 2.390 executies in 2008, driekwart in China 24/03/09 In 2008 werden wereldwijd 2.390 terdoodveroordeelden geëxecuteerd. Dat blijkt uit cijfers van Amnesty International. Opvallend is dat China verantwoordelijk is voor bijna driekwart (72 procent) van de executies. Uit het rapport 'Doodstraffen en executies in 2008' blijkt dat er tussen januari en december van dat jaar wereldwijd 2.390 mensen geëxecuteerd werden in 25 landen. China is onmiskenbaar de koploper. In 2008 executeerde het land minstens 1.718 mensen, maar het werkelijke cijfer ligt waarschijnlijk nog veel hoger omdat statistieken over de doodstraf en executies er staatsgeheim zijn. Chinese academici spreken zelfs van 8.000 executies. Er zijn meer gevangenissen in Tibet dan in heel China! China official: Tibetan areas closed to foreigners Human Rights Without Frontiers Int'l, 23/25/26/march09 Tutu to China: Stop abusing Dalai Lama, UN 14-03-09 More protests in Tibet 1 march 09 Chinese authorities blocking internet for celebration of Tibetan New Year (human rights) Clash Over Tibet Has County in Lockdown China issues call to crush Tibetan 'separatists' China dribbles past UPR, dismisses concerns on human rights in Tibet Economics 'masking China rights record' US (not?) concerned about situation in Tibet: Report mensenrechtenbuiten spel gezet 
Phayul[Thursday, February 12, 2009 ] Swaths of western China that have large Tibetan populations have been declared off limits to foreign visitors, local officials confirmed Thursday, ahead of the politically sensitive 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising. An official at the tourism office of northwestern Gansu province's Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which is home to a major monastery and large Tibetan communities, said the region was again closed to foreigners and would not be open until late March. The official, who did not identify himself, as is common in China, did not say when the restrictions were put in place. March 10 marks the 50th anniversary of a failed rebellion in Tibet against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama was forced to flee into exile in India after the uprising was crushed. Last year, protests to mark the anniversary spun out of control, with deadly riots breaking out in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. The Chinese government says 22 people died in the riots, but Tibetan advocates say many times that number were killed in the protests and subsequent crackdown. Sympathy protests quickly spread outside Tibet to neighboring provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, and Qinghai, which all have large ethnic Tibetan communities. However, they were quelled by a huge military presence installed in the area. Tibet itself has always been off-limits to the international media unless special permits are obtained. China did put on a rare and tightly controlled tour of Tibet this week for some foreign reporters. Several organizations, including The Associated Press, were excluded. In Sichuan province, many areas open two weeks ago are now closed to foreign tourists until April, according to officials at the Ganzi prefecture tourist bureau. Only three counties in that prefecture will remain open to foreigners. Qinghai province has also closed many areas to foreigners. On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu described the current situation in Tibet as "stable" but acknowledged that foreign reporters have had difficulty accessing the area. "Since the March 14 incident, it's true that foreign journalists find it harder to go to Tibet. I think you all know the reasons. The government has taken some measures, " she said. Several journalists have reported being expelled from Tibetan-populated areas in China in the past week. Last year in March, the Tibetan people across the traditional provinces of Tibet expressed their deep-seated resentment against the wrong policies of the Chinese government in Tibet. Subsequent brutal crackdown by the Chinese military left more than 219 Tibetans dead and 1294 injured. Around 5,600 people are still under arrest or detention and more than 1000 missing. terug naar boven more protest in Tibet, Sey monastery in Ngaba in Tibet It just doesn’t stop. 
I got a call early this afternoon from a Tibetan with an eyewitness account of another protest at a monastery in Amdo, Ngaba (Aba).This monastery is just a few kilometers away from Kirti monastery where the other protest took place on the 27th. It took all day to piece the following story together: This morning hundreds of monks at Sey monastery managed to gain entry into the monastery’s main prayer hall by saying that they had to get their belongings from inside. Once inside they sat down and began the Monlam Chenmo (New Year prayer ceremony) even though the monasteries have been ordered not to hold any religious gatherings in the month of March. They are not even supposed to open up the prayer halls. At some point some Chinese officials came in and told the monks to stop the prayers and that, as they were already instructed, they are not allowed to have any religious gatherings in the monastery. At that time, at least 50 monks left the hall and went onto the main road behind the monastery. They began raising slogans for freedom and for rights and asking why they weren’t allowed to hold the prayers. They said that they have no religious freedom even though the Chinese claim that they do. They also called for the release of all the Tibetans arrested last year. 300-400 police and soldiers responded to their protest and attempted to stop them but the monks would not give up. Meanwhile, senior monks came to the spot and talked to the soldiers and pleaded with the protesting monks to stop their protest. Eventually the monks returned to the monastery. Now the monastery is sealed off and there is a massive military presence outside. Last I heard tonight, no calls were getting through to this area because the Chinese have cut the lines. Reuters put this story out already but I wish we had more details… I wonder what news tomorrow will bring. terug naar boven Chinese authorities blocking internet for celebration of Tibetan New Year (human rights) AsiaNews/Agencies (23.02.2009) - In view of the Tibetan New Year (Losar), which falls on February 25, residents of the region are denouncing that the internet has been completely blocked, isolating them from the world. In recent days, Beijing has increased the massive presence of police and army personnel in Tibet and in the nearby areas of Tibetan ethnicity, in Gansu, Sichuan, and elsewhere. For some time, these areas have been off-limits to foreign tourists. Losar is the biggest holiday for Tibetans, but this year many of them have decided not to celebrate it, in order to protest the harsh repression by the Chinese army in March of 2008, which still continues. 