From London to Lhasa: Students for a Free Tibet UK

London, April 25 – 20 years ago, in 1995, the Dalai Lama recognized Gendun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama. Days later, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was kidnapped along with his family by the Chinese government. Only six years old at the time, he was then the world's youngest prisoner of conscience. He has not been seen nor heard from since. The Chinese government continues to insist that it has the right to appoint Tibtan Lamas, and says it's nomination, Gyaltsen Norbu is the true 11th Panchen Lama. However, Tibetans inside and outside Tibet view him as little more than a puppet for Communist propaganda. The Chinese government maintains that Gedghun Choekyi Nyima does not wish to be disturbed by the outside world, and repeatedly denies foreign human rights organisations access to him and his family. Today Tibetans everywhere deeply mourn his absence as they observe his 20th birthday. In London, Tibetans and supporters gathered for a vigil opposite the Chinese embassy. People sang 'Happy Birthday' wishing for the well-being of Panchen Lama. Birthday cards were dropped into the letter box of the Chinese embassy. Prayers and a minute silence were followed for the long life of Panchen lama and to remember the brave Tibetans who sacrificed their lives for the Tibetan cause.

report and pictures by: Luke Ward

(Birthday Cards for the Panchen Lama)

London, 20 April'09 - Tibetans and supporters gathered outside the Chinese Embassy in London to protest against the death sentences given to two Tibetans by the Chinese government. In the next few days, these cases will be put to China’s Supreme People's Court for review, as with all capital punishment cases, and UK based Tibetans and supporters took the opportunity to send a strong message to the Chinese government. To a backdrop of chanted slogans, Tibetans used political theatre to depict the torture and execution of Tibetans. In explanation, Tenzin Jigdal, spokesperson for SFTUK, commented that 'The Chinese government has sentenced two Tibetans to death for rising up against foreign occupation. These sentences are part of the Chinese authorities drive to punish and silence any Tibetan who speaks out against the Chinese occupation. It is vital that we put pressure on our governments and the Chinese government to halt these unjust executions.'

On 8^th April the Lhasa Municipal Intermediate People's Court sentenced Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak to death for their supposed involvement in the protests in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital in March 2008. Phuntsok and Kangtsuk, were also sentenced to death but with a two year reprieve, and Dawa Sangpo was sentenced to life imprisonment for what the Chinese state media described as “arson cases that left seven people dead and five shops burned to the ground in Lhasa”. Little is known about the welfare of the sentenced Tibetans, and it is unclear if they will appeal on their sentences.

These are the first officially reported death sentences following the March 14 violence in Lhasa, in which the Chinese government claims 22 people were killed, whilst the Tibetan-exile government claims more than 200 Tibetans were killed by the Chinese forces in the subsequent crackdown. According to Amnesty International, following last years protests, the Chinese Government 76 people had been sentenced - ranging from three years fixed term imprisonment to life imprisonment- in relation to last year's protests. The majority were sentenced for crimes described as “arson, looting, picking quarrels and provoking troubles, assembling a crowd to storm state organs, disrupting public service, theft, espionage and unlawfully providing ‘intelligence’ to an organization or individual outside of China”. However, over 1,000 people were detained in connection with the protests in March 2008 remain unaccounted for according to the United States Commission on China, meaning many more await sentencing. Meanwhile, the situation throughout Tibet remains tense, with Tibetans under constant surveillance from a huge Chinese military presence.

Having failed to follow through it's Olympic commitment to imrprove human rights in China, the Chinese government has faced mounting criticism for it's human rights abuses and lack of judicial transparency. "The Chinese government has refused every external request for a real accounting of the detention, arrest and sentencing of those involved with the Tibetan protests," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "Both the arrests and the releases seem to have been arbitrary, and we still know next to nothing about those who are still detained or have been imprisoned."

The Coalition of UK Tibet Support Groups: Tibet Society, Students for a Free Tibet UK, Tibetan Community in Britain, Free Tibet Campaign and Tibetan Youth UK are calling on Tibetans, supporters and people of conscience to take various measures to demand a halt to these executions and an independent inquiry into the cases.

