European Parliament Condemns China for Shooting Tibetan Refugees.
The European Parliament strongly condemned China for the murder of shooting of Tibetan refugees at Nangpa Pass. No response yet from international pariah China. The German Bundestag has already called for the implementation of this EP resolution by the European Union council. The EP resolution passed unanimously, sixty-six to zero with no abstentions.
Here’s text of the resolution:
The European Parliament,
* having regard to its previous resolutions on Tibet and the human rights situation in China,
* having regard to its resolution on EU-China Relations of 7 September 2006,
* having regard to the lack of progress in the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue,
* having regard to the United Nations (UN) Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials,
* having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights,
* having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
* having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,A. whereas on 30 September 2006 more than 70 Tibetans were attempting to cross the glaciated Nangpa Pass in the Himalayan region of Tibet, approximately two hours walk from the Nepalese border, in order to seek refugee status in Nepal,
B. whereas against the rule of international law the Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) fired upon unarmed Tibetan civilians, including women and children; whereas video and photographic evidence from the incident shows that the Tibetan group was moving slowly away from the Chinese forces firing upon them, did not approach Chinese forces nor represent a threat to Chinese forces,
C. whereas Kelsang Namtso, a seventeen-year-old nun, was killed during the shooting by Chinese PAP; whereas there are unconfirmed eyewitness accounts of more than one death; whereas a group of Tibetans including children were arrested after continuing to flee,
D. whereas Chinese State Media, Xinhua, has reported an incident in the region as ‘self-defence’ despite video and photographic evidence to the contrary; whereas the Chinese authorities have thus far not officially recognised that the incident at Nangpa Pass took place nor that any individual was killed by Chinese forces,
D. whereas since September 2002 formal contacts have been re-established between the Chinese authorities and the Representatives of the Dalai Lama in order to restore mutual trust and confidence,
E. whereas despite these contacts and the importance attached to these meetings by the central Chinese authorities, there have been over the past years frequent cases of abuses and violations of human rights perpetrated against the Tibetan population and in particular against Tibetan monks,1. Condemns the excessive use of force by the Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) in firing upon unarmed Tibetan civilians, including children;
2. Strongly condemns the killing of an unarmed civilian who, being below 18 years of age, was also considered a child under international law;
3. Expresses its dismay at the imprisonment of Tibetan civilians whereof 9 of them are children;
4. Urges the Chinese authorities to guarantee that the Tibetans detained during the incident will not be ill-treated in detention, and that international human rights and humanitarian law standards are being respected;
5. Urges the Chinese authorities to immediately release all children detained during the incident;
6. Urges the Chinese authorities to conduct a full investigation into the events at Nangpa Pass and ensure that those responsible for any crimes committed there are brought to justice;
7. Calls on the Council and the Commission to closely monitor, through its representations in Nepal, the situation of those Tibetans from the group who have reached Nepal and to make strong representations to the Chinese authorities on this issue within the framework of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue;
8. Calls on the Council and the Commission to reiterate its position that only dialogue between the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Representatives of the Dalai Lama can contribute to a peaceful and sustainable settlement for Tibet that both sides agree upon;
9. Calls on the Government of the PRC to continue the dialogue with the Representatives of the Dalai Lama in order to improve the respect of religious, cultural, linguistic and political rights in the Tibet Autonomous Region;
10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the UN Secretary General, the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
My Interview with Monticello
On Thursday I was interviewed by blogger and podcaster Joh Padgett for the MonticelloCast. We spoke about Students for a Free Tibet’s work for Tibetan independence, our recent Action Camp in India, and what campaigns SFT is working on now.
The interview can be heard below. Please stop by Monticello and check out Joh’s other work.
Backup audio link here.
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Sanity
Human Rights Watch calls for accountability and sanity in China following the murder of two Tibetan refugees by China’s People’s Armed Police (their paramilitary border soldiers).
The Chinese government should immediately permit an independent inquiry into an attack by a police unit on a string of Tibetan refugees that resulted in the killing of at least one girl near the Nepali border, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also rescind any orders that allow border troops to open fire on unarmed civilians.
I think the second sentence goes without saying more than any other sentence ever written on this blog. Only with China does one have to ask them to not shoot unarmed civilians. Though, with China’s history that’s clearly not so intuitive. But the need for an independent investigation is clear.
“Despite its pledges to the rule of law, China has never mounted a credible and transparent investigation into questionable actions by its security forces,” said Sophie Richardson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division. “An inquiry undertaken by officials -who either implicitly or explicitly permitted this shooting - is likely to lack integrity, so the government must permit an independent body to determine what happened at Nangpa Pass.”
While the world condemns China for the murder of Tibetan refugees at Nangpa Pass, what will China do to police itself? Will the commanders and soldiers who perpetrated this specific act be brought to justice? Will the policies that allow this murderous conduct be repealed? Will China relax their crackdown inside Tibet following the Nangpa Pass shooting?
HRW has made two clear demands. I support them and hope China takes the responsible step and allows an independent investigation into those responsible for shooting at innocent Tibetan refugees. It goes without saying that China must end its policy allowing border police to shoot Tibetan refugees.
