(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
“The Dalai Lama will drive away millions of representatives of various ethnic groups living in this country. The following message goes: If the Dalai Lama truly seizes power one day, he will perform ethnic discrimination, apartheid and ethnic cleansing without any kind of torment or sympathy. "
This statement came not long ago from Zhu Weiqun, Deputy Minister of the Chinese Communist Party's Department of the United Workers' Front.
The unfortunate situation, however, is that Lhasa is already experiencing ethnic discrimination, apartheid and ethnic cleansing. And those responsible are not outsiders, but the Tibetan communist authorities. The lament from Lhasa's Tibetans has reached everyone. I must emphasize that it is a Tibetan lament, as this does not affect anyone from him, hui or other ethnic groups. Tibetans who cannot document that they live in Lhasa, or who do not have a temporary residence permit, are without exception arrested and then deported from the city – whether they have come to do business or practice religion.
It all began in early April, when authorities cracked down on Lhasa's three largest monasteries – Drepung, Sera and Ganden – and arrested up to a thousand monks from Amdo and Kham, who had come to Lhasa to study Buddhism. They used the train connection between Tibet and Qinghai to send the monks to a military prison in Golmud. There they were detained for three or four months, before being escorted by various officials and officials back to their homes. This is a form of apartheid and ethnic cleansing against monks who come to Lhasa to study. Since then, similar operations have been carried out on a larger scale.
From April 23, public offices and neighborhood committees under the leadership of the local authorities in Lhasa have carried out checks on persons under their jurisdiction. Everyone with a registered residential address had to be checked, and they had to submit photocopies of the ID cards, residence documents and a photo of themselves. Those who did not have the three crucial documents – ID, temporary residence permit and birth certificate – were subject to even stricter control. In fact, it is very difficult for Tibetans who do not come from Lhasa to secure this paper, which is very easy for roosters and huts who have come to Lhasa for temporary work. In addition, Tibetans who have a temporary residence permit still risk being deported.
After gathering information on all Tibetans, the authorities began to implement what the Tibetans in Lhasa have described as "comprehensive ethnic cleansing". Throughout the history of Lhasa, the old town has always been a sacred place, where Tibetans from all regions have pilgrimaged. The old town has also been the hub of the traditional culture Tibetans from all regions have built up over a thousand years. The "comprehensive ethnic cleansing" now carried out by the authorities is much more extensive than the Cultural Revolution [from 1966 to Mao's death in 1976, ed. note.].
This shows that the communist regime has harmed and even destroyed the Tibetans' lifestyle and traditional culture. Another aspect is that this "comprehensive ethnic cleansing", which only affects the Tibetans, is carried out as a result of the Chinese authorities' efforts to prevent further flare-up of Tibetan protests in Lhasa. The result, however, is that in the future, Lhasa will only be inhabited by a few remaining Tibetans originating in Lhasa. The rest of the population will be people from other ethnic groups such as cocks and sharks, who have gone from being guests to being owners. This large-scale assimilation of groups from outside will cause Lhasa to completely lose its identity.
In a nutshell, this means that Lhasa is about to be brought to silence and is subject to ethnic discrimination, ethnic segregation and ethnic cleansing. Under such tight control, it is also difficult for the outside world to know the cruel truth about how human rights are violated. I hope the outside world will support the ideals of justice, and that more people will understand the consequences of these events.
May they speak, for the Tibetan people live in fear!
Translated from English by Tonje M. Viken and published in collaboration with the Tibetan website highpeakspurearth.com.
Tsering Woeser was born in Lhasa, Tibet, and published in the 1990s magazine Tibetan literature. In 2003, she wrote the essay collection Tibet Notes, which was banned in China.