You can do this by:

1. Writing to your local MP

   - To find out who your local MP is, go to: http://www.upmystreet.com/commons/l/
   - Sample letter available at: http://sftuk.org/cms/Death-Sentence-Urgent-04/09

2. Contact the Chinese government directly

   Online: http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/stoptheexecutions?qp_source=an1

   In the UK:
   Chinese Ambassador: Madam Fu Ying
   Chinese Embassy Address: 49-51 Portland Place London W1B 1JL
   Tel: 020-72994049

   In China:
   Minister of Justice: Wu Aiying
   No.10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyang District
   Beijing 100020, China
   Tel:+86 10 8313 9065
   Tel:+86 10 6520 6706
   Fax: +86 10 8313 9051 Fax: +86 10 6529 2345

Photos & Report by: Luke Ward

On April 8th, China sentenced two Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak, to death for their alleged involvement in last year's protests in Lhasa. Two others, Phuntsok and Kangtsuk, were also sentenced to death but with a two year reprieve, and Dawa Sangpo was sentenced to life imprisonment.

March and April 2008 saw the largest protests in Tibet for 50 years. A wave of protests began in Lhasa on 10 March 2008 and, since that time, more than 150 separate protests have taken place across the Tibetan Plateau, the overwhelming majority of which were non-violent in nature.

These harsh sentences signal an alarming escalation in the Chinese government's campaign to punish and intimidate Tibetans who dare to speak out against Chinese rule.

Please help us stop the executions! CLICK HERE to send a letter to the Chinese government calling for an immediate stay of execution.

What's At Stake?

According to a report issued today by Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak were charged with "starting fatal fires" in Lhasa. Tenzin Phuntsok, Kangtsuk, and Dawa Sangpo were also charged with arson. The Xinhua report does not give any details of the evidence presented against these five individuals.

Read the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights & Democracy's condemnation of the sentences.

In addition to sending a letter, please call the Chinese authorities to demand a halt to these executions and an independent inquiry into the cases. Please note that China and Tibet are 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

You can also print and fax or mail your letter to the address below.

BEIJING:

Ministry of Justice
Minister: Wu Aiying
No.10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100020, China
Tel: +86 10 8313 9065
Tel: +86 10 6520 6706
Fax: +86 10 8313 9051
Fax: +86 10 6529 2345

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Minister: Yang Jiechi
No. 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100701, China
Tel: +86 10 6596 1114
Tel: +86 10 6596 3100

Supreme People's Procuratorate
Tel: +86 10 6525 2000
Tel: +86 10 6559 2000

LHASA:

Secretary of the Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)
Tel: +86 89 1632 5889

TAR People's Government
Tel: +86 89 1633 2067

TAR People's Congress
Tel: +86 89 1683 2423

Tibetans, pro-democracy Chinese and Burmese in London united in condemnation of Hu Jintao

 

From Tibetan Community in Britain

[London 02 April 2009]

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s arrival in London for the G20 Summit triggered a series of peaceful protests outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, where he was staying.

Six Tibetans and four Chinese staged a 24-hour hunger strike to highlight the gross violation of human rights by the Chinese regime under Hu Jintao, in particular China’s repressive policies in Tibet. A candlelight vigil concluded the hunger strike, where more Chinese from Falun Gong group and Burmese joined in solidarity to condemn Hu Jintao of his total lack of respect for human rights.

Phurbu Rinzin from Tibetan Community in Britain said, “We have taken these actions to remind Mr Hu Jintao of the deep pain Tibetans continue to suffer under China’s wrong and repressive policies in Tibet.”

Whilst protesting at the ExCel Centre earlier today, Karma Chura-Tsang, Director of Tibetan Youth UK said, “We are calling the world leaders to raise the deepening crisis in Tibet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and call for an end to his government’s violent repression of the Tibetan people.”

