Five Tibetan youths, who participated in the peaceful protests in north eastern Tibet last year against the five decades of wrong policies initiated by the Chinese government in Tibet, gave a detailed account of China’s policies of marginalising the Tibetans, their identity and the brutal crackdown unleashed by the Chinese authorities since 10 March last year.
The five Tibetans are Gedun Gyatso, Kelsang Jinpa, Jamyang Jinpa, Losang Gyatso and Jigme Gyatso.
Gedun Gyatso and Kelsang Gyatso took part in the protests in Sangchu County in Labrang (Ch: Kanlho Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, incorporated into China’s Gansu Province) on 14 March 2008.
On 9 April 2008, Jamyang Jinpa, Losang Gyatso and Jigme Gyatso spoke openly in front of a visiting international media exposing the repressive policies initiated by the Chinese authorities in Tibet and the state of Tibetans living under constant fear and intimidation.
They spent the past one year in forest fearing arrest and torture by the Chinese authorities and finally managed to flee Tibet.
The five Tibetan escapees spoke to the media on Monday after their safe arrival in Dharamshala in India, the seat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration. The press conference was organised by the Central Executive Committee of Domey based in Dharamshala.
They testified about the Chinese government’s repressive policies targeted at the Tibetan people and recounted the unimaginable sufferings undergone by Tibetans following the Chinese government’s violent suppression of Tibetans’ unprecedented call for more freedom, independence and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
In their testimonials, the five Tibetan youths said unequivocally that the Tibetan people had voluntarily initiated the protests in Tibet as the existence of Tibet’s identity is on the verge of extinction.
They vehemently denied the Chinese government’s claim that His Holiness the Dalai Lama had orchestrated the peaceful demonstrations.
They said the Chinese authorities particularly target Tibetans in the monastic community and students who are the backbone of Tibetan identity by enforcing ideological indoctrination and patriotic education sessions.
The Chinese government’s violent crackdown on Tibetan protesters since 10 March 2008, left 220 Tibetans dead, 1,294 injured and 290 sentenced. More than 5,600 were arrested or detained and over 1,000 disappeared.