2009 also marks the 50th anniversary of the anti-Chinese revolt on March 10, 1959, which was violently repressed, and the resulting flight of the Dalai Lama into exile. The Chinese authorities have responded to the Losar boycott with arrests and intimidation. The Chinese army has camped out on the outskirts of Kangding (Sichuan), an area heavily populated by Tibetans, and is patrolling the streets of the city. In Lithang, county of Kardze, 24 Tibetans were arrested last week after taking to the streets to chant support for the Dalai Lama and promote the new year "boycott." In response, the police, in riot gear, set up checkpoints in Yajiang, a city on the way to Lithang. The tight police control and the ban on foreigners have also seriously affected the tourism industry, important for many areas of the region. The poor Kangding (Dardo for the Tibetans) was a routine tourist destination. But the news of the protests and repression has frightened tourists, creating further problems for the local economy. terug naar boven Clash Over Tibet Has County in Lockdown Washington Post[Friday, February 20, 2009 ] Protests Said to Be Worst Since March By Ariana Eunjung Cha Washington Post Foreign Service BEIJING, Feb. 18 -- The county of Lithang in Sichuan province was under lockdown this week after Tibetan monks, laypeople and nomads clashed with Chinese security forces Sunday and Monday, according to residents. File photo shows a Chinese paramililtary policeman standing guard in front of the Potala palace in Lhasa. China has ordered government and security forces in Tibet to crush any signs of support for the Dalai Lama, state media has said, as the tense 50th anniversary of an anti-Chinese uprising nears. (AFP/File/Teh Eng Koon) Zhou Xiujun, owner of a grocery store, said she witnessed a small protest near the county's main vegetable market Feb. 15 that escalated into a much larger one around lunchtime Feb. 16. On the second day, she said, she saw several hundred Tibetans gathered downtown shouting, "Long live the Dalai Lama," the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists who lives in exile in India. In just a few minutes, she said, squads of police arrived and a melee ensued. At least one Tibetan protester was swinging a stick, she said, and others were throwing stones. The policemen subdued them using what she called "electronic sticks" and tear gas. The activist group Free Tibet said the protests were the largest across the Tibetan plateau since violence last spring, which left at least 18 civilians and one police officer dead. Since last March, Chinese security officials have gone to great lengths to seal off Tibet. No foreign journalists, except on escorted tours, have been allowed into the region, and few Tibetans have been allowed to leave. Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party secretary for the largest autonomous Tibetan region in China, is a hard-liner famous for his strike-hard, no-tolerance approach to quelling unrest. Tibetans say that their movements are constantly monitored and that even those who are simply suspected of being disloyal to China have been questioned or detained. With the approach next month of the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising of 1959 that ended with the flight of the Dalai Lama to India, the crackdown has become even harsher, residents say. In the capital of Lhasa, for instance, at least 81 people have been detained over the past few weeks, Tibetan advocacy groups said. London-based Free Tibet said that at least 24 Tibetans were detained after the incidents this week and that two people were carried away by police. The extent of their injuries was unknown. The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, based in India, said 21 people were detained. It said two men were badly beaten and suffered severe injuries. Officials from the county government, police, and the tourism office of Lithang, which is located in the mountains of the Gardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern China's Sichuan province, confirmed an incident had taken place but declined to provide details or respond to questions. "I'm afraid of talking about this with you," one Lithang police officer said by telephone. "It's a secret. We are not allowed to tell all the truth, information, and what happened to people outside. This is the policy," the officer said. Since the riots that began last March, Tibetans have said they have been living under oppressive conditions, with raids on thousands of homes and businesses, and people detained for seemingly minor crimes such as having what authorities call "reactionary" music on their cellphones. But only a handful of acts of defiance have been confirmed. On Jan. 27, for instance, five Tibetan monks staged a protest near a monastery in Dege county in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province and called for Tibetan independence, Tibetan advocates said. The protests this week were related to plans by Tibetans in exile and in China to observe a year of mourning and forego Tibetan New Year celebrations in memory of those who were killed during last year's violence. The New Year, called Losar, falls on Feb. 26 this year, and celebrations usually last three to 15 days. According to Free Tibet, the protests in Lithang began when a 37-year-old resident named Lobsang Lhundup took to the streets, shouting "No Losar this year" and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. Witnesses said he was quickly joined by a crowd of others who echoed his chants. Police detained Lobsang Lhundup and a second round of protests ensued when authorities refused to release him. Lithang is a tiny place, said Zhou, the grocery store owner. But now "more than one thousand armed policemen and public security people patrol in the street and intersection. I heard more army will be transferred to Lithang County." "We are not allowed to go outside; the curfew started from the day before yesterday," said Anhui, a 19-year-old Tibetan resident. Zhang Yu, who sells tickets at the bus station, said phone lines were being monitored. Ma Long, 35, owner of a Tibetan robe and decoration shop, said all businesses had been ordered shut: "There are dozens of armed policemen and public security policemen patrolling in front of my door. Such kinds of things don't happen often." Researchers Zhang Jie and Liu Liu contributed to this report. terug naar boven 
Dharamsala, Feb. 12, 2009 - China rejected any mention of the human rights situation in Tibet at the conclusion
of a major international review of its human rights record in Geneva yesterday.China rejected many of the recommendations made by UN member states to implement specific measures and reforms for genuine human rights in China. In the report of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China issued by the UPR Working Group yesterday, China, while accepting some recommendations on the promotion of human rights in general, played down recommendations including measures to provide freedom of information and expression; ensure the independence of the judiciary and lawyers; safeguard detainees' access to counsel; protect lawyers from attacks and harassment; and grant freedom of religion and movement to ethnic minorities such as Tibetans and Uyghurs. Instead, China accepted a recommendation by Cuba to target "people who are qualifying themselves as human rights defenders with the objective of attacking the interests of [the] state and the people of China." "As a test of a state-driven process aimed at advancing human rights among member states through constructive dialogue, consensus decision-making, and cooperation, the Universal Periodic Review, with