in prisons and forced labour camps where torture is
common. There are reports that Tibetan women are subject en masse to
forced abortions and sterilization. Alexander Solzhenitsyn has described
China's administration of Tibet as "more brutal and inhumane than any
other communist regime in the world."
There are strong concerns, voiced internationally, that China is using
Tibet as a dumping ground for nuclear waste. There were reports that
China had made an offer to West Germany in 1984 to dispose of nuclear
waste. The offer was not accepted. Recently Tibetan farmers have
complained that "fertilizer" they have been forced to use on their
fields is destroying crops and killing birds and animals.
Tibet's natural resources and ecology are being irreversibly destroyed.
Wildlife, including the rare Tibetan snow leopard and the wild blue
Tibetan sheep, has been decimated. Forests have been clear-cut and
transported to China (since 1950, 68% of Tibet's forests have been
felled, causing grave concern in Bangladesh and India, now both
frequently devastated by flooding.)
China severely restricts the teaching and study of Buddhism, an
essential core of Tibetan culture. The Communist Party regulates the
admission of monks and nuns into the monasteries and "political
education" is compulsory.
Discrimination is officially and openly practised. The best medical care
overwhelmingly serves the Chinese population and the best medical
facilities are located in Chinese areas. Education of Chinese children
in Tibet is far superior to that available to Tibetans. 70% of higher
educational places are reserved for Chinese. In all but elementary
classes, Tibetans are taught in Chinese.
OCCUPATION OF TIBET: 1950 - the present
1949 China: Civil War between Nationalists and Communists ends. The
People's Republic of China proclaimed.
Tibet: A fully sovereign state (as stated in a report of the
International Commission of Jurists, 1959) sharing a common border with
China. Tibetans know themselves to be a race with a language, culture,
religion, history and customs entirely distinct from the Chinese.
1950 Chinese Communists invade Tibet. Tibet's appeal to the United
Nations is rejected.
1951 Tibetans forced to agree to Chinese occupation and annexation of
Tibet to China.
1953 Communist reforms imposed in eastern Tibet. Chinese begin to
indoctrinate Tibetan village people against Tibetan customs and
religion.
1955 Full scale revolt begins in eastern Tibet.
1956-1959 Revolts continue in the east. Eastern tribesmen move west
towards Lhasa.
1959 Tibetan Uprising takes place in Lhasa on March 10. The Uprising is
ruthlessly crushed. H.H. Dalai Lama is persuaded by Tibetans in Lhasa to
flee. He is followed into exile by many thousands of Tibetans.
Full Communist reforms are imposed on Tibet.
The International Commission of Jurists (1959 and 1960) judge the
Chinese guilty of genocide in Tibet, "the gravest crime of which any
person or nation can be accused ... the intent to destroy, in whole or
in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group" and detail
atrocities to which Tibetans were subjected. These include public
execution by shooting, crucifixion, burning alive, drowning,
vivisection, starvation, strangulation, hanging, scalding, being buried
alive, disembowelling and beheading; imprisonment without trial;
torture; forced labour; and forcible sterilization. Many people,
including children under 15 years, disappear without trace. The United
Nations condemns Chinese atrocities.
1959-1977 China closes Tibet to the outside world. Atrocities continue.
During the Cultural Revolution there is wholesale destruction of
significant buildings, artifacts, paintings, texts, etc. etc. Most of
the monasteries, including the great monastic universities, are
destroyed. China resettles large numbers of Han Chinese in Tibet.
Chinese is the official language. Education is in Chinese.
1977-1986 Chinese regime in Tibet becomes more "liberal". Tibetans may
rebuild some monasteries (subject to Chinese control) and openly
practise their religion (though there are many restrictions).
Significant buildings and some monasteries are opened to travellers as
tourist attractions.
Tibetans, now a minority in their own country, suffer discrimination and
withdrawal of opportunity. Most businesses are run by Chinese. Though
the Tibetan language is reinstated, all but elementary education is
conducted in Chinese. There is high unemployment and poverty among
ethnic Tibetans (but not Chinese). The Tibetans in Tibet are
marginalized.
1987 Continued suppression of free speech in regard to politics.
Tibetans may not speak on the status of Tibet, the return of the Dalai
Lama, or the presence of large numbers of Chinese in Tibet. Stringent
restrictions on freedom of assembly. Dissident Tibetans arrested,
imprisoned and subject to interrogation and torture. Amnesty
International documents mistreatment of Tibetan prisoners in China:
Torture and Ill-treatment of Prisoners. Birth control is implemented by
forced abortion.
