Australian MP Expresses Concern Over Repression at Kirti Monastery in Tibet[Wednesday, 27 April 2011, 4:30 p.m.]

Mr Michael Danby, a member of Australian Parliament (standing 2nd left in 2nd row), with other delegates during his visit to the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, in Dharamsala, India, on 26 April 2011.Photo by Tenzin Gyaltsen/TPiE

DHARAMSHALA:
Mr Michael Danby, a member of Australian Parliament, has expressed his
deep concern over the ongoing military crackdown on Kirti Monastery in
northeastern Tibet and urged the Chinese authorities to refrain from
using force to resolve the genuine grievances of Tibetans in the region.”I,
Michael Danby, Member of Parliament, Australia, convey my deep concern
over the recent China’s military crackdown on Kirti Monastery in Ngaba,
Amdo Province of Tibet,” Mr Danby said in a press release issued during
his visit to Dharamsala on 26 April. The crackdown on Kirti
Monastery was caused by self-immolation by Phuntsok, a young monk of
Kirti Monastery who set himself on fire on 16 March this year in
protest against the Chinese government’s brutal crackdown on the
widespread peaceful demonstrations which shook Tibet in 2008. The
Tibetans gathered at Kirti monastery, who were mostly elders, were
severely beaten by the police as they attempted to resist the police
from taking away around 300 monks in around 10 military trucks on the
night of 21 April. The crowd was dispersed by the police who indulged
in indiscriminate beating. Two elderly Tibetans, Dongko, aged 60, and
Sherkyi, 65, died due to severe beating. The latest report we have says
that 300 monks have been removed from the monastery and are detained at
unknown locations. “I express sympathy to the family members
of the Tibetans who were killed by the Chinese police beating on 21
April,” Mr Danby said.

File photo of Mr Michael Danby (standing back) with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during during an Australian parliamentarian delegation’s visit to Dharamsala in July 2009/Photo courtesy:Michael Danby

“I
strongly urge the Chinese government to exercise restraint and resolve
the crisis that is facing the monks of Kirti Monastery. I also urge the
Chinese government to release the detained monks at once,” he added.During
his three-day visit to Dharamsala, Mr Danby met with His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, Kalon Tripa and Speaker and Deputy of the Tibetan
Parliament-in-Exile.Mr Danby interacted with schoolchildren at
the Tibetan Children’s Village and met newly arrived refugees at the
Tibetan Reception Centre. He also visited Norbulingka Cultural
Institute to witness efforts made by the Tibetans to preserve their
unique and precious art and culture.In July 2009, Mr Danby visited Dharamsala by leading a six-member delegation of the Australian All Party Parliamentary Group. The
delegation spoke to Tibetan and Indian media on their experience of
meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and about their getting first
hand information on the preservation and promotion of Tibetan cultural
heritage and democratic system of governance in exile. They
expressed their strong support for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s
Middle-Way proposal for a peacefully negotiated settlement of the
Tibetan situation.  The delegation said they would continue to
encourage the Chinese government into sincere and substantive
discussions with His Holiness the Dalai Lama or his representatives to
resolve Tibet’s problem based on the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People.