“Tibetan Lawyers: Why Don’t They Come Forward?” By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser originally written for Radio Free Asia and posted on her blog on June 8th 2009.

Since the protests in Tibet that started last year in March, some Chinese lawyers have emerged publicly in support of Tibetans. As Woeser has written below, high-profile cases such as the case of Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche in Kham and of Labrang monk Lama Jigme have benefitted from their involvement.

Amnesty International also reports that amateur Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen "now has legal representation of two family-appointed lawyers" but the outcome of his case is still unknown.

For more background, please read this article from the Washington Post of June 26, 2009 and this article from February 20, 2009, presents the official Chinese position.




The top photo shows arrest warrants that were put up on the streets of Lhasa last year on March 26, 2008. The photo below shows arrest warrants that were put up in May 2008 in the northern part of Kham in a small town called Mani Gango. No such warrants have been seen in Amdo as yet.


On May 31st, more than 20 Chinese lawyers were running the risk of ceasing their professional activity temporarily or indefinitely. After the “Tibet Incident” last year, among them, 8 lawyers, together with 13 other lawyers, had jointly signed a petition which openly stated that they would provide such legal service as representation and defence for Tibetan people who were being detained. These 8 lawyers are: Jiang Tianyong, Cheng Hai, Li Xiongbing, Li Dunyong, Li Jinglin, Liu Wei, Peng Jian, Wen Haibo. At that time, the 21 signatory lawyers received a tough warning from the authorities, and have been prohibited from interfering in the Tibetan legal cases; all the law firms where the lawyers work have been forbidden to accept the entrust of the Tibetans by the Bureau of Justice, and they also received a warning stating that they would be temporarily prevented from taking the annual examination for registration. Lawyer Teng Biao has had his lawyer’s licence suspended; Jiang Tianyong has been temporarily prevented from taking the annual bar examination for registration; the President of the Bar Association of the municipality of Beijing has said: “We must use our wisdom to take the means of livelihood of the signatory lawyers away”.

In addition, one of the reasons stated by authorities for preventing signatory lawyers from participating in the trial of Tibetans was that “lawyers were in sufficient numbers in Tibet and that there was no need for the help of lawyers from other regions”. This is true because in the Tibetan areas, for the Tibet Autonomous Region alone, according to the report by Tibet TV of December 20, 2008, there were 94 practicing lawyers and 17 law firms. However, what really is a shame is that during the ‘Tibetan incident’ last year, those Tibetan lawyers not only did not sign the petition but did not provide genuine and meaningful legal aid for Tibetan people who had been arrested either.

Ordinary Tibetan people have always lacked the consciousness of their rights and of how to safeguard their rights. Especially when there is high political pressure, because of extreme fear, they will not dare to fight for their own rights. Conversely, authorities excel in having tribunals appointing barristers. In other words, the authorities claim that Tibetans in custody have defence lawyers, in reality, these lawyers exist in name only. For instance, last year on May 2, Chinese official media released an article referring to the procedures of Tibetans being tried in the ‘March 14 Lhasa incident’. The article stated that there were 31 lawyers defending 30 accused. In fact, they were all barristers designated by the tribunal. In addition to the local Tibetan lawyers appointed, they also nominated two Beijing lawyers who had not signed the petition. No one would be fooled by the outcome of such a trial. A good example is the description made by Tibetan lawyer Migmar Dolkar of her meeting with the defendant Lobsang Samten: “When I entered the prison, two doctors were examining suspects who were detained. At that time there were more than ten suspects waiting to see a doctor, and in addition there were two people who were on a drip.” It sounds as though Tibetans in custody received quite good medical care. However, according to polls carried out on some people who had been released, all the Tibetans in custody have suffered different degrees of beatings and abuse. Some monks and ordinary people were injured or even died or lost their minds following beatings. Some Tibetans who became critically ill as a result of beatings were sent to hospital for treatment but were threatened by the local police who prevented them from telling anyone that they had been tortured to extort confessions.

