Crying for Tibet

1 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TIBET UN, EU & Human Rights Desk Department of Information and International Relations Central Tibetan Administration Dharamshala-176215 INDIA Email: euhrdesk@tibet.net Website: www.tibet.net2 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TIBET Introduction Tibetan Buddhism, practiced by the majority of Tibetans, has for centuries, been a core element of Tibetan culture and identity. However, since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950's, the Chinese government has consistently instituted repressive policies on the Tibetan Buddhism. Monasteries, including monks, nuns and religious teachings are integral part of a Tibetan Buddhism. Sadly, today, monasteries are forbidden to deliver traditional monastic education. Monks and nuns are barred from access to a religious teaching base on the compassion, and instead, they are subjected to a regular 'patriotic education' and other political campaigns that are fundamentally opposed to basic tenets of Tibetan Buddhism, including rhetorical attacks on Tibetan religious leaders. Furthermore, the monks' populace has been drastically fallen down due to the restrictions in a construction of new monks' quarters in a monastery1 and monks who are under 18 are not allow to join the monastic institution.
The Chinese authorities often restrict or cancel the religious festivals, forbade monks from traveling to villages to conduct religious ceremonies, and maintain stringent control over the activities of religious leaders and religious gatherings of Tibetan. Tibetans who dare to speak up for the religious freedom are often politicized and subjected to harsh punishment under accused of alleged link with 'Dalai Clique'. The biggest tragedy and despair in Tibet today, is the harassment, imprisonment, torture, and a harsh sentencing of lamas and other Tibetan spiritual leaders for their loyalty to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and their influential role, including social services in the Tibetan region. Possessing an image of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and any object which resembles devotion to His Holiness and other spiritual teachers are perceive "political' in nature that result in punishments for 'insufficient' loyalty to the state and Communist leadership. Even so, Tibetans in Tibet expressed their devotion and allegiance through songs and poems. Monasteries such as Drepung that once housed thousands of monks are now reduced to a few hundred whose main responsibility is no longer religious study but to project religious tolerance to the world and for the tourists. China's repression and hard-line policy to destroy the richness of Tibetan Buddhism is in violation of not only its own constitution and international bills of rights including religious freedom, but also breaches its obligation to protect the culture of ethnic Tibetan community. The worsening religious freedom situation in Tibet is documented in various reports, including the annual US report on global religious freedom for 2012 released on April 30, 2013. The report 1 Reported in the annual US report on religious freedom 20113 has documented that religious freedom situations in Tibet were "worse now than at any time over the past decade." Spate of Self-Immolation protests Since 2009, 132 Tibetans have self-immolated.2 113 of them have died on the scene or shortly thereafter. The whereabouts and conditions of 19 of the surviving self-immolators are unknown. All of them have called for freedom and return of the spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet. "Don't be disheartened, never be afraid of. How long can we trust the policy which forbids us from practicing our religion?" is the last word of Tenzin Phuntsok, a former monk of Karma monastery dies of self- immolation protest on 6 December 2011 in Chamdo, Tibet Autonomous Region. Inevitably, series of protests, including tragic self-immolation protests are expression of unacceptable situation where fear, suppression and no rule of law have occupied the daily walks of life, let alone universal rights-based environment to uphold Tibetan cultural life. The Chinese authorities have responded to self-immolations protest with further repressive policies, heightened restrictions in Tibetans inhabited areas, detained and sentenced Tibetans to imprisonment including sentenced to death, over the self immolations. Enforced disappearance, detention and harsh sentencing of Tibetans religious heads: Enforced disappearance is a serious international crime against humanity that violates multiple human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet, such disappearances are widespread in Tibet. Furthermore, numbers of religious heads are imprisoned for alleged link with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and 'subversive' influential role in the Tibetan region. Gedun Choekyi Nyima, 11th Panchen Lama: The Panchen Lama, one of Tibet's most highly revered religious head, had a unique relationship with His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been missing since May 1997. Following the announcement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's recognition of Gedun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of 10th Panchen Lama, Chinese authorities had abducted him and his family, three days after the announcement. He was then six years old and has not been seen in public since then. Furthermore, the Beijing government picked up a 6-year-old, Gyaltsen Norbu as their Panchen Lama in November 1995. Today, there is Chinese- appointed Panchen Lama to serve the Beijing government, and the Panchen Lama chosen