Jigme Gyatso

Abschaffung von Tibetisch im Unterricht

Beschlagnahmung der tibetischen Wahlurnen in Nepal

Kalsang Tsultrim

Auslieferung tibetischer Flüchtlinge an China

Angestrebte Aufhebung des Waffenembargos

Freilassung von Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche

Hinrichtung von vier Tibetern

Die Briefe links stehen links im doc-Format zum Download (auf das Briefsymbol klicken), sie können oder vielmehr sollten individuell verändert werden.

Hier folgt der Wortlaut an die chinesischen Funktioniäre. Der Wortlaut an die UN-Menschenrechts-Hochkommissarin und den Sonderberichterstatter für Meinungsfreiheit ist ein wenig abgewandelt worden.

Appelladressen:

Brieftext - Vorschlag

Your Excellency,

I am deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Ngaba County (chin. Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province). Following the death of Phuntsok Jarutsang, a monk from Kirti monastery, on 16 March 2011 there has been a violent and intimidating crackdown against Tibetans by the Chinese authorities.

I demand that you immediately:

• Release all the Tibetans who have been arbitrarily detained.
• Cease with the crackdown and intimidation of Tibetans in Ngaba and the monks at Kirti Monastery.
• Stop the forced political “re-education” at Kirti Monastery, which violates Tibetans' basic right to religious freedom.
• Allow independent international media and government officials to visit the area.

I have alerted my Beijing embassy and government representatives to the grave situation in Ngaba and have urged them to raise this issue with Chinese officials. Your continued crackdown in Tibet only serves to further garner global support for the Tibetan cause and tarnish China's international reputation.

Recently a Foreign Ministry spokesman told a press briefing that there were still religious observances going on, worshippers coming and going, and monks free to leave to conduct daily rituals of prayers and offerings in local households. The fact is however that the monastery is encircled by armed soldiers 24 hours a day, while inside government officials intimidate and harass the monks under the guise of a ‘Patriotic Religion’ re-education campaign.

If the government’s account is correct, then foreign reporters and observers should be allowed in to see for themselves. We therefore request you to invite foreign reporters at the earliest and international observers to examine the situation on the ground.

I call on you to immediately stop the siege at Kirti Monastery and order the unconditional withdrawal of troops. Forcibly removing monks from the monastery constitutes a direct violation of their internationally recognized right to religious freedom. Furthermore, your government's repressive "political re-education" campaign must be stopped.

The deteriorating situation in Tibet comes as international human rights organizations are denouncing the Chinese government's widespread crackdown against anyone who criticizes its policies. The global community overwhelmingly supports the calls for freedom by Tibetans, Chinese democracy advocates, and all those living under Beijing's authoritarian rule.

I will continue to monitor the grave situation in Ngaba and will again urge my government representatives to raise the issue with Chinese officials. Your continued crackdown in Tibet only serves to further tarnish China's international reputation.

Finally we urge you to respect and protect the right of Tibetans to enjoy their own culture, to practise their religion, and to use their own language.

Yours faithfully,

Briefaktion für Jigme Gyatso, Fallbeschreibung hier

Dear ....

I am writing to raise my serious concern for Tibetan political prisoner Jigme Gyatso [Pinyin: Jinmei Jiacuo), who was tortured after speaking to the former UN Special Rapporteur, Dr Manfred Nowak in 2005, and is believed to be gravely ill in Chushur (Chinese: Qushui) prison near Lhasa.

I urge the authorities to order a full and impartial investigation into allegations that Jigme Gyatso has been tortured, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice, and demanding a guarantee that he will not be tortured or otherwise ill-treated while he remains in custody

Furthermore I request the authorities to guarantee that he has access to any medical care he may require, legal representation of his choosing and family.

Jigme Gyatso, a former Tibetan Buddhist monk, was imprisoned in 1996 for “counter revolutionary” activities and is currently serving an 18-year in prison sentence. New information stresses the extreme poor health of Jigme Gyatso and the increased fear for his life.

It is believed that he is being held in isolation from other prisoners and he has been denied his right to family visits on three occasions in the last few months. Therefore please free him from his isolated condition and grant him his legally briefed right for being visited by members of this family.

Jigme Gyatso received the longest sentence of a group of five Tibetans who voiced their opinion in a peaceful way. During his long imprisonment, Jigme Gyatso has endured severe torture on several occasions, including one incident in 1997 when he was beaten so severely that he could not move for several days.

I therefore appeal to you to immediately and unconditionally release Jigme Gyatso, who has been detained solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

Yours faithfully,

Your Excellency,

I express my serious concern to the Chinese authorities about proposals to restrict teaching in the Tibetan language in Qinghai, and ask that the proposals be retracted.

I appeal against this planned implementation of Qinghai government policy to change the medium of instruction from native Tibetan language instruction to Chinese language.

I am outraged to learn that China forces Tibetan students to abandon their own language and study exclusively in the Chinese language.

This policy is not only a blatant violation of Article 4 of China’s constitution that guarantees the right for minorities to use their language in education but it also threatens the survival of Tibetan language and culture.

There are provisions in China’s Constitution and the Law on Regional National Autonomy which guarantee nationalities in autonomous areas the right to use and develop their own spoken and written languages.

Furthermore, this proposed new policy which is already implemented in the Tibet Autonomous Region has resulted in Tibetans being disadvantaged in education and employment. Tibetans struggle to follow classes in Chinese which is not their first language and are at a disadvantage with their Chinese classmates resulting in high drop-out rates and the highest illiteracy rates in China’s regions.

I urge you listen to the Tibetan students and

- Abandon the proposed reform in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures in Qinghai Province

- Ensure that Tibetan language is the primary language of education in Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures

- Guarantee that no reprisals will be taken against students, parents or teachers who protested against the proposed reforms.

Please mind the following articles of your Constitution and Law on the Regional National Autonomy and do not act against your own laws.

Constitution - Article 4: All ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages and to preserve or reform their own folkways and customs.

Law of the People’s Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy - Article 10: The organs of self-government of national autonomous areas shall guarantee the freedom of the nationalities in these areas to use and develop their own spoken and written languages and their freedom to preserve or reform their own folkways and customs.

Yours faithfully,

Dear Sir,

I express my serious concern about the Chinese government’s proposals to restrict teaching in the Tibetan language in the province of Qinghai, and I ask you to demand that the proposals be retracted. There have been recently a number of protests by Tibetan students in autonomous areas of Qinghai against this new policy.

I appeal against this planned implementation of Qinghai government policy to change the medium of instruction from native Tibetan language instruction to Chinese language. I am outraged to learn that China forces Tibetan students to abandon their own language and study exclusively in the Chinese language.

This policy is not only a blatant violation of Article 4 of China’s constitution that guarantees the right for minorities to use their language in education but it also threatens the survival of Tibetan language and culture.

There are provisions in China’s Constitution and the Law on Regional National Autonomy which guarantee nationalities in autonomous areas the right to use and develop their own spoken and written languages.

Furthermore, this proposed new policy which is already implemented in the Tibet Autonomous Region has resulted in Tibetans being disadvantaged in education and employment. Tibetans struggle to follow classes in Chinese which is not their first language and are at a disadvantage with their Chinese classmates resulting in high drop-out rates and the highest illiteracy rates in China’s regions.

The Chinese government should listen to the Tibetan students and abandon the proposed reform in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures in Qinghai Province. It should ensure that Tibetan language is the primary language of education in Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures. It should guarantee that no reprisals will be taken against students, parents or teachers who protested against the proposed reforms.