September 21: H.H. the Dalai Lama introduces a Five-Point Peace Plan for
Tibet at a Congressional Human Rights Caucus in Washington DC.
September 27, October 1 and October 6: Demonstrations in Lhasa against
Chinese rule. Chinese react violently, firing into the crowd. Many
Tibetans and some westerners are arrested. The westerners are later
released. Western journalists are expelled and individual travellers and
journalists are banned. Severely repressive measures are adopted.
Hundreds of Tibetans are imprisoned.
October 6: In the wake of the uprising in Lhasa the U.S. Senate passes a
motion to condemn Chinese actions in Tibet.
October 14: Two Foreign Affairs subcommittees of the U.S. House of
Representatives hold a joint hearing on the question of human rights in
Tibet; the issue is also raised in the European Parliament and the
German Bundestag.
Late October: The Chinese government rejects a request by a U.S.
Congressional group to send a delegation to Tibet.
China labels Tibetans who express themselves in favour of Tibetan
independence as "criminals".
1988 March 5: Massive demonstration in Lhasa against Chinese rule. This
is the largest demonstration since the Tibetan Uprising of 1959.
(Eyewitnesses report the number of Tibetans demonstrating as 10,000 or
more.) Hundreds - perhaps thousands - are arrested. There are reports of
beatings and shootings.
March 6: Foreign journalists expelled from Lhasa and all telephone links
between Lhasa and Beijing said to be out of order.
Many of the Tibetans arrested are subject to prolonged detention without
trial, are denied access to lawyers or family members and are
mistreated. China restricts contact between Tibetans and Westerners.
June 15: Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, H.H.
the Dalai Lama proposes a specific framework for negotiations between
Tibetans in exile and the Chinese regarding a peaceful solution of the
Tibetan problem.
July: Beijing announces that it will alter its policy toward Tibet from
"lenient to severe". It announces that "The Government of the region
must adopt a policy of merciless repression towards all rebels."
December 10: Peaceful procession in Lhasa to mark International Human
Rights Day quickly and brutally countered by Chinese authorities.
1989 March 5-7: Several initially peaceful demonstrations are violently
quashed. Dozens of unarmed Tibetan demonstrators are killed and many
more arbitrarily arrested in subsequent security sweeps by Chinese
police and military. There are widespread reports of torture against
Tibetan political prisoners, many of them monks and nuns. Several deaths
are known.
March 7: Martial law imposed in Lhasa. Remains in force until 1 May
1990.
Because foreign observers have been expelled from Lhasa and the
surrounding region, China's human rights violations in Tibet go largely
unreported.
1990-1993 A steady stream of young monks and nuns leave Tibet and crowd
into the monastic communities of the Tibetan refugees in India, seeking
freedom to study and practise their religion without Communist controls.
Both monks and nuns report their experiences of arrest, imprisonment and
torture in Tibet.
1991 May 1991: The United States Senate passes a resolution declaring
the whole of Tibet an occupied country whose true representatives are
the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in exile.
June 1991: The Australian House of Representatives passes a unanimous
resolution condemning human rights abuses in Tibet and calling on the
Chinese government to begin negotiations with the Dalai Lama.
23 August 1991: The United Nations, responding to the violent repression
of political demonstrations in Lhasa, passes a resolution criticising
Chinese policies in Tibet and calling on the Chinese "to fully respect
the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Tibetan people".
November 1991: Australian Human Rights Delegation to China visits Tibet.
Describes Tibet as effectively under Martial Law. It reports clear signs
of anti-Chinese feeling among Tibetans. Ordinary Tibetans report lack of
religious freedom and civil and political rights, lack of justice,
education, employment and freedom of expression, and restrictions on
movement. They fear arrest, interrogation and detention merely for
conversing with foreigners. Monks speak of close surveillance. There is
a large presence of military and civilian Chinese.
1992 November 1992: The second Australian Human Rights Delegation to
China is denied access to Tibet. Officials in Beijing claim that the
delegation's 1991 report, which had revealed human rights abuses in
Tibet, had not been received favourably by Tibetan authorities. The
delegation is also informed that the Chinese Government is unhappy that
the Prime Minister of Australia and the Australian Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Trade had met the Dalai Lama during his visit to Australia
in May 1992.