regard to China, is a failure," said Sharon Hom, Executive Director of Human Rights in China. "Instead, the process has given China a 'cover' for impunity." Mary Beth Markey, Vice President for Advocacy for the International Campaign for Tibet, said China's refusal to accept many of the recommendations on human rights in Tibet raises serious concerns beyond its own engagement in the UPR process. “The fact that these recommendations could be negotiated away in a back room damages the integrity of the UPR itself, which is intended to be a serious and constructive review of human rights practices, as measured against international norms. We have witnessed a gross and willful politicization of the process by China and its collaborators on the Human Rights Council." The U.N. Universal Periodic Review, held every four years, presented the first major opportunity for the international community to hold China to task on its human rights since the Beijing Olympics and the beginning of the crackdown in Tibet last year. New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada, Switzerland and the Czech Republic specifically raised concerns about Tibet at the UPR through a series of recommendations, all of which were rejected by China. Austria, Portugal, Germany and South Africa raised concerns relating to minority rights in China without specifically referring to the Tibet situation, while Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka focused on defending China's human rights record. Pakistan characterized ongoing unrest in Tibet as the result of foreign influences. The Chinese delegation also negotiated the rejection of points on state secrets laws, the death penalty, and other human right issues raised by different countries - ensuring that 70 of 119 recommendations made were excluded from the final draft. The explanation given in the UPR report was that these recommendations "did not enjoy the support of China". The Czech Republic, which holds the current Presidency of the European Union, was the only country to refer to specific political prisoners in its statement. It recommended that China end the 'strike hard campaign' associated with numerous serious violations of human rights, investigate all cases of police brutality and torture, as e.g. death of Mr. Pema Tsepak in Chambo in January this year, and ensure protection of right of peaceful assembly and to release all persons arrested in this connection. terug naar boven 
Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council recommendations to China, the BBC's Michael Bristow examines whether
the country's growing economic power is forcing world leaders to mute their criticism of human rights violations.There were many international protests over China's crackdown in Tibet When Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Europe recently, it was the global economic crisis that topped the agenda. European leaders seemed keen to hear how the world's third-largest economy could help them recover from the economic slowdown. Once, China's human rights record might have been the main talking point, but that issue does not now seem as important. Some believe China's growing economic might has forced world leaders to soften their criticism on this issue. Hong Kong political commentator Frank Ching said: "I think a lot of the criticism aimed at China is superficial. "Foreign leaders want to show their public that they are raising this issue, but they do not want to provoke China." Strong allegations Beijing has for some time drawn criticism because of what many perceive to be a lack of respect for human rights. Even the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has concerns about China's record in this area. In a report prepared for the UN review of China's human rights situation this week, the commissioner's office makes several damning points. The report says there are concerns about allegations of torture, ill-treatment and the disappearance of numerous people. Ethnic Tibetans and Uighurs - many of whom question Chinese rule over their regions - are particularly vulnerable groups, the report says. This kind of human rights record has in the past led to harsh words and the threat of action from Western countries. French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games last August following unrest in Tibet. In the end the French president - along with leaders from most of the world's major countries - attended the Olympic opening. Less audible But the apparent lack of public criticism of China's human rights record does not mean foreign leaders are not putting on pressure behind the scenes. Nicholas Bequelin, of New York-based Human Rights Watch, said: "Does trade trump human rights issues? Yes, of course." But he added: "Human rights remain a big concern for many governments, even though they are not ready to press China." Despite that, Mr Bequelin said he was disappointed China did not do more to advance human rights in the run-up to the Olympics. And he said not all countries take up the issue with the same level of enthusiasm. "We are concerned with the evolution of the UK in respect to human rights issues, Tibet in particular," he said. "The voice of the UK is getting less and less audible." He could have been referring to Britain's recent decision to clarify its position on Tibet's legal status. For many years the UK used the word "suzerainty" when it described its position on China's control over the Himalayan region. This could suggest that China's rule over Tibet is like that of a dominant state over a less powerful one. Proud achievements China says Tibet is a part of the Chinese nation and bristled at the use of the word. It put pressure on the British government to amend its view. In a written statement at the end of last year, Britain's Foreign Minister David Miliband did just that. He made it clear the UK had dropped the "outdated concept of suzerainty". "Like every other [European Union] member state, and the United States, we regard Tibet as part of the People's Republic of China," he said. Less vocal criticism of China's human rights record could also be a result of improvements in this area. That is certainly China's view. It made that point in its submission to the UN's human rights review. "There has been a significant advancement in the level and extent of Chinese people's enjoyment of all human rights," the document says. China is particularly proud that it has improved its (own) people's material lives since it began a series of economic reforms 30 years ago. It often argues that food, clothing and shelter are the most basic rights of all. And perhaps outside pressure has only a limited effect on China, whose officials constantly say the country will choose its own development path. "Putting pressure on China is not a very effective," said Hong Kong commentator Frank Ching. "China is a big county and is not going to change just because others want it to." terug naar boven  De morgen 23 feb. Phayul[Friday, February 13, 2009 13:59] Unfortunately Hilary didnt mention Tibet or anything about Human rights (21 feb) (22 feb)De nieuwe Amerikaanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Hillary Clinton, maakte dit weekend duidelijk dat de mensenrechten in China onderaan haar prioriteitenlijst staan. 