China cracks down inside Tibet following Nangpa Pass shooting
According to Radio Free Asia China is enforcing a crackdown inside Lhasa following the shooting of Tibetan refugees by Chinese soldiers at Nangpa Pass last month. Additionally, Chinese police have detained two Tibetans and a Nepali for helping Tibetan refugees escape to Nepal.
First, on the detentions:
Chinese authorities in Lhasa have detained two Tibetans and one Nepalese ethnic Sherpa for allegedly escorting Tibetan asylum-seekers from China into India.
The detentions on Oct. 9 and 10 follow an incident on Sept. 30 in which Chinese guards opened fire on a group of Tibetans fleeing across the rugged border with Nepal, killing two people. Hundreds of Tibetans flee from China to Nepal and India every year seeking greater freedom of religion and expression.
Several sources told RFA’s Tibetan service that a team of Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials from the central Barkhor [in Chinese, Bagojie] area raided a home in Lophuk, in Lhasa city, late on Oct. 9. They detained two Tibetans there, the sources said.
“One of the Tibetans is named Tashi, from Chamdo [Changdu] county in the TAR [Tibetan Autonomous Region], and the other is named Yedor, from Dege Jomda [Dege Jiangda] county, also in the TAR,� said one source who asked not to be named.
“They also detained a Sherpa from Nepal in the Barkhor area on Oct. 10, but his name is unknown,� another source said. “He is also suspected of working as an escort for Tibetans [trying to] escape to Nepal.� One of the three men is being held in Gutsa prison in Lhasa, sources told RFA, but the whereabouts of the other two are unknown.
PSB officers took the precaution of ensuring no one witnessed the Oct. 9 raid, the Tibetan sources said.
“When they raided the Tibetan family where two Tibetans were living as tenants, they instructed them not to tell anything,â€? said one Tibetan. “Before arresting the two Tibetans, they made sure all the neighbors were inside their houses. It seems that nobody including the landlord knew that those two Tibetans were working as [border] escorts.”
Where are Tashi and Yedor being held? Have they been charged with anything? Apparently both are paid guides that help Tibetans escape into exile for a fee (apparently it’s greatly reduced for children). They were detained after the Nangpa Pass shooting, but there’s no implication that they were connected to that group of refugees. Since then other refugees have been stopped and Nangpa la and though not killed, prevented from finding freedom outside of Tibet.
Tibetan sources meanwhile report that 53 other Tibetans have been detained since September as they tried to flee to Nepal. These include groups of nine, 16, and 28 people, detained in the Dzonga area of Ngari [Ali] prefecture, Shigatse city in Shigatse [Rikaze] prefecture, and Lhatze county of Shigatse, respectively. Two monks detained with the group of 28 in Lhatze were released after explaining that they were making a pilgrimage rather than seeking asylum.
These detentions are coinciding with a crackdown inside the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.
In the wake of the shooting, which Chinese authorities have promised to investigate, “Many Tibetans are worried about [the possibility of arrest],” one source said. “There is tension among the Tibetans inside Lhasa city.”
Many Tibetans in Lhasa from the Amdo and Kham regions have felt compelled to leave Lhasa because Chinese authorities there-possibly in response to an international outcry over the shootings-are cracking down, source say.
Of course China is internationally shamed for getting caught murdering innocent Tibetans and their response is to make life harder for Tibetans inside of Tibet. Raising the specter of arrest and brutality and cracking down on freedoms not because Tibetans have done something wrong, but because China’s immoral, illegal behavior has been brought incontrovertibly to the world’s attention. They perpetrate an atrocity and rather than reforming their behaviors and relaxing control over Tibetans, they crack down to try to prevent any other Tibetans from finding freedom outside of Tibet.
China’s behavior doesn’t reform, it just gets worse. No matter how blatantly they are caught abusing Tibetans, their natural response is to crack down. Always crack down. Always lessen freedoms. Always throw more Tibetans in jail. Always find new ways to prevent Tibetans from having control over their lives. This sickening cycle of repression must be brought to an immediate end. Tibet must be free.
Video of Dharamsala Vigil for Nangpa la Victims
This video includes footage from the candle light vigil in Dharamsala this week, as well as part of the news broadcast from Pro TV of the Nangpa Pass shooting and interviews with students from TCV school in Dharamsala who themselves fled Tibet through Nangpa Pass. It’s a strong reminder that the refugees who were viciously attacked by Chinese forces are by no means the only or first Tibetans to put their lives at risk and make the dangerous trek across the snow-bound Himalayas. They are just a few of the thousands that escape Tibet every year in search for freedom. The children you see on this video took the same risks and were lucky to make it out with their lives. But not all Tibetans are so lucky in the search for freedom and the risks that they take are caused solely by China’s brutal occupation of Tibet.
- Freddie Matthews
on Heavenly Tibet? or Hell on Earth? - Peter S.Mulshine
on Heavenly Tibet? or Hell on Earth? - Lora McCoy
on SFT Canada’s Tsering Confronts HDI/Continental Minerals’ Executives
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