Three Tibetans Jailed for Suspected Separatism
(RFA | Washington | September 24, 2004)
Authorities in China have sentenced two monks and a layman to three-year jail terms, apparently on suspicion that they were involved in putting up posters advocating Tibetan independence, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. Topden and Dzokar, both monks at Chogri Monastery, and layman Lobsang Tsering were handed three-year sentences in August, sources told RFA's Tibetan service. Chogri Monastery is in Drakgo County -- Lu Huo County in Chinese -- in a part of traditionally Tibetan territory now under Sichuan Province administration.
Suspected Separatism: Sources who asked not to be named said Chinese authorities apparently suspected monks at the Chogri Monastery might have been responsible for posting a series of pro-independence posters on government buildings in the area in July. An official at the Chinese Public Security Bureau in Lu Huo County, contacted by telephone, declined to comment directly on the case because it had been designated "secret."
But sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said the three men were among 60 people initially arrested July 27 at a reception ceremony for a monk, Draksey Rimpoche, on his return to Chogri Monastery from Switzerland. As part of the reception, guests raised religious banners that in some cases included an image of a snow lion chasing an object resembling the banned Tibetan national flag, witnesses said.
Most of those detained were released after spending several days in custody and some paid 6,000-yuan fines, witnesses said. Some were beaten during their detention, according to witnesses. "Two men were beaten so severely prison [that] they can't even walk on their own feet," one witness said. Draksey Rimpoche subsequently cut short his visit home and returned to Switzerland while he still had a valid visa. He was unavailable for comment.
"Draksey Rimpoche originally planned to stay for two months in his home town, but after all this harassment he stayed only 11 days and went back to Switzerland," said another source who asked not to be named. More Political Prisoners in Kardze In its 2003 report on human rights around the world, the U.S. State Department noted that political imprisonment in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) had declined from its 1996 peak. But it added that the number of political prisoners in parts of Sichuan Province.particularly in Kardze Prefecture, where the Chogri Monastery is located -- had risen.
"There were credible reports that prisoners continued to be mistreated," the report said. "The Government's human rights record in Tibetan areas of China remained poor, although some positive developments continued." "The Government controlled information about all Tibetan areas, and in addition, strictly controlled access to the TAR, making it difficult to determine accurately the scope of human rights abuses. Authorities continued to commit serious human rights abuses, including execution without due process, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention without public trial, and lengthy detention of Tibetans for peacefully expressing their political or religious views."
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