Tibetan Uprising

Preface:

The case of Tibet, even after fifty tragic years of China’s occupation, is yet to be fully recognised and treated as a global crisis - especially by the governments of major countries and, therefore, by the United Nations.

Detailed research, based on eye-witness accounts, has confirmed that well over 1.2 million Tibetans died as a direct result of China’s invasion and occupation of Tibet. The Tibetan people continue to be subjected to the worst forms of discrimination and systematic violations of their basic human rights and policies of ethnic cleansing.

In the absence of any political mandate and popular support, the Communist party clings onto its rhetoric of ‘liberation’, ‘development’, ‘prosperity’ and ‘unification’ abound with cheap fabrication and propaganda employed aggressively to justify its imperial conquest and colonial occupation of Tibet.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, renowned Russian historian and Nobel laureate described the Chinese rule in Tibet “more brutal and inhumane than any other communist regime in the world”. The International Commission of Jurists too found, after extensive investigations, that China committed act of genocide in Tibet. The United Nations passed three resolutions in 1959, 1961 and 1965 expressing their “grave concern” over the violations of fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people and stated that the Tibetan people were deprived of their inalienable rights to self-determination. Notwithstanding all these global condemnations China’s dubious rule in Tibet continue unabated.

Despite constant white papers and grand announcements over China’s achievements and successes in Tibet, Tibetans inside and outside Tibet, who should have the first and the last say on the issue of Tibet, continue to protest and resist the violent occupation of Tibet.

China’s actions inside Tibet over the past 50 years have created a climate of fear that continues today - torture and imprisonment for peaceful protest, and economic plans that discriminate Tibetans, threatening their unique identity. The PLA maintains a strong presence in Tibet and China’s military control and demographic aggression has increased at an alarming rate with the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Human rights conditions in Tibet remain dismal. Under the Chinese occupation, Tibetan people are denied fundamental human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights including the rights to self-determination, freedom of religion, speech, assembly and information. Even carrying a photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Tibet can expose you to torture and land you in prison for as many as six years.

In order to set the record straight, it is important to note that until the Chinese invasion in 1949, Tibet operated as a fully independent state by modern standards. Tibet had its own national flag, its own currency, a distinct culture and language, and controlled its own affairs such as signing of international trade agreements and border treaties.

Recent Uprising in Tibet and China’s Accusation

In the last over 50 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet, the determination and the strong will power of Tibetan people inside Tibet to unshackle Chinese colonialism have been well demonstrated through massive pro-independence demonstrations staged repeatedly since the fall of 1959 and through 1987, 1988, and 1989.

More so since 10 march this year, a series of massive demonstrations rocked the entire plateau of Tibet. These historic uprisings have not only re-awakened global attention and concern over the Tibetan issue but have also effectively presented the Tibetan people’s deep-rooted resentment against the Chinese colonial policies and rule. The uprisings showed the unified face of the Tibetan people as a cohesive force in resisting Chinese communist regime and further endorsed the nonviolent fabric of the Tibetan struggle.

Amnesty International in a report tilted, ‘China: The Olympics Countdown: Crackdown on Tibetan protesters’ offered a vivid picture of China’s repression that followed the peaceful demonstrations in Tibet. The report said that the Chinese authorities resorted to measures which violate international human rights law and standards including “unnecessary and excessive use of force, including lethal force, arbitrary detentions and intimidation”. The report further stated that the “authorities launched a major military build-up in the area, with thousands of military troops, special Para-military forces and other security reinforcements being sent in to put down the protesters”. With China’s previously documented pattern of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees in Tibet and with the region virtually sealed from foreign journalists and independent human rights monitors, the organization expressed its worst fears for the safety and well-being of those who have been detained in response to the unrest.

The immediate reaction from Beijing to these massive and widespread uprising in Tibet was to make a series of allegations against the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans living in exile, including, the blame of masterminding and coordinating the demonstrations. Of course China didn’t find it necessary to provide any further substantial proof and concrete evidence.