8-20 November 1992: The Permanent Tribunal of Peoples, meeting in
Strasbourg, France, hears a case brought by representatives of the
Tibetan People against the People's Republic of China. The Tribunal
finds that since 1950 China has continuously deprived the Tibetan people
of their right to self-determination and that this violation of basic
human rights has been achieved through the violation of other human
rights. The European Parliament unanimously passes a resolution in
support of the Tribunal's findings and Tibetan human rights. It calls
for the release of all political prisoners in Tibet and for China to
allow prison visits by the International Red Cross. (See page 8 for
Tribunal verdict and recommendations.)
1993 Tibetans continue to hold demonstrations against Chinese rule.
6-10 January 1993: Conference of International Lawyers on Issues
Relating to Self-Determination and Independence for the Tibetan People,
meeting in London, finds that Tibetans are a "people" for international
law purposes and are thus entitled to the right of self-determination,
but that they have been denied the right to self-determination "by
reason of the act of aggression and military occupation" of the People's
Republic of China. The conference finds that contrary to international
law, China has violated the human rights of the Tibetan people. The
conference also finds that significant settlements of non-Tibetans from
China have occurred in the traditional territory of Tibet without the
free consent of the Tibetan people, that these pose a serious threat to
the survival of the Tibetan people, and that such population transfers
do not conform to international law. The conference considers that
population transfer should cease at once. The conference makes a number
of recommendations to the international community regarding China's
violation of international law in regard to Tibet. (See page 9 for a
precis of findings and recommendations of this Conference of
International Lawyers on Tibet.)
12 May 1993: Chinese officials hold a secret meeting in China to devise
a "Final Solution for Tibet". In an introductory address, Fan Guoqing,
former Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, tells
the meeting that many nations "rallied against him" during sessions of
the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights. He concluded that in the
international arena, Tibet "has become a tough issue for China". The
meeting laments China's lack of support in UN human rights meetings and
describes as "a major blunder" its failure to win over Archbishop Tutu
of South Africa. Stating that the European Community has been lost to
"the Dalai Camp" it proposes that China must now put its hope for
support at the UN in the developing nations of Asia and Africa. The
meeting resolves to solve the problem of Tibet by the following means
(which, if successful, will solve "the problem" invisibly):
1. Transfer of large numbers of Chinese settlers to Tibet with the aim
of making it demographically impossible for Tibetans to rise, as is the
case in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.
2. Manipulation of renowned international figures and religious
personages in Tibet for propaganda purposes. Breaking up the unity of
Tibetans in exile and infiltrating the ranks of Tibetan religious
figures.
1993: Tibetan tour guide Gendun Rinchen is released from prison in Lhasa
following a world-wide campaign.
1993: The outcry against Beijing's 2000 Olympics Bid rings around the
world indicating increasing awareness of human rights abuses committed
in Tibet and China.
Despite Chinese Government threats to impose retaliatory trade
embargoes, world leaders continue to meet the Dalai Lama with increasing
frequency.
There are strengthening ties between the international Tibet support
movement, Chinese pro-democracy and other human rights groups.
1994: United States President Bill Clinton signs into law the 1994-95
Foreign Relations Authorisation Act. Provisions in this Act build on
those passed by both Houses of Congress in 1992-93 which declared Tibet
an occupied country. The 1994 Bill recognises the Dalai Lama and Tibetan
Government-in-Exile as the real representatives of the Tibetan people.
>From now on in reports to Congress, Tibet will be listed alphabetically
under its own state heading.
Population and Development policies have become a direct threat to the
very survival of the Tibetan people. Beijing admits promoting migration
of Chinese to Tibet (September 28, 1994).
President Clinton renews Most Favoured Nation trade status for China.
Lodi Gyari, President of the International Campaign for Tibet (ITC),
said, "The Chinese would not have dared to issue these policy
pronouncements prior to the president's MFN decision. Now they feel they
have nothing to worry about -- that the U.S. will turn a blind eye even
if the government officially acknowledges they are increasing the
population influx." China maintains its commitment to developing Tibet
and enforcing political "stability," with the main benefits of economic
developments going to Han Chinese industries and businesses, and of
continuing the influx of Chinese-trained personnel.
[Bay Area Friends of Tibet, Fall 1994, Vol. 5 #4]
Chinese authorities ordered all Tibetan Communist Party members and
officials who have sent their children for study to schools and
institutes outside Tibet, run by the Tibetan government-in-exile, to
recall them before December 27, 1994...The Chinese authorities have not
only failed to provide quality education in Tibet, but are now
curtailing the opportunity of those students who have, after taking all
risks, travelled outside Tibet for education. The action also reveals
the policy of discrimination being implemented by the Chinese
authorities. Since the opening up of China to the outside world,
thousands of Chinese students have gone, and are continuing to go, to
the West for studies. Among these students are children of senior
Chinese leaders.
