Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
BEIJING, China – The self-immolation of a monk has led to three Tibetan monks being convicted as accessories to murder for allegedly helping a fellow monk burn himself to death in protest of government crackdown on Tibetan monks.
Two monks, Tsering Tenzin and Tenchum, were sentenced to ten and thirteen years respectively for “plotting, instigating and assisting” in the self-immolation of the monk.
The third monk, Drongdru, was sentenced to eleven years for “intentional homicide” after a trial lasting only one day. According to authorities the sixteen year old monk, Rigzin Phuntsog, was kept in the Kirti monastery by Drongdru, his uncle, for eleven hours following his March 16 self-immolation.
There is disagreement between Chinese authorities and local Tibetans regarding the circumstances surrounding the monk’s death.
While Chinese authorities maintain that he died as a result of self-immolation combined with being hidden by monks to prevent authorities from taking him to the hospital, rights groups are reporting a different story.
Tibetan rights groups insist that police put out the flames and then began to beat the young monk before other monks. They say local villagers took him to the monastery to avoid the beating and then took him to the hospital a few hours later.
The U.S. State Department has expressed concern that the procedural rights of the three monks were not properly upheld. Other rights groups have expressed concern that the sentencing was a ploy to detract attention from the cause of the self-immolation and that sentences were handed down without evidence of the monks involvement.
Others however, found the sentences to be fair, expressing that “a monk who goes against dharma and against the law should be penalized.” The practice of self-immolation has been condemned by the Dalai Lama.
The death of Rigzin Phuntsog has caused renewed and heightened clashes between Chinese and Tibetans resulting in over 300 monks being taken from the monastery and the death of two villagers who were attempting to prevent the detention of the monks.
China repelled requests made by a U.N. human rights panel in June to provide information about the status of the 300 monks who had been taken from the monastery stating only that the monks were undergoing “legal education.”
“Legal education” refers to the Chinese government’s practice of systematically rounding up monks and forcing them to attend education sessions in which they are ordered to pledge their allegiance to China and denounce the Dalai Lama. This practice has largely fueled the conflict between China and Tibetans who feel that they are having their culture taken from them by the Chinese.
Although, the exact reason for the monk’s self-immolation is unknown, human rights groups have stated that the monk was protesting government policies in Tibet.
The relationship between Tibet and China has been severely strained since 1950 when the Chinese marched into Tibetan territory. Many Tibetans feel that their culture, freedom and worship are being suppressed by the Chinese government. Since fleeing Tibet after a failed uprising, the Dalai Lama has traversed the world advocating for increased Tibetan autonomy.
Some experts, such as Robert Barnett of Columbia University, fear that the stiff sentences given to the three monks at the monastery will aggravate tensions between China and Tibet because the sentences will “…be seen by the Tibetans as a manipulation of the law to intimidate people further.”
For more information, please see:
The Tibet Post –Int’l Rights Groups Condemn Unjust Sentencing of 3 Tibetan Monks – 1 September 2011
BBC – China Jails Two More Tibetan Monks Over Fire Death – 31 August 2011
The New York Time – China: Two Tibetan Monks Receive Lengthy Prison Terms – 31 August 2011
China Daily – Two Tibetan Monks Sentenced in Murder Case – 30 August 2011
Los Angeles Times –Tibetan Monks Get Stiff Prison Terms in Burning Death – 30 August 2011
BBC – Q&A: China and the Tibetans – 15 August 2011