In a press statement issued on 30th March, the Dharamshala based Tibetan Government-in-exile dismissed these charges as “concocted and premeditated with no inkling of a truth in it”. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has repeatedly refuted these allegations and has demanded an independent investigation into the same.

For seasoned China observers the Chinese government’s ongoing accusation on His Holiness the Dalai Lama comes with no surprise. Ever since the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the Chinese leaders developed a rich and well-known tradition of blaming others for the disastrous consequences of their wrong policies.

While recollecting the active role that China played during the demonstrations in Tibet in the late 1980s, Mr. Tang Daxian, a journalist in an article “Events in Lhasa March 2-10, 1989″ tells vividly how the Communist Party of China orchestrated riots in Lhasa in order to violently suppress the Tibetans. In his article he wrote, “On the dawn of March 5, the Armed Police in Tibet received the action order from the Chief Commander of Armed Police headquarter, Mr. Li Lianxiu….that the Special Squad should immediately assign 300 members to be disguised as ordinary citizens and Tibetan monks, entering the Eight-Corner Street and other riot spots in Lhasa, to support plain-clothes police to complete the task. Burn the Scripture Pagoda at the northeast of Dazhao Temple, smash the rice store in the business district, and incite citizens to rob rice and food, attack the Tibet-Gansu Trading Company. Encourage people to rob store products, but, only at the permitted locations.”

Mr. Stephen Gregory in an article titled, “Propaganda, Deception, and the ‘Riots’ in Lhasa” released in the Epoch Times on 25 march quoted Mr. Ruan Ming, the former speechwriter for the late Chinese leader Hu Yaobang, as believing that “the violent unrest in Lhasa the week before last was carefully planned in order to discredit the Dalai Lama and to justify further suppression. The “riots” provide a pretext for any dirty work the regime may wish to do in the shadows to intimidate the Tibetan population so completely that it will eventually give up its stubborn attachment to Tibetan Buddhism, rather than “materialism.

Mr. Ruan has said to have further warned international society that they need to keep their eyes wide open and understand the violent and deceptive nature of the CCP.

According to an article titled, “Sources at British Spy Agency Confirm Tibetan Claims of Staged Violence” published in G2 Bulletin on 27th march, by Gordon Thomas, the London based Britain’s GCHQ, the government communications agency that electronically monitors half the world from space, has confirmed the claim by the Dalai Lama that agents of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the PLA, posing as monks, triggered the riots that have left hundreds of Tibetans dead or injured.

GCHQ analysts believe the decision was deliberately calculated by the Beijing leadership to provide an excuse to stamp out the simmering unrest in the region, which is already attracting unwelcome world attention in the run-up to the Olympic Games this summer.

The author Gordon Thomas further stated that, “The images they downloaded from the satellites provided confirmation the Chinese used agent provocateurs to start riots, which gave the PLA the excuse to move on Lhasa to kill and wound Tibetans. What the Beijing regime had not expected was how the riots would spread, not only across TAR but also to Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu provinces, turning a large area of western China into a battle zone.”

Further confirming Chinese lies, Mr. B. Raman, a former additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat of the government of India, writing in www.saag.org on 20 April, says, “It is learnt that the protests inside China as well as abroad are being sponsored and directed by the Ministry of Public Security, which is China’s internal intelligence and security agency.”

During the popular Tiananmen Square Demonstration, after the People’s Liberation Army murdered thousands of unarmed students in Tiananmen Square in June 1989, dead students’ bodies were dressed in soldier’s uniforms and photographed, in order to “prove” that the students had been violent.

