China is trying to weaken Tibet’s identity: Tibetan activists speak out against Chinese repression

On October 21, 2015, a 15-year-old Tibetan girl along with her sister were picked up by Chinese authorities in the Tibetan county of Ngaba and put behind bars for three years for publicly displaying portraits of the Dalai Lama and demanding . free Tibet.

According to him, in June last year, the girl named Namki entered Nepal after an arduous 10-day trek with a “firm” resolve to make people across the world aware of ‘Chinese oppression’ in Tibet, a few weeks after Later she reached India. Account. Namki, now 24, says she is currently studying at ‘Sherab Gatsel Ling’, an educational institution run by the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.

“What the Chinese government is showing to the whole world about Tibet is completely contrary to the real situation. The Tibetan people are living under increasing fear and repression,” he told a small group of journalists. “China is trying to weaken Tibet’s identity,” he alleged. Tibetan activists have accused China of denying religious freedom and trying to destroy Tibet’s cultural heritage and identity. Beijing has been rejecting the allegations. “I want to tell the world what is happening in Tibet. I want to be the voice of the Tibetan people to tell the world about their pain and suffering, about Chinese oppression,” Namki said.

The girl, born in an elite nomadic family of Charo village, also recalled the detention of her and her sister Tenzin Dolma after they demonstrated in a prominent area of ​​Ngaba, calling for “‘Free Tibet’ and the early return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet” demanded.” , “Not more than 10 minutes into our march, four or five police officers came from behind and snatched the pictures (of the Dalai Lama) from our hands,” he said of the October 21, 2015 protests.

“We did not release the photographs and protested against the police action. Eventually, the police dragged us onto the road and asked us to keep quiet. But we continued to raise our slogans,” he said. “They handcuffed our hands, put us in the police van and took us to the detention center in Ngaba County. Then they took us to another detention center in Barkam city. Namki claimed that he and his sister were subjected to severe torture.

“We were interrogated in a small room where a very hot heater was on. Various interrogators asked various questions such as who instigated us to protest; Where did we get the pictures of the Dalai Lama and did we have any acquaintance from outside, etc.,” she said. He said, “Despite mental and physical torture, we only replied that we both decided to protest independently, and no one instigated us, and also that our family members were informed about it.” Didn’t even know.”

Namki said the trial began about a year after his arrest. “That day (when the trial began), we both saw each other for the first time after his arrest,” he recalled, adding that the court sent him to jail. “After three months in prison, I worked in a labor camp where copper wires were produced, and my sister first made cigarette boxes, and then we were transferred to a wrist-watch manufacturing camp ,” He said.

“Later, we learned that our family had sent food and clothes for us, but we never received anything from the prison authorities.” “On October 21, 2018, we were released from jail after completing our jail term,” she said. Namki alleged that Chinese authorities “harassed” his family members and relatives because he and his sister participated in the protests. “On May 13, 2023, I started my escape journey with my aunt Tsering Ki without telling anyone,” he said, adding that they first crossed to Nepal through a border point and then came to Dharamshala on June 28.

Due to his stay in India for about 10 months, he was afraid for the safety of his family members. “I’m worried that my family could be targeted,” he said. Namki said his main aim now is to tell the world about the real situation in Tibet. “People in Tibet are living in miserable conditions. I want to be their voice in front of the world. I want to visit different countries and tell them what is going on in Tibet.

Tibetan activists said people in their community face intense surveillance, and are not allowed to hold photographs of the Dalai Lama or mention him in public. Namki said he had the opportunity to seek the blessings of the Dalai Lama last year and underlined the need to work towards protecting Tibet’s identity and cultural heritage. Penpa Tsering, the political head of Tibet’s government-in-exile, said people in Tibet are living in fear and face intense surveillance in their daily lives.

“People are living in fear as they can be blacklisted any time. Once they are blacklisted, they get into a lot of problems,” he said. After a failed anti-Chinese rebellion in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet and came to India where he established a government-in-exile. Tibet’s government-in-exile, based in Dharamshala, represents more than a million Tibetans living in about 30 countries.

Chinese government officials and the Dalai Lama or his representatives have not met for formal talks since 2010. Beijing has been saying that it freed “slaves and slaves” from a brutal theocracy in Tibet, putting the region on the path to prosperity and modernization. China has in the past accused the Dalai Lama of engaging in “separatist” activities and trying to divide Tibet and considers him a divisive figure.

However, the Tibetan spiritual leader has stressed that he is not seeking independence, but rather “genuine autonomy for all Tibetans living in Tibet’s three traditional provinces” under a “middle-way approach” . Relations between the two sides became further strained in 2008 due to protests against China in Tibetan areas. Despite China’s strong objection, America and many democratic countries are continuously supporting the Tibetan issue. In 2020, the US introduced legislation affirming the full right of the Tibetan people to choose the Dalai Lama’s successor and to protect Tibet’s environment.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)