Dharamsala, Feb. 13: The US Wednesday expressed its concern on situation in Tibet,
but did not specify if the issue would definitely be taken up by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during
her visit to China later this month, according to a media report."You know, the situation in Tibet is something the US government has been concerned about for some time. We've raised that issue with the Chinese in the past," PTI reported the State Department spokesperson, Robert Wood, as saying. "The Secretary (of State) will be having a wide-ranging discussion with the Chinese when she is in China. I am not going to get beyond what we have said publicly about our engagement with China," he said. "But human rights issues are something that will be at the top of the Secretary's agenda, no matter where she goes," Wood said. Wood was reportedly responding to a question about the latest statement from the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama that the situation in Tibet is very tense and there could be a popular uprising any moment.  "The issue could very well come up. I just don't want to get into specific subject areas at this point. But you can expect that the Secretary is going to be bringing up human rights issues throughout the trip, where she deems it necessary to do so", he said when asked about whether the issue would come up or not. Mrs. Clinton, only a month into the job, as announced by the State Department last week, would be travelling on her first overseas trip in this position to Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China during her week-long trip beginning February 15. Meanwhile, seven prominent organizations, mostly based in US, Tuesday issued a joint press statement asking Mrs Clinton to put Human Rights on top of the agenda in her visit to Beijing next week. In the statement, Amnesty International USA, Freedom House, Human Rights First, Human Rights in China, Human Rights Watch, the International Campaign for Tibet, and Reporters Without Borders urged Secretary Clinton (will probably not?)to speak publicly about Tibet and Xinjiang, torture in police custody, domestic press censorship, extrajudicial detention, and abuses of human rights defenders. The statement recalls the secretary's own past comments on human rights in China, in which she stressed: "not taking citizens away from their loved ones and jailing them, mistreating them, or denying them their freedom or dignity because of the peaceful expression of their ideas and opinions." "If Secretary Clinton remains silent on these issues - as the US did earlier this week during China's review at the Human Rights Council in Geneva - the Chinese government is likely to get the wrong message," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "We ask the secretary to stress human rights, the rule of law, and protections for civil society as a centerpiece of US policy going forward,” she said. terug naar boven Phayul Thursday, February 19, 2009 Dharamsala, Feb. 19: China has ordered government and security forces in Tibet to crush any signs of support for the Dalai Lama, AFP reported a Chinese state media in Tibet as saying Thursday. A conference of Chinese Communist leaders ordered authorities to "mobilise and fully deploy" to maintain stability, the Tibet Daily reportedly said. The move has been descibed by AFP as "a possible indication China fears unrest ahead of the March 10 anniversary". The warning also comes amid a widespread movement to boycott festivities during the coming Tibetan New Year next week. The movement aims to use the occasion as a silent protest to mourn Tibetans who were killed during the government crackdown last March and express concern for those arrested or tortured. "The meeting called on the party, government, military, police and public in all areas... to firmly crush the savage aggression of the Dalai clique, defeat separatism, and wage people's war to maintain stability," the paper said of the meeting in Lhasa. The report, however, reportedly gave no details on any security measures. It said the order was aimed at ensuring stability for the 50th anniversary of social reforms introduced to supplant the Dalai Lama-led Buddhist system. However, those reforms followed the failed uprising that began on March 10, 1959, and forced the Dalai Lama to flee into exile. China is maintaining ultra-tight security on the Himalayan region ahead of the anniversary of the uprising, which was crushed by Chinese forces. The Tibetan government-in-exile says the Chinese army killed 87,000 people in the crackdown. China has ruled Tibet since 1951, a year after sending troops in to invade the region. The security meeting in Tibet said the overarching task for Tibetan authorities this year was to "resolutely go toe-to-toe in a battle against all destructive separatist activities to maintain stability." A separate editorial by the Tibet Daily, the ruling Communist Party's main mouthpiece in Tibet, also called for a toughened stance, according to the AFP report. "We must maintain heavy pressure on criminal violators from start to finish," said the editorial, which focused on the "separatist" threat. Exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama this month warned of a possible uprising in his homeland amid anger over a Chinese crackdown put in place after widespread anti-China riots erupted across Tibet on last year's anniversary. "It is so tense that the Chinese military have their hands on the trigger when they carry weapons... So long as there is a Chinese military presence, there is tension terug naar boven Tutu to China: Stop abusing Dalai Lama, UN 14-03-09  Nobel laureates and celebrities have joined Archbishop Desmond Tutu in urging China to stop "verbally abusing"
Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, according to a human rights Web site.The South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate expressed concern in a letter at what he called the deterioration of the human rights situation in Tibet, and the apparent breakdown of talks between the Chinese government and emissaries of the Dalai Lama. The letter — posted on TheCommunity.com, an Internet site for Nobel winners and dealing with human rights issues — was opened to the public for signatures Friday. According to the site, several Nobel laureates have signed the letter including Elie Wiesel and Jody Williams as well as dozens of celebrities and rights activists such as Richard Gere, Mia Farrow and Harrison Ford. Earlier this week, the Dalai Lama condemned China's "brutal crackdown" and its harsh rule over the decades, which has turned Tibet into a "hell on earth." Tensions have spiked ahead of two key anniversaries this week — the 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile and Saturday's one-year anniversary of violent anti-Chinese riots in Lhasa that sparked Tibet's most widespread, sustained revolt in decades. China claims Tibet as part of its territory and blames the Dalai Lama for advancing an agenda for independence and fomenting the anti-government protests in Lhasa. Tutu told the Dalai Lama: "We stand with you. You define non-violence and compassion and goodness. Clearly China does not know you. It is our sincere hope that they will." The archbishop continued by asking China to "stop naming, blaming and verbally abusing one whose life has been devoted to peace." Mary Wald, who heads the site, said the letter would eventually be delivered to Chinese President Hu Jintao and others. - AP terug naar boven 
