The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), today released its annual comprehensive report on the situation Tibetans within Tibet are experiencing. The report covers all areas of human rights violations in Tibet including language genocide, civil liberty infringements, religious restrictions and cultural discrimination. The report is very damning of China's treating of Tibetans through-out 2010, citing a continuing backlash to the uprising in 2008 as well as attempts to eradicate the Tibetan culture for China's increasing human right violations.
The report's comprehensive research has concluded that as of the end of 2010 there are 831 known political prisoners in Tibet out of which 360 are known to have been legally convicted by courts and 12 Tibetans are serving life imprisonment term. During the year, 188 known Tibetans have been arrested and detained, out of which 71 have already been sentenced by the courts. The report describes the death sentence as an ongoing crisis in Tibet with three more Tibetans, Sonam Tsering, Lama Lhaka and Sodor of Kolu Monastery in Chamdo being given the sentence this year alone. They also state that torture, despite it's banning in 1996 in China is still ongoing in the Tibetan detention centers and prisons, with the police using incredibly inhumane methods to extract often false confession out of the prisoners.
The report also covers the language reforms attempting to eradicate Tibetan from the educational system and the reaction that it spurred in the Tibetan students in Tibet and across the globe. The report states, "Tibetans have been calling for the preservation of Tibetan language as an identity of the Tibetan race and the foundation of religion and culture which connects to the wider issue of cultural and ethnic identity. Unfortunately the authorities see the assertion and promotion of cultural uniqueness and pride as anti-state." The TCHRD is damning of the proposed reforms calling it a contradiction of all the legal provisions and that it "will negatively impact the lives of Tibetans dramatically"
In September 2010 the State Administration for Religious Affairs degreed that attempts to further China's control over the Buddhist practices and the report is highly critical of the order saying "This regulation is a reinforcement legal instrument to curb primarily the influence of the Dalai Lama and other heads of Tibetan Buddhism most of whom live in exile pursuing their religious propagation and teachings." The TCHRD reveals that during a meeting held by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party in August, the head of the department, Du Qingli, commented that, "patriotic and legal education should be strengthened in order to make the monks and and nuns abide by the laws of the country and voluntarily protect unity of nation, nationalities and social stability."
The TCHRD also covers the restrictions and forced extradition that Tibetan nomads have faced this year, "While China claims to prioritize economic rights of its people, it has failed to employ rights based and need based approach to development in Tibet thus rendering extreme difficulties in the lives of nomads and farmers." The devastating earthquake in Kyegudo, resulted in a huge lost of life and the report commends China relief and rescue effort, however, it is critical of the government rejecting the Dalai Lama's plea to visit the effected region and pray for his people. The request by His Holiness was a unique opportunity for the government to show it cares about it's people says the TCHRD because they say "The key to win over hearts and minds of the Tibetan people lies in connecting with the Dalai Lama."
The 90-page report is available for free on the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy at http://www.tchrd.org/publications/annual_reports/
