First reported death due to hunger

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TIBETAN SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE

(Tibetan Government-in-Exile)

Ref no:................ Date: 24th March 2008

First Reported Death Due To Hunger

The severe restriction on the movement of people in a Martial Law like situation in Tibet and the heavy military presence around the monasteries since the 14^{th of March today reports the first death from starvation of Thogmey, a monk from Ramoche Monastery in Lhasa. In addition, food and water supplies continues to be cut off to all the monasteries that took part in peaceful demonstrations in the whole of Tibet. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of casualties in other monasteries all over Tibet under similar situations.}

To name few specific instances, Palkho from Ngapa Kyashung sustained bullet injuries on March 16th and died on March 22nd due to lack of medical care. Tibetans who accompanied him to the hospital have also been arrested.

20 nuns have been arrested from Suwa Mamai Monastery in middle of the night and immediately taken away without even time to put on clothes. In Dzoge Shagdom, 600 PLA personnel arrested 6 Tibetans during a peaceful demonstration. There are another 15 people arrested from Ngaba Chashang. Door to door search and arbitrary arrests have been reported from many parts of Tibet now. However, it is difficult to ascertain exact figures. Countless numbers of armies have been deployed in all parts of Tibet and would be stationed till the Beijing Olympic Games.

500 Tibetans in Golog Dharlag Dzong positioned themselves in the mountains to avoid arrests. Chinese authorities have posted written posters granting PLA’s armies the permission to shoot at any sight of protests and therefore, Tibetans are fleeing to the mountains to avoid interrogation and arrests. Chinese authorities have given March 25 as the deadline to surrender in Kanlho and Ngaba prefectures. One common behavior of China’s display of propaganda is an attempt to create false evidences and tempt monks in Kirti Monastery with huge amount of money to disclose confidential information.

The present crisis situation since the 10th of March is as follows:

�� 135 peaceful Tibetan demonstrators have been killed in Tibet

 

�� More than 500 Tibetans have been grievously injured

 

�� More than 1,300 innocent Tibetans have been detained and are being tortured

 

�� Door to door search and arbitrary arrests are being conducted

 

�� Martial Law like situation in Tibet

 

�� Thousands of People’s Liberation Army has been deployed and plans to deployment more

 

�� The atmosphere is very tense. However, many new protests are occurring daily

 

�� Foreign Press are asked to leave Tibet

 

�� Tibet is being blacked out to carry out atrocities without international scrutiny

 

�� PLA and Chinese police disguised as monks to instigate further troubles in Tibet

Footages are being doctored and subtitled to satisfy China’s propaganda

�� China is using massive State propaganda to divide the Tibetans in Tibet

 

�� Food and water have been cut off to all the monasteries that took part in peaceful demonstrations

 

�� Severe restriction on movement and army cordon has reported first death due to

Starvation

In view of the present crisis in Tibet, we urgently appeal to the UN and the International community to

•Immediately dispatch independent fact finding delegations to Tibet

 

•Immediately allow free press to cover the whole of Tibet

 

•Immediately end the brutal killings in the whole of Tibet

 

•Immediately release all arrested and imprisoned Tibetans

 

•Extend immediate medical assistance to the injured Tibetans

 

•Allow free movement of people and provide access to daily needs

Through this press release, we thank the governments, world leaders, organizations, individuals and particularly the Chinese intellectuals (who have presented a memorandum to Chinese leadership to address the crisis in Tibet in a humane and responsible manner) for supporting the Tibetans in this hour of darkness. We condemn the house arrest of Chinese scholar Wang Lixiong and Tibetan scholar Tsering Woeser in their house in Beijing.

- Tibetan Solidarity Committee