Submission from Tibet Support Group Grampian
EAST ASIA:
INQUIRY INTO
THE POLITICAL
AND RELIGIOUS
FREEDOMS AND
HUMAN RIGHTS
IN THE
PRC, INCLUDING THE
SITUATION IN
TIBET AND
XINJIANG
A petition submitted by the Tibet Support Group
Grampian to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee calling for the
British Government to take a more active role in securing self-determination
and an end to the human and civil rights violations in Tibet.
SUMMARY
— The Tibet Support Group Grampian
(TSGG) is a voluntary organisation of academics, professionals,
and concerned members of the public campaigning for a free Tibet
and an end to the human and civil rights abuses in Tibet. As well
as holding regular fundraising events to support Tibetan refugee
organisations, the group also lobbies local, national and European
administrations to take more direct action in facilitating a meaningful
resolution between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the
Tibetan Government in Exile (TGiE). Many of the group's members
also sit on the Scottish Parliament's Cross Party Group. — In
this submission to the annual inquiry into human rights, the TSGG
requests that the Foreign Affairs Committee recommends that the
British Government take a more determined stance in facilitating
dialogue between the PRC and the envoys of His Holiness, the 14th
Dalai Lama in order to bring an end to punitive military surveillance
and to secure self-determination for the Tibetan people as is
their human right.
— As supporting evidence, the TSGG
is submitting two briefing papers prepared by Tibetologist Dr
Martin A. Mills, Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Himalayan
Research of the University of Aberdeen. The papers were prepared
for the Scottish Cross Party Group for Tibet but Dr. Mills retains
the copyright. They are to be considered by the Cross Party Group
at their next meeting in June and have not been adopted by them
to date. Dr. Mills is a member of TSGG and also of the Scottish
Parliament Cross Party Group for Tibet. The first paper The
2008 Protests in Tibet: Main Facts and Analysis is an analysis
of the 2008 protests in Tibet, while the second The Sino-Tibetan
Dispute: Issues of Sovereignty and Legal Status discusses
the historical arguments put forward by both Tibet and China with
regards to sovereignty. The conclusion in this second paper is
that, in the modern context, the issue of self-determination of
peoples—in accordance with Article 1, Part 2 of the 1945
United Nations Charter,i and with Article 1 on the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ii and as enshrined
in the PRC's Law of Regional National Autonomyiii—is far
more salient than the historical debates.
INTRODUCTION
1. Claims by the PRC that Tibet has, historically,
been an integral part of China since antiquity is to fundamentally
misrepresent the interdependent protection religious and temporal
authority each country gave to each other that characterised pre-modern
statehood in South and East Asia. The claims of sovereignty based
upon the inheritance of imperial possessions of dynasties that
ruled China before modern statehood are outdated in the modern
context of decolonisation and legal sovereignty of previously
colonised nations. This claim of sovereignty based on Tibet as
an imperial possession is also rather duplicitous given claims
of "liberating" Tibet from British imperial forces.
Given the urgency of the deteriorating situation within Tibet
since the March 2008 protests, at this point the TSGG believes
it is essential to address the human rights abuses, the destruction
of Tibet's culture, religion, and environment, and the negative
impact of the continuing population transfer of ethnic (Han) Chinese
into the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and the regions of Eastern
Tibet that fall under direct Chinese administration. These issues
need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. We are also requesting
that the Committee examines the situation based upon the principal
right to self-determination of a people as enshrined in Chapter
1, Article 1, Part 2 of the 1945 United Nations Charter, which
the PRC has ratified, and in accordance with Article 1 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which the
PRC signed but has yet to ratify. The petition calls for the self-determination
for the people of Tibet based upon these two articles, and in
particular with self-determination being a human right.
2. In the second paper, The Sino-Tibetan Dispute:
Issues of Sovereignty and Legal Status attention is drawn
to the report by the International Commission of Juristsiv that
Tibet was, at the very least, a de facto independent State
between 1913 and 1950. The ICJ Report noted that, following Chinese
aggression, Tibet surrendered its independence by signing a 17
point Agreement which, however, inter alia guaranteed broad
autonomy. The ICJ Report concluded that, because this was consistently
disregarded by the Chinese Government, "the Tibetan Government
was released from its obligations with the result that she regained
her sovereignty which she had surrendered under the Agreement".
