A 19-year old monk of Khang-mar Monastery died as a result of torture by prison officials according to reliable sources.

On April 15, 1995 five monks from Khang-mar Monastery in Dhamshung, 162 kilometres north-west of Lhasa, were arrested by Chinese police officials for participating in a demonstration around the Bharkor area.

Other than a sketchy report on the arrest of the Khang-mar monks, no information is available on their personal details and whereabouts. However, we have been able to obtain their names. The names of the five monks are as follows:

1. Lobsang Delek
2. Tenzin Choedrak
3. Sangye Tenphel
4. Lobsang Choephel and
5. Tenzin Choephel

In the fourth week of May 1996, we received reports that 19-year old Sangye Tenphel, lay-name Gonpo Dorje died on May 6, 1996 as a result of torture while in custody.

Imprisonment and Torture:

Our source reports that Sangye Tenphel and his companions had been placed in Gutsa Detention Centre for four months following their arrest. On August 22, 1995, Sangye Tenphel was transferred to Drapchi Prison. While in Drapchi, he was subjected to torture because he refused to fall in with the Chinese orders to reform. For his defiance, he was tortured by at least four prison officials whose names as provided are: Nyima; Migmar; Tsenam and Paljor.

It is not known whether Sangye Tenphel died in prison or outside prison.

Demanding Freedom in Prison:

Another source reports that while in Gutsa Detention Centre, Sangye Tenphel raised slogans of "Free Tibet" and sang patriotic songs. He also stuck up wall posters on the prison walls calling for a free Tibet.

According to this source, Sangye Tenphel was transferred to Drapchi Prison on August 2, after his sentence was announced.

While in Drapchi Prison Sangye Tenphel once again engaged in independence activities and as a result he was tortured by four prison officials - Nyima; Migmar; Tsenam and Paljor.

According to our second source, Sangye Tenphel died while in Drapchi prison due to violent torture.

Torture in Prisons:

Use of torture in obtaining confessions is common in all the prisons run by the Chinese Administration in Tibet. Methods of torture include among other things, use of electric batons, hanging the victim upside down from the ceiling, slapping and kicking, letting ferocious dogs on the prisoners, exposure to extreme temperature etc. In 1995 alone, the Human Rights Desk recorded five known cases of deaths in custody. The youngest being Sherab Ngawang who died in May 1995 at the young age of fifteen. She was a novice nun from Michungri nunnery, on the outskirts of Lhasa. She was accused of participating in a demonstration in 1992 with four other nuns and was sentenced to three years of administrative detention as a prisoner of conscience at the age of twelve. She was repeatedly tortured and ill treated whilst in detention at Trisam re-education through labor camp. She died three months after her release in February 1995. A person present at the sky burial where the body is cut up and fed to vultures, according to traditional practice, reported that Sherab Ngawang's kidneys showed signs of acute damage and that there were adhesions on the lungs.

Note: Sangye Tenphel's photo is available from the Human Rights Desk. Any one interested in obtaining his photo may contact the Desk.

Chadrel Rinpoche Stripped of More Posts

According to a Radio Lhasa broadcast on May 22, the recent 6th Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee (CPPCC) of the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region ("TAR"), stripped Chadrel Rinpoche, the former abbot of Tashi lhunpo Monastery, of his membership of the "TAR" CPPCC and of the vice-chairmanship of the "TAR" CPPCC.

The "TAR" CPPC resolution said, "Chadrel Jampa Trinlay broke major rules of the CPPCC, went against the fundamental stand of the nation, and lost his political direction. As such we have been given permission by the Central Chinese Communist Party to strip him of both his membership of the TAR CPPCC and of his post of the vice-chairman of the TAR CPPCC. In doing this, we have purged the CPPCC of bad elements and have made it clean, and we have managed to gain the support of the broad masses for the CPPCC in its stand to safeguard the unity of the motherland."

Background:

On May 17, 1995, just a few days after His Holiness the Dalai Lama proclaimed Gendun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, Chadrel Rinpoche, head of the Chinese appointed Search Committee for the reincarnation, was arbitrarily arrested and put under house arrest. He was accused of "passing information to His Holiness the Dalai Lama" which, according to the Chinese authorities, enabled him to recognize Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama.

Chadrel Rinpoche Under Medical Care Says China:

More recently, in their official response to the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's communications concerning cases of several persons detained in the People's Republic of China and Tibet, the Chinese Government stated " Chadrel Rimpoche, the living Buddha of the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, after leaving Beijing in mid-May 1995 on his way home to Tibet, was suddenly taken ill and had to be hospitalized. Considering the fragile state of his health, the Managing Committee of the Tashi lhunpo Monastery thought it best to relieve him of his function as Administrator. He is at present under medical care".