Please refer to the following articles from the Chinese Constitution and Law on the Regional National Autonomy and admonish China, not to act against its own laws.

Constitution - Article 4: All ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages and to preserve or reform their own folkways and customs.

Law of the People’s Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy- Article 10: The organs of self-government of national autonomous areas shall guarantee the freedom of the nationalities in these areas to use and develop their own spoken and written languages and their freedom to preserve or reform their own folkways and customs.

Please take up this matter with the relevant department of education in China and ensure that the Tibetan language will be protected as ordained by national and international law.

Yours faithfully,

S. E. dem Botschafter von Nepal
Herrn Suresh Prasad Pradhan
Guerickestrasse 27
10587 Berlin
berlin@nepalembassy.de

Dr Suresh Chandra Chalise
Embassy of Nepal,
12A Kensington Palace Gardens,
Bayswater Road
London W8 4QU/England

Honorable Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal
Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
Singha Durbar,
Kathmandu / Nepal
info@opmcm.gov.np

Ms. Sujata Koirala,
The Hon'ble Deputy Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu / Nepal

Kalsang Tsultrim, der vor einem Jahr ein vielbeachtetes Video herstellte, in dem er die internationale Gemeinschaft aufrief, zugunsten des vom Untergang bedrohten tibetischen Volkes aktiv zu werden, ist am 7. Juli 2010 im Bezirk Dzoege, Provinz Sichuan, festgenommen worden.

Er wurde zusammen mit einem anderen Tibeter festgenommen, der dann wieder freigelassen wurde. Dieser informierte seine Familie. Trotz ihrer Nachfragen bekamen seine Angehörigen keine Auskunft von den Behörden über die Gründe für seine Verhaftung.

Es besteht große Sorge um Kalsang Tsultrims Sicherheit, denn er wird ohne Verbindung zur Außenwelt festgehalten, was ein besonders hohes Risiko bedeutet, schwerer Folter unterzogen zu werden. Wie der Sonderberichterstatter der UNO für Folter feststellte, werden Häftlinge im Polizeigewahrsam besonders brutal und häufig gefoltert.

Kalsang Tsultrim wurde nur deswegen festgenommen, weil er von seinem Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung Gebrauch machte.

Die chinesische Version des Namens ist Gesang Chuchen und in chinesischen Schriftzeichen siehe: http://ppd.cecc.gov/QueryResultsDetail.aspx?PrisonerNum=8012

Es ist empfehlenswert, die chinesische Schreibweise des Namens in Appellbriefen zu verwenden, was als Bild eingefügt werden kann. Nachstehend ist ein Briefvorschlag an chinesische Entscheidungsträger. Eine individuelle Ausgestaltung der Briefe ist ratsam.

Subject: Release Gesang Chuchen (Kalsang Tsultrim)

Your Excellency,

We are very much worried about the wellbeing of the Tibetan monk and author Kalsang Tsultrim (Gesang Chuchen) of Labrang Tashikhyil Monastery, located in Xiahe (Sangchu) county, Gannan (Kanlho) TAP, Gansu province. His pen name is Gyitsang Takmig.

He was detained on July 7, 2010, along with another Tibetan who was later released, by public security officials in Ruo'ergai (Dzoege) county, Aba (Ngaba) T&QAP, Sichuan province, and taken to Tsoe (Hezuo) Public Security Bureau (PSB) Detention Centre. Kalsang Tsultrim’s family, who was informed about his arrest by the aforementioned individual, went to Tsoe PSB Detention Centre to inquire about the reason of his detention. Not only did the police refuse to communicate any information about Kalsang Tsultrim’s arrest and detention, but they also denied the family any contact with him. Such action is in contravention to your country’s and to international law.

We are gravely concerned about the safety of Kalsang Tsultrim (Gesang Chuchen), particularly, because he is currently detained incommunicado. We recall to you that China is legally bound to effectively ensure the physical and psychological integrity of all persons deprived of liberty in accordance with international human rights law, and in particular, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

We are also seriously preoccupied that Kalsang Tsultrim was arrested solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. Please grant Kalsang Tsultrim (Gesang Chuchen) immediate and unconditional access to a lawyer of his choice and to his family, and guarantee that he is examined by independent doctors and receives adequate medical care if necessary, in accordance with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;

We request you to order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;

We would like to ask you especially to guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

We urge you to conform with China’s international human rights obligations, commitments that were reaffirmed on the occasion of China's election as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Yours faithfully,

• Mr. Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Guojia Zongli, The State Council General Office, 2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
  
  
• Mr. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345, minister@legalinfo.gov.cn / pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
  
  
• Mr. Meng Jianzhu, Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang, Gong’anbu, 14 Dongchang’anjie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 63099216
  
  
• Mr. Ma Zhenchuan, Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, Juzhang, Beijingshi Gong’anju, 9 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100740, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 85222320, Email: wbjc2sohu.com
  
  
• Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations, Chemin de Surville, CP 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy, Geneva, Suisse, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int, Fax : +41 22 793 70 14
  
  

Zum ersten Mal seit 2003 hat die nepalische Regierung gewaltsam drei tibetische Flüchtlinge nach Tibet zurückgeführt in Verletzung ihrer eigenen Verpflichtungen gemäß dem internationalen Gesetz. Die drei Tibeter, alle in den Zwanzigern, wurden Anfang Juni der chinesischen Grenzpolizei übergeben. Zwei davon sind nun im Gefängnis. Nepals Handlung könnte einen verheerenden Beispielfall setzen für die über eintausend Tibeter, die jedes Jahr aus ihrem besetzten Land zu fliehen versuchen.

Vorschlag für einen Appellbrief an die Vize-Premierministerin Nepals mit Kopie an den Botschafter Nepals in Berlin:

Subject: Nepal: Stop Forcibly Repatriating Tibetan Refugees to Tibet

Respected Madam,

I am deeply concerned by reports that the Nepalese government forcibly repatriated several Tibetan refugees to Chinese border police since early June. I understand that two of the Tibetans who were returned have been imprisoned in Tibet.

As you are aware, the refoulement of Tibetan refugees from Nepal violates the well-established "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the Nepalese government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and is in contravention of Nepal's obligations under international law.

I join people of conscience worldwide in urging your government to:

1) Respect its own agreement with the UNHCR and allow for the safe transit of Tibetan refugees to India;

2) Comply with the international principle of non-refoulement and honour its obligation under the UN Torture Convention to prevent the forcible return of anyone to a country where they are at risk of being subjected to torture.

As you know, many Tibetans flee Tibet each year, escaping harsh repression at the hands of the Chinese government, including suppression of freedom of speech, assembly, and religion. They face serious risk of torture and imprisonment if they return to Tibet. As a ratifying party to the UN Convention against Torture (CAT), Nepal has the legal obligation to ensure that no Tibetan refugee is repatriated to China where they face the risks of torture, inhumane and degrading treatment. Article 3(1) of the CAT prohibits expulsion, return ("refouler") or extradition of any person to any State where there are substantial grounds for believing that s/he would be in danger of being subjected to torture".

According to the U.S. State Department's 2009 Country Report, "Tibetans repatriated from Nepal reportedly suffered torture, including electric shocks, exposure to cold and severe beatings, and were forced to perform heavy physical labour." As a democratic nation, Nepal's standing in the international community will be diminished if it continues to violate the basic rights of Tibetan refugees.