[Bay Area Friends of Tibet, Fall 1994, Vol. 5 #4]
The human rights group Amnesty International criticized China for giving
stiff sentences to five independence activists. The Tibetans were given
prison sentences from 12 to 15 years on charges described by government
authorities as counter-revolutionary sabotage...The convictions are part
of a renewed crackdown on dissent in Tibet and are totally
disproportionate to the crime the five allegedly committed...According
to Tibet Television, the defendants put up posters containing Tibetan
independence slogans, and removed the nameplate from a government
building and then smashed it to indicate they were overthrowing the
local government.
[International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet, Fall 1994, Vol IV #3]
1995: International Campaign for Tibetan representation at the 4th
United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing
For further information on the Tibetan Womens movement and the situation
in Tibet for women.
TIBETAN INITIATIVES FOR PEACE
The Dalai Lama, head of the Tibetan Government in Exile and -- as
reported by the 1991 Australian Human Rights Delegation to China --
still fervently acknowledged by Tibetans in Tibet as their legitimate
leader, has consistently opposed the use of violence as an answer to the
Chinese occupation of Tibet, seeking instead a peaceful solution through
the medium of genuine negotiation.
In an effort to establish communication with the Chinese leadership the
Dalai Lama in 1980 offered, via the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, to
meet the then General Secretary, Hu Yaobang, during one of the latter's
visits abroad. Again in 1991 he offered to meet Premier Li Peng when the
latter visited Delhi. These overtures were to no avail.
In September 1987 the Dalai Lama introduced his Five-point Peace Plan
for Tibet at a meeting of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in
Washington. This proposed that Tibet should be given the status of a
'peace zone' and that the Tibetan people should be granted
self-determination in their own land.
FIVE-POINT PEACE PLAN
1. Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace;
2. Abandonment of China's population transfer policy which threatens the
very existence of the Tibetans as a people;
3. Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and
democratic freedoms;
4. Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the
abandonment of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear
weapons and dumping of nuclear waste;
5. Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet
and of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples.
In June 1988, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, the
Dalai Lama elaborated on the Five-point Peace Plan. He proposed a
framework for negotiations to secure the basic rights of the Tibetan
people, in which China would remain responsible for Tibet's foreign
policy and maintain a limited presence in Tibet until Tibet was
transformed into a neutral peace sanctuary. His stated aim was "to make
it possible for China and Tibet to stay together in lasting friendship,
and to secure the right for Tibetans to govern their own land".
In September 1988 the Chinese government issued a statement that China
was willing to begin negotiations. It was agreed by both sides that a
preliminary meeting would be held in Hong Kong, but the Chinese failed
to communicate further and no meeting has yet taken place.
In 1989 the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel
Committee said:
"In his efforts to promote peace the Dalai Lama has shown that what he
aims to achieve is not a power base at the expense of others. He claims
no more for his people that what everybody -- no doubt the Chinese
themselves -- recognise as elementary human rights."
In 1991, in response to the Chinese government's failure to start
negotiations about Tibet, the Dalai Lama proposed that he visit Tibet.
He spoke of two purposes for such a visit: (1) to ascertain the true
feeling of Tibetans in Tibet with the hope of helping the Chinese
leadership to understand the true feeling of Tibetans, and (2) to
persuade the Tibetan people in Tibet not to abandon von-violence in
their struggle against Chinese oppression. Such a visit would require
that he be completely free to meet with Tibetans in Tibet, and that
senior Chinese officials, and the press, be present. The Chinese
government did not respond.
RESPONSE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
In 1960, after reviewing accounts of Chinese atrocities in Tibet that
included the widespread use of summary execution, torture and general
abuse including the forced sterilization of women, the International
Commission of Jurists found that the Chinese were committing genocide
and that 16 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were
being violated. According to the Commission the Chinese were guilty of
"the most pernicious crime that any individual nation can be accused of,
viz. a wilful attempt to annihilate an entire people."
In 1959, 1961 and 1965 three UN General Assembly resolutions were passed
condemning China for "violations of fundamental human rights of the
Tibetan people".
In 1987 Amnesty International, in China: Torture and Ill-treatment of
Prisoners, documented mistreatment of political prisoners in Tibetan
gaols. In October 1987, in the wake of the uprising in Lhasa, the U.S.
Senate passed a motion to condemn Chinese actions in Tibet. A week later
two Foreign Affairs subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives
held a joint hearing on the question of human rights in Tibet; the issue
was also raised in the European Parliament and the German Bundestag. In
late October the Chinese government rejected a request by a U.S.
