Will Tibetans ever get justice? It is a question that has occurred and practically
haunted the Tibetans for decades now. The conflict between Tibet and China is no
matter unknown to the world. The freedom struggles of the Tibetans have gone on
since the illegal occupation of Tibet by China and are still very much on. China’s illegal
deeds against the Tibetan land and its people have been put out in the open with said
proof on various occasions. However, it has failed to garner the much needed
attention and action that it deserves which is one of the sole reasons why the brutality
and the countless persecution in Tibet has only risen with time.
Tibetans in Tibet having no access to the fundamental rights has become a
common issue. Tibetans are helpless, voiceless and powerless under the
authoritarian rule of the communist party. The agendas, plans and schemes of the
Chinese government, to no surprise, are never in favor of the Tibetan people and
things have only gotten worse and times have only gotten tougher. The endless
religious and political persecutions in Tibet have become a never ending scene.
Anyone who is suspected of being a threat to the Chinese rule is persecuted. This
doesn’t apply only to those Tibetans who protest against the government but the list
is rather long and consists of writers, singers, students and commoners. Many of the
Tibetans are relentlessly tortured after false convictions and forced imprisonments.
Tashi Wangchuk, a Tibetan activist in Tibet was released on 28 Jan, 2021 after
completing his five year prison term for “inciting separatism”.
It is a well-known fact that all the former Tibetans political prisoners are kept
under the watchful eyes of the Chinese authorities and are under constant strict
surveillance. The talks about prisoners being made to carry government assigned
mobiles and bands being put forcibly to track their movements better have all been
reported from sources in Tibet. Tashi Wangchuk, was in truth, arrested for calling out
and protesting against the lack of language rights in Tibet, for Tibetans to practice
their own language. The state of language rights in Tibet has worsened with the
numerous shutting down of Tibetan schools, of Tibetan children being made to attend
Chinese government schools and for considering it an unlawful act to hold any event
related to the preservation or the spread of Tibetan language. The former prisoner
called out on the Chinese government to allow the usage of Tibetan language in
schools and various sections of the society. He revealed on his Weibo (social media
account) that he was summoned and questioned by the police on 17th
Jan 2022. Despite spending five years for a crime that he didn’t do, he is still speaking
up fearlessly about the ongoing injustice in Tibet. Gendun Lhundrub, a popular
Tibetan writer and poet’s whereabouts is currently unknown to his family. Lhundrup,
aged 46 and formerly a monk was arrested on 2nd December, 2020 while he was on
his way attend a religious debate. He is amongst the many such writers and scholars
who are targeted merely for promoting the Tibetan identity. It has been more than a
year since his arrest but there has been no official reason for his arrest and about his
current condition. China’s ultimate aim to wipe out the Tibetan identity has been in
play for decades. Tibetans schools and monasteries are easily targeted and forced to
shut down under false accusations. The Tibetan youngsters are given no space to
practice their own language, religion and culture. The monks and nuns are denied any
chance or space to practice their own religion or to preserve their holy religious
institutions.
The number of monasteries, nunneries, Tibetan schools, relics and land destroyed is
saddening but yet it will go on. A country as brutal as China is given the upper hand
all the time. China gaining the opportunity of becoming the host country of the Winter
Olympics 2022 is yet another slap on the faces of the downtrodden and the oppressed
nations and its people presently under the communist government’s rule. China’s
promises to change their ways for good during and after the Beijing Olympics 2008
was a complete lie since the oppression against the Tibetans grew even worse. The
security and the surveillance was tightened up and various projects were lead
afterwards to turn the lives of the Tibetans under a living hell. The construction of
border villages to checkup on even the slightest movements of the Tibetans is an
example of sheer suppression.
Tibetans lost touch with the world for that matter and the situation inside Tibet became
a mystery. China is one of the most brutal abusers of the human rights that the world
has seen. Does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the ones who are
supposed to put it in action do not consider Tibetans as a part of this world or its
people who deserve justice? The plight of the Tibetans in Tibet will only worsen if
serious action isn’t taken against the Chinese nation. China should be held
accountable for all the illegal deeds that they have done against Tibet. The list will
particularly be long since the persecution and destruction in Tibet has been massive.
The environmental issue, the human rights issue and the issue of the illegal
occupation are all matters that need to be tended to. A country like China that forcibly
rules over other nations and practices such brutal oppression shouldn’t be given the
honor of holding a major event like the Olympics which is supposed to bring countries
together.
PERSECUTIONS OF TIBETANS BY THE PRC