I understand that the Chinese government has intensified pressure on your government to stop Tibetans from fleeing state-sponsored repression in Tibet. The global community stands with Nepal in exercising its sovereign right to uphold international standards of human rights protection, including those of Tibetan refugees.

I urge your government to investigate these incidents with the UNHCR and immediately adopt measures to prevent any further occurrences of Tibetans being forcibly returned to Tibet, where they are at risk of imprisonment, torture, and even death. I will be monitoring this situation closely and alerting my country's Ambassador to Nepal of this distressing incident.

Yours faithfully,

Copy to:

International Tibet Support Group Network, www.tibetnetwork.org. empfiehlt, eine kurze Botschaft an den spanischen Außenminister zu senden, mit Kopien an den Spanischen Premierminister und den Spanischen Botschafter, sowie einen Brief an die EU-Außenministerin Catherine Ashton zu schreiben. Hier folgen Vorschläge zur Abfassung der Briefe.

Dear Foreign Minister,

We are deeply concerned to read that you and your government are reconsidering the EU's China arms embargo (AFP, 28 January 2010). We understand that in 2007, the EU's External Relations Commissioner, Mrs Benita Ferrero-Waldner explicitly linked the lifting of the arms embargo to the following three conditions:

* Ratify the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
* Free those jailed for involvement in Tiananmen Square
* Abolish the "re-education through labour" system of imprisonment without trial.

We wish to remind you that, not only has China not met these conditions, in the last two years there has been a profound deterioration in China's abuses of basic rights, particularly freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch described 2009 as a year of "political hardening" during which the Chinese government, "emboldened by increasingly weak international criticism of its rights record, pursued politically-motivated attacks against dissidents, human rights defenders, and civil society advocates".

March 2008 saw the outbreak of more than one hundred incidents of protest against Chinese rule, right across the Tibetan plateau. The overwhelming majority of these protests were peaceful, yet China responded with an iron fist, killing more than 100 Tibetans, detaining thousands more and imposing harsh security in the region. Just in the last few weeks, China has sentenced a number of Tibetans, including film-maker Dhondup Wangchen and singer Tashi Dhondup to prison terms, when they were simply exercising their right to free expression.

In June 2009 China responded to the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square by forcing dissidents to leave Beijing or stay in their homes, surrounding the Square with security personnel and roundly rejecting international appeals that China review the events of June 1989 as "groundless accusations".

Clearly China is demonstrating little or no commitment to meeting the conditions set out above, therefore the reasons for the EU's decision to impose the arms embargo remain entirely valid, and any discussion about lifting it is highly inappropriate. Given the seriousness of the human rights situation in China and Tibet, we urge you to desist from your efforts to get the embargo lifted and we call on you to state publicly that the embargo should remain in place.

Yours sincerely

cc:

Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero
Presidencia del Gobierno.
Complejo de la Moncloa,
Avda. Puerta de Hierro, s/n.
28071 Madrid
Spanien
Email: jlrzapatero@presidencia.gob.es

Estimado Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores,

Estamos profundamente preocupados al leer que usted y su gobierno están reconsiderando el embargo de armas que la Unión Europea le impuso a China (AFP, 28 de enero del 2010). Entendemos que en el 2007, la comisionada de relaciones exteriores de la Unión Europea, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, explícitamente vinculó el levantamiento del embargo de armas a las tres condiciones siguientes:

* Ratificación del Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos
* Liberación de los encarcelados por su participación en la Plaza de Tiananmen
* Abolición de la "re-educación a través del sistema de trabajo" y el encarcelamiento sin juicio.

Queremos recordarle que no solamente China no ha cumplido estas condiciones, sino que además en los dos últimos años se ha producido un profundo deterioro en los abusos de los derechos fundamentales en China, particularmente la libertad de expresión. La organización Human Rights Watch describió el 2009 como un año de "endurecimiento político" durante el cual el gobierno chino "alentado por la cada vez más débil crítica internacional en cuanto a la constancia en el respeto de los derechos, guiados por motivos políticos - ocurrieron varios ataques contra los disidentes, defensores de derechos humanos y activistas de la sociedad civil".

En el mes de Marzo del 2008 se vio la aparición de más de un centenar de incidentes de protesta contra el gobierno chino, a lo largo y ancho de la meseta tibetana. La inmensa mayoría de estas protestas fueron pacíficas, sin embargo, China respondió con puño de hierro, matando a más de 100 tibetanos, la detención de miles de personas más y la imposición de duras medidas de seguridad en la región.Sólo en las últimas semanas, China ha sentenciado a un gran número de tibetanos, incluyendo el cineasta Dhondup Wangchen y cantante Tashi Dhondup a penas de prisión, cuando estaban simplemente ejerciendo su derecho a la libertad de expresión.

En junio del 2009 China respondió al 20 aniversario de la Plaza de Tiananmen, obligando a los disidentes a abandonar Pekín o a permanecer en sus hogares, rodeando la plaza con personal de seguridad y rotundamente rechazando las peticiones internacionales revisando los acontecimientos de junio de 1989 y considerándolos como "acusaciones infundadas".

Es evidente que China está demostrando poco o ningún compromiso de cumplir las condiciones expuestas anteriormente, por lo tanto las razones de la decisión de la UE para imponer el embargo de armas, siguen siendo plenamente válidos, y que cualquier discusión sobre el levantamiento del embargo es inadecuado. Dada la gravedad de la situación de los derechos humanos en China y Tíbet, le instamos a que desista de sus esfuerzos para conseguir que se levante el embargo y le pedimos a usted públicamente que el embargo debe de permanecer en su lugar.

Atentamente

Dear Baroness Ashton,

We were deeply concerned to read that the Spanish government is reconsidering the EU's China arms embargo (AFP, 28 January 2010). We understand that in 2007, the EU's External Relations Commissioner, Mrs Benita Ferrero-Waldner explicitly linked the lifting of the arms embargo to the following three conditions:

* Ratify the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
* Free those jailed for involvement in Tiananmen Square
* Abolish the "re-education through labour" system of imprisonment without trial.

As you are no doubt aware, not only has China not met these conditions, in the last two years there has been a profound deterioration in China's abuses of basic rights, particularly freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch described 2009 as a year of "political hardening" during which the Chinese government, "emboldened by increasingly weak international criticism of its rights record, pursued politically-motivated attacks against dissidents, human rights defenders, and civil society advocates".

March 2008 saw the outbreak of more than one hundred incidents of protest against Chinese rule, right across the Tibetan plateau. The overwhelming majority of these protests were peaceful, yet China responded with an iron fist, killing more than 100 Tibetans, detaining thousands more and imposing harsh security in the region. Just in the last few weeks, China has sentenced a number of Tibetans, including film-maker Dhondup Wangchen and singer Tashi Dhondup to prison terms, when they were simply exercising their right to free expression.

In June 2009 China responded to the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square by forcing dissidents to leave Beijing or stay in their homes, surrounding the Square with security personnel and roundly rejecting international appeals that China review the events of June 1989 as "groundless accusations".

Clearly China is demonstrating little or no commitment to meeting the conditions set out above, and the reasons for the EU's decision to impose the arms embargo remain entirely valid. We also note that the majority of EU Member states have traditionally indicated China's human rights record did not merit an end to the China arms embargo and the European Parliament has also shown its support for the ban, voting in 2008 to maintain it as long as Beijing supports armed forces and groups involved in African conflicts in general.