by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is accepted in the hearts of all the 2 As of 30th November 20144 Tibetans, though his fate remain unknown still. Foreign delegations have been denied access to him, despite repeated requests. Tulku Tenzin Delek: Tulku Tenzin Delek, who is known for numbers of his social and cultural; established schools, clinics, an orphanage, and old-age homes in Kardze, Kham, Eastern Tibet, was arrested from his monastery in Nyagchu, Karze in eastern Tibet in April 2002. He was sentenced to death and later commuted to life imprisonment on 24 January 2005. He was arrested and sentenced under a flawed charge of his alleged role in a bomb blast in Chengdu, capital of China's Sichuan province. His attendant, Lobsang Dhondup, was executed on 26 January 2003. Given his leading role in public welfare and efforts in preserving Tibetan Buddhism, evidently, the Chinese authorities viewed him as a threat to the 'state security', and imprisoned. This subsequently led to defunct his projects. In a report released by Human Rights Watch, 2004 due to absence of leadership and fund, "schools quickly failed". At the end of December 2003, "schools windows and doors were broken and every one left". "Two homes for the elderly closed due to lack of funds". Furthermore, Kardze area was left with less medical facilities, as health clinic was also shut down. Patriotic Education Session: Monks and nuns are subjected to "Patriotic Education", also known as "legal education" or “Love your Country, Love your Religion” session regularly. The main aim of the campaign is to undermine the influence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to instill the message of the campaign to all that loyalty to the state is pre-requisite to being a good monk or nun. The campaign aimed to reshape the thinking of the monks and nuns, was initially launched as five-year programme in 1996 and has been expanding ever since. During the session monks and nuns are forced to denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama and declare their absolute support for the leadership of the Communist Party; they must prove they are 'patriotic', through an examination, or signed a pledge in which he or she expressed allegiance to the Chinese government and not to be influenced by the "Dalai Clique". Refusal to do so can result in imprisonment and even expulsion from the monastery and the regions. Political indoctrination has replaced Buddhist education in monastic institutions. Monks and nuns are harassed, arrested, expelled and imprisoned for refusing to denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other religious heads. 'Patriotic education' session/campaign is carried out by "work teams" (Tib: ledonrukhag) made up of Chinese and 'trusted' Tibetan officials. Today, the Chinese government-controlled body, so-called 'Democratic Management Committee' (DMCs) composed of government approved 'patriotic' monks and nuns, even party cadres and 5 government officials and in some case, 'trusted' Tibetan officials, has taken over the administrative role abbots, who served as traditional heads of monasteries prior to China's invasion of Tibet. Interference over reincarnation of lamas and tulkus Tibetan Buddhism has a close association to the Tibetan culture and identity. Therefore, the Chinese authorities have looked upon the Tibetan religious institutions, including monks, nuns, and the religious heads as a main threat to the leadership of the Communist Party; enforced various monastic laws and regulations, thereby to gain complete control over the Tibetan Buddhism China issued a new regulatory measure, which came into force in January 2007, known as "Order No. Five", includes clause on the recognition of tulkus. According to which, all incarnate lamas and tulkus must have state approval. This undermines the Buddhist traditional identification of reincarnation, and reveals China's approach towards controlling the selection and education of reincarnate lamas. The 2007 measure on recognizing lamas and tulku is the latest China's effort to gain control the entire system and process of reincarnation. China's 1991 regulations on the religion stated that tulkus could not used as a means for "foreign infiltration", whereas 2007 regulation specifically mentioned that all reincarnated lama must be approved by the state's religious affairs department(Article 36). China's attempt to control the legitimacy of reincarnation of Buddhist religious heads is not only against the core tenets of the Buddhist system of reincarnation and violations of a religious belief, but also a source of deep resentment among Tibetans that an atheist state who has no belief in religion is presiding over a centuries-old religious practice. Conclusion Due to the consistent gross violation of human rights in Tibet, and more so in the field of religious freedom, numbers of UN member states, international human rights groups and leaders have raised their concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet. During the 17th session of the Universal Periodic Review on 23 October 2013, several UN member states( Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, the US, the UK and Iceland) pressed China over its systematic attempts to undermine the religion and cultural rights of minorities, including Tibetans and Uyghurs. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) based in Dharamshala, India calls upon the international community to urge the People's Republic of China to immediately stop the ongoing patriotic re-education campaigns in monasteries and allow free and unrestricted access to Tibet by international media, observers and UN mandate holders.