By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, OCT 2: Ten Tibetans from Sangchu County were recently sentenced to prison from 9 to 14 years for “anti-gang” crimes that accused them of “extortion” and “forced trading”, reported by advocacy group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT). The trial analyzed by ICT noted that the prosecutors and judges repeatedly referred to Sangchu 10 as an “evil gang.”
The 10-hour trial recording in “open court sessions” provided opportunities for defense counsels but the defenses were easily dismissed despite their merits. It revealed how China misused these measures to silence Tibetans and deny fair trials. The group faced prosecution under the “Saohei Chu-e” campaign, a three-year effort to eliminate “gangs” and “organized crime” in China.
The ten defendants are respected community leaders who were only requesting compensation for property damage from state-backed projects. They raised concerns over a slaughterhouse in their hometown; fundraised to procure a piece of abandoned land for the monastery’s use. When local Tibetans raised their concerns, the slaughterhouse company even agreed to pay 1 million yuan for the new Buddhist stupa. The authorities described the exchange as extortion during the June trial.
The defense attorneys raised concerns over the years delay in charging the 10 Tibetans and other procedural flaws. ICT President Matteo Mecacci said, “The conviction of the Sangchu 10 exposes the flaws of China’s ‘anti-gang’ campaign and judicial system in Tibet, which unfairly targets Tibetans . . . The people of Tibet are entitled to their fundamental rights, including when prosecuted, and the Chinese authorities should realize that by unjustly punishing Tibetans, they only aggravate the situation and increase the people’s mistrust in their rule.”
One Response
Nobody is surprised by the news of Sangchu county, as the whole world knows that the Tibetans are targeted under the different pretext and sentenced to a long imprisonment on very flimsy grounds. Being Tibetan is a crime in occupied land, and raising the public concern over issues such as the rights of Tibetans are heinous crime in the eyes of the CCP. Never in the history, the Tibetan right activist was given the fair hearing and justice.
Any community leader or the right activist showing dislike to the occupying forces and their policy of diluting the native culture and religion becomes a number one target there. It is sad that anyone who is related to such person is constantly watched, followed and put under strict surveillance. They are likely to end up in the Chinese gulag, if they ever make a politically incorrect statement in public.
Tibetans in the free world should speak to their inner voice and listen to our conscience. It is very unfortunate that many of us, even today show superficial loyalty to the religious and regional affiliations of our parents.
It is time for our change and we should put up united fight and come under a single banner.