In Tibet: Chinese Forces Lay Siege to School after Students ProtestFriday, 24 April 2009, 4:09 p.m.
Dharamshala: A large number of Chinese security forces have today laid siege to a middle school in Sangchu County in Labrang (Kanlho Tibet Autonomous Prefecture (incorporated into China’s Gansu Province), after a group of school students believed to have held peaceful protests demanding release of Tibetans who are in captivity since March last year, sources in the region reported.The students, carrying banners reading “Peace and Freedom”, protested during their morning physical exercise at around 7 a.m. (local time).The sources could not provide exact cause of the demonstration.The Public Security Bureau officials and Chinese armed forces have surrounded and blockaded the movement of students, the sources added. Moreover, heavy restriction has been imposed in the surrounding areas. The Chinese government’s violent crackdown on peaceful Tibetan protesters across Tibet since 10 March 2008, left 220 Tibetans dead, 1,294 injured and 290 sentenced. More than 5,600 were arrested or detained and over 1,000 disappeared.Related:FACT SHEET: Tibetan Deaths Under China’s Crackdown since March 2008