We appeal to you to use your good offices to defend the principles of the European Union, by working to ensure that the embargo remains in place until China can demonstrate not only commitment to meeting the conditions above, but also show tangible improvements in the human rights situation on the ground in China and Tibet.

Yours sincerely,

Nachstehend ein Vorschlag für Briefe zugunsten von Tulku Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche an den

Parteisekretär von Sichuan, den

Gouverneur von Sichuan und den

Präsidenten des Obersten Gerichtshofs Chinas

Die Briefe können als rft-files heruntergeladen und ergänzt oder umformuliert werden

Your Excellency,

I am seriously concerned about the fate of the internationally renowned Tibetan Lama Tenzin Delek Rinpoche (A'an Zhaxi). Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is innocent and I call on you to immediately and unconditionally release him.

This revered Tibetan religious leader is currently serving a life sentence in Mianyang Prison, Sichuan Province. He was arrested in 2002 and charged with "causing explosions" and "inciting separatism". His trial was held in secret without due process and though no evidence was ever provided to substantiate the charges, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was given a suspended death sentence, which was commuted to a life sentence in 2005. But the case has yet to be resolved justly.

This decision neglects to recognize that this respected Tibetan leader should never have been detained in the first place. Also, your government did not present credible evidence against Tenzin Delek Rinpoche or any of the Tibetans detained in connection with this case.

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche devoted his life to helping his fellow Tibetans and he worked tirelessly to preserve the Tibetan identity and culture. He was a strong supporter of protecting Tibet's environment and helped to set up schools and religious institutions in his community.

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche has been wrongly imprisoned. He has been persecuted for his support of the Dalai Lama, his promotion of Tibetan Buddhism and for his cultural and social development work in Tibet. The supposed evidence, produced at the trial against Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, was a confession from co-accused Lobsang Dhondup, which he later retracted saying it had been extracted under torture. Lobsang Dhondup was executed on 26 January 2003.

Recent news indicates that Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is in ill-health, with high blood pressure, heart and leg problems. The prison authorities have denied his request for Tibetan medicine. I urge you to ensure he receives the medical treatment of his choosing.

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is innocent and I call on you to immediately and unconditionally release him. As a demonstration of your government's stated commitment to internationally recognized standards and in the absence of a fair and impartial trial, I urge the immediate release of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and all Tibetan political prisoners.

Yours faithfully,

Your Excellency,

I am outraged at the execution of up to four Tibetans in Tibet on 20 October in Lhasa. I condemn this action and call on you to immediately address the following demands:

The executions are an outrage and a travesty of justice. It is impossible to have any confidence that even the most basic legal norms were observed before your state sanctioned and carried out the killing of these four Tibetans?

I urge your government not execute any more Tibetans, and immediately commute all remaining death sentences.

I urge your government to impartially investigate the remaining cases associated with the events of March and April 2008, and that any further trials be conducted openly and with due regard to international legal standards.

I demand that the Chinese government provide a full list of the names and whereabouts of the 1,200 and more Tibetans still detained in relation to last year's events.

I also urge that no prisoner is subjected to torture or other ill-treatment and that they are granted the right to regular visits by family members, have access to lawyers or their choice and are given any necessary medical treatment needed.

Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, Penkyi and another Tibetan executed were denied their basic legal rights, and their trials were not conducted in accordance with international judicial standards, they were not given the right of having legal representation of their choice. Your judicial system is so highly politicised as to preclude any possibility for a fair trial for Tibetans. You have to redress this, otherwise your standing in the world will be the worst possible.

I demand that executions in Tibet are stopped immediately, that all remaining death sentences are commuted; that any further trials are conducted openly and fairly, that all cases related to events of March and April 2008 are given a suspension until a full and independent inquiry into events around these dates is held.

Please provide a full list of the names and whereabouts of all Tibetans still detained in relation to last years events.

Please guarantee that no prisoner is subjected to torture or other ill-treatment, they are granted the right to regular visits by family members, have access to lawyers of their choice and be given any necessary medical treatment needed.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Fredrik Reinfeldt
President of the Council of the European Union
Rue de la Loi 175
B-1048 Bruxelles
Belgium

Dear Sir,

I am outraged to learn that the Chinese government has executed three Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, and Penkyi for their alleged involvement in the March 2008 protests. The executions took place in Lhasa, Tibet's capital, on October 20th, 2009. There are reports from Tibet that a fourth execution may have taken place. 

These executions of Tibetans, the first known since 2003, signal an alarming escalation in the Chinese government's violent campaign to punish, intimidate, and silence any Tibetan who dares to speak out against China's occupation.

The executions are an outrage. It is impossible to have any confidence that even the most basic legal norms were observed before the Chinese state sanctioned and carried out the killing of these four Tibetans.

Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak were originally sentenced to death on April 8, 2009, prompting an international campaign to stop China from carrying out their executions. The identity of the other two Tibetans is unclear, but some believe that Penkyi could be a Tibetan woman in her early twenties who was given a suspended death sentence in April 2009.

These individuals were denied their basic legal rights, and their trials were not conducted in accordance with international judicial standards. A report released by Human Rights Watch in March 2009 revealed that China's judicial system is "so highly politicised as to preclude any possibility for a fair trial for Tibetans."

All levels of courts in China are highly politicised as they are guided by the Political-Legal Committee of the Communist party of China. That committee includes heads of various security organs, including Public Security.

The lack of an independent judiciary in China means it is highly unlikely that Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak and Penkyi would have received a fair review of their cases prior to their execution.

We believes it is extremely likely that in the cases of these executions there was a high degree of political interference and that legal safeguards provided for in Chinese law were ignored to secure prosecutions.. These executions further deepen the climate of fear in Tibet.

I understand the European Union has yet to comment on this incident. I urge you to immediately condemn this travesty of justice in the strongest possible terms.

I further ask you to take bold and concrete action to help bring about an end to China's violent occupation of Tibet.

Yours faithfully,

Dear Ms. Pillay,

As the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approaches, I am writing to ask you to help protect the human rights of Tibetans inside Tibet.

After recent talks between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, a Chinese spokesperson stated that China “will never make a concession” on the Tibet issue and rejected a proposal for autonomy presented by the Tibetans. I urge you to take action to ensure that our government responds to this negative development by increasing its commitment to helping bring about a resolution of the Tibet issue; in particular, it is urgent that our government engage in strong, multilateral efforts to bring the Chinese leadership together with the Dalai Lama or his representatives in serious negotiations to conclude a resolution for Tibet.

The intractable position of the Chinese government should be unacceptable to the international community at this time, given the gross human rights violations occurring in Tibet and the deep desire for change on the part of Tibetans manifest in the mass protests that took place across the Tibetan plateau this spring.

In addition, I ask that you ensure our government raises the cases of several political prisoners with the Chinese government. These are:

1) Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan from Amdo province (now in China’s Qinghai province), arrested on March 26 2008 after filming Tibetans speaking about their views on China and Tibet;

2) Jigme (also known as Jigme Guri), a monk from Labrang Monastery, Amdo (now in China’s Gansu province), arbitrarily detained in March and rearrested on November 4 2008 after publicizing the torture he and others experienced in detention;

3) Rangjung, a television journalist from Kham province (now in China’s Sichuan province), detained on September 11, 2008 for an unknown reason;

4) Sangye Lhamo, a nun detained with others on May 28 after protesting; and

5) Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a religious leader from Kham (now in Sichuan) detained in 2003 and serving a life sentence.

