By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, April 29: The Tibetan Government-in-Exile (TGIE) Tuesday said as many as 203 Tibetans were confirmed killed following China’s brutal crackdown on Tibetan demonstrators across Tibet between March 10 and April 25.
Speaking at a press briefing here today, TGIE spokesperson Mr Thupten Samphel said the finding was based on a compiled list collected from various facts and figures from 6 different news sources, including China’s state media and that of its own.
Chinadigitaltimes.net, Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), Lhasa Radio, and Radio Free Asia (RFA) are the other sources it has relied on in compiling the list.
The list also includes Tibetans reportedly injured and arrested or detained during the protests that broke out since March 10 in all the three traditional province of Tibet – U-Tsang, Amdo and Kham.
“Various facts and figures given by the different sources have been meticulously examined and tallied with each other. After having done this, we confirm that the actual figure for the number of dead is 203, the number of injured is more than 1,000 and the number of those still detained is more than 5,715,” Mr Samphel said. “These are figures for Tibetans who died, are injured and still in detention throughout Tibet as today,” he added.
Mr Samphel, however, said the actual figure could be even much higher. He blamed Chinese government’s tight restrictive measures placed in Tibet as the main hindrance to compile a more conclusive and comprehensive list.
According to him obtaining and gathering further information has now become even more difficult due to increased surveillance and strict restrictions that are now put into place inside Tibet by the Chinese authorities.
“There are also cases of disappearance where individual family members could not trace their whereabouts nor could the authorities release any information on them,” Mr Samphel said.
