There is a great amount of history and mystery over the soveriegnty of Tibet stretching back to the times of the mongol empire , yet it is in this more recent passing of history that we are now concrned with . In 1949 the Chinese army invaded Tibet with 35,000 troops in an act of unprovoked aggression imposing the cultural revolution on a region that they had (or have) no legal claim to . Since this time the Chinese have been systematically destroying the Tibetan way of life with very little respect to the people and their culture .Tibetan Exiles estimate that in this time and the 15 years of guerilla warfare that preceded it that 430,000 died compared to the declared Chinese figure of 87,000.
Exiled sources also estimate that up to 260,00 people have died in labour camps and prisons between 1950 and 1984.
In 1993 the UN High commisioner for refugees handled 3,700 cases from Tibet and by 1994 an estimated 200 Tibetans were illegally crossing the Himalayas into Nepal .
Many of these refugees use the 19,000ft Nangpa-La pass below Mount Everest to avoid detection by the authorities , yet they are most frequently handed back to the Chinese by the Nepalese Authorities .
The Chinese have shot unarmed protestors on at least five occasions between 1987 and 1989 ,
A UN human rights officer visiting Tibet in 1994 stressed that monks and nuns are in fact religious as opposed to political prisoners due to the sentences received from the Chinese . Often such prisoners are not allowed to rejoin there monastries after imprisonment.
Chinese has replaced Tibetan as the official language and all secondary school classes are taught in chinese . English is often a requirement for most university courses yet to learn english students must forfeit the study of their own language .
Since 1994 at all levels of education the chinese have strengthened their drive to 're-educate' young Tibetans using a distorted view of history that omits any reference to an independant Tibet.
The chinese are now openly admitting a policy of deliberately encouraging Chinese settlers into Tibet.
The influx of Chinese nationals has destabalised the economy with new agricultural policies destroying traditional methods leading to crop failures and in 1960-62 Tibets first recorded famine.
In many areas like the provinces of Kham and Amdo the Chinese outnumber the Tibetans many times over.
Chinese sources claim 44,000 Cniese in Lhasa and 80,000 in the whole region yet independant observers claim it is much higher . As for the Chinese population in Lhasa from various sources it is mainly thought to be largely composed of military personel .
The Indian Government reports that three nuclear missile sites and an estimated 300,000 troops are stationed in Tibet (China along side France is still carrying or intending to carry on nuclear tests further info check Greenpeace WWW site)
Greenpeace
Up to 60 trucks per hour are leaving Tibet on the two major roads laden with timber showing sign of massive environmental damage and a contravention of UN Resolution 1803(XVII) 1962 , which establishes the rights of people to permanent sovereignty of their naturalv resources .
The Chinese are constructing a railway line to Lhasa to speed the movement of Chinese and Chinese goods into the region . There are also developments to construct a massive dam that is beleived to be a massive environmental threat.
The Situation within Tibet is constantly changing and due to the difficulty of collecting information much is not know about alot of the activities in the region if you have any information please use the mail link on the home page .