6) Norzin Wangmo (Chinese name: Longzhen Wangmu), an employee of the Judicial Bureau of Hongyuan county (Sichuan province), sentenced on November 3 to five years of imprisonment after she told relatives abroad of the situation in Tibet.

This March 10, 2009, will mark 50 years since the mass Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule and the flight of the Dalai Lama to India in 1959. Many governments have given strong support to Tibetans during this period. However, at this critical time for Tibet, it is essential that governments take even stronger action. The issue of Tibet will not be resolved until the international community takes determined steps to bring about serious negotiations between the two sides.

Thank you for your consideration of these important issues.

Sincerely,

Am 17. Oktober jährt sich die Verleihung der Goldmedaille des US-Kongresses an den Dalai Lama. International Tibet Support Group Network (ITSN) schlägt vor, daß alle Tibet-Freunde dies zum Anlaß nehmen, um einen Brief an die neue UN-Hochkommissarin für Menschenrechte, Navanethem Pillay, zu schreiben und sie an die katastrophale Lage in Tibet im Gefolge des Volksaufstandes im Frühjahr und das gegenwärtige extrem harte Vorgehen der Behörden gegen die Bevölkerung zu erinnern.

Frau Pillay soll gebeten werden, während ihrer Amtszeit das Problem der Menschenrechte der Tibeter in Tibet zu einer Dringlichkeitssache zu machen. Man kann sie auch darauf hinweisen, daß weltweit sehr viele Menschen über die verheerende Menschenrechtslage in Tibet besorgt sind. Dieser Brief ist eine der vielen Aktionen im Hinblick auf den 50. Jahrestag des Volksaufstands der Tibeter von 1959, der in fünf Monaten am 10. März 2009 begangen wird.

Es ist besser, den Brief mit eigenen Worten zu verfassen, außerdem sollte jeder seine Nationalität erwähnen, damit sichtbar wird, daß sich in allen Teil der Welt Menschen über die Lage in Tibet Sorgen machen. Halten Sie ihn so kurz wie möglich. Da Sie die Hochkommissarin anschreiben, erklären Sie kurz, wer Sie sind. Geben Sie nach der Begrüßung Ihrer Wertschätzung für die Arbeit der Hochkommissarin Ausdruck und schließen dann Ihre Bedenken über die Situation in Tibet an.

Email: InfoDesk@ohchr.org

Subject: An earnest appeal from …  from….

Your Excellency,

17 October marked the first anniversary of the awarding of U.S Congressional Gold Medal to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, on this occasion I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as the High Commissioner for Human Rights. I very much appreciate your lifetime of work upholding human rights around the world. We are certain that you will excel in your duties as the High Commissioner.

The Tibetan people stand at an important crossroads as we head close to the 50th commemoration of the March 1959 uprising against China's occupation of Tibet. After 49 years of Chinese occupation, Tibet today is still in shambles: the people are silenced violently; there is no freedom of faith; the developmental and economic plans introduced by the State do not benefit the Tibetan people. The once serene and rich environment of Tibet is now on the verge of annihilation; and the cultural, linguistic and religious identity of a race is under threat.

The world witnessed a series of demonstrations and protests inside Tibet since March 10 this year by the Tibetans who are striving towards freedom and autonomy. The Chinese authorities are still disallowing the presence of journalists and reporters into the country, and so a fuller picture of events from over the past few months has been difficult to obtain.  Since March, however, we do know the sweep of protests across Tibet resulted in the death of 203 Tibetans, 1000 injured Tibetans and more than 5,715 Tibetans who either remain detained or have been missing.

To get a picture of the dire situation of monks and nuns in monasteries in Tibet we recommend you to read the gruelling account of the monk from Labrang, which is available in English at the Blog of the famous Tibetan writer Woeser: “A Voice from Tibet: VOA Tibetan service exclusive video interview”: http://woeser.middle-way.net/2008/09/blog-post_7346.html  

We are confident that during your tenure as the High Commissioner for Human Rights, you will deem the human rights situation inside Tibet as crucial and of one requiring immediate attention and that you will address my concerns to stop the debacle of International Human Rights Law in Tibet and significantly seek to avert the looming threat and danger that befalls Tibet and Tibetans. Tibet as a nation needs to survive and thrive.

I earnestly request you to see the possibility of allowing a team of independent observers to travel to Tibet to assess the situation in the aftermath of the protests this spring. The restoration of a free and peaceful Tibet as envisioned and outlined by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Middle Way approach will benefit the whole of Asia politically and environmentally and will undoubtedly contribute to world peace.

Yours faithfully,

Appellbrief wegen der drohenden Ausweisung von 6000 Tibetern aus Nepal

Your Excellency,

I am deeply disturbed by reports that your government is pursuing a new policy of investigating and deporting Tibetans living in Nepal who do not possess valid residency documents. I am writing to express grave concern for the fate of these Tibetans, many of whom have long-standing ties to Nepal. Of particular concern are 137 Tibetans currently at the Tibetan Refugee Reception Center in Kathmandu who are being required to present evidence of their legal status in Nepal and who will be deported to India if they are found to be without valid documents.

As you know, many Tibetans flee Tibet each year, escaping harsh repression at the hands of the Chinese government, including suppression of freedom of speech, assembly, and religion. They face serious risk of torture and imprisonment if they return to Tibet. As a ratifying party to the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT), Nepal has the legal obligation to ensure that no Tibetan refugee is repatriated to China where they face the risks of torture, inhumane and degrading treatment. Article 3(1) of the CAT prohibits expulsion, return ("refouler") or extradition of any person to any State where there are substantial grounds for believing that s/he would be in danger of being subjected to torture". We trust that you will respect this obligation and will not force any Tibetans without valid documents to return to Tibet.

Tibetans who arrived in Nepal prior to 1989, and their children, are eligible to receive a refugee registration certificate (RC), which allows them to remain in Nepal. Thousands of Tibetans who are eligible for RCs – possibly including some of those currently in detention – have been waiting for years to be processed but are meanwhile without valid documents. We urge you to immediately resume the issuance of RCs for all Tibetans eligible for legal residency.

This year has demonstrated to the world that China’s harsh rule in Tibet is an issue of global significance; one that must be addressed through multilateral efforts if a resolution is to be found. The Chinese government appears to be exerting strong pressure on Nepal to expel Tibetans and silence those who are speaking out for human rights and freedom in their homeland. The only lasting solution to the large numbers of Tibetan refugees passing through Nepal is for the Chinese government to work with the Tibetan people to find a resolution to the Tibet issue.

Nepal not only tolerates similar protests by the Bhutanese refugees but the Communist of Nepal has included the issue of Bhutanese refugees in its Common Minimum Programme. This gives reason to assume that you pursue a racist policy against the Tibetan refugees who face arrest, imprisonment and deportation.

As was evident in the lead up to and during the Beijing Olympics, people worldwide are gravely concerned by the situation inside Tibet. Now, you have an important opportunity to demonstrate visionary leadership on this issue by seeking to address the underlying cause of the flow of Tibetan refugees to Nepal rather than relying on superficial, short-term measures.

The world will be watching closely as you make your first major appearance on the global stage this month to address the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, an institution founded on the principles of international peace and cooperation, equal rights and self-determination of all peoples, and respect for human rights. We urge you to demonstrate Nepal’s respect for these fundamental principles as you institute new policies that respect the rights to freedom of expression and assembly for all and contribute to the long-term resolution of China’s rule in Tibet.