The 21 lawyers from Beijing and other places, who signed a petition to support Tibetans who were in custody, not only had to face pressure from authorities, they also had to face pressure from netizens. A few Chinese radical nationalists sent messages to the general mailbox of the supportive lawyers, insulting and threatening these lawyers: “… wait until I catch you animals, see how I’ll punish you, go ahead and be in the limelight. Whoever comes forward to defend Tibetan terrorists, I want your life or the life of your family members…” It is really a pity, even if one would seek the limelight, it should be the local lawyers in Tibet to do so. But where are they? Why is it that Tibetan lawyers could not do what lawyers from Beijing and from other places achieved? Was it because the latter had more courage? Or was it because authorities were watching Tibetan lawyers more closely, and all lawyers are not on an equal footing? Though they are all lawyers, when Tibetan lawyers were informed about the fact that lawyers from Beijing and other places used the law in order to preserve the rights of the Tibetan people, was it with peace of mind or with shame?

In fact, many Tibetans really need to cooperate with lawyers, and obtain their legal aid. Recently, two trials taking place in Amdo and Kham, namely the trials of Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche and Lama Jigme, have had excellent results, thanks to the brave participation of two Beijing lawyers, Li Fangping and Jiang Tianyong. Let us pay tribute to them! We should also pay tribute to other human rights lawyers who are willing to assist Tibetans. We also look forward to seeing the rise of other similar genuine human rights lawyers who would become involved in cases of Tibetans enduring biased treatment.

10,000 People Petition Against Death Sentences in Tibet

LONDON, 25th June- On April 8th, 2009 the Chinese government sentenced Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak to death for their alleged involvement in the March 2008 protests in Lhasa, Tibet. A number of other Tibetans have also received harsh prison sentences, including: Tenzin Phuntsok and Kangtsuk (sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve), Dawa Sangpo (life imprisonment), and three Tibetan women in their early twenties - Penkyi (death sentence with a two-year reprieve), Penkyi (life imprisonment), and Chime Lhamo (10 years' imprisonment).

Chinese authorities routinely deny Tibetans their basic legal rights, and these trials were not conducted in accordance with international judicial standards. The Chinese government has responded to last year's protests with extreme violence, and these convictions are part of a widespread campaign to punish and intimidate Tibetans who dare to speak out against Chinese rule.

March and April 2008 saw the largest protests in Tibet for 50 years. A wave of protests began in Lhasa on 10 March 2008 and, since that time, more than 150 separate protests have taken place across the Tibetan Plateau, the overwhelming majority of which were non-violent in nature.

These harsh sentences signal an alarming escalation in the Chinese government's campaign to punish and intimidate Tibetans who dare to speak out against Chinese rule.

Students For a Free Tibet, as a result , carried out a 10,000 signature petition to condemn the unfair trial and the execution of Loyak and Lobsang Gyaltsen and many tibetans alike.

220 pages of signature petition was delivered to the Chinese Consulate in various parts of the world. In London, 15 people in white tops, symbolizing solidarity and mourning for the tibetans who have sacrificed their lives so far and contnue to suffer under the brutal chinsese regime, delivered the petition to the Chinese Embassy.

Photos by: Sheep

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SFT Canada Confronts Continental Minerals Executives

Tibetans and supporters held two protests in Vancouver this past week; Saturday, June 20th in front in downtown Vancouver, and then again on Wednesday June 24th outside the Metropolitan Hotel where Continental Minerals held their annual general meeting. SFT Canada's National Director, Tsering Lama, was able to enter the AGM and confront Continental Minerals' executives, including CEO David Copeland, before being escorted out.  Several SFT members from Vancouver and Victoria took part in a "die-in" action right outside the meeting room after being kicked out.

For media coverage about this week's events in Vancouver, visit our media centre.