Website: http://www.hrwf.net http://www.willyfautre.org Email: info@hrwf.net CHINA Chinese prisons under scrutiny for suspicious deaths, including minors AsiaNews (19.03.2009) / HRWF Int. (23.03.2009) - Email: info@hrwf.net - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - China's controversial prison system has come under close scrutiny after two inmates in juvenile correctional facilities in Hunan province died within days of each other. Whereas the teens' families have rejected official explanations for the boys' death, demanding a more thorough investigation, public opinion, backed even by China's official press, wants urgent reforms and guarantees against torture and abuse in prison. In prison since 2007 Xiao Haixing, 18, of Dongjing village near Changsha, Hunan, was serving a five-year sentence at Hunan's No 5 District Juvenile Correctional Centre for burglary. He died at No 3 Xiangya Hospital of Central South University on 3 March. Qiu Xiaolong, 17, from near Chenzhou in Hunan province, began serving a 2-1/2-year sentence at the Hunan No 2 Juvenile Correctional Centre in 2007 for robbing an internet café. He was found unconscious and unresponsive in his bunk on 6 March. Prison authorities said Qiu's death was probably caused by an asthma attack. In both cases the families have refused official explanations and have posted photographs of the bodies online in separate campaigns to bring attention to their deaths. Autopsy reports have not been released even though initial pathology reports indicated there were no signs of violence or poisoning, the Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese public opinion has lost faith in the prison system following recent cases in which the authorities initially insisted inmates' deaths had been accidental, but it later emerged they had been beaten to death by other prisoners. In the past police have been often accused of torturing people to extract confessions or using violence to enforce obedience. Many also suspect that prison authorities tolerate organised groups that keep "order" within correctional facilities by forcing inmates to toe the line. "Government-dispatched agencies should oversee and protect human rights in prisons and detention facilities, with emphasis on uncovering and punishing violations, such as extortion of confession by coercion and torture, obtaining evidence by force and corporal punishments," said Chen Weidong, a criminal procedure law professor at Beijing's Renmin University, quoted in Xinhua. Pressure on China to resume dialogue with Dalai Lama's Envoys ALDE Press Release (20.03.2009) / HRWF Int. (23.03.2009) - Email: info@hrwf.net - Website: http://www.hrwf.net -A Group of Nobel Prize Laureates, leading human rights activists and Members of Parliament from several countries joined an appeal promoted by the Nonviolent Radical Party calling on China to resume dialogue with the Envoys of the Dalai Lama. Supporters of the appeal include Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Máiread Corrigan-Maguire, former EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gijs de Vries, former EU Commissioner Emma Bonino and leading parliamentarians from Italy, France, Hungary, Sweden, Estonia, Cambodia and Kosovo. The appeal calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to seize the opportunity provided by a hearing, organized by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on the situation of talks between Chinese Authorities and the Envoys of the Dalai Lama, as a first opportunity to re-open direct talks between the two parties. The hearing will take place on March 31st at the European Parliament, in Brussels. So far, only the Tibetan side decided to be represented at the meeting by Mr. Kelsang-Gyaltsen, a Special Envoy of HH the Dalai Lama. The Chinese government has not yet replied positively to the invitation issued by the European Parliament. For more information, please contact the office of Marco Cappato at the European Parliament 003222847288 or marco.cappato@europarl.europa.eu. FULL TEXT OF THE APPEAL AND LIST OF SUPPORTERS We undersigned considering - Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's statement "China is ready to dialogue with the Dalai Lama", made during a press conference in Beijing on March 13, that hopefully opens the door to a more positive mutual relationship; - that the European Parliament adopted by overwhelming majority a resolution calling for the re-opening of direct talks, considering the "Memorandum for Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People of November 2008 as a basis for substantive discussion leading towards positive, meaningful change in Tibet, consistent with the principles outlined in the Constitution and laws of the People's Republic of China"; - that the Commission on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament decided to put on the agenda of the meeting of March 31 a hearing on the situation of talks between Chinese Authorities and the Envoys of the Dalai Lama; - that both the Representatives of the People's Republic of China and of the Dalai Lama have been invited to take part in the said hearing; - that this is a first opportunity to re-open a dialogue, firmly hoped by both the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and the Dalai Lama; - that the People's Republic of China have not yet replied positively to the friendly and trustful invitation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament; call on the Government of the People's Republic of China to seize the positive momentum and dispatch representatives for the hearing of March 31, as the Tibetan authorities did, as a first step to re-open a dialogue between Beijing and the Tibetan Government in-exile, regarded by the international community and the European