Dr Mills's paper, page 9, also sets out United Nations resolutions
on Tibet which call for the cessation of practices which deprive
the Tibetan people of their fundamental human rights and freedoms,
including their right to self determination. The United Nations
have, therefore, acknowledged that the Tibet are a people within
the meaning of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. The United Nations have set out criteria for a people
having the right to self determination: v The term "people"
denotes a social entity possessing a clear identity and its own
characteristics. It implies a relationship with a territory even
if the people in question has been wrongly expelled from it and
artificially replaced by another population. The term "people"
should not be confused with the term "minority". A history
of independence or self rule in an identifiable territory, a distinct
culture and a will and capability to regain self governance. In
the TSGG's opinion all these criteria apply to Tibet.
3. As has been well documented, Tibetan
protests at Chinese state interference and control—sometimes
violent—broke out in Tibet in March 2008. The Chinese responded
with brutality, imposing a military crackdown in Tibetan regions;
and an information blackout, with foreign journalists being refused
visas to enter Tibet, and foreign visits being closely monitored
and restricted. Despite international calls to allow independent
human rights or fact-find missions entry to investigate, none
have been granted access into the region. Yet despite the information
blackout, reports of an increase in arbitrary detentions and unlawful
executions, and other human rights violations are still being
received by human rights organisations (Tibetan Centre for Human
Rights and Democracy, Free Tibet, Amnesty International), and
the Chinese Daily Xinhua also covers stories of arrests and detentions,
albeit from a different angle. These organisations will no doubt
be submitting their own evidence for the inquiry and there is
little point in reporting specific cases here; what is apparent
from this recent activity however is the depth of importance that
Tibetans give to their right to self-determination. A common thread
through the protests is the call for religious and political freedom,
an end to human rights abuses, the release of political prisoners,
and for the return of the Dalai Lama. This year, Tibetans both
in the region and in exile chose to boycott New Year (Lo Sar)
celebrations in response to the PRC's crackdown on protests in
Spring 2008, a decision that cannot have been taken lightly given
the ritual significance of New Year for Tibetans.
4. Dr Mills first briefing paper, The
2008 Protests in Tibet: Main Facts and Analysis, highlights
three principal possible catalysts for the protests: increasing
state restrictions on religious practice; the intensification
of ideological and military control; and poor standard of living
and the lack of economic and educational opportunities. However,
the PRC's response is to accuse the "Dalai Clique" (Chinese
moniker for the TGiE) of orchestrating the protests in a bid to
unstable Chinese control and split the nation, an accusation that
seems highly improbable given the geographical breadth of the
protests and the PRC's control of media and communications. Eight
rounds of talks between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and PRC to
negotiate a meaningful autonomy for Tibet have not resulted in
any breakthrough, and since the protests no further talks are
currently planned. vi
SELF-DETERMINATION
THROUGH GENUINE
AUTONOMY
5. In 1988, his Holiness addressed members
of the European Parliament at Strasbourg, France with a proposal
for autonomy in Tibet. vii In this address, His Holiness formally
renounced his call for Tibetan independence, instead calling more
genuine autonomy for the people of Tibet within the PRC: one that
allows them the freedom to determine their future as is their
right, and as enshrined in Article 4 of the PRC's constitutional
principles on autonomy, that provides for organs of self-government
of national autonomous regions and acknowledges their power to
legislate. viii
6. 20 years on, in the 2008 Memorandum for Genuine
Autonomy for the People of Tibet, ix His Holiness seeks a peaceful
and mutually beneficial solution, whilst at the same time respecting
the territorial integrity of the PRC, in what is described as
the Middle Way Approach. In this Memorandum, the TGiE proposes
solutions to the Tibetan problem which they consider to be compatible
with the principles of autonomy in the constitution of the PRC
and the needs and aspirations of Tibetans: the right for their
own regional government and government institutions with the power
to legislate upon issues of religious practice, economic development
and trade, public health, security and education, environmental
management and protection of natural resource-base, issues that
have been cited as catalysts for the growing civil unrest in the
Tibetan regions.
