Religious freedom in Tibet

Violations of religious freedom in Tibet

Religious freedom is an illusion

Visitors to Tibet often comment on the large numbers of monks who seem free to practise their religion without restriction. Temples, monasteries, nuns and monks, Buddhist rituals and festivals are all outward signs of an apparently thriving religion. The Chinese government cites this as evidence of its commitment to the free exercise of religious belief.

What visitors cannot see is the complex system of administrative control and restrictions which make it virtually impossible for Tibetans to practise their religion in a meaningful way. What they don’t see is the coercion, the culture of surveillance, the threats, the monks and nuns who are in prison for freely exercising their beliefs.

There are various Chinese policies which seek to dictate and mould change Tibetan Buddhism and ultimately the identity of the Tibetan people.

Patriotic–re-education

Patriotic re-education is a government-run campaign focussing on monasteries and nunneries with the aim of changing the fundamental elements of belief. It is usually referred to as ‘Love your religion, love your country’ campaign but has recently been re-branded as ‘Law Education’.

In this compulsory programme, Tibetan Buddhists are forced to denounce their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama who they hold as sacred, and to swear allegiance to the State and the Communist Party.

The Dalai Lama is not only the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people, he is also regarded as a reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion. Forcing Tibetan Buddhists to denounce the Dalai Lama is deeply painful and goes against their religious beliefs.

Failure to comply with patriotic re-education campaigns has resulted in physical punishment such as beatings, in monks and nuns being expelled from monasteries and nunneries, detention and even imprisonment.

Patriotic re-education violates the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religious belief and violates the right to personal integrity and dignity; it amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and in some instances may amount to torture.

Other policies that violate religious freedom in Tibet:

•The atheist Chinese state has appropriated the process of identification and education of Buddhist teachers and reincarnate lamas. A matter that was based purely on spiritual considerations has now been converted into a bureaucratic, government-controlled appointment process devoid of its religious context. This policy is aimed at weakening and ultimately destroying the influence in Tibet of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders such as the Dalai Lama.

•The control of the basic affairs of monasteries and nunneries is undertaken by government-controlled Democratic Management Committees, including control over the admission, training, movement, teaching and discipline of members of the clergy. These functions were traditionally overseen by monastic bodies.

•There are restrictions on the publication and distribution of religious texts.

•Certain religious symbols, such as the image of the Dalai Lama, are banned.

•Religious ceremonies and events are restricted, often banned.

•China uses the removal of religious rights as a form of punishment for Tibetans accused of taking part in so called ‘splittist’ activities, such as peaceful protests or flying the banned Tibetan national flag.

Read more about violations of religious belief in Tibet

Read Free Tibet's submission on religious freedom to the Conversative Human Rights Commission