Human rights situation in Tibet continues to deteriorate, TCHRD says in its annual report

DHARAMSALA, 16 May:  The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a Dharamsala-based rights group, in its annual report said human rights situation in Tibet continues to deteriorate with the introduction of China’s new policies and regulations.

“The introduction of new policies and regulations has led to an increased restriction on human rights and lives of the Tibetan people. This has resulted in the arbitrary detention and arrest of Tibetans, who have been exercising their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of movement, religious and culture freedom and their right to an adequate standard of living, among others,” TCHRD said in its annual report released today.

The Tibetan rights group said that China’s treatment of Tibetans has deteriorated substantially and further added that Tibetans are denied right to an attorney and were subjected to an unfair trial.

“Tibetans are subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention with a prolonged period of criminal detention, allowing Chinese officials to escalate their unlawful practices by means of violence and torture to obtain forced confessions. Tibetans face obstacles to have access to a fair trial, especially if the charges held against them are of a political nature. Indeed, very few got to exercise this right in formal proceedings,” TCHRD noted.

The Tibetan rights group said the PRC expanded the scope of its policing Tibetans by introducing a nationwide campaign in January 2018 to eliminate all forms of ‘organised crime’ and ‘evil forces’ which in reality aims to expand and strengthen the Chinese Communist Party’s influence and networks at lower-level jurisdictions and primarily in rural areas.

“As seen in the past, the increased efforts to “strengthen political power at the grassroots level” have led to an unprecedented tightening of control and political repression in Tibetan areas, turning Tibet into a human rights black hole,” the report added.

The TCHRD further stated that Tibetans’ inability to travel within and outside of Tibet has been steadily growing.

“The numerous checkpoints and roadblocks, along with the barriers to obtaining a passport has made it near impossible for Tibetans to travel, with some experts noting that circumambulating around the Potala Palace in Lhasa is now more difficult than getting into an airport,” the report said.

The annual report also highlights the consistent and systemic problems with Tibetans right to freedom of religion and belief as well as health care and education in Tibet.

“The right to freedom of religion and belief is targeted by the Party’s two-pronged policy on religion such as ‘adapting religion to socialism with Chinese characteristics’ and ‘sinicising Tibetan Buddhism,” the report said and added that “the presence of a healthy environment and an adequate standard of living continue to decline rapidly as Tibetans have been unable to influence policy decisions to diminish the effects of river pollution, grassland degradation and desertification, land tenure security, among others,”

The tri-lingual annual report released in Tibetan, English and Chinese declared that human rights violations continue to occur in Tibet on a daily basis in the absence of intervention from the international community.

Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is a registered non-governmental human rights organisation established in January 1996 in Dharamsala (India) with the mission to protect the human rights of the Tibetan people in Tibet and promote the principles of democracy in the exile Tibetan community.