Similar to these theatrical productions, a press statement released by India based Kirti Monastery on 30th March titled, “Tibetan monks forced to participate in staged videos”, reported through an information received from their compatriots in Tibet that “thousands of Chinese security forces raided the monastery and forced stage and videotaped various scenes of the Kirti Monastery monks in their rooms to falsely indict them of involving in violence and riots etc. In a secret phone call made by one of the resident monk, the monk warned that, “I am worried that the CCP is creating false evidence to try to show that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the mastermind behind the protests in Tibet. The security forces forced us to act out these scenes against our will with guns pointed at us. I appeal to the people of the world, do not be persuaded by these fake videos”.

Such instances of videography of enacted incidents have also been reported from Ngari Rutog (Western Tibet) and Karze region where Chinese security forces disguised as monks and Tibetans riot in markets with the security forces reciprocating with restraint.

Similarly, according to a Chinese woman who lives in Thailand and had witnessed the uprising in Lhasa in March, the Chinese government had staged violence in Lhasa by employing Chinese police posing as Tibetan. She clearly identified a Chinese policeman working in Lhasa Police Station posing as a Tibetan rioter in one of the many photos released by China.

China has unleashed a “people’s war” against Tibetans with various means, including the exploitation of the state controlled media which has been transmitting incomplete picture of the demonstrations to the Chinese public - focusing largely on the so called ‘violence’ perpetrated by Tibetans. Unlike anywhere in the world, the CCP exerts near complete control over the country’s 358 television stations and 2,119 newspapers-the primary media available to more than one billion Chinese citizens. Such control and censorship violates fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and the right to seek, receive and impart information.

Monasteries where protests have taken place are sealed off and deprived of food and drinking water. Bodies of those shot dead are taken away so that no evidence remains. Intensive ‘Strike Hard’ and ‘Patriotic Re-education’ campaigns have been reinvigorated fiercely to stamp out any further resistance and defiance. Ongoing political interference at all levels of the criminal justice system in China makes it most unlikely that those detained will receive a fair trial in line with international standards as detainees are denied essential elements of the right to fair trial such as a failure to give detainees prompt access to lawyers.

So far, the violent crack down of the peaceful protests in Tibet has resulted in the known death cases of over 215, with over 6689 imprisoned, over 1298 injured, and over 1000 missing.

The Olympics and the Games China plays with Human Rights

As China’s communist regime stages its ‘People’s Olympics’ and the world stands in applause, it is desirable that we all spare a fleeting thought for the Chinese people and what they really want.

In June 2007, over 10,000 people, mostly farmers in Fujin City, Heilongjiang Province, signed a petition titled “We want human rights, not the Olympics. In August 2007, more than 40 mainland activists and intellectuals signed an open letter - addressed to Chinese leaders and the international community - called “‘One World, One Dream’ and Universal Human Rights,” proposing measures to end human rights abuses and calling for the release of prisoners of conscience before the Olympics. An anonymous blogger set up a blog in August on Bullog, a popular discussion site, called “Beijing Olympics: I don’t support it.” The blog received lots of supporting comments and criticism about the lack of public discussion over the Olympics. It was later revealed that the anonymous poster was Chinese Sports Illustrated reporter and Sohu and Sina blogger Guan Jun (aka Gua Erjia) who said he started the blog “to let the outside world know that China does not only just have one voice.” His blog was shut down.

Amnesty International in its report titled, ‘People’s Republic of China: The Olympics countdown - broken promises’ has stated that “the Chinese authorities have broken their promise to improve the country’s human rights situation and betrayed the core values of the Olympics’. The report proclaimed that the Chinese authorities have ‘tarnished’ the Olympic legacy.

The run-up to the Olympics has included much that is bad for freedom and human rights as against the expectations of the IOC and the world. With the Olympics approaching, Chinese government has strengthened its political control to ensure that the Beijing Olympics will not be tarnished by unwelcome incidents of political protest or social unrest. As a result, Chinese authorities have locked up, put under house arrest and forcibly removed individuals they believe may threaten the image of “stability” and “harmony” they want to present to the world. Political activists have been harassed or arrested, the leaders of underground churches and ethnic Tibetan students forced to leave town and ordinary petitioners blocked from travelling to Beijing to lobby the central government. The regime has used poorly paid and mistreated migrant workers to build Olympics-related projects; it has ousted urban residents to make room for that construction; it has quashed many protesters (including those calling for Tibetan freedom, religious freedom, freedom of the press, property rights, and labor rights); and it has scolded, without apparent irony, its critics for “politicizing” the Games.

