Tibet Today brings Tibet closer to you

Date: 14th April, 2008

For Immediate Release                                                                                   

A Tibetan school forced to shut down:

According to a reliable source, on April 8, Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastic School was forced to shut down by the Chinese Government. The school focuses on Tibetan language education and the study of cultural sciences for monks below the age of 18 and nomadic and farmers' children too. There are around 500 students enrolled in the school. The school was founded in 1986 and was extremely beneficial to the many children deprived of educational opportunities. Though the Chinese Government claims that the school closure was due to a few students' involvement in the demonstration on March 15th. However, it is clear that the school closure was actually an attempt by the Chinese Governments' attempt to hinder further promotion of Tibetan language and culture.

The Chinese Government continues to make arbitrary arrests and they have detained nearly 800 Tibetans in a single prison alone. According to a few Tibetan arrestees (from Gonjue district), we received information that the inmates were provided with only a cup of black tea and a single Tingmo "a steam bread" in each four days.  Severe beating and torture resulted in broken limbs, fractured ribs, and even eyes balls being popped out.

The Chinese Government considers all Tibetans as enemies of China, strongly emphasizing the impossibility of co-existence between Tibetans and Chinese. This is evident through their widely used slogan "you live and I die" or "I live and you die" or "us and our enemies" reflective of their widely practiced "divide and rule" policies. For example, Tibetans continue to endure more repression and discrimination based on their ethnicity at work. The Chinese officials do not trust their own security personnel (mostly of Tibetan origin) that they feel the need to replace them with Chinese military, thus resulting in Tibetans losing their job.

In the event of coming across a dispute or a fight between a Tibetan and a Chinese, the Tibetan is charged guilty and arrested even when not at fault. Contrary to Chinese' allegations referring His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibetans as "separatists" when the real separatists are the Chinese government who continue to use their "Divide and Rule" policy to create further rift and tension between Tibetans and Chinese.     

In view of the critical situation in Tibet, we appeal the UN and international community of the urgent consideration of our following demands:

• Immediately dispatch independent fact finding delegations to Tibet
• Immediately allow free press to cover the whole of Tibet
• Immediately end the brutal killings in the whole of Tibet
• Immediately release all arrested and imprisoned Tibetans
• Extend immediate medical assistance to the injured Tibetans
• Allow free movement of people and provide access to daily needs

 - Tibetan Solidarity Committee