Dharamshala: - The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) in its Annual Report of 2011 has stated that the human rights situation has worsened inside Tibet.
With the Chinese government cracking down on singers, writers and environmentalists along with the string of self-immolations protesting the Chinese rule in the past one year, the situation in Tibet looks grave, they said.
The report traces the increase in the control of the Tibetans' lives by the Chinese government after the 2008 unrest.
‘The self-immolations are symptomatic of the greater plight that Tibetans find themselves in throughout the Tibetan plateau,' says the report.
''The 17 self-immolation protests and deaths in Tibet, including the 2009 self-immolation by Tibetan monk Tapey pose important questions on the nature of Chinese rule in Tibet,'' said Ms. Tsering Tsomo, the executive director of TCHRD.
''The sooner Chinese government realize this, the better; when the people you rule chose death, you know you have some serious housecleaning to do before you continue with your global soft power charm offensive," she added.
According to the report, the Chinese government has refused to admit any responsibility towards the rising frequency of self-immolations and has instead increased its level of oppression within Tibet while simultaneously violating its international human rights obligation.
The report warns that unless the Chinese authorities ease the restrictions placed on the Tibetan people and engage in sincere dialogue aimed at addressing their grievances, there are serious concerns that self-immolations will be the only avenue for Tibetans to voice their desperation and frustration.
This report indicates that the cost of remaining under the Chinese rule can be far greater than the cost of exercising one's rights within Tibet.
The report states that the Chinese government has missed many opportunities to listen to the concerns of Tibetans, thereby fuelling the need to protest publicly in the form of self-immolations simply to draw attention towards their cause.
It also states that self-immolation as a form of protest has spread from Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghain Province is a result of the Chinese authorities reacting with violence to suppress the Tibetan voice.
The report also sheds light on the state of religious freedom, the ever widening net of state censorship, education and language rights, torture of detainees and political prisoners, enforced disappearances, flawed development model along with elaborating on environment destruction, and the consistent violation of civil and political rights of the Tibetan people.
In a press conference held today in Dharamsala, The TCHRD stated that the Chinese government must realize that naked force and police power will only prolong this vicious cycle of repression and resistance, benefiting no one, least of all in achieving Beijing's hallowed goals of harmony and stability.
One can download the 2011 Annual Report in English and Tibetan from www.tchrd.org
