Location of hundreds of Tibetans remains unknown on International Day of the Disappeared

On International Day of the Disappeared the whereabouts of hundreds of Tibetans remain unaccounted for following protests that swept across Tibet in March and April this year.

On 7 July 2008 The Times, quoting Tibetan sources, reported that more than one thousand monks from Lhasa’s three main monasteries of Drepung, Sera and Ganden had been transferred to prisons and detention centres around Gormo city (Ch: Golmud) in the Amdo region of Tibet (Ch:Qinghai province) (1).

The Times report appeared to confirm an earlier report by Amnesty International which on 20 June, issued a statement that “one thousand protesters [remain] unaccounted for in Tibet lockdown”.(2)

The precise whereabouts of the detained monks has remained unclear since the time of their detention. Journalists have been effectively barred from reporting from many regions of Tibet for months and China has imposed a strict lockdown on communications in and out of Tibet making it extremely difficult to obtain accurate information on the exact figures and whereabouts of Tibetans that have been detained.

Radio Free Asia yesterday reported that, according to an “authoritative” Tibetan source, 675 of the monks were transported on the Qinghai-Tibet railway from Lhasa to a military detention centre in Gormo (Ch: Golmud) on April 25 this year (3).

The Times reported in its article that family members of those detained and taken to Qinghai had been told by the authorities that the monks would be released after the Olympics. Despite the Games having finished six days ago, there has been no confirmation of the release of the monks detained in Qinghai.

The most notorious example of the Chinese government’s practice of disappearance is that of Tibet’s 11th Panchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was only 5 years old when he was recognised by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama in May 1995. Days later he was abducted by the Chinese authorities and has not been seen since. China has refused all calls from governments, the EU and even the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to account for his whereabouts. His disappearance is a source of great distress to the Tibetan people and his whereabouts remains one of China’s most zealously guarded state secrets.

Stephanie Brigden, Director of Free Tibet Campaign, said:

On International Day of the Disappeared Free Tibet Campaign is calling on the international community to pressure the Chinese government to identify the whereabouts and well-being of the hundreds of Tibetans who have disappeared since March 10 this year. In a country where torture remains “widespread” according to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, their undisclosed location renders them more vulnerable to torture or inhumane treatment.

We are also calling for unfettered access to Tibet and Tibetan areas for independent observers and journalists so that the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet can be more openly monitored and reported upon.”

Ends

For further information: Matt Whitticase +44 (0)20 7324 4605 / +44 (0)7515 788456

Or Anne Holmes: +44 (0)20 7324 4605 / + 44 (0)7515 788456

Notes to Editor:

(1) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4281932.ece
(2)http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/china-one-thousand-protesters-unaccounted-tibet-lock-down-20080620
(3) http://www.rfa.org/english/news/monks-08282008164711.html