Shao Jiang, a survivor of the Tiananmen Massacre, who also participated in the hunger strike, stressed the importance of “freedom of expression, respect for human rights in China and the right to the self-determination of Tibetan people.” He also called for democracy in China and justice for Tiananmen victims.

Prince Charles has reportedly raised Tibet with Hu Jintao when loud protest continued outside the hotel. Tibetan National Anthem fittingly concluded the protest against Hu Jintao in London.

LONDON - Students for a Free Tibet UK have published an open letter to world leaders attending the G20 Summit in London on April 2nd, asking 'What is the exchange rate between Chinese Yuan and Tibetan lives?' The letter, framed in economic language, seeks to highlight the fact that trade itself funds state oppression, resulting in the Chinese regime's 'extraordinary growth in human rights abuses' and states directly to world leaders: 'The choice is yours; the G20 summit is an opportunity to invest in a portfolio of Chinese human rights abuses. It is also an opportunity to seek an ethical alternative. People of conscience, the world over, are asking you to put human rights before trade.'

"There is another crisis, aside from global economics, which the world expects the Chinese government to take action on, and that is the human rights crisis in Tibet." said Terry Bettger, spokesperson for Students for a Free Tibet UK, "Despite de facto martial law existing
in the region Tibetans continue to strive to call for their rights and justice. World leaders must listen to this cry for help and press Hu Jintao to allow an independent investigation into Tibet to monitor the human rights situation immediately."

The full text of the open letter is as follows:

Dear World Leader,

Welcome to this very special opportunity to invest in the Chinese government, here at the G20 Summit. As a major investor you can share in the unprecedented oppression boom that has seen the Chinese government build an absolute advantage over other repressive regimes. Successive Chinese leaders have overseen extraordinary growth in human rights abuses. Productivity in this area has been particularly evident in Tibet.

Since the hostile takeover of 1959 the Chinese government has seen its investment in prisons and labour camps forge an unprecedented output in torture against Tibetan political prisoners, described in 2008 as ‘routine and widespread’ by the UN Committee Against Torture. Military expenditure, up 14.9% this year has doubled over the last decade and helps to enforce the steady incline in Gross Domestic Oppression (GDO) against the Tibetan people. This may be referred to as an ‘internal affair’ by the Chinese leadership, but foreign investment is central to maintaining growth in oppressing the Tibetans and maintaining market stability.

Huge assets in the form of lumber, minerals and fossil fuels have been acquired as a result of China’s takeover of Tibet, and the investment in transport infrastructure, particularly the Gormo-Lhasa railway line, has streamlined the transportation of these assets out of Tibet to the benefit of the Chinese economy. This industry has created thousands of jobs, the vast majority employing the migrant Han Chinese workers flooding Tibet at the expense of Tibetans.
Training programs for locals in the form of patriotic re-education are systematic means of promoting ideology to the local Tibetan populous, and although recognised as a form of psychological torture, works well as part of a policy that also involves arbitrary detention, communications censorship and indiscriminate gunfire against those who demand better conditions.

Despite these measures however, and the aggressive use of propaganda marketing, the Chinese government have seen continued deflation in the appeal of their product in the Tibetan market and have not been able to acquire the assets of the unique Tibetan identity and culture. The Dalai Lama holds a monopoly on the hearts of the Tibetan people.

As an investor, you can fund further expansion of terror and oppression against Tibetans, aggressive marketing campaigns such as ‘Serf Emancipation Day’ and propaganda offensives against the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government in exile. You can fund the increasing influx of Han Chinese into Tibet, steadily making Tibetans a minority in their own land. You can fund the use of torture and disproportionate including lethal force against Tibetans who speak out against their occupiers.

The choice is yours; the G20 summit is an opportunity to invest in a portfolio of Chinese human rights abuses. It is also an opportunity to seek an ethical alternative. People of conscience, the world over, are asking you to put human rights before trade. The global financial crisis cannot be solved by overlooking the human rights crisis in Tibet, so please ask yourself: what is the exchange rate between Chinese Yuan and Tibetan lives?

Sincerely,

Students for a Free Tibet UK