Congressional group to send a delegation to Tibet.
In May 1991 the United States Senate passed a resolution declaring the
whole of Tibet an occupied country whose true representatives are the
Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile. In June 1991 the
Australian House of Representatives passed a unanimous resolution
condemning human rights abuses in Tibet and calling on the Chinese
government to begin negotiations with the Dalai Lama. In August 1991,
after the violent repression of political demonstrations in Lhasa, the
United Nations again passed a resolution criticising Chinese policies in
Tibet and calling on the Chinese "to fully respect the fundamental
rights and freedoms of the Tibetan people."
In November 1991 the first Australian Human Rights Delegation to China
visited Tibet and reported continuing human rights abuses there. In
November 1992 the second Australian Human Rights Delegation to China was
denied access to Tibet. Officials in Beijing indicated that the
delegation's 1991 report, which had revealed human rights abuses in
Tibet, had not been received favourably by Tibetan authorities. The
delegation was also informed that the Chinese Government was unhappy
that the Prime Minister of Australia and the Australian Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Trade had met the Dalai Lama during his visit to
Australia in May 1992.
>From 8-20 November 1992 the Permanent Tribunal of Peoples, meeting in
Strasbourg, France, heard a case brought by representatives of the
Tibetan People against the People's Republic of China. After five days
of deliberations the Tribunal found:
"That the Tibetan people have from 1950 been, continuously, deprived of
their right to self-determination;
That this breach of a basic human right of the Tibetan people has been
achieved through the violation of other basic rights of the Tibetan
people, among others by depriving them of the right of the exercise of
freedom of religion and expression, by arbitrary arrests and punishments
without trial, the destruction of religious and cultural monuments and
by resorting to torture;
That the population transfers from the People's Republic of China into
the territory of Tibet of non-Tibetan peoples is directed towards
undermining the ethnic and cultural unity of Tibet;
That the division of the territory of Tibet into two parts, one called
the 'Autonomous Region of Tibet' and the other made up administratively
of parts of various Chinese provinces, is also directed towards
destroying the unity and the identity of the Tibetan people; and
That the Tibetan people were autonomously governed for many centuries;
achieved a specific state structure after 1911 and that the basic
Tibetan institutions are now represented by the Tibetan Government in
Exile."
The Tribunal recommended the establishment of a Special Rapporteur to
the United Nations on human rights violations and self-determination in
Tibet; and called on the United Nations and non-governmental
organizations to pursue separate investigations into involuntary
sterilizations of Tibetan women as an act of genocide, and environmental
destruction (particularly radioactive pollution).
The Tribunal proposed that non-governmental organizations convene an
international conference in the next two years on the future of Tibet,
with the participation of both the Tibetan Government in Exile and the
People's Republic of China. (See page 8 for all Tribunal
recommendations.)
Following the verdict, the European Parliament unanimously passed a
resolution in support of the Tribunal's session and Tibetan human
rights, calling for the release of all political prisoners in Tibet and
for China to allow prison visits by the International Red Cross.
In January 1993, the Conference of International Lawyers on Issues
Relating to Self-Determination and Independence for the Tibetan People,
meeting in London, concluded
"That Tibetans are a 'people' for international law purposes and that
the principles of national unity and territorial integrity on the one
hand and the right to self-determination on the other hand are
compatible in the particular case of Tibet and having regard to its long
history of separate existence [and that therefore] the Tibetan people
are entitled, in the manner and to the extent allowed by international
law, to the exercise of the right to self determination;
That by reason of the act of aggression and military occupation, the
Tibetan people's right to the exercise of self-determination has been
denied. Since the military action of 1949-50, Tibet has been under the
alien occupation and domination of the People's Republic of China and
has been administered with the characteristics of an oppressive colonial
administration;
That significant settlements of non-Tibetans from China have occurred in
the traditional territory of Tibet without the free consent of the
Tibetan people. These pose a serious threat to the survival of the
Tibetan people, and such population transfers do not conform to
international law. [The conference considered that] they should cease at
once.
[That the Tibetan people have suffered violations of their human rights
and] that such violations are contrary to international law. The
People's Republic of China is required by international law to ensure
the respect of the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people. It
cannot evade that legal requirement by an appeal to its domestic
jurisdiction. On the contrary, the violation of human rights is an
additional justification for the demand by the Tibetan people for the
exercise of their right of self-determination.