Union with much interest and respect. This dialogue should be finalized to the affirmation of Peace as well as democratic and civil progress in the People's Republic of China and a genuine autonomy for the Tibetan populations. terug naar boven China arrests monks after protest over missing lama By Jane Macartney Times Online (22.03.2009) / HRWF (25.03.2009) - Website: http://www.hrwf.org - Email: info@hrwf.net - Chinese police have detained nearly 100 people, mostly monks, after an angry crowd besieged a police station to protest the disappearance of a fellow lama, making the first major outburst of Tibetan unrest since last year. Many of those outside the police station wept and shouted slogans. Monks and local Tibetan residents surrounded the station for hours, some sitting cross-legged on the ground, crying out: "Love live the Dalai Lama." The new eruption of anger demonstrates how volatile the situation remains in Tibetan-populated areas of China since peaceful demonstrations by monks last March triggered a violent riot in the Himalayan capital, Lhasa. On March 14 last year, Tibetans rampaged through the streets demanding the return of the Dalai Lama and independence for the region. They set fire to office and shops and left 22 people dead, most of them ethnic Han Chinese. Thousands of troops and paramilitary have been deployed across Tibetan areas and all foreigners banned as China has tried to prevent a renewed outbreak of last year's protests that spread swiftly from Lhasa to dozens of Tibetan monasteries and communities. This latest protest began when monks furious at the detention and disappearance of one of their number poured out of the 18th century Ragya monastery that overlooks the Yellow River and surrounded the police station on Saturday, state media said. The official Xinhua news agency put the number of protesters at several hundred. It said they assaulted police and government staff, leaving several people slightly hurt. The authorities finally persuaded the last 30 protesters to disperse in the early hours of Sunday. The report said the crowd had been deceived by rumours concerning Tashi Sangwu, who had been detained on suspicion of advocating Tibet independence. There were conflicting reports about what had happened to him. Police and witnesses told Chinese media that he fled after asking to use the bathroom. He was seen swimming in the Yellow River, apparently to try to escape. A report on the phayul.com website managed by exiled Tibetans said the monk jumped into the Yellow River to commit suicide after escaping the police. Tibetan exiles said the 28-year-old monk was being questioned after he unfurled a banned Tibetan flag on the roof of the monastery on March 10 - the 50th anniversary of an abortive uprising in Lhasa against Chinese rule that forced the Dalai Lama to flee into exile in India. He also distributed pamphlets in the street, urging unified protest against Beijing. Six people had been detained and another 89 had turned themselves in to the authorities after the protest outside the police station, Chinese media said. All but two were monks from the Ragya monastery and they were undergoing interrogation. Tibetan sources in the region told The Times that hundreds of people, including local herdsmen as well as lamas, staged a sit-in outside the police station. They shouted slogans demanding Tibetan independence and many wept, saying police had forced the missing monk to take his own life in the nearby fast-flowing river. One source said: "Now the whole town in filled with armed police. They are patrolling the streets and there is no way to find out what is going on now. It is cut off." The security clampdown has so far prevented major demonstrations, although small pockets of protests have been reported by Tibetan rights groups. Details were hard to come by since communications are poor in those areas with mobile phone services and some Internet links suspended. Most residents are afraid to talk for fear of official retribution. For more information on this country, go to http://www.hrwf.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105&Itemid=126 http://www.hrwf.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=179:news-2009&catid=38:freedom-of-religion-and-belief&Itemid=90 terug naar boven China prepares for post-Dalai Lama era March 2009 will go down as the month in which Tibet entered the countdown for the era after the Dalai Lama By Mark O'Neill Asia Sentinel (22.03.2009) / HRWF (25.03.2009) - Website: http://www.hrwf.org - Email: info@hrwf.net-A month supposed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 'peaceful liberation' of Tibet ended with the region in a virtual state of martial law, with heavily armed troops patrolling the streets and the Dalai Lama denouncing Chinese rule of his homeland as 'hell on earth'. For his part, China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi warned foreign countries not to allow the Dalai Lama to visit. "They should not let him use their territory to engage in secessionist activities," he told a news conference on March 7. The growing hostility between the two sides made several points clear. One is that there will be no meaningful negotiations between Beijing and the Dalai Lama and no change in the status of Tibet. The second is that, despite widespread public support in the west, the exiled Tibetan government will receive no significant help from a major power. In March, more than 100,000 people, including film stars and several Nobel Peace Prize winners, signed an open letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao, calling for an improvement to the human rights of Tibetans, and Tibetan exiles held demonstrations in capitals around the world. But the reality is that no major government will come to their aid. As the financial crisis worsens, so the economic strength and diplomatic clout of China strengthens. More than ever, the major powers need its capital, investment and access to its market. Safe in this knowledge, Beijing can treat Tibet as an internal matter. Its policy is, while ruling with an iron fist, to raise living standards to win the hearts and minds of Tibetans. According to official figures published this month, the region's economy has grown at an annual average of at least 12 per cent a year over the past seven years, with a GDP in 2007 of 34.2 billion yuan in 2007. The annual income of urban Tibetans in 2005 was 9,000 yuan, up from 400 in 1979, while those of rural Tibetans rose to 1,200 yuan from 150 over the same period. It said that, over the past five years, the government had invested 8.22 billion yuan in education in Tibet and provided