Human rights group claims increased repression in Tibet
A human rights group has claimed abuses by the Chinese authorities in Tibet have increased in the past year in a bid to break the people's loyalty to their exiled religious leader, the Dalai Lama.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, in a report entiled Enforcing Loyalty, stated: "Beijing's obsession with stability and control in Tibet was the predominant theme of the year 2000."
The TCHRD is a monitoring organisation based in Dharmsala in northern India, where the Dalai Lama has been living in exile since 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
The report, which is largely based on the testimonies of newly-arrived Tibetan refugees in Dharmsala, cited comprehensive violations of six international conventions to which China is a signatory.
They include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Lobsang Nyandak, executive director of the TCHRD, said a ban on possessing pictures of the Dalai Lama was extended during 2000 from government workers to the entire population, with raids conducted on private homes resulting in fines and the destruction of pictures and altars.
Nyandak said a "patriotic re-education" campaign, launched in 1996, continued to target political dissent in monasteries and nunneries.
According to the report, 715 monks and 147 nuns were expelled from their institutions during the year in what was described as "a substantial element of China's repressive mechanisms to frustrate political activity in monasteries".
Four institutions were closed during the year, bringing the total number of closures to 22 since the campaign began.
"One of the core objectives of this campaign has been to combat the deep devotion of the Tibetan populace to the Dalai Lama," Nyandak said.
According to the TCHRD report, racial discrimination against the Tibetans was prevalent in the Chinese administration and affected all areas of life.
"Tibetans continue to face unequal and unfair treatment in the fields of public representation, education, employment, housing and health services," it stated.
The TCHRD outlined 26 cases of arrests linked to political activities in 2000, bringing the total number of known political prisoners in the region to 451.
It said two political prisoners died in custody during the year, and 22 had their sentences extended.
