China court jails 3 Tibetans in Jomda County [Thursday, 13 August 2009, 12:35 p.m.]
Dharamshala: A Chinese court on 4 August handed down prison terms of two year each to three Tibetans amongst five arrested for protesting against the Chinese government’s forced indoctrination campaign of denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Jomda County in Chamdo Prefecture in June this year. But the charges on which the three were sentenced is not known.On 22 June, the Chinese security forces arrested two Tibetan officials, Gyurmey Gonpo and Gyaltsang Dorjee, for their negligence in carrying out patriotic education campaign in Taklung monastery under their jurisdiction in Pema and Nadong townships in Jomda County. The arrests followed when the security forces didn’t find a single monk in the monastery even though the indoctrination campaign was supposed to be in force. Despite repeated orders, the two Tibetan officials failed to summon the monks.On the same day, when the security forces were taking the two Tibetans towards Kyabje Monastery, they were confronted by some 20 Tibetans. The resulting clash left many Tibetans seriously injured.Following the incident, five Tibetans – Ashag Tsang Norlha, aged 47, Gonpo Dhargye, 44, Gyaltsang Jampa, 46, Bhulhuk, 56, Mutsa Tsang Tseten, 40 – were taken into custody at Jomda County. Gyaltsang Jampa, Bhulhuk and Mutsa Tsang Tseten were later shifted to a detention center in Chamdo, where a court sentenced each of them to 2 years in prison without any valid charges. Besides, Norlha and Gonpo Dhargye, who were considered ringleaders, are still being detained in Jomda and yet to received verdict from the court.Moreover, due to poor harvest caused by farming boycott campaign in Jomda county, the Chinese government has ordered Tibetans not to stop the supply and consumption of meat. The Tibetans, mostly nomadic families, told the authorities about their plan to abstain meat as a mark of solidarity and to pray for all those Tibetans killed by Chinese security forces during the peaceful protests in Tibet last year. Since the nomads decided to spare animals, there has been no buying and selling of meat products in the county.Related:Tibetans Detest China’s Indoctrination Campaign; 2 Seriously Hurt in Clashes in Eastern Tibet FACT SHEET: Tibetan Deaths Under China’s Crackdown since March 2008China’s Brutality in Tibet Exposed
