Two Tibetans Sentenced To Death By China For Arson

BBC:

China has sentenced two men to death for deadly arson attacks during an uprising in Tibet a year ago.

Read the whole story: BBC

Comments

[wereeverywhere]

Human Rights Watch reports and concerns over legal process for Tibetans:
There are serious concerns about the fairness of the procedures and the treatment of the detainees in custody prior to sentencing. While the Xinhua report states that detainees were represented by lawyers, there is evidence in earlier trials of Tibetans following the outbreak of protests last March that the rights of defendants to be represented by the lawyer of their choice was ignored by the judicial authorities, due to the politicized nature of the process. In the immediate wake of the March 2008 protests, several lawyers were threatened with disbarment if they attempted to represent detained Tibetans, according to Human Rights Watch. (See 'China: Rights Lawyers Face Disbarment Threats: Intimidation Overshadows Reforms to Law on Lawyers,' May 30, 2009, Human Rights Watch

Another report published in March 2009 by Human Rights Watch stated the process of trials and imprisonment in Tibet over the past year "reflect a pattern of systematic political interference with legal and judicial processes in the name of an ideologica­lly-driven 'anti-separatist campaign' under the Communist Party leadership. The principle of independence of the judiciary is thoroughly undermined by the leadership's demand that court and police tailor their actions to political requiremen­ts." (China: Hundreds of Tibetan Detainees and Prisoners Unaccounted For, March 9, 2009)."
from http://newsblaze.com/story/20090409114314zzzz.nb/topstory.html

[FairTalk]

5 girls burn to death in Lhasa riot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tjg-34b66k

Now, I ask you, is this what we should condone from so called "peaceful" Tibetan Buddhists?

Would it be OK to punish them if they were Muslim? Jewish? Christian? But Buddhists are "peaceful" so all they do is in the name of peace?

I hope that those who are instigating the "Tibetans" get the message. No mor killing. No more instigating, sedition, arson, ethnic cleansing. And, OH By The Way, stop telling lies while you begin to understand what the message of peace is all about.: The Golden Rule.

[wereeverywhere]

What a surprise, a propaganda piece by CCTV. The CC(sic)P keeps independent reporters out of Tibet so they can get their message out. End the censorship, end the torture, end the lockdown, end the colonization.

[FairTalk]

The arson deaths of those 5 innocent girls is not propaganda. How can you be so dismissive? of, I know. You are one of those limosine liberals, who have nothing but disdain for victims of violent crime, and do anything to get the perps off. Unless, of course, it is a man who beats up on a woman. With you, it's all about the cause, the ideology, and not about justice.

When did the victims of your cause get to vote on their deaths?

[wereeverywhere]

To those who want to do something to help these Tibetans caught up in the Chinese justice system, here's an excerpt from an online campaign :

"I am outraged to learn that the Chinese government has sentenced four Tibetans to death and one Tibetan to life imprisonme­nt...These individuals were denied their basic legal rights, and the trials were not conducted in accordance with international judicial standards"

It's a letter sent to Chinese government, goto http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/index.php to sign and send the statement of support.

[FairTalk]

LOL In China victims also have rights.

Those who choose to set fires that kill innocents should be held accountable.

[wereeverywhere]

Another view of prisoners' conditions from Human Rights Watch: Tibetan detainees at serious risk of torture and mistreatment; March 17, 2008
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/03/17/china-tibetan-detainees-serious-risk-torture-and-mistreatment

"The Chinese government should immediately permit independent monitors to have access to the large number of Tibetans detained in Tibet and adjoining provinces in the aftermath of public protests, Human Rights Watch said today...Hu­man Rights Watch and others have previously documented torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Tibet, especially those accused by the Chinese authorities of “separatist” activities.
“Given the long and well-documented history of torture of political activists by China’s security forces there is every reason to fear for the safety of those recently detained,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Only by giving access to independent monitors can China give the world some confidence that detainees are not being tortured or mistreated­.”
The Chinese government has long banned independent human rights observers from Tibet and punishes Tibetans who send information out of the country regarding the human rights situation.

“The exclusion of independent monitors and expulsion of foreign media from Tibet only suggest that China wants to retaliate against these protesters unfettered by global scrutiny,” said Adams.

[wereeverywhere]

A little background from Amnesty International report march 15, 2008 http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/tibet-protests-independent-un-investigation-needed-20080315

"The Chinese authorities should allow an independent UN investigation into the events of the last week in Tibet, particularly in the light of the sealing off of the region in recent days and the long-term restrictions on human rights monitoring there," said Amnesty International today... Protests started last Monday when around 400 monks began a march from Drepung Monastery heading into central Lhasa, demanding the easing of a government-imposed campaign which forces monks to write denunciations of the Dalai Lama and subjects them to government political propaganda­...Subsequ­ent protests began in other monasteries in support of those detained, leading to more general unrest throughout Lhasa and in other parts of Tibet in which lay people joined in.

[me again] China suppresses peaceful protest, any independent political activity, seals off area from journalists and human rights workers, in short creates desperate prison like environment for an entire nation. China created this mess and to this day prevents any independent verification of the facts.

[FairTalk]

The BBC stroy has obviously tried to be objective, but there are still major flaws in their reporting. After more than a year of what you can be assured of is a thorough investigation, China has finally held some of the worst bad actors accountable for their "part" in the killings and destruction in Lahsa. It is high time that China demonstrated a will to do so, otherwise China can expect more of this violence.

What a shame that those 5 innocent shop girls were killed in the fire. Tibetans interviewed on Astralian TV claimed that the Tibetans who set the fires were not responsible for their deaths, because, as they explained, the girls should have run, not hid behind closed doors of the shop. The girls are responsible for their own deaths. That reasoning, I want you to know, is standard in traditional "Tibetan" Buddhist philosophy. It is called "Three Hands Removed." As long as you do not directly kill, as long as you are three hands away from the killing, then you are free from the bad Karma that accrues and will be expierenced in your next life.