7. Particularly important is the issue of
regulating the population transfer: there is a genuine danger
that the continued transfer of Han Chinese into Tibet could lead
to the destruction of the integrity of the Tibet as a compact
ethnic community, and result in a loss of Tibet's right to exercise
national regional autonomy as guaranteed by the Chinese Constitution,
as well as a violation of the constitutional principles with regard
to the treatment of minority nationalities. There is also the
issue of Tibet's fragile natural environment: amongst other threats
to natural resources, Tibet is the source of many significant
rivers that provide water throughout much of Asia: the Mekong,
the Nu (Salween) the Indus, the Yarlung Tsangpo (Bhramaputra),
the Yellow River, and Yangtze River. Greater population transfer
into the region could put pressure on water sources and have catastrophic
consequences on the water supply to much of the Asian continent,
including regions of China. Given the negative impact that continued
population transfer could have on the rest of Asia, the time has
never been more urgent to act.
8. In his 1988 Strasbourg address, His Holiness
cites the European Union as an example of how nations that were
once enemies can become friends and form beneficial political
and economic alliances. He wishes to engage in this kind of alliance
with China, demonstrating his understanding of the interdependence
of all nations and the importance of regional alliances for contemporary
global statehood. This would seem to be a reasonable suggestion,
not only as a way to guarantee the self-determination for Tibetan
people in their future, but for regional stability and economic
cooperation. His Holiness also states how the current rule of
force is more likely to result in secession and the break up of
the PRC than granting self-determination. However, the Memorandum
has been rejected by the PRC as an attempt at independence in
disguise.x
9. The European Resolution on the Situation
in Tibet (1992) recognised that the Tibetans are a people according
to international law and that under the United Nations Covenants
on Civil and Human Rights, all people have the right to self-determination
according to international law and that, by virtue of this right,
they may freely determine their political status and freely pursue
their social and cultural development. They also noted that, in
his determination to secure human rights of Tibetans by peaceful
means, the Dalai Lama has made it clear that he does not insist
that Tibet should become totally independent. The resolution urged
the resumption of negotiations between the TGiE and the Chinese
authorities, calls which have been repeated in 2008 and 2009,
xi along with calls to open dialogue once again with the Dalai
Lama, for the PRC to respect its commitment to human minority
and democracy, and the urgent need for independent organisations
to enter Tibet to investigate the human rights situation.
10. It is worth noting that the Chinese
have previously recognised Tibet's minority status and cultural
separateness, as with the now redundant 17-Point Agreement of
1951, which gave Tibet the right to exercise national regional
autonomy, allowing the existing systems of political and religious
authority to continue. xii While the International Commission
of Jurists concluded that the PRC violated the principles of this
agreement (See Dr Mills' second Briefing Paper The Sino-Tibetan
Dispute: Issues of Sovereignty and Legal Status p 8), the
17-Point Agreement demonstrates that PRC has been willing to discuss
the principal of autonomy for Tibet in the past. Is it such an
unrealistic proposal that dialogue can be resumed?
CONCLUSION
11. While there is dispute as to whether
or not the PRC has any legal basis for the inclusion of the Tibetan
regions under Chinese sovereignty (See Dr Mills's second briefing
paper The Sino-Tibetan Dispute: Issues of Sovereignty and Legal
Status), what is evident is that Tibet's right to self-determination—the
right to determine institutions of government and authority, and
to legislate in the absence of state interference; the right to
religious practice, organisation, and assembly in the absence
of state interference—is not being respected; a right that
some, his Holiness in particular, sees as being achievable through
peaceful dialogue and meaningful autonomy. It is therefore imperative
that the PRC renews its dialogue regarding autonomy with the TGiE
in order to fulfil its constitutional obligations, and its obligations
to the United Nations Charter and ICCPR. Rather than as a result
of external organisation, the rise in mob-style violence could
be seen as a weakening of the Dalai Lama's authority in the Tibetan
regions. If this is the case, it is therefore in the PRC's interests
to reach an agreeable solution that facilitates his return, and
a return to order and peace in the region. Whether it be calls
for complete independence or meaningful autonomy, based upon the
evidence given, the fundamental concern for the Tibetan people
seems to be their right to self-determination, and this is this
point that needs to be addressed by foreign diplomatic services
and human rights policies.