Yours faithfully,

„Leaving Fear Behind“ ist ein heroischer Film, der von Tibetern in Tibet aufgenommen wurde, die die Stimmen ihrer Landsleute zu den Olympischen Spielen in Peking hörbar machen wollten. Gerade jetzt, wo China im globalen Rampenlicht steht, möchten die Tibeter der Welt von ihrer Notlage berichten und ihrem tiefempfunden Leid unter dem chinesischen Regime. Das Filmmaterial wurde unter außergewöhnlichen Umständen aus Tibet geschmuggelt. Die Filmemacher wurden kurz danach festgenommen und befinden sich seitdem in Haft. Hier sind zwei Appellbriefe, bitte ausdrucken und ggf. ergänzen und absenden.

Bitte die Vorlage auf Kartonpapiert mit Laserdrucker ausdrucken und dann entlang den gestrichtelten Linien zerschneiden: Das ergibt vier Postkarten! Man kann sie auch in einem Copyshop herstellen lassen.

mit der Bitte, sich bei seinem bevorstehenden Besuch in Peking zur Eröffnungsfeier der Olympischen Spiele ernsthaft um eine Lösung der Tibet-Krise zu bemühen und das Thema der Verletzung der Menschenrechte deutlich anzusprechen.

Brief an Nicolas Sarkozy - Übersetzung nur zur Orientierung, bitte die französische Version absenden

Sehr geehrter Herr Präsident,

Im Namen der Tibetergemeinschaft München und der Tibetfreunde Münchens bitte ich um Ihre Aufmerksamkeit wegen der Lage in Tibet, die nun äußerst dringlich geworden ist infolge der chinesischen Repressionen auf die friedlichen Kundgebungen der Tibeter hin, die sich gegen die Besatzungsmacht erhoben.

Trotz des von der internationalen Gemeinschaft allgemein ausgeübten Druckes ist die Lage in Tibet seit dem 10. März von einer kontinuierlichen Repression gekennzeichnet, und die Volksbefreiungsarmee belagert nun zahlreiche tibetische Klöster und Ortschaften, in denen es zu friedlichen Manifestationen gekommen war.

Für die Tibeter in Tibet sind aufgrund ihrer Weigerung, sich dem Befehl der Chinesen zu fügen, willkürliche Verhaftungen und summarische Hinrichtungen an der Tagesordnung.

Wir möchten Sie informieren, daß bei der siebten Begegnung zwischen den Gesandten Seiner Heiligkeit des Dalai Lama und den Vertretern Chinas kein Fortschritt in der Tibet-Frage erzielt wurde.

Seitens der chinesischen Regierung hat sich nichts bewegt. Sie hat nicht nur alles getan, um eine Diskussion über das eigentliche Thema, um das es geht, nämlich das Überleben und die Existenz des tibetischen Volkes, zu vermeiden, sondern sie führt auch eine massive Verleumdungs- und Diffamierungskampagne gegen Seine Heiligkeit den Dalai Lama, sie beschuldigt ihn, „ein Separatist zu sein oder die Spiele in Peking zu sabotieren“. Das ist nichts als Lügen, um das Tibet-Problem weiterbestehen zu lassen, ohne es lösen zu wollen.

Angesichts Ihrer Entscheidung, an der Eröffnungszeremonie der Olympischen Spiele am 8. August teilzunehmen, möchten wir, daß Sie bei Ihrem chinesischen Amtskollegen, Herrn Hu Jintao, das Tibet-Problem zur Sprache bringen. Drei konkrete Maßnahmen, welche die Situation in Tibet beruhigen könnten, wären die sofortige Einstellung der chinesischen Repression, die Öffnung Tibets für internationale Beobachter und unabhängige Journalisten, und schließlich, daß Herr Ju Jintao mit seiner Heiligkeit dem Dalai Lama in direkten Dialog über die politische Zukunft der 6 Millionen Tibeter tritt.

Ich bitte Sie außerdem:

• sich öffentlich an das chinesische Volk zu wenden und die Besorgnis Ihres Landes mitzuteilen hinsichtlich der Verweigerung der Freiheitsrechte in Tibet, was den Protesten im Frühling zugrunde liegt, und Ihre Solidarität mit den Bemühungen des Dalai Lama zur Findung einer friedlichen Lösung für Tibet auszudrücken;
• die chinesischen Führer zu drängen, Rechenschaft abzulegen über das Schicksal von über eintausend Tibetern, deren Zustand und Verbleib auf die Kundgebungen vom Frühjahr hin immer noch unbekannt ist, und die Hoffnung auszudrücken, daß die verhafteten Tibeter einen Prozeß gemäß den internationalen Normen erhalten werden;
• die chinesischen Führer zu drängen, allen Journalisten freien Zugang zu den tibetischen Regionen zu gewähren und sofort die Vertreter der UNO und von Menschenrechtsorganisationen dorthin zu lassen;
• Präsident Hu Jintao zu bitten, eine Erklärung abzugeben bezüglich der der Aufrichtigkeit seiner Regierung, in ernsthafte Verhaltungen mit dem Dalai Lama oder dessen Vertretern im Hinblick auf eine Lösung der Tibet-Frage zu treten und
• um Erlaubnis zu bitten, Lhasa zu besuchen.

Wir wünschen auch, daß Sie Seine Heiligkeit den Dalai Lama empfangen, wenn er sich wieder nach Frankreich begibt.

Hochachtungsvoll,

Sehr geehrter Herr Außenminister,

offenbar reichen Menschenrechtsdialoge hinter verschlossenen Türen alleine nicht aus, die Situation in Tibet zu verbessern. Die Nachrichten über schwere Menschenrechtsverletzungen chinesischer Sicherheitskräfte an Tibetern reißen nicht ab. Diese töten die Tibeter willkürlich, schießen aus reiner Rache und wahllos auf Mönche und prügeln zahlreiche friedliche Demonstranten zu Tode. Sie können diese Verbrechen ungestraft begehen, weil die chinesische Führung entschlossen ist, den Tibetern als einer separaten Volksgruppe den Garaus zu machen. Nur wer sich dem Diktat der Partei fügt und alles, was an tibetische Identität erinnert, ablegt, darf weiterexistieren. Wir haben es hier mit einer Kolonialmacht im übelsten Sinne zu tun, für die die Beherrschten Untermenschen sind, die total assimiliert werden müssen, oder falls sie sich dagegen wehren, ausgerottet..

Bei der Niederschlagung der Proteste wurden nach Angaben von Exiltibetern über 200 Menschen getötet (wobei die Dunkelziffer um ein vielfaches höher anzusetzen ist), und rund 6000 festgenommen. Die Zahl der Verwundeten, denen zumeist die medizinische Versorgung verweigert wird, geht in die Tausende. Augenzeugen berichten, daß viele in Haft mißhandelt und gefoltert werden, vor allem Mönche und Nonnen, Häuser und Wohnungen werden bei Razzien verwüstet, Klöster werden regelrecht überfallen und ausgeplündert, ihrer wertvollen alten Artefakte beraubt und den Mönchen werden ihre persönlichen Besitzgegenstände rücksichtslos weggenommen. Wer sich das nicht gefallen läßt, wird sofort verhaftet und bestialisch geprügelt. Um sich ein Bild der Lage zu machen, empfehlen wir, die täglichen neuesten Nachrichten auf der Website www.igfm-muenchen.de/tibet/tibetstart.html zu lesen.