Tibetans and Supporters Confront Continental Minerals at their AGM

It was a rainy Vancouver day, but Tibetans and supporters organized by SFT and CTC came out to hold a second protest on Wednesday June 24th, outside the Metropolitan Hotel where the Continental Minerals AGM took place, to protest the company mining in Tibet. Earlier that morning, Tsering Lama, SFT Canada National Director, went head-to-head [...] Read more on SFT Canada's blog

SFT “Welcomes” Chinese Foreign Mininster to Ottawa

SFT Ottawa “welcomed” Chinese foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on June 22nd as he arrived in Ottawa to meet with the Canadian Foreign Minister, Lawrence Cannon. Below is a report from SFT Ottawa’s Wangdu Duntak and photos from Lodoe Laura. We started our protest against the arrival of foreign minister Yang Jiechi at 5:30 pm. There [...] Read more on SFT Canada's blog

Appeal to all Tibetans and Tibet Supporters to Sign Petition in Support of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo!

All Tibetans and Tibet Supporters are called upon to sign an important petition demanding the release of Liu Xiaobo who was formally arrested by the Chinese government on 23rd June 2009.

In 1996, Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to three years in labour camp for writing a joint letter addressed to China’s President Jiang Zemin supporting Tibetan self-determination and also calling for dialogue with the Dalai Lama. He was the first Chinese person to be sentenced for speaking up for Tibet.

Liu Xiaobo was a crucial figure behind 2008’s “Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibetan Situation”, an open letter written and signed by prominent Chinese intellectuals in support of Tibetans.

Tibetan writer Woeser has posted news about a petition for Liu Xiaobo on her blog alongside photos of an action carried out by young Tibetan activists in London earlier this year highlighting “Silenced Voices”. Read the blogpost and see the photos here:
http://woeser.middle-way.net/2009/06/blog-post_6000.html

Sign the petition here: http://is.gd/1efvd

There are three boxes to fill out:

Name:

Place:

Nationality:

Supporting Liu Xiaobo means supporting truth and justice in China today.  SIGN THE PETITION!

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‘Beijing 6′ Brian gives Shout Out to SFT on PBS Idea Lab

Brian Conley, creator of the well-known videoblog, Alive in Baghdad, and one of the ‘Beijing 6‘ citizen journalist detained this summer in Beijing for capturing images and videos of pro-Tibet actions during the Olympics, was interviewed for PBS Idea Lab about his incredibly important new project Alive in Tehran.

During his interview, Brian gave the following shout out to SFT and our efforts to break through China’s Great Firewall. Read and listen to the fill interview.

Ryan: So while you weren’t on the ground in Gaza, you had connections who were, and were able to get information out, too.

Brian: Exactly, and then we used Twitter to pull in questions from people and enable people to sort of interact with our guy on the ground there. So then when Iran started happening it seemed like a natural fit to try and use the same tools for the folks there, to enable them to basically communicate out. The primary thing that we’re trying, that we’re pushing right now, is basically a phone number that people can call, get to a voicemail box and record whatever they would like to say, and right now I have a public voice mailbox available via an Alive in Tehran Facebook [group].

Also, people can message me via twitter.com/baghdadbrian and then for people who are more private or who have family, they just want to share one voicemail box…we can set up a specific number for any individual. Beyond that, we’re looking at other tools. I’ve learned a little bit about how Students for a Free Tibet have gotten video out of Tibet. So there’s one tool I’m sort of sharing with people privately. Then there on Alive in Tehran we have a list of tools Iranians can use to communicate securely. So basically, right now it’s a lot of organizing and working it.

SFT Canada’s Tsering Confronts HDI/Continental Minerals’ Executives

Footage from HDI/Continental Minerals Shareholders’ meeting in Vancouver, Canada on June 24th. Tibetans and their supporters protested at the meeting to intenisfy pressure on the company to Stop Mining Tibet.

‘June 4th’: Facing the Mirror, Seeing Our Common Fate By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser originally written for Radio Free Asia and posted on her blog on June 5th 2009 on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the historic events on Tiananmen Square, June 4th 1989.

Amidst all the media attention surrounding the anniversary, Woeser's reflections on What Being A Dissident Means, published on the blog pages of the New York Times on June 2nd 2009, were one of the few Tibetan voices on the topic.