RECOMMENDATIONS
TSGG recommend that:
(ii) that under Article 1 of the United
Nations Covenants on Civil and Human Rights all people have the
right to self-determination;
(iii) that the Tibetan people, by virtue
of this right may freely determine their political status and
freely pursue their economic social and cultural development;
(iv) that it is by virtue of their religious
convictions and culture that the Tibetan people have not sought
to secure their rights under international law by violent means;
and
(v) and that it is because of the Dalai
Lama's determination to secure the human rights of the Tibetan
people by peaceful means that he has abandoned his call for Tibet
to become independent.
— The TSGG recommends that the British
Government takes a more proactive stance in calling for the PRC
to allow independent organisations into Tibet to investigate claims
of human rights abuses.
— The British Government should urge
the PRC to demonstrate its commitment to the United Nations and
to the rights of its minority nationalities by immediately ratifying
the ICCPR, to which it is a signatory, as a matter of urgency.
— The British Government takes a lead
in facilitating the resumption of talks based upon the Memorandum
for Genuine Autonomy; and, if not already done so, the British
Government appoints a special envoy to mediate between the two
administrations in this matter.
— The British Government puts pressure
on the PRC to regulate its policy of population transferral in
order to honour constitutional commitments to China's minority
nationalities, and in the interest of environmental protection
not only of the Tibetan Plateau, but Asia-wide.
— The British Government urges the
PRC to allow the Tibetans to enjoy the democratic and cultural
freedoms that the people of China also value and wish to live
by, and as enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution of the
People's Republic of China. xiii
23 April 2009
REFERENCESi http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/chapter1.shtml
ii The International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, 1966
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm
iii Law of the People's Republic of China on
Regional National Autonomy, October 1984
http://www.novexcn.com/regional_national_autonomy.html
iv International Commission of Jurists, http://www.ici.org/news.php3/id
article=3415&lang=en, February 2009, and International Commission
of Jurists, The Question of Tibet and the Rule of Law.
Excerpts from section: "The Position of Tibet in International
Law".
v The Right to Self-Determination. Historical
and Current Development on the Basis of United Nations Instruments.
Study by Aureliu Cristescu. United Nations New York 1981 pp 40-1
para 279 www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=E/CN.4/Sub.2/404/Rev.1
vi As reported by the European Parliament in
the European Parliament resolution on the situation in Tibet,
the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising and the negotiations
between the People's Republic of China and the envoys of His Holiness
the Dalai Lama: see http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//
EP//TEXT+MOTION+B6-2009-0135+0+DOC +XML+V0//EN&language =EN
vii The Strasbourg Proposal: address to the Members
of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, June 1988. http://www.dalailama.com/page.96.htm
viii Article 4 of the Constitution of the People's
Republic of China http://english.peopledaily.com.cn./constitution/constitution.html
ix Memorandum for Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan
People:
www.tibetoffice.ch/web/mwa/memorandum/english.pdf
x As reported by the European Parliament in the
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Tibet, the
50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising and the negotiations
between the People's Republic of China and the envoys of His Holiness
the Dalai Lama:
see http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+MOTION+B6-2009-0135+
0+DOC +XML+V0//EN&language=EN
xi See the European Resolution of 10 April 2008
on Tibet http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubref=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6+TA-20080119+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN,
and the European Parliament in the European Parliament resolution
on the situation in Tibet, the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan
uprising and the negotiations between the People's Republic of
China and the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: see http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+MOTION+B6-2009-0135+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
xii The Agreement of the Central People's Government
and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful
Liberation of Tibet, Appendix 1, Shakya, Tsering (1999), The
Dragon in the Land of Snows, Penguin Compass 449-452.
xiii Preamble of the Constitution of the People's
Republic of China http://english.peopledaily.com.cn./constitution/constitution.html
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