Many experts believe that the tangible effect of the Beijing Olympics has been to curtail Chinese freedoms, not to expand them. David S. G. Goodman, Professor of contemporary China studies at the University of Technology, Sydney has stated, “there is the strong possibility that, due to the increased public expression of Chinese nationalism associated with the Olympics, the continued evolution of domestic freedoms may be temporarily halted.”

In bidding for the games seven years ago, Chinese officials said that the media would have “complete freedom to report” with Hein Verbruggen and Kevan Gosper - senior IOC members overseeing the games - saying that they have received assurances from Chinese officials that Internet censorship would be lifted for journalists during the games. But Chinese media and the Internet have apparently been subject to more intense scrutiny. As the Games approach, intimidation of both the international and domestic media has intensified. Many visas for journalists seeking to travel to China before the Games have been withheld; correspondents based in China have been warned that negative coverage may cause their news organizations to lose accreditation for the Olympics.

China holds the dubious distinction of being the largest jailor of journalists in the world and they’ve held that record since 1999. According to Bob Dietz from the Committee to Protect Journalists, “since the Games were awarded (to Beijing in 2001) in fact, not only have media restrictions not gotten better, they’ve gotten worse.”

Financial Times reported on July 30 that Beijing was mounting one of the biggest-ever security operations for the games. The measures included surface-to-air missiles at the main stadiums and the deployment of 100,000 troops.

Instead of prying China open the Olympics as many experts believe will contribute in making the party’s repressive techniques grow stronger with the extensive use of Western technology particularly in the fields of security and surveillance. Internet and telecommunications technology that China received during the 1990s was put to work by the Communist regime against its citizens. After the Olympics the party will simply have more resources to employ against those trying to use new technologies to push for a more open China. Even before the Olympics, tens of thousands of Internet police monitored antiparty activities each day. During and after the Olympics, this number will increase.

So, when the Olympic Games are held in such an atmosphere of repression and persecution the onus is on the world leaders who attend the Games to raise their voice publicly for human rights in China.

The truth of the Chinese Communist Regime is aptly summed up in the editorial titled, “Nine Commentaries on Chinese Communist Party” of Epoch times published on December 2004. “Throughout its 80-plus years, everything the CCP has touched has been marred with lies, wars, famine, tyranny, massacre and terror. Traditional faiths and principles have been violently destroyed. Original ethical concepts and social structures have been disintegrated by force. Empathy, love and harmony among people have been twisted into struggle and hatred. Veneration and appreciation of the heaven and earth have been replaced by an arrogant desire to “fight with heaven and earth.” The result has been a total collapse of social, moral and ecological systems, and a profound crisis for the Chinese people, and indeed for humanity. All these calamities have been brought about through the deliberate planning, organization, and control of the CCP.”

China’s final solution for Tibet

Although the recent widespread uprising in Tibet has categorically exposed the utter failure of China’s policies in Tibet, nonetheless, as in the past China is reluctant to reflect or review its policies on Tibet. The hardline policies were evident in all the Chinese leaderships. Chen Kuiyuan, the former TAR Party Secretary, recommended that Tibet, Tibetan people and Tibetan Buddhism - in other words the very name of Tibet- must be destroyed and the “Tibet Autonomous Region” be merged with provinces like Sichuan.

Furthermore the post Olympic situation inside Tibet demands great concern and attention as recent internal party documents have revealed the Communist Party’s designs of unleashing a Mao-era policy of harsh political repression in Tibet. Similar sentiments were resonated by Zhang Qingli, the hard-line party secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region, when he publicly declared during the Olympic torch parade in Lhasa on June 21 that he will “totally smash” the Dalai Lama “clique” and proclaimed that “China’s red flag … will forever flutter” above Tibet.