The Conference concluded by making 13 recommendations very similar in
nature to those made by the Permanent Tribunal of Peoples, among them
urging the UN General Assembly to renew its call for the respect of
human rights in Tibet, urging the UN Commission on Human Rights to
appoint a Special Rapporteur on Tibet, requesting the International
Commission of Jurists to conduct a new high level mission to Tibet, and
calling on the government of the People's Republic of China and the
Tibetan Government in Exile, without delay and without conditions, to
commence genuine negotiations to facilitate the exercise of the Tibetan
people's right to self-determination. (See page 9 for precis of
Conference)
In November 1993, at the first APEC Summit, President Clinton of the
United States issued an ultimatum to the Chinese Government: if China's
"Most Favoured Nation" status were to be renewed, China must, within the
next twelve months, fulfil a number of requirements in the area of human
rights, among them to allow the International Red Cross to visit prisons
in China (which at present also includes Tibet), to release jailed
dissidents, and to start a genuine dialogue with the Tibetan Government
in Exile about Tibet.
Permanent Tribunal of Peoples: Session on Tibet
VERDICT
DECISION For the reasons established, the Tribunal decides:
1. That the Tibetan people have from 1950 been, continuously, deprived
of their right to self-determination;
2. That this breach of a basic right of the Tibetan people has been
achieved through the violation of other basic rights of the Tibetan
people, among others by depriving them of the right of the exercise of
freedom of religion and expression, by arbitrary arrests and punishments
without trial, the destruction of religious and cultural monuments and
by resorting to torture;
3. That the population transfers from the People's Republic of China
into the territory of Tibet of non Tibetan peoples is directed towards
undermining the ethnic and cultural unity of Tibet;
4. That the division of the territory of Tibet in two parts, one called
the "Autonomous Region of Tibet" and the other made up administratively
of parts of various Chinese provinces, is also directed towards
destroying the unity and the identity of the Tibetan people; and
5. That the Tibetan people were autonomously governed for many
centuries; achieved a specific state structure after 1911 and that the
basic Tibetan institutions are now represented by the Tibetan Government
in Exile.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Copy of this Verdict, shall, as soon as possible, be provided by the
Secretary General of the Tribunal to the Government of the People's
Republic of China, the Government of Tibet in Exile and the Secretary
General of the United Nations. It shall also be provided to other
interested States and international, national and regional bodies. The
Government of the People's Republic of China is called upon without
delay to conform to the findings of the Tribunal, to cease human rights
abuses, to punish those found responsible and to afford the Tibetan
people the exercise of their right to self-determination.
2. To break the impasse of derogations from international law and
further grave violations of human rights found by it the Tribunal
appeals to the Secretary General of the United Nations to establish
appropriate machinery to permit the conduct within Tibet of an act of
self-determination to determine the future political arrangements of
Tibet and its association, if any, with the People's Republic of China.
As a preliminary step to this end, a Special Rapporteur for Tibet should
be appointed to investigate and report to the organs of the United
Nations and the world community of allegations of human rights abuses in
Tibet and the desire for, and exercise of, the Tibetan people's right to
self-determination, guaranteed by the Charter.
3. The Secretary General of the Tribunal shall call to the particular
notice of the Secretary General of the United Nations, and other
relevant international agencies, the complaints received by the Tribunal
of forced involuntary sterilization of women of child-bearing age as a
deliberate programme of ethnic genocide, with a recommendation that this
complaint be the subject of immediate special investigation. Similarly,
an international expert group should be established to investigate the
charges made during the hearings of the Tribunal of radioactive
pollution allegedly resulting from uranium mining, nuclear
installations, and toxic and radioactive waste disposal in Tibet.
4. Respected non governmental organizations (such as the International
Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International, LawAsia and the Minority
Rights Group) shall be provided with copy of the Tribunal's Verdict.
They will be urged to continue their vigilant scrutiny of the situation
in Tibet. The will be asked to explore ways of reaching beyond the
formal structure of State machinery to the peoples of China and Tibet so
that a just, peaceful and lasting relationship could be established
between those peoples on the basis of mutual respect, recognition of the
rights of peoples and faithful compliance with international law.
5. To further process of reconciliation proposed in the preceding
paragraph, the Tribunal urges relevant non-governmental organization to
convene, in 1993 or 1994, an international conference on the future of
Tibet. Such a conference should consider this Verdict and the record of
the proceedings of the Tribunal. It should explore concrete ways of
working towards reconciliation between the Tibetan and the Chinese
peoples. These ways could include the appointment of human rights
monitors and the posting of United Nations volunteers in a Tibetan Zone
of Peace. Representatives of the Tibetan Government in Exile and of the
People's Republic of China should be invited to take part in such a
conference and in such measures towards reconciliation.
