China jails
four Tibetans for "splittist" activity
Tue Nov 20, 2007 2:09pm IST
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has jailed an ethnic Tibetan villager for eight years for "inciting to split the country" after he spoke at a gathering in support of the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
China considers the Dalai Lama, who fled from Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule, a separatist, and showing loyalty to him is seen as treasonous.
"His action led to public besieging of government offices because local people were not clear about the truth, which was a severe disruption of public order," Xinhua cited the verdict in the case of Runggye Adak as saying.
Xinhua gave the Chinese derivation of his name as Rongji Azha, and said he was 52. Earlier reports from overseas human rights groups said he was 53.
Chinese officials have recently warned of an increase in activity by supporters of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, a worry for a government that considers stability in ethnic minority regions paramount.
Runggye Adak spoke out in the Sichuan county of Litang, a part of the southwestern Chinese province that is largely populated by ethnic Tibetans.
Three others in the same county were also jailed for terms ranging from three to 10 years for spying for overseas organisations or engaging in "splittist activities", Xinhua said in a separate report.
Two of them, identified as Lubo and Jacmyang Goinqen, were sentenced to 10 years and nine years respectively.
The two, "following directions from overseas sources, took pictures and made discs", the report said. The material was provided to overseas organisations via a third, named Lutog, who was given a three-year sentence.
"Some contents leak intelligence that endangers national security and interest," the report quoted the court as saying.
Pictures of a heavy security presence in the region following Runggye Adak's speech surfaced on the Internet and on the Web sites of overseas groups that advocate greater Tibetan autonomy, but it was unclear if that was the material that the three had distributed.
All four men will also be deprived of their political rights for several years following their jail terms, meaning even after their release they may be subject to police oversight and restrictions on their travel and who they associate with.
China has been showing increasing concern about stability in Tibetan areas.
A leaked Communist
Party memo that came to light last month showed China questioning the loyalty
of ethnic Tibetan Party members, accusing some of swearing their true allegiance
to the Dalai Lama.