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The leading Copyright |
Query: Please provide information on the Chushi Gangdruk in Tibet. Response: There is no information on current activities in Tibet of Chushi
Gangdruk [also spelled Gangdrug] in sources currently available to the
RIC. Chushi Gangdruk does have a New York chapter whose web-site is
www.chushigangdruk.org. This web-site contains detailed information on
the group's founding and history in Tibet, and states that there are
also Chushi Gangdruk chapters in Canada, Bhutan, Japan, Nepal, and
Taiwan (chushigangdruk.org undated). According to Freedom House: "Prior to the Chinese invasion in 1949, Tibet had been a sovereign
state for the better part of 2,000 years, coming under modest foreign
influence only during brief periods in the thirteenth and eighteenth
centuries. China invaded Tibet with 100,000 troops in late 1949 and in
1951 formally annexed the country" (FH 1999). The Chushi Gangdruk Defend Tibet Volunteer Force was formally
established on June 16, 1958, to resist Chinese occupation of Tibet
(chushigangdruk.org undated). The words Chushi Gangdruk [Gangdrug]
translate as "Land of Four Rivers and Six Ranges," which describes
Kham, the southeast area of Tibet where many Chushi Gangdruk members
are from (Associate Professor of Tibetan Studies 15 Jan 2003). Chushi Gangdruk was active as a CIA-trained and -backed armed
resistance group in Tibet in the 1950s and 1960s (Associate Professor
of Tibetan Studies 15 Jan 2003). For the Dalai Lama's flight from
Tibet to India during the 1959 Tibetan insurrection against Chinese
occupation, Chushi Gangdruk fighters were deployed from Lhasa in Tibet
across the Himalayas into India in order to block Chinese pursuit of
the Tibetan leader (Roberts 1997). Chushi Gangdruk operated out of
Nepal for a time after being driven out of Tibet by the Chinese
(Representative ICT 16 Jan 2003) but by 1970 the group was no longer a
fighting force (U.S. DOS 16 Jan 2003). Most of the surviving original Chushi Gangdruk members were arrested
by the Chinese or fled to India where the needs of the former guerillas
and their family members are met today by the India-based Chushi
Gangdruk Welfare Society (Associate Professor of Tibetan Studies 15 Jan
2003; Representative ICT 16 Jan 2003). The Chushi Gangdruk in India
also represents the interests of the Khampas [people from the Kham
region in Tibet], but in the group's charter and in their current
activities there is no call to violent struggle against Chinese rule in
Tibet (Representative ICT 16 Jan 2003). Apart from caring for gentrifying survivors of the original guerilla
movement and "keeping the flame of resistance [to Chinese rule of
Tibet] alive" in exile (Associate Professor of Tibetan Studies 15 Jan
2003), Chushi Gangdruk is no longer an active, much less armed,
resistance movement in Tibet (Associate Professor of Tibetan Studies 15
Jan 2003; Representative ICT 16 Jan 2003; U.S. DOS 16 Jan 2003;
Representative TIN 16 Jan 2003). Those who join the modern
organization Chushi Gangdruk as it is constituted among Tibetan exiles
seem to be descendants of original members or from Kham in Tibet
(Associate Professor of Tibetan Studies 15 Jan 2003). Several Tibet experts consulted by the RIC went further to state
that there are indeed no organized armed freedom fighters currently in
Tibet (Associate Professor of Tibetan Studies 15 Jan 2003;
Representative ICT 16 Jan 2003; U.S. DOS 16 Jan 2003). There have been
about a dozen bombings in Tibet in the past decade, but the bombs are
usually placed in such a way that the risks for loss of life are
minimized. For example, a bomb may go off in front of a police station
in the middle of the night. There have also been anti-Chinese rule
demonstrations involving destruction of property and stone-throwing at
police. However, no organized resistance group has ever claimed
responsibility for these incidents (Representative ICT 16 Jan 2003).
For further information on the history of Chushi Gangdruk, please
see the attachments. This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible
information currently available to the RIC within time constraints.
This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the
merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. References: Associate Professor of Tibetan Studies, Indiana University. Email to
the INS Resource Information Center (15 Jan 2003). Freedom House (FH). FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 1998-1999. "China: Tibet"
(1999)(http://freedomhouse.org/survey99/relterr/tibet.html) Political Officer, China Desk, U.S. Department of State (USDOS).
Telephone interview (16 Jan 2003). Representative, International Campaign for Tibet (ICT). Telephone
interview (16 Jan 2003). Representative, Tibet Information Network (TIN). Email to the INS
Resource Information Center (16 Jan 2003). Roberts, John R. THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR, "The Secret War Over Tibet:
A Story of Cold War Heroism -- and Kennedy Administration Cowardice and
Betrayal" (Dec 1997) - NEXIS. Attachments: Roberts, John R. THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR, "The Secret War Over Tibet:
A Story of Cold War Heroism -- and Kennedy Administration Cowardice and
Betrayal" (Dec 1997) - NEXIS. Swenson, Karen. THE NEW LEADER, "Orphans of the Cold War: America
and the Tibetan Struggle for Survival" (9 Aug 1999) - NEXIS. |
