E/CN.4/1993/62
page 21
Draghla Lhubuk temple; Phurbu and Phuntsok from the Tsomonling monastery
in Lhasa; Tenzin from Tashi Choeling monastery; Tsering Dorje from
Gyume monastery in Lhasa and Lobsang Choejor from the Ratoe monastery.
According to the sources, Jampa (Champa) Tenzin (49), a well-known monk
who worked as chapel attendant at the Jhokhang temple in Lhasa, died between
3 and 7 a.m. on 22 February 1992. Jampa Tenzin was reportedly discovered
lying in his bed half-covered with a quilt, with a rope around his neck and
covered with blood. The end of the rope tied around his neck was allegedly
tied to a leg of the bed but the bed had not been tilted. It has also been
reported that medical experts have described self-strangulation as virtually
impossible to accomplish and not causing extensive bleeding. It has been
alleged that the Public Security personnel who examined Jampa Tenzin’s body on
the spot declared that he had committed suicide and reportedly made the head
of Jhokhang temple sign a document accepting this decision, although the monks
at the temple and other inhabitants of Lhasa who knew Jampa Tenzin refute this
decision. No thorough formal investigation of the monk’s death was reportedly
undertaken by the authorities. Jampa Tenzin was reportedly not known to have
ever suffered from depression.
In paragraph 22 of his last report to the Commission on Human Rights
(document E/CN.4/1992/52), the Special Rapporteur indicated that a number of
Tibetan monks had been sentenced to an average of 15 years’ imprisonment for
translating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur
was recently informed that 10 monks from Drepung monastery were sentenced in
this connection and that Buchung Ngawang, who is reportedly thought to have
organized the campaign of dissemination of the Universal Declaration, was
sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment.
Information concerning Muslims
It has been reported that in November 1991, government officials in
Xinjiang province had systematically interrogated 25,000 members of the Muslim
clergy, 2,500 of whom were found not to fulfil the requisite political and
religious criteria to exercise their profession which were established by the
Government. A number of private Koranic schools were also closed at the time.
The Special Rapporteur also received information that a number of
well-known Uygur religious personalities were arrested and imprisoned between
June 1990 and March 1992 in Eastern Turkestan.
Information concerning Christians
According to the information received, on 5 July 1991, the People’s
Government of Daishan county, Zhejiang province, issued a ’Public Notice
Concerning the Strengthening of Control of Christian Activities in the Whole
Country’. The proposed aim of the notice was reportedly, inter alia, ’to
restrict and crack down on all types of illegal religious activities,
resolutely resist the infiltration of unfriendly outside religious forces,
and to strengthen control of Christian activities in the whole country’.
The notice also stipulates: ’With the exception of the country "Three Self"
patriotic churches that have already registered and been approved, all other
Christian meeting places that have not registered must implement registration