Other secret documents also revealed total and final solution of the Tibetan question with mass demographic aggression of over 30 million Chinese in Tibet in the coming years.

One of the major concerns is that the Chinese authorities are attempting to turn on the anger of the Chinese people on the Tibetans by fueling ethnic tension. The struggle of the Tibetan people is against the wrong policies of Beijing and not against the Chinese people.

In a response to China’s allegations, the Tibetan Government in exile clarified that, “In the case of Tibet, the Chinese authorities are stoking ethnic tension in five areas. Agent provocateurs have infiltrated the ranks of Tibetan protestors and indulged in violence to create deep rifts between Tibetans and Chinese. The authorities’ relentless demonization of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is hurting Tibetan sentiments. China’s brutal crackdown on the Tibetans is sowing the seeds of complete distrust in the authorities. The Chinese government’s inflammatory use of the media and biased reporting is creating more misunderstanding amongst the Chinese people. The Chinese government’s active encouragement of overseas Chinese students’ association to counter pro-Tibet protests with protests of their own is contributing to mutual suspicion.”

Conclusion

In early 1970s when China adopted the so-called opening up and liberalization policy, the world especially the western countries had great hope of bringing about major reforms and freedom in China. They provided their utmost support and cooperation in accommodating China and consequently admitted China in all the major Organizations and Bodies such as UN Security Council, WTO, NPT, ASEAN, APEC, etc. China entered all the major international treaties and pledged to abide by its laws and initiate gradual reform and freedom in the country. Similarly, it was awarded the 2008 Olympics with the hope that this would act an agent of change for China.

However the three decades of economic liberalization, diplomatic engagements and free trade hasn’t been able to achieve the so called democratization and liberalization of China that the world so hoped to see. Three decades of global engagements has failed to improve the basic human rights condition as well as bring social stability and equality in Tibet and China.

On the contrary, China today has emerged as the world’s most rogue nation spearheading a number of evil campaigns including severe human rights violation, genocide, colonialism and support to repressive regimes such as those in Zimbabwe and Sudan. China today is one nation that flouts international treaties and laws without putting in any effort to implement the numerous recommendations on law and policy amendments, amongst others that have been given by independent observers after conducting thorough research in China. Today the most worrying factor for the world is the evident imperialist designs of China and its continuous occupation of foreign territories and aggressive militarization that threatens the peace, stability and the future of the world.

Consequently, the fate of one of the oldest and richest civilizations - Tibet is shrouded in uncertainty and faces the greatest threat of extinction under the Chinese Communist regime. Only a more assertive and forceful intervention from the freedom loving nations and people could SAVE TIBET and offer justice to the Tibetan people.

Therefore, on behalf of the Tibetan people we earnestly appeal the Governments, Parliaments, world leaders and freedom loving people to pay due attention to end the sufferings and the plight of Tibetan people, as unimaginable tragedy continues on the Roof of the World.

As we move forward with our movement we, the Tibetan People, commit ourselves whole-heartedly to this effort and demand that the Chinese government immediately:

1.  Remove all obstacles to the unconditional return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
2.  Begin dismantling the colonial occupation of Tibet and stop the massive resettlement of Chinese into Tibet that threatened the very  survival of the Tibetan nation, race and civilization.
3.  Send urgently an independent international fact finding mission and a media delegation to the areas of peaceful protests in Tibet.
4.  Release unconditionally all the arrested and imprisoned Tibetans political prisoners.
5.  End the ongoing violent crackdown and “patriotic education” campaign in Tibet and Withdraw security forces from monasteries and other Tibetan residential areas in Tibet.
6.  Revoke immediately its stipulated post Olympic policy of harsh political repression in Tibet.

Issued by:

Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement

www.tibetanuprising.org