News of Death of Tibetan Monk Hushed by Chinese Authorities

29.03.2022

Mandakini Jathavethan

Tibet and Human Rights Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence.

Choktrul Dawa Rinpoche, a senior monk at the Ganden Dargyeling monastery in Nagchu county in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) passed away on January 30, 2022. He had been a venerated Lama for the Tibetan people. However, they were prohibited from observing a fitting funeral for Rinpoche. The Chinese police who were posted outside his residence, barred devotees from seeing the body. The authorities also deleted images of Rinpoche that were posted online. Tibetans were even banned from sharing news of his death online. His cremation held on February 25, 2022 was attended by only monks from his own monastery. Their bodies were searched, and cell phones were confiscated to ensure no media coverage of the event. 

Rinpoche had been imprisoned for five years in 1960 for opposing the Chinese occupation of Tibet. He was imprisoned for a second time for seven years in relation to the systematic destruction of Tibetan heritage during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1967). His latest stint in jail lasted for seven years in 2010. His offence had been to speak to the Dalai Lama. Even after his release in 2017, he was under constant surveillance by the Chinese authorities. 

The “heightened informational lockdown campaign” (Central Tibetan Administration, 2022) implemented by the Chinese authorities across Tibet ensured that news of this event crept outside Tibet only now. This forms a violation of China’s obligations to uphold press freedom. Moderating and controlling the content shared online does not bode well either for the right to freedom of speech and expression. Prohibiting Tibetans from attending the funeral of their religious leader on arbitrary grounds constitutes a violation of the right of the Tibetans to their religious beliefs.

Sources and further reading:

Central Tibetan Administration. (2022, March 28). News of a revered Tibetan Lama’s demise emerged amid China’s rigorous information lockdown. https://tibet.net/news-of-a-revered-tibetan-lamas-demise-emerged-amid-chinas-rigorous-information-lockdown/ 

Kunchok, S. (2022, March 25). Funeral for popular Tibetan lama restricted by Chinese police. Radio Free Asia. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/funeral-03252022092619.html