free medical care to the farmers and shepherds, who account for 80 per cent of the population. The average life expectancy has risen from 35.5 years in the 1950s to 67 now. Since 1980, the government says it spent more than 700 million yuan on 1,400 monasteries and cultural relics. It said the number of ethnic Tibetans in Tibet doubled from 1.21 million in 1964 to 2.41 million in 2000. With the impasse in negotiations, each side is preparing for the post-Dalai Lama era. Beijing intends to pick his successor in accordance with traditional rites -- a young boy in the territories in China occupied by Tibetans. It will then control both the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, the second highest leader in Tibetan Buddhism. Faced with this, the Dalai Lama said last year that he may appoint a successor himself or have one chosen democratically by the senior Tibetan monks. His most likely choice is to split his political and religious duties: he will remain as a religious leader and give someone else his political functions. This has become more likely with the deterioration in his health. Last year, he had surgery to remove gallstones removed in a New Delhi hospital, six weeks after spending six days in a Bombay hospital for abdominal pain. He is 73. The front-runner to succeed him in his political role is Karmapa Lama, 24, the head of Kagyu sect, who ranks third in Tibetan Buddhism. Born in a mountainous area of eastern Tibet, he was recognized as the leader of the Kagyu sect at the age of seven after a joint search by the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama and enthroned on September 27, 1992. In late December 1999, at the age of 14, he fled Tibet for India, where he lives in Dharamsala and has devoted himself to study and preaching and spoken little about politics. The Dalai Lama holds him in high esteem. For years, the Indian government banned the Karmapa from going abroad and does not allow him to visit his sect's headquarters in exile in Sikkim. In 2008, he made his first trip to the United States, visiting New York and San Francisco, the first step toward a larger international profile. He speaks Chinese and Tibetan and some English and is a strict vegetarian, and a keen follower of Chinese culture, including religious texts and calligraphy. In an interview in March, the Karmapa told the BBC's Chinese service that the talks were going nowhere because Beijing did not want to communicate. "We must wait until China is more open and more democratic and then the DL's 'Middle Way' will have an opportunity. I hope to solve the Tibetan problem in a quick and peaceful way and play a role in this." He said that his decision to flee was his own and was because he found he had no freedom in his own temple or anywhere in Tibet. "I wanted to go to India to study from teachers but my application to leave China was repeatedly denied. I feared that, when I was 18, I would be appointed a vice chairman of the NPC or CPPCC and forced to criticize the Dalai Lama. Every Tibetan wants to return home one day. I am very hopeful of that day." While Beijing was enraged at his escape to India, it considers him a better interlocutor than the Dalai Lama. He is a man who grew up under Chinese rule and understands intimately the Chinese position. He does not have the historical responsibility of the Dalai Lama, who led his people into exile in 1959. On his slender shoulders may rest the future of his homeland. For more information on this country, go to http://www.hrwf.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105&Itemid=126 http://www.hrwf.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=179:news-2009&catid=38:freedom-of-religion-and-belief&Itemid=90 terug naar boven South Africa Peace Forum canceled over Dalai Lama controversy By Karin Brulliard 
Washington Post (25.03.2009) / HRWF Int. (26.03.2009) - Email: info@hrwf.net - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Organizers of a peace conference meant to
showcase the role of sports in promoting unity canceled the forum Tuesday, citing the South African government's decision to block the Dalai Lama, the exiled
Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, from attending.South Africa's denial of a visa to the Dalai Lama prompted a quick exodus of several star members of the conference's lineup, who accused the government of succumbing to pressure from China, a major trade partner. The government's decision drew widespread condemnation, with critics portraying it as a major blunder ahead of the nation's hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup and an erosion of South Africa's reputation as a beacon of freedom and human rights. "The conveners have therefore decided, in the spirit of peace, to postpone the South Africa peace conference to ensure it is held under conducive conditions," Irvin Khoza, chairman of South Africa's World Cup organizing committee, the conference sponsor, said at a news conference that was originally intended to publicize the event's final schedule. The peace forum was to begin Friday. Two of three South African Nobel peace laureates who had invited the Tibetan leader, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former president F.W. de Klerk, said Monday that they would boycott the event, and organizers said the third, former president Nelson Mandela, would probably do the same. The Norwegian Nobel Committee also backed out. A spokesman for South African President Kgalema Motlanthe played down the controversy, saying the government had not been bullied by China but felt the Dalai Lama's presence would distract attention from next year's soccer tournament. Motlanthe would not welcome the Dalai Lama for any reason, "whether today or tomorrow," spokesman Thabo Masebe said. "We would like to take full advantage of this in terms of promoting and marketing South Africa to the rest of the world," Masebe said in an interview. If the Dalai Lama came, he said, "the people would be talking about Tibet, talking about China and so on. That would be a diversion." If South Africa's intent was to avoid a firestorm, it greatly backfired. On Tuesday, the topic dominated talk radio and newspapers, which were emblazoned with headlines such as "SA sells its soul to China." Some critics said the visa decision, like South Africa's gentle approach to autocratic Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, was more evidence that the government that toppled apartheid was abandoning its values. "This rejection by the government, to not issue a visa, is really tainting our efforts at democracy. It's a sad day for South Africa. It's a sad day for Africa," said