Tibet's Exile Government Wants China to Account for Missing following Uprising | Voice of America - English
Tibet's government-in-exile wants China to account for the large number of Tibetans missing following the March uprising. But the head of the exile government tells VOA News there has been no communication with the Chinese since their last round of unfruitful dialog in July.
The primeminister of Tibet's government in exile wants Chinese authorities togive an accounting of the fate of Tibetans missing since the crackdownagainst those participating in anti-China demonstrations, which beganin March. In a VOA interview, Samdhong Rinpoche, who is theKalon Tripa or prime minister of the Central Tibetan Administration,says it remains unclear how many Tibetans have been killed, injured ordetained by Chinese authorities since the March uprising. "Alarge number of Tibetans are still missing," he said. "A large numberof monks and nuns who were taken away from Lhasa are still imprisonedin various untold places. We are hearing the unconfirmed news now theyare beginning to release [them] but not allowing [them] to go back tothe Lhasa monasteries." The International Commission ofJurists has asked China to inform the United Nations Human RightsCouncil about the March uprising in Tibet and surrounding areas. TheCommission says China's violent crackdown, included arbitraryexecutions, the use of excessive non-lethal force by the securityforces and arbitrary detentions. China has repeatedly accusedthe Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, of fomenting riots andanti-China protests to disrupt this year's Beijing Olympic Games. Tibetanauthorities have feared an even-larger crackdown by the Chinesefollowing the conclusion of last month's games. But the Kalon Tripasays there is no evidence of that yet. "It is too early to saythat now there is no danger," he said. "We shall have to wait and see.And particularly after the next round of dialog hopefully the thingswill be more clear." Rinpoche is referring to the eighth roundof dialog between his exile government and the Chinese government. Ithad been scheduled for October, but Rinpoche says it is questionablewhether the talks will be held. "After July contact there hasnot been any interaction with them, directly or indirectly," he said."No dates have been confirmed." Tibetan leaders say the Chinesemade unacceptable demands on the Dalai Lama at the last round of talks.They say if the October dialog yields no progress, the Tibetans willlikely not continue the discussions, which began six years ago. Dharamsala,in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, has been the Dalai Lama's homesince he fled Tibet in 1959 after China sent in troops there tosuppress a revolt against its rule.