One of my friends, a Chinese musician born in the ’80s, sent me one of the songs he had just written. After listening to it only once, I could remember the lyrics. Tears quietly slid down my face because that penetrating sound of remembrance contained the following melancholic lyrics: “One day in June there were only young faces. Amid the spring breeze, they forgot time. One day in June there were only young faces. Under the sunlight, they were imagining the world. A gust of wind blew you away; a strong shower cleared up the sky. A gust of wind blew me far away; a strong shower erased footprints…”

I know whom this song is dedicated to. In the meantime, appearing before my eyes were not only Tiananmen twenty years ago, but also the three Tibetan regions of Kham, U-Tsang and Amdo last year; appearing before my eyes were not only the three Tibetan regions of Kham, U-Tsang and Amdo last year but also the streets of the Barkhor twenty years ago, or Norbulingka Palace fifty years ago. That time there were the faces of Tibetan people, but not only the faces of young people; there were also the faces of middle-aged people, and of old people, although the faces of young people were in the largest numbers. This allowed people to complain about the loss of beautiful lives, which solemnly disappeared like the sacrifice. Only yesterday, I was talking about ‘June 4th’ with a Tibetan living overseas. We think that ‘June 4th’ is not an accidental special event, and it is not the sort of event that only happens in China; if you compare it with what happened last year in Tibet, there are similarities in the nature of these events.

Chinese dissident writer Yu Jie described in his writings that after the ‘June 4th’ massacre, His Holiness the Dalai Lama shed tears for the Chinese people who had been killed and said sadly: “How can they use such ruthless means to oppose students leading a peaceful demonstration? These fresh and lively lives are so precious!” His Holiness indicated that he would openly condemn the crackdown carried out by the Communist Party. However, at that time the contact between Tibet and China entered a key era, and if such a statement were to be announced, the mutual dialogue between them would probably be suspended one more time. Yet His Holiness used stronger terms and said: “In this moment of grief, we must stand together with the people who have been massacred, and we must pray for their souls.”

But before the events of ‘June 4th’, that same year in March in the old part of Lhasa, the exact same massacre was carried out against Tibetans. Except for the place and the time that were different, another difference lay in ethnic groups. However, the people who perpetrated the massacre were all the military forces under the command of the Communist Party. In Beijing, they call themselves ‘The People’s Army’ whereas in Lhasa they call themselves ‘The Liberators of a Million Freed Serfs’. When the army crushed the protests by Tibetan people in the name of putting an end to the ‘unrest’, what most Chinese believed was the authorities’ excuse. When the army crushed the protests by the students and the common people in Tiananmen and in many other places throughout China in the name of putting an end to the ‘counterrevolutionary riot’, did most Chinese people still believe the authorities’ excuse? In fact, one of the lessons taught by ‘June 4th’ is that we must have the world wake up to the reality: since this political regime can open fire without mercy on its children, on its people, therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that it opens fire against different ethnic groups (or ethnic minorities) that are governed under its rule. Thus it is an issue of the nature of the political power and not an issue originating in minorities.

In other words, in fact, ‘June 4th’ is just like a mirror, which clearly and completely reflects the nature of the political regime. Inside the mirror of ‘June 4th’, we can see that Tiananmen Square has become the scene of a bloody massacre; we can also see that Lhasa in 1959, 1989 and 2008 has turned into a scene of a bloody massacre; but there is also Kashgar, the plains of Inner Mongolia…Han people, Tibetan people, Uighur people, Mongolian people etc. As long as this autocratic political regime exists for one more day, whichever minority, they all face the risk of being plunged into misery and suffering. Some people believe that ‘June 4th’ was provoked by a mistake of the political power at one time but this is not the case. Therefore, when we recall ‘June 4th’, we also recall the events that happened in our Tibet in 1959, and we also recall the events that happened in our Tibet in 2008.