Deshalb appelliere ich dringend an Sie: Bitte fordern Sie Peking nachdrücklich dazu auf, die gewaltsame Unterdrückung der Tibeter zu beenden und ihnen endlich eine echte Selbstverwaltung zu gewähren, d.h. politische, wirtschaftliche, kulturelle und religiöse Autonomie, so wie es die chinesische Verfassung für Minderheiten vorsieht. Solche Selbstverwaltungsmodelle haben in vielen Teilen der Welt Minderheitenprobleme gelöst.

Nach der letzten Begegnung der Sondergesandten des Dalai Lama mit den Vertretern der Einheitsfrontabteilung in Peking am 1. Juli wurde deutlich, daß die chinesische Seite überhaupt nicht bereit ist zu vernünftigen Gesprächen und stur an ihrer Unterdrückungspolitik festhält. Daher sollte das Engagement der Bundesrepublik viel stärker sein als ein paar „leise Worte“ oder die Fortführung des fruchtlosen Rechtsdialogs, den Peking nur führt, um die Kritik von sich abzulenken. Wir bitten Sie daher, daß die Bundesrepublik konkrete Schritte unternimmt, um einen tatsächlichen Druck auf die Regierung der VR China auszuüben. Ein solcher könnte über den UN-Menschenrechtsrat erfolgen oder die EU-Kommission, aber dazu bedarf es eines einheitlichen Vorgehens aller Mitgliedstaaten. Die Bundesrepublik sollte hier eine führende Rolle einnehmen.

Außerdem würde es die deutsche Wählerschaft schätzen, wenn Sie ein Zeichen setzen und den Dalai Lama bei seinem nächsten Besuch in Deutschland offiziell empfangen würden. Ich kann Ihnen versichern, daß die abfälligen Äußerungen Ihres Parteigenossen Beck über den Dalai Lama nicht dazu angetan sind, Wählerstimmen für Ihre Partei zu gewinnen. Und Sie wissen, welches hohe Ansehen der Dalai Lama unter der deutschen Bevölkerung genießt.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Brief an den Premierminister Nepals

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala

Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

Singh Durbar

P.O. Box 23312

Kathmandu, Nepal

Your Excellency,

I am writing to you, to express my deep sorrow regarding the treatment of Tibetans attempting to take part in peaceful protests in Nepal. It is my understanding that Nepal police have consistently, and with excess force, suppressed peaceful protests by exiled Tibetans, who are merely attempting to express their deep anxiety about human rights violations in Tibet.

I wish to express my grave concerns regarding restrictions imposed by your government on the rights of non-refoulement, movement, assembly, and expression of the Tibetan community in Nepal. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the government of Nepal is responsible for the protection of the human rights of any individual living within its borders.

Since the 10th of March 2008, there continues to be demonstrations/protests throughout the three provinces of Tibet, which has drawn widespread international attention and support. During these uprisings, many Tibetans are killed, tortured and continues to be imprisoned.

To show solidarity to their effort and our common cause, the Tibetan refugees in Nepal, like other Tibetans in Diaspora, hold peaceful protests and rallies. We are saddened to hear that many Tibetans including three Tibetan community leaders have been detained.

We, therefore, request your Excellency to kindly intervene, so that the refugees are treated democratically. Last but not the least, the Tibetan refugees, may kindly be allowed the freedom of expression.

I understand that in the period since 10 March, the Nepal police have:

- detained without justification countless people, including many pre-emptively, in an attempt to prevent protests from taking place.

- used lathis and tear gas and handled protestors with excessive force, resulting in numerous injuries. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said that direct interviews with detainees suggest a pattern of delayed and limited medical treatment, and have reported beatings in Boudha and Singha Durba police stations.

- restricted freedom of movement of Tibetans in parts of Kathmandu; this especially applies to monks and nuns.

- formally arrested three leading Tibetans on 19 June and accused them of harming Nepal’s good relationship to China.

Various human rights organizations have documented unnecessary and excessive use of force during arrests, as well as ill treatment during arrests and detention. I am particularly concerned by increasing evidence of police use of sexual and other forms of assault, including of minors, during arrests, violating the right to physical integrity. Police have also used lathis and tear gas on some occasions without necessity or with excessive force, resulting in numerous injuries.

Furthermore, your government has threatened to deport Tibetans who engage in protest. As many governments have pointed out on a number of occasions in the past, this places the individuals concerned in extreme danger of torture and imprisonment by China. As a party of the Convention against Torture, Nepal should respect its to Article 3 and not deport individuals to any country where they may be tortured.

The government of Nepal should immediately restore the rights of freedom of assembly, expression, and movement, by allowing Tibetans to go about their daily lives and carry out peaceful protests without fear of arrests or threat of deportation. Should the Nepal police continue to engage in conduct that was condemned by all of the current governing parties, Nepali human rights defenders, and the international community, during the People’s Movement of 2005-2006, it will betray its own record of restoring in April 2006 fundamental civil and political rights.  

Yours faithfully,

Brief an  UN-Menschenrechtskommissarin aktualisiert am 18. Juni 2008

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Louise Arbour

OHCHR, Palais des Nations

8-14 Avenue de la Paix

CH-1211 Geneva 10 / Switzerland

Email: larbour@ohchr.org - ccanessa@ohchr.org -  tb-petitions@ohchr.org
Fax: +41 22 917 9022

Appeal to put more pressure on the Chinese government to admit a fact-finding mission to all Tibetan areas in the People’s Republic of China and to release all political prisoners.

Dear Madam,

In Tibet a large-scale genocide is taking place, whilst China is trying to wipe out all evidence and keep the international community ignorant of the happenings in Tibet.

Various facts and figures given by the different sources have been meticulously examined and tallied with each other. After having done this, is can be confirmed that up to now the actual figure for the number of dead is 209, the number of injured is more than 1,000 and the number of those still detained is more than 5,715. These are figures for Tibetans who died, are injured and still in detention throughout Tibet as of today. In reality the figures might be much higher but due to the absolute news blackout in Tibet. Many arrested Tibetans have just disappeared.

The situation inside Tibet continues to be under extreme repression and scrutiny, specially following the heavy deployment of Chinese armed police and armies. Under such situation, it is very difficult to receive information from Tibet. Now and then a piece of information is received but it is incomplete and cannot be confirmed independently.

The relentless crackdown on innocent Tibetans is going on. Chinese military forces shoot at random at Tibetans and kill them like animals.

A few days ago a Tibetan girl, who came from a village, was shot dead using a silencer gun by the People's Armed Police (PAP) outside the southern gate of the Jokhang temple, in Lhasa, at about 12:00 noon. She was visiting her brother who is a monk ofthat temple. However, the PAP, who are guarding outside the temple, denied her permission to visit the temple. She then had an argument with the PAP. While she was having argument, another PAP shot her silently from behind. She died on the spot. A witness reported that she bled from her chest after she fell.

People were dispersed from the scene at gun-point. Her body was later taken away by the PAP. As a huge contingent of PAP has been deployed in Lhasa from other locations, it is reported that many Tibetans were beaten; sometimes harsh words were used on them, even for not quickly showing their identity cards when demanded by the PAP.  This is just one example for the ongoing brutal crackdown in Tibet. Due to the total news blackout the outside world is not aware of how many people are daily shot and tortured to death. Occasionally Tibetans in exile receive some information per telephone from relatives in Tibet, but these are only sporadic and incomplete.

In the TAP Kardze in former province Kham a Tibetan township head was killed by his Chinese counterpart because he had some different view on ethnic issues. Only a few of these atrocities reach the outside world and of course the Chinese government never will never admit them and insist these are lies.

