Chinese Government Imposes Military Blockade in Ngaba, Tibet[Thursday, 14 April 2011, 2:24 p.m.]
Fears of starvation of monks at Kirti monastery and brutal crackdown by security forces loom large The
Chinese government has sealed off Kirti Monastery in Ngaba County in
northeastern Tibet by deploying armed security forces to crackdown on
Tibetans following a monk’s suicide last month in protest against
Chinese government’s repression.Phuntsog, a 21-year-old monk of
Kirti Monastery, set himself on fire 16 March 2011 to mark the third
anniversary of the brutal killing of at least 10 Tibetans at the
monastery when unprecedented protests by Tibetans swept across whole
Tibet in 2008. Eye-witnesses saw the Chinese police beating Phuntsog
while extinguishing the flame. A group of Tibetan monks retrieved the
fatally wounded monk from the police captivity and took him inside the
monastery. At the same time, hundreds of monks and lay people took to
the streets to express their resentment over the Chinese authorities’
heavy-handed approach over the incident. A large contingent of security
forces were brought in to disperse the Tibetan protesters, many of whom
were beaten indiscriminately with electric batons and iron clubs before
being taken into police custody. Meanwhile, Phuntsog, who remained
holed up for hours inside the monastery cordoned off by armed military
forces, succumbed to his grievous burn injuries in the early hours of
17 March at a hospital. Hospital authorities demanded police clearance
for treatment.The death of Phuntsog triggered peaceful protests
by Tibetans in different parts of Ngaba county. The schoolchildren
organised a hunger strike at their school in Barkham county in Ngaba on
17 March. Another peaceful protest was reported in Namda township in
Dzamtang county in Ngaba, where over 100 protesters shouted slogans of
their yearning for freedom and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s return to
Tibet. The police severely beat the protesters and arrested eight
Tibetans. Those detained in connection with the Phuntsog’s protest and
suicide include his uncle Losang Tsondru and a monk of Kirti monastery
named Samdrup. According to monks at Kirti monastery in Dharamsala, the
security forces are making arrests by night, and everybody is terrified
of being arrested. The whereabouts of those arrested still remain
unknown.The security clampdown in Ngaba aggravated as Tibetan
residents attempted to celebrate the democratic elections in the exile
community on 20 March. Despite a heavy buildup of troops in the area,
some people in Ngaba conducted prayers inside their homes and set off
fire-crackers to mark the day. Some Tibetans were detained in the
crackdown. Sporadic arrests of Tibetans were also reported in Tawa, Kanyag Dewa and Cha township in Ngaba county from 22 – 24 March.As
part of the broadening crackdown, the Chinese government had enforced
“patriotic re-education” campaign at Kirti Monastery since 20 March.
The authorities have imposed an indefinite ban on the religious
activities at the monastery. The situation worsened on 11 April as the
local Tibetans gathered at Kirti monastery in an attempt to protect
monks from being taken away for “re-education” at a detention centre.
Several Tibetans were beaten and injured after the police set trained
dogs on the crowd.The situation in Ngaba County continues to
deteriorate as paramilitary forces have sealed off Kirti Monastery with
barbed wire fence and concrete wall restricting the movement of monks
and vital food supply for them.