Conference of International Lawyers on Issues Relating to
Self-Determination and Independence for the Tibetan People: London, 6-10
January 1993
The Chairman of the conference was Hon Justice Michael Kirby (Chairman,
Executive Committee of the International Commission of Jurists, and
President, New South Wales Court of Appeal, Australia). Thirty
international lawyers from Africa, Australasia, Europe and the United
States were present together with Advisors (including Tibetans) and an
Observer from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The conference began with the submission and consideration of written
and oral evidence. Special reports had been prepared before the
conference on all relevant aspects of the situation in Tibet. They
explained clearly the Chinese position (regrettably China declined to be
directly represented at the conference), and then other reports and
views. His Honour Judge Peter Grogan was Chairman of one Committee to
consider this evidence and Hon Justice Marcus Einfeld was Chairman of a
second Committee.
The conference then considered matters of relevant international law, on
the basis of papers submitted from distinguished experts and plenary
discussion, and in the light of the conclusions on evidence. The
participants approached these issues rigorously and with neutrality and
professionalism.
The conference concluded that Tibetans are a 'people' for international
law purposes and that the principles of national unity and territorial
integrity on the one hand and the right to self-determination on the
other hand are compatible in the particular case of Tibet and having
regard to its long history of separate existence. The conference
therefore concluded that the Tibetan people are entitled, in the manner
and to the extent allowed by international law, to the exercise of the
right to self-determination.
The conference also concluded that by reason of the act of aggression
and military occupation, the Tibetan people's right to the exercise of
self-determination has been denied. Since the military action of
1949-50, Tibet has been under the alien occupation and domination of the
People's Republic of China and bas been administered with the
characteristics of an oppressive colonial administration.
The conference also found that significant settlements of non-Tibetans
from China have occurred in the traditional territory of Tibet without
the free consent of the Tibetan people. These pose a serious threat to
the survival of the Tibetan people, and such population transfers do not
conform to international law. The conference considered that they should
cease at once.
The conference also considered the evidential reports concerning
violations of human rights and considered that such violations are
contrary to international law. The People's Republic of China is
required by international law to ensure the respect of the fundamental
human rights of the Tibetan people. It cannot evade that legal
requirement by an appeal to its domestic jurisdiction. On the contrary,
the violation of human rights is an additional justification for the
demand by the Tibetan people for the exercise of their right of
self-determination.
The conference concluded by making 13 recommendations. These included
* An urgent invitation to the UN General Assembly to pass a resolution
renewing its call for the respect for human rights in Tibet, in
particular renewing its call for the implementation of the right to
self-determination of the Tibetan people, as contained in Resolutions
1353, 1723 and 2079;
* Urging the UN Commission on Human Rights to appoint a Special
Rapporteur on Tibet as a matter of urgent priority;
* Requesting the International Commission of Jurists to conduct a new
high level mission to Tibet by independent experts of unquestioned
integrity; and
* Calling on the government of the People's Republic of China and the
Tibetan Government in Exile, without delay and without conditions, to
commence genuine negotiations to facilitate the exercise of the Tibetan
people's right to self-determination.
German Bundestag
Bonn, 20 June, 1996
(TRANSLATION OF GERMAN PARLIAMENTARY RESOLUTION ON TIBET)
Improving the Human Rights Situation in Tibet
Since the resolution of the German Federal Parliament passed on 15
October 1987 by all Parliamentary Groups in common, the human rights
situation in Tibet has not improved, but has further deteriorated. This
became particularly clear at the hearing of the Foreign Affairs
Committee on Tibet held on 14 June 1995.
Commencing with the Chinese invasion in 1950 and its inhuman military
actions, the forcible oppression of Tibet and of its striving for
political, ethnic, cultural and religious self- determination has
persisted until today. The continued Chinese policy of repression in
Tibet has resulted in severe human rights violations, environmental
destruction as well as massive economical, social, legal and political
discrimination of the Tibetan population and ultimately in the
sinisation of Tibet. Thereto it must be added in particular the denial
of equal education opportunities for the Tibetan population.
One example for the obstruction of the religious life of the Tibetans is
the kidnapping of the boy who was designated by the Dalai Lama as the
reincarnation of the Panchen Lama and the installation of a second
Panchen Lama by the Chinese authorities.
The Dalai Lama has been striving for years to obtain a peaceful dialogue
with the Chinese government.