conference organizer Mandla Mandela, who said he was sure his grandfather Nelson Mandela would also have skipped the conference. "Where are we heading in the future?" A spokeswoman for the Chinese Embassy in the administrative capital, Pretoria, declined to comment on whether China, which regards the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist, had urged South Africa to turn him away. "All countries which have diplomatic relations with China, including South Africa, recognize that there is only one China in the world and do not recognize the so-called independence of Tibet," spokeswoman Du Ling said, reading a statement. "We fully respect the position upheld by the South African government." The conference was to be kicked off with a tour of Soweto, the Johannesburg township that was an epicenter of anti-apartheid resistance, and finish with a soccer match between South Africa and Norway. Khoza said that the soccer match would still take place and that organizers hope to reschedule the conference before the World Cup. That will mean re-inviting several luminaries of diplomacy and the silver screen who had pledged to attend. On Tuesday, organizers held up letters of confirmation from invitees, including Queen Rania of Jordan and South African actress Charlize Theron, who is a designated U.N. messenger of peace. The government was given a list of the invitees in November, with the Dalai Lama included, and made no objections, Mandela said. Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Tibetan government-in-exile, said that he was "disappointed" in South Africa's decision but that the Dalai Lama, a committed pacifist, was uninterested in stirring trouble. "We certainly believe South Africa has decided not to give a visa to His Holiness the Dalai Lama under pressure from the Chinese government," Samphel said, speaking by phone from India. "At the same time, His Holiness is on record saying that he does not wish to cause any inconvenience to any government." terug naar boven Not only elective abortions. Forced abortions. By Reggie Littlejohn (*) EIN News (25.03.2009) - It doesn't matter whether you are pro-life or pro-choice on this issue. No one can support forced abortion, because it is not a choice. What do I mean by "forced abortions"? Here are a couple of examples from the U.S. Department of State China Report, just released on February 25, 2009: "In March [2008] family planning officials in Henan Province reportedly forcibly detained a 23-year-old unmarried woman who was seven months pregnant. Officials reportedly tied her to a bed, induced labor, and killed the newborn upon delivery. In April [2008] population-planning officials in Shandong provinces reportedly detained and beat the sister of a woman who had illegally conceived a second child in an attempt to compel the woman to undergo an abortion." According to the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China report, released on October 31, 2008, "Violators of the [one-child] policy are routinely punished with exorbitant fines, and in some cases, subjected to forced sterilization, forced abortion, arbitrary detention, and torture." This is not a political issue. It's a human rights issue and a women's issue. Women should not be treated this way. In my opinion, systematic use of forced abortion is a crime against humanity. And now, Americans will be helping foot the bill. Just this month, the U.S. Congress quietly passed $50 million in funding for UNFPA, the United Nations Family Planning Fund. The bill includes language that voids Kemp-Kasten, which for 23 years has stood to prevent US dollars from funding coercive family planning. The US cut off funding UNFPA in 2001 because an investigation, headed by then Secretary of State Colin Powell, found that UNFPA was complicit with the Chinese Family Planning officials in coercive implementation of China' One-Child Policy. According to our own State Department, as well as Amnesty International, China Aid and others, the implementation of China's One-Child Policy remains coercive. UNFPA claims that it has played a catalytic role in introducing voluntary family planning to China. To test this claim, the Population Research Institute launched an on-the-ground investigation of three counties in which UNFPA operates in China, from March 7th to 11th of this year. The investigation found that the coercive enforcement of the one-child policy has not grown better in these counties, but worse. Why must we fund forced abortion with our tax dollars? Not only are women dragged out of their homes screaming and pleading in "family planning raids," but the One-Child Policy has also led to many other serious human rights violations. I'll name just three: 1. Gendercide. Because of the traditional preference for boys, most of the aborted babies are girls. There are 120 boys born for every 100 girls born in China, and in some areas the number is as high as 130 boys born for every 100 girls. Since the One-Child Policy was instituted in 1978 400 million births - greater than the entire population of the United States - have been "prevented." You could say that an entire nation of women is not living in China today because they were selectively aborted before they were born. This is gendercide. 2. Human Trafficking and Sexual Slavery. Because of abortion, abandonment, and infanticide of baby girls, there are an estimated 30 million Chinese men who will never marry because they cannot find wives. This gender imbalance is a powerful, driving force behind trafficking in women and sexual slavery from nations surrounding China. According to the February, 2009 State Department China Report, "Over the past five years, there reportedly was an increase in cross-border trafficking cases, with most trafficked women and girls coming from North Korea, Mongolia and Vietnam. Others came from Burma, Laos, Russia and Ukraine." 3. Female suicide. According to the World Health Organization, China has the highest female suicide rate of any country in the world. Approximately 500 Chinese women commit suicide each day. Forced abortion traumatizes women. Could this high suicide rate be related to forced abortion? And now, U.S. taxpayer dollars will subsidize forced abortion in China, joining the rest of the nations that are already funding UNFPA. If you disagree with government funding of China's One-Child Policy, let your voice be heard. If there's enough of an outcry, perhaps China can be excluded from UNFPA funding. (*) Reggie Littlejohn is HRWF Int'l expert on one-child policy. She can be contacted for further information and interviews at reggielittlejohn@gmail.com terug naar boven |