With China’s persecution of Tibetans escalating over time, representatives of Tibetan communities in Europe have urged the Chinese government to stop, with immediate effect, atrocities like the colonial-style boarding schools, repression through their Zero-Covid Policy, and bulk DNA collection of Tibetans.
Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and representatives from Tibetan communities across Europe gathered in Milan for the Tibetan communities’ third General Meeting on October 1st and 2nd, 2022.
During the discussion, Tibetan activists focused on the three aforementioned new tactics used by the Chinese authorities to commit atrocities against Tibetans.
A resolution passed at the meeting voiced concern about the Chinese government’s colonial-style boarding school system in Tibet.
The activists worried how almost a million Tibetan children, some as young as four years old, are forcibly separated from their parents and sent to “boarding schools” where they are forced to learn Chinese and are subjected to “patriotic education” aimed at total Sinicization of Tibetan language, culture, and identity, ultimately leading to the annihilation of the centuries-old Tibetan civilization.
They further said that they were appalled by recent videos and reports from Tibet in which the Chinese government, under the guise of the Zero-Covid Policy, is forcibly detaining Tibetans in “quarantine centres” regardless of whether they test Covid-positive or negative, and are fed rotten food. These Tibetans are deprived of basic amenities, forcing a few Tibetans to commit suicide, demonstrating the total repression of Tibetans in Tibet.
The activists also expressed concern about reports of the Chinese government’s mass DNA collection of over one million Tibetans, including men, women, children, and Buddhist monks, between June 2016 and July 2022 as part of a high-tech surveillance mechanism to continue Tibetan oppression in Tibet.
They urged the international community, especially European governments, parliamentarians, the European Union, and the United Nations, to put pressure on China to stop committing crimes against humanity and to press the Chinese government to comply with its international obligations.
The press release read, “WE, therefore, UNEQUIVOCALLY CONDEMN the acts of repression by the Chinese government against the Tibetans and CALL UPON the Chinese Government to STOP WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT the colonial-style boarding schools, repression through Zero-Covid Policy and the mass DNA collection of Tibetans; CALL UPON the Chinese Government to respect and implement its own constitutional provisions and international obligations guaranteeing social, cultural and economic rights including right to language, religious freedom, autonomy to the Tibetan people; CALL UPON the International Community including the national governments of the European countries, parliamentarians, the European Union as well as the United Nations to press China to STOP WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT the above acts of crimes against humanity being perpetuated by the Chinese government and to press the government to comply with its international obligations; And thereby WE UNDERTAKE to create awareness about the worsening situation in Tibet especially on the above three critical matters of concern within our jurisdictions as well as advocate and mobilise support for Tibet.”
China extends DNA sample collection to Tibet under ‘crime detection’ program
It may be recalled that on September 6, OpIndia reported how in accordance with the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China, Xi Jinping’s communist government had been collecting DNA samples from residents of Tibet, without their consent, under the pretext of crime detection.
The blatant violation of human rights is not limited to the adult population but has been extended to even kindergarten children. Reportedly, the DNA collection drive began in 2019 as part of a policing campaign and involved inspection, investigation, and mediation.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), DNA was collected from residents in at least 7 villages, 2 townships, 2 towns, 2 counties, and one prefecture of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). Besides, two government tenders were floated to create local DNA databases.
The report noted that the residents of Tibet, forcibly occupied and annexed by China 70 years ago, could not decline to provide their DNA samples.
Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)
For the uninitiated, while the People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims that Tibet is an integral part of China, the Tibetan government-in-exile maintains that Tibet is an independent state under unlawful occupation. Prior to 1951, Tibet had a theocratic government of which the Dalai Lama was the supreme religious and political head. On 29 April 1959, Dalai Lama established the Tibetan exile administration in the north Indian hill station of Mussoorie. Named the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), this is the continuation of the government of independent Tibet. In May 1960, the CTA was moved to Dharamsala. The Tibetan people, both in and outside Tibet, look to the CTA as their sole and legitimate representative. Since 2012, Lobsang Sangay is the Sikyong or the President of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
In his statement on June 28th, Lobsang Sangay said that in the last six decades and more, Tibetans within Tibet have been suffering under the authoritarian rule of China. The Chinese government has stripped Tibetans of their basic human rights and their inherent dignity of being human, he said.