The German Federal Parliament
1. In view of the fact that in its entire history Tibet has preserved an
independent ethnical, cultural and religious identity,
2. deeply concerned that this independent identity has been threatened
by destruction since the Chinese action by brutal force of arms in 1950,
3. taking into consideration that in the hearing of the German Federal
Parliament on 19 June 1995 the status of Tibet, according to
international law, has remained contentious among the experts,
4. considering that it is the policy of the Federal Republic of Germany
to support the realization of the right to self- determination worldwide
and that Tibet's legitimate claim for autonomy arises from its
historic-legal situation,
5. in view of the fact that the Federal Republic of Germany has to
follow the policy not to accept the unlawful use of force as well as
massive human rights violations, and the fact that human rights
violations in Tibet are nevertheless continuing,
6. deeply concerned about the reports according to which a six- year-old
Tibetan boy, Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, as well as his parents were abducted
by the Chinese authorities only a short time after the Dalai Lama had
designated him as the most recent reincarnation of the second most
important leader of Tibet, the Panchen Lama, deceased in 1989,
I. condemns the policy of the Chinese authorities which, especially
concerning Tibet, leads to the result of the destruction of its
identity, particularly by way of the settlement and influx of a great
number of Chinese newcomers, forced sterilization of women and forced
abortion, political, religious and cultural persecution and the
subordination of the country under a Chinese controlled administration;
II. requests the Federal Government to increase its efforts to the
affect that
- the Government of the People's Republic of China respect the human
rights which are accepted worldwide and stop the human rights violations
against Tibetans,
- the Chinese authorities see to it that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his
family are released forthwith and permitted to return to their home
village,
- the Chinese Government discontinue any policy that may lead to the
destruction of the Tibetan culture, such as the systematic settlement of
Chinese in great numbers in order to push back the Tibetan population,
and the persecution of representatives of the Tibetan culture,
- the Government of the People's Republic of China react positively to
the efforts of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile for a
constructive dialogue and negotiate about more rights for the Tibetan
people,
- the economical, social, legal and political discrimination of the
Tibetan population be abolished,
- all political prisoners in Tibet be released,
- Tibetans living abroad may be allowed to return freely,
- the situation of the human rights in Tibet be the subject of
particular attention and critical discussion at the meetings of the UN
Human Rights Commission also in the future,
- the means of development cooperation used in Tibet benefit the
Tibetans, and the Tibetan people be granted appropriate education
opportunities,
- a stop be put to the environmental destruction in Tibet,
- increased attention be paid to the desire of the Tibetan people to
preserve the Tibetan culture and religion, and the domains be
ascertained where the German people and the Federal Government can
render assistance,
- in consultation with the United Nations Commissioner's Office for
Refugees there be investigations to see which relief actions are
required to preserve the cultural identity of the Tibetan refugees in
particular,
- an effective contribution be rendered to the education of Tibetan
trainees, particularly by granting an appropriate number of scholarships
for German training and education institutions,
- the aforementioned principles and measures be accepted and implemented
also within the European Union.
SOURCES
My Land and My People, H.H. the Dalai Lama, 1977
In Exile from the Land of Snows, John Avedon, 1984
New York Times, 14 June 1987
Human Rights in Tibet, Asia Watch Report, February 1988
Evading Scrutiny: Violations of Human Rights After the Closing of Tibet,
Asia Watch Report, July 1988
Physicians for Human Rights Report, Boston 1989
Freedom in Exile, H.H. the Dalai Lama, 1990
Tibet, Behind the Ice Curtain, Vanya Kewley, 1990
Merciless Repression: Human Rights in Tibet, Asia Watch Report, May 1990
Report of the Australian Human Rights Delegation to China, 14-26 July
1991, Commonwealth of Australia, 1991
Tibetan Bulletin, November-December 1991, September-December 1992
Report of the Second Australian Human Rights Delegation to China, 8-20
November 1992, Commonwealth of Australia, 1992
Tibet Brief, Journal of the International Committee of Lawyers for
Tibet, January 1993
Tibetan Review, issues of July, September and October 1993
BBC World Service news reports, 21 November 1993
Return to the Tibet's Political Situation index page.
This page was htmlised from Ani Chökyi's original "Tibet Dossier" by
Sönam Tenzin.
Dhargyey Buddhist Centre, 22 Royal Terrace, Dunedin, New Zealand
6 June 1996
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www home page: http://www.earthlight.co.nz/users/sonamt/
A. Saba
Dare To Call It Conspiracy
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