We therefore demand to allow an independent U.N. investigation, and grant unimpeded access to Tibet and neighbouring provinces, to journalists and other independent observers; and to fully account for those who are detained, ensuring that they will not be ill-treated, and are given fair trials.

We are aware that in early April, a request from your side to visit Tibet was declined on the grounds that it was "inconvenient." A separate appeal, issued jointly by six United Nations Special Rapporteurs for "full unhindered access," was similarly declined. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is mandated to visit detention facilities and check on the well-being of prisoners worldwide, has never been allowed to carry out such work in China. This is not tolerable, we therefore request you to put more pressure on the Chinese government. If not the UN, who should hold them responsible for the ongoing genocide in Tibet?

We demand the release of all those detained solely for peaceful protest. We are calling for a U.N. investigation into the unrest that took place in Tibet and the surrounding provinces between March 10–16, including special procedures of the Human Rights Council to visit the affected areas.

We are also calling for a High Commissioner of Human Rights mission to the region after which she would report back to the Human Rights council. Please call on the Chinese authorities to allow journalists access to areas where there has been unrest, in line with Olympic promises of full media freedom, it will not do just to invite now and then journalists to Lhasa and show them a stage-managed picture and not allow them to freely talk to Tibetans.

The Chinese armed forces in their attempt to wipe out any kind of evidence related to the recent protests in Tibet are burning all the dead bodies of people who have been killed since the March 14 protest in Tibet. This is a terrible offence to the relatives who are not even able to perform their Buddhist rituals for the deceased.

Many Tibetans who have been injured since the start of the protests in Tibet continue to die in People’s Hospital with no immediate medical care. We received an eye witness report from a Tibetan man who was imprisoned in Lhasa during the protest that all prisoners were bound with ropes and thrown on to the floor of cells. The prisoners were further weakened by the lengthy denial of food.  

Judging from the information available to us regarding the scale of the ongoing human rights violations against the Tibetan people, it is imperative that the Human Rights Council as the principal human rights organ of the United Nations take urgent measures by convening a special session to address the current situation in China. It is much too late to discuss the Tibet-issue only in 2009 at the Human Rights Council. This should be done this year at the next session.

We therefore call upon the UN Human Rights Council to hold a Special Session, not just a debate, on the current human rights situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and the Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures in the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.

China must re-admit foreign press immediately who should have freedom to move about without minders and censorship, China has to keep the promise it made to allow foreign journalists free movement around the whole of China in the run-up to the Olympics. China must cease the present crackdown, release all those detained and provide names of all those detained.

Please refer to the following sites to learn more about the present situation in Tibet, which is very serious: www.tibet.net, www.stoptibetcrisis.net, www.tchrd.org, www.phayul.com.

Thank you very much for your attention to this extremely urgent appeal.

Yours sincerely,

China wies die Bitte der UN-Hochkommissarin für Menschenrechte, Louise Arbour, zurück, Tibet besuchen zu können, um sich ein Bild der derzeitigen Lage auf die kürzlichen Proteste hin zu machen. Die chinesische Regierung antwortete, der Zeitpunkt sei nicht günstig und schlug vor, den Besuch auf ein späteres Datum zu verschieben, das beiderseitig genehm sei.

Brief vom 31. März an Louise Arbour

Email: larbour@ohchr.org - ccanessa@ohchr.org -  tb-petitions@ohchr.org
Fax: +41 22 917 9022

Appeal to the High-Commissioner for Human Rights to send immediately a fact-finding mission to all Tibetan areas in the People’s Republic of China.

Your Excellency,

The situation in Tibet is getting worse from day to day. There is a humanitarian catastrophe nearing fast. According to latest news the situation in Lhasa is very sad and nearing a total annihilation of the Tibetan people. It is almost starvation in the three monasteries, Ganden, Sera and Drepung. These three monasteries are cut off from electricity, water and food. People in Lhasa try to bring food to these monasteries but are not allowed to enter them. A delegation of the Red Cross should be admitted to Tibet to take care of the injured, for hospitals have been instructed to refuse them treatment. Since all communication channels have been blocked there is no way to ascertain the exaction situation, the loss of life, the number of arrested which are believed to go into thousands, the number of victims of bullets of the armed police and military and the extent of torture. Occasional unofficial reports are horrible.

Here is an excerpt of such a report about the crackdown of the armed forces on the inhabitants of Lhasa received by chance, which due to the news blackout and the closure of Tibet to the outside world unfortunately cannot be confirmed:

“All the Tibetans who dare going out are caught by the Chinese police. Now all the prisons in Tibet are full and they are transporting many Tibetans to China. Dead bodies are piled in prison cells with people who are still alive. Many of them are heavily wounded but none of them is getting any medical treatment. Many people are dying miserably slow death in prison cells. Some people committed suicide knowing that they would be killed inhumanly by the Chinese. Tibetans are tied up in lines at police stations in Lhasa and the police are doing all kinds of inhuman things on them. Human blood is flowing at all the police stations like slaughter houses. Even more horrible thing is that all the limbs of all the Tibetans who are caught by the Chinese are broken. Some Tibetans with all of their limbs broken were dropped at the door steps of their families. Many Tibetans think it's better to be dead than alive with all limbs broken. Now Tibetans live in walls and constant fear. Police are searching protesters door by door everyday. Every street and door is guarded by the police. All the monasteries around Lhasa are sealed and nobody is allowed to go in and out so people are running out of food supplies and starving but the Chinese only care about their so called stability and harmony. Many Tibetans suspect that the Chinese killed lots of people one night in front of Jokhang temple as there was constant gunfire whole night long and tanks were running all around.”

A group of 17 foreign diplomats, including an Australian official, visited the Tibetan capital Lhasa at the end of last week. One member says the group was closely watched: "At all times, the delegation was in the presence of Chinese officials," he said. The same was true for the group of journalists who were invited to Lhasa recently. All they saw was state-orchestrated. There is still no news about the brave monks of the Jokhang Temple who expressed their opinion to these journalists at the risk of their lives. The authorities ascertain nothing happened to them, but this is highly doubtful since they were taken away immediately after the incident and nothing was known about them since. The best way forward, would be for China to be open and transparent about Tibet, to open itself up to scrutiny."

In this respect, we urge you to send immediately and urgently a fact-finding mission equipped with full access to all the Tibetan areas where there had been extrajudicial or summary killings, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearances since 10 March, when the wave of demonstrations began. According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy and the Tibetan Government-in-Exil the death toll is 150 and more, while 1.200 Tibetans were arrested and more than 100 disappeared. Presumably the figure of victims is much higher.

We call upon the UN Human Rights Council to hold a Special Session on the current human rights situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and the Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures in the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.

Judging from the information available to us regarding the scale of the ongoing human rights violations against the Tibetan people, it is imperative that the Human Rights Council as the principal human rights organ of the United Nations take urgent measures by convening a special session to address the current situation in China.

We urge you to swiftly call upon the Chinese authorities to receive a joint mission of Special Procedures mandate-holders on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution and other relevant mandates such as the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the Special Representative of Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders.

China must re-admit foreign press immediately who should have freedom to move about without minders and censorship, China has to keep the promise it made to allow foreign journalists free movement around the whole of China in the run-up to the Olympics. China must cease the present crackdown, release all those detained and provide names of all those detained. Please refer to the site www.phayul.com to learn more about the present situation in Tibet.

Thank you very much for your attention to this appeal.

Yours sincerely,