The tears of His Holiness the Dalai Lama were shed for each life that was taken away; the prayers of His Holiness the Dalai Lama were said for each person, for the fate of each person who has suffered. On the 20th anniversary of ‘June 4th’, His Holiness once again issued an open statement, appealing to the Chinese leaders while the Chinese economy has developed, “they should have the courage to accept the true principle of equality, and accommodate different views. A tolerant and normal new policy would lead the Chinese society towards genuine harmony, and could also increase the popularity of China within the international community”. If this happens, Han Chinese, Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongols would live in happiness, and everyone would live in happiness.

STANDARD BANK LACKS MORAL STANDARDS WHEN IT COMES TO TIBET

London, June 24^th '09– Whilst thousands of people today around the world are expressing their concerns about Continental Minerals' mining operations at Shethongmon [Ch: Xietongmen] in central Tibet, Students For a Free Tibet UK in the narrow streets of Dowgate Hill made a similar stand outside the Standard Bank Plc. Tibet is on the front line of climate change. A unique environment that was protected and treasured for thousands of years by the Tibetan people is now under threat by the Chinese regime that illegally and brutally occupy Tibet, and by the involvement and investment of international corporations. Tibet’s mineral wealth is being exploited, for the profit of the Chinese authorities and at the expense of Tibetans who are given no say over what happens to their land, and who are crushed with military force when they attempt to protest.

Standard Bank Plc is one of the major shareholders of Continental Minerals. Along with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Standard Bank Plc, invested in Continental Minerals Shethongmon [Ch: Xietongmen] Copper-Gold mining project in central Tibet on 25^th August, 2008.

“Today when Continental Minerals is having their AGM Meeting with its shareholders, we call upon Standard Bank to withdraw its investment in Continental Minerals Corp” said Tenzin Jigdal, spokesperson for Students for a Free Tibet UK, “It is unconscionable that Continental Minerals continue to operate in Tibet at a time when the Chinese government is violently suppressing the Tibetan people's desire for human rights and freedom. As a signatory to the “Equator Principles” which ensures socially responsible and sound environmental management practices in any projects undertaken, Standard Bank must withdraw its investment from Continental Minerals.”

However not long before the final distribution of the flyers and open letters, disproportionate numbers of police arrived only to interrogate the three Tibetans distributing the flyers. But eventually it all turned out amicable and friendly. Moreover, Jenny Knott, one of the board members, was kind enough to meet the Tibetans to hear their concerns and accept the letter of concern to the Standard Bank Chief executive Officer Mr. Rob Leith.

Last year in March, Tibetans across Tibet rose up in a popular uprising against Chinese rule with more than 130 protests recorded. Chinese authorities responded by flooding Tibet with troops and used extreme violence to quell the unrest. More than 220 people were killed, thousands were detained, and more than 1,000 Tibetans remain missing. Despite the crackdown, protests continue today in Tibet and the situation on the ground remains incredibly tense and unstable. Further unrest and bloodshed is likely.

Mining in Tibet ­– like in any conflict zone – threatens the reputation of investors. The Dalai Lama recently described Tibet under Chinese rule as a “hell on earth.” Tibetans are in no position to exercise their free, prior, and informed consent for the exploitation of their natural resources. Minerals obtained from mining in Tibet are shipped to the east coast of China to feed the growing Chinese economy, offering few, if any, financial benefits to local Tibetans. Virtually all jobs in Tibetan mines go to Chinese migrants, even unskilled manual labour positions, excluding the high number of unemployed local Tibetans. China Labour Bulletin, Human Rights Watch and various other NGOs have repeatedly highlighted the use of forced-labour prisoners as miners.

There are serious concerns about the environmental impacts of mining in Tibet, such as the contamination of soil and water by arsenic or cyanide, which could seriously affect local farmers and communities further down stream in Asia. Tibet is the source of all of Asia’s major rivers. Under the Chinese occupation, Tibetans are denied the right to decide how their resources are used and may be forcibly removed from their land, without compensation, to make way for mines.

STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET UK ARE ASKING STANDARD BANK TO ACT.

Photos by: Luke Ward

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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