Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a damning report criticizing China’s heavy-handed approach of political intimidation and the mass-relocation of thousands of Tibetans.
Tibetan nomad girls carry water to their new homes in a resettlement village.
Photo: Sanghee Liu/smh.com.au
Released on June 27, the report details the Chinese announcement of 24,000 officials who would be distributed between all 5,400 Tibetan villages. Their orders are to infiltrate the local communities by attempting to “live, eat and work with the local population, maintain stability, conduct propaganda work and further the ‘Comfortable Housing Policy’.”
These governmental employees are briefed with enforcing policies that create: “a system of political surveillance and overtly violate basic civil, cultural, political, and religious rights of Tibetans.”
Sophie Richardson, HRW China director, said: “The scale and speed at which the Tibetan rural population is being remodelled by mass rehousing and relocation policies are unprecedented in the post-Mao era.” Adding: “Tibetans have no say in the design of policies that are radically altering their way of life, and – in an already highly repressive context – no ways to challenge them.”
The Chinese government stresses that the relocations provide better housing, transportation, amenities, schooling, healthcare, protection against natural disasters, and foster a rapid transition to the cash economy. HRW are demanding China comply with their own legislation as well as that of the international community, and to halt the relocation process until independent assessments can be carried out. A report with similar sentiments was also published in 2007, and HRW are eagerly awaiting permission to be allowed to visit the area.
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