Though there are many footages of the protests taking place throughout Tibet last year that were splashed across the world, the following are one of the rare footages of police beating of protestors, suffering of a captive, and Para-military presence in Lhasa, which managed to make its way to the outside world.
According to the information received by the Central Tibetan Administration, as of 31 January 2009, partly as a result of such beatings, about 220 Tibetans died and over 1,294 were seriously injured. Over 5,600 were arrested, 290 sentenced and more than 1,000 have simply disappeared.
In the past, one of the most powerful and stunningly painful footages to come out of Tibet that recorded Chinese police treatment of the protestors was the 1988 beating of the monks at the Jokhang temple. These footages now shown around the world are the first images that documented the brutality of the Chinese police.
China has repeatedly denied the use of torture in Tibet. Even after last March’s widespread protests and the crackdown that followed, Chinese authorities in Tibet resorted to brutal beatings and torture of the captive Tibetans. The Chinese Foreign Ministry had rejected the U.N. panel’s report on the widespread use of torture by Chinese police, calling the report as “untrue and slanderous” in November 2008 and accusing the committee members as “prejudiced” against China.
However, the following footages justify what is truly happening in Tibet as recently as 2008.
This is one of the rare footages of Chinese police beating Tibetans who participated in the massive and widespread protests that erupted throughout Tibet since 10 March 2008. We are told that these beating of protestors took place in or near Lhasa after 14 March 2008. The footage clearly shows the beating of Tibetan captives even after they are handcuffed and tied, a violation of international norms regarding treatment of captives.
2 The second footage is about a young Tibetan, Tendar, a staff in the China Mobile company who was brutally beaten and later suffered inhumane treatment at the hands of Chinese authorities. Tendar was simply trying to stop some Chinese police officials from beating a lone monk on March 14, 2008 when he was on his way to his office.
He was fired at, burned with cigarettes butts, pierced with a nail in his right foot, and severely beaten with an electric baton. The wounds and the bruise marks visible on his body is a testimony of the brutality he was subjected to by the Chinese authorities.
The doctors and the nurses were terribly stunned upon seeing the rotten wounds and bruises on his body when he was shifted to the TAR People’s Hospital, which shows he was even denied basic medical care at the military hospital.
Due to covering his wounds with polythene, his wounds began to rot as clearly seen from the footage. TAR People’s Hospital had to remove about 2.5 KGs of his body part in order to clean out the decay. Every effort was undertaken by his family in meeting huge expenses for his recovery, but failed to bring improvement.
He died due to his injuries on June 19, 2008. When his corpse was offered to the vultures according to the tradition, a nail was found in his right foot.
3 Third footage shows the heavy Para-military presence in Lhasa in the run up to the 50th Anniversary of March 10 Tibetan National Uprising. Lhasa and all other areas of Tibet still remain under virtual Martial Law.
Released by the Department of Information and International Relation New York: March 20, 2009, 5:30am.
This is the background for the second footage:
Tendar, born in 1979 at Lhasa, Tibet, was a deputy manager (Fu Jingli) of Yidong Tongxin Gongsi, a cell phone service office. Its main office, known as China Mobile Group Xizang Company Ltd., is located at Gate number 84, Jiefeng Road, Lhasa Municipal. After his study in Sichuan Province, China, he joined work in China People s Bank (Zhongguo Renmin Yinhang). Soon after, he shifted his work to aforementioned Yidong Tongxin Gongsi.
On way to his office in the afternoon of 14 March 2008 on which the protest was held, he witnessed a monk being severely beaten by around 5-6 People’s Armed Police (PAP) officials nearby the Lhasa Public Security Bureau Police Battalion (Xing Jing Dadui), located at West Beijing Road. Unable to bear the scene, he tried to stop the PAP officials while requesting them not to beat the monk such severely.
However, Tendar was also beaten and two bullets were fired at him. As a result, he lost his consciousness. Those PAP officials then took him to Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Military General Hospital (Zong Yi Yuan), which is also publicly known as Sera Hospital for its close location to the Sera Monastery.
Instead of being treated at the hospital, he was kicked on his bullet wounds, was burned with cigarette butts, his right sole pierced with a nail, and beaten with electric batton. Many wounds and bruise marks were clearly visible all over his body. After his family came to know, upon inquiry, about his hospitalisation, they repeatedly requested in vain for the permission to take him to home.
He was then shifted to TAR People’s Hospital (Ren Min Yi Yuan) where his medical treatment was started. The doctor and the nurse were terribly stunned upon seeing the wounds and bruises on his body. During his hospitalisation in TAR Military General Hospital, Tendar suffered severe torture and did not receive proper medical care. Due to covering his wounds with polythene, his wounds came to rot as clearly seen from the footage.
Only in about half a month, since he was shot and arrested on March 14 till he was handed over to his family at the end of same month, the left part of his buttock became rotten. Therefore, TAR People’s Hospital had to remove about 2.5 KGs of his body part in order to clean out the decay. Every effort undertaken, by meeting huge expenses, for his recovery failed to bring improvement. He had to be taken to home under no option where he, finally, succumbed to his injury on Thursday, 19 June 2008.
When his corpse was offered to the vulture according to the tradition, wounds and bruises were seen on his body. Also, a nail was found plunged into his right sole. This incident of brutality is evident from this footage. Although, detailed information about his family could not be ascertained, it is heard that his parents are currently living in Lhasa.
---------------------------- The Office of Tibet 241 East 32nd Street New York, NY 10016 Tel.: (212)213-5010 (Ext.13) Fax: (212)779-9245 www.tibetoffice.org
