More protests in eastern Tibet, many Tibetans detained[Friday, 17 June 2011, 10:30 a.m.]
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In this photo taken by a foreigner in October last year, a column of Chinese police and armed security forces are seen patrolling a street in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
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DHARAMSHALA:
Many Tibetans have been detained in Kardze in eastern Tibet’s Kham
Province as their protests against the Chinese government’s repression
continue to escalate, Radio Free Asia reported.“Nine
Tibetans, consisting of a monk of Dhargyal Monastery, four nuns, two
lay women, and two youths, staged protests on Saga Dawa, a major
Buddhist festival observed on 15 June,” RFA quoted a Tibetan resident of Kardze as saying.“Their
names and other details about them are not known. However, the
movements of local people are restricted, and armed police are
everywhere.”The monk from Dhargyal Monastery was identified as Ngawang Lobsang Yoyo, 37.“On
14 June, he made offerings at the Kardze monastery and prayed in front
of a photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” a Tibetan living India with
contacts in Kardze told RFA.
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| Chinese security forces in