Dharamshala — A Tibetan rights group based in Dharamshala, condemned China's continued violation of international law, which as a result, led more and more issues involving Tibet to become issues of international concern in 2015.
"There is a total of 2081 Tibetan political prisoners, including 967 monks and of them 68 were detained in 2015," the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) said Friday on the release of its 2015 Annual Report on Tibet.
The 194-page annual report, available in Tibetan, English and Chinese, documented two prime developments, namely China's attempt to include "legal justifications for repression" and the sinister effort of the Chinese government that "prioritised rhetoric over substance".
"China passed laws on national security and counter-terrorism in 2015 that appear to do little but provide China with a convenient pretext to continue violating human rights," Director of TCHRD, Ms Tsering Tsomo said at a press conference in Dharamshala, India, on February 19, 2016.
In December 2015, China's rubber-stamp parliament approved a controversial counter-terrorism, drawing widespread criticisms from international community, particularly human rights organizations.
Activists feel that the first counter terrorism law is targeted to further subdue troubled ethnic minority regions, especially Tibet and Eastern Turkistan.
The law that is to take effect in January 2016 requires tech firms to hand over sensitive information to the government and also allows the PLA to get involved in anti-terrorism operations overseas.
"Moreover, China failed to implement any measures that contribute positively to the already degrading ecosystem which many experts say is "irreversible" by pursuing a policy of prioritising rhetoric over substance," she said.
The group also condemned China's continued violation of international law, which as a result, led more and more issues involving Tibet to become issues of international concern in the last year.
"Religious figures were targeted for disappearance, detention, and, sometimes, death. Local Chinese police also detained monks and laypeople, and in many cases, they used pretense to detain community leaders, who are frequently religious leaders," the report said.
It also added that the trend of abusing human rights to silence dissent was frequently used in Tibet where solo protesters were quickly arrested and artists, poets, and intellectuals targeted for arrest.
It further drew attention towards the accelerating environmental destruction and climate change taking place in Tibet. "The rate of China's use of coal as a fuel is more than the rest of the other countries using coal put together, yet the government during the COP 21 meet last year in Paris put forth resolutions for effective cutback of carbon emission only after 2030, until then they plan to look the other way," Ms Tsomo added.
TCHRD says it's report encompasses detailed research material with chapters on religious freedom, rights to privacy and chilling effects, environment, civil and political rights and international community.
TCHRD is a non-governmental organisation based in Dharamshala. The group said 'it works to promote and protect human rights of Tibetans in Tibet and to educate the exile Tibetans on human rights concept and democratic principles.' It also says the annual reports address the violations of civil and political rights of Tibetans inside Tibet, including the right to economic social and cultural rights.