It has been over a year since the disappearance of Chadrel Rinpoche, Gendun Choekyi Nyima and his parents. Inspite of the Chinese claims and assurances of their safety, so far the Chinese have failed to reveal their whereabouts which leaves serious doubts in the hearts of all Tibetans.

China Conducts Raids on Private Homes in Search of the Dalai Lama's Photos.

According to news reports, Chinese authorities in Tibet conducted raids on private homes looking for photographs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This massive campaign to ban photographs of the Dalai Lama in Tibet is aimed at crushing any support for Tibetan independence.

China's Campaign Greeted With Protest and Violence:

China's decision to ban photographs of the Dalai Lama has been met with strong protests and show of violence by the monks of Tibet's three great monasteries- Ganden, Sera and Drepung. After a clash between the Chinese Work Team officials and the monks of Ganden Monastery on May 6, 1996, which resulted in the death of two monks and the arrest of more than forty monks, Sera and Drepung Monastery closed to the public in protest of the arrest of the monks and the banning of the Dalai Lama's photos by the Chinese authorities. Similarly, Ramoche Monastery in Lhasa protested against the banning of the photos and was accused of engaging in "splittist activities".

It has been reported that over 600 monks of Ganden Monastery left monastery. It is not known whether they left the monastery voluntarily or were forced to leave. As many as 80 Tibetans have been reported wounded in a clash with the Chinese authorities over China's anti- Dalai Lama campaign. Witnesses reported seeing two trucks of badly beaten Tibetans, mainly monks and nuns, arriving at a hospital in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital,

Chinese Authorities Ban the Dalai Lama's Photos in Lhasa's Schools.

According to Tibet Information Network (TIN), in their efforts to ban photographs of the exiled Dalai Lama, the Chinese authorities have not even spared the schools in Lhasa.

On May 16th, 1996, students of the Lhasa Middle School, were reportedly summoned to a meeting, where they were told that possession of Dalai Lama photographs is no longer permitted.

The children were also told that they could not wear "sung-du", the red cords commonly worn around the wrist or the neck by all Tibetan Buddhists for protection.

The campaign of banning the Dalai Lama's photographs was first launched in November 1994, when Tibetan cadres working for the Chinese were told that they could not have pictures or any religious objects in their rooms.

China Enforces Strict Control in Lhasa:

A further sign of increasing tension came from Drapchi Prison in Lhasa, where relatives of inmates were told on May 14 that they were not allowed their monthly visits to the prison. The prison is known to hold up to 250 political prisoners.

To avoid negative publicity, the Chinese authorities are maintaining a strict watch over all western tourists. Road-blocks are said to be set up at various points on the roads leading to Lhasa. Western tourists have also reported the presence of large numbers of Chinese armed forces in Lhasa. One French tourist was reportedly detained for five days by the Chinese authorities on suspicion of his having taken photos of the violent incident at Ganden Monastery. The tourist was later released.

Amnesty International Condemns Violent Crackdown in Tibet

In a press release on May 20, 1996, Amnesty International condemned the violent crackdown by Chinese authorities in Tibet in a massive campaign to ban the Dalai Lama's photos.

Expressing concern for the people who have been injured in the police firing, Amnesty International said " It is appalling that people have been shot and severely beaten merely for displaying pictures of their spiritual leader... Yet again, the Chinese authorities have shown contempt for the Tibetan people's rights to freedom of religion and peaceful expression."

Amnesty International urged the Chinese authorities to immediately release anyone detained for peacefully expressing their beliefs and to remove the ban on displaying pictures of the Dalai Lama.

President Clinton Overlooking China's Human Rights Record, Renews MFN for China

Amidst the most severe clamp down in Tibet since martial law was imposed in 1989, President Bill Clinton announced on May 20, 1996, that he will renew Most Favored Nation (MFN) trading status for the People's Republic of China for another year.

"The President's decision to renew MFN for China without even expressing concern over a serious wave of repression in Tibet is indicative of a policy which simply isn't working," said Lodi Gyari, President of International Campaign for Tibet (ICT).

The President's announcement comes at a time when the Tibetans in Tibet are going through a hard test of patience. Recently some of Tibet's greatest monasteries were invaded by Chinese "Work Teams" and ordered to take down all pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Many monks and laypeople have been reported injured following Chinese firing on the monks who protested the ban. This ban on pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama extends to the monasteries, schools and even ordinary households in Tibet.

Human Rights Desk
Department of Information & International Relations
Central Tibetan Administration
Dharamsala, H.P.
INDIA

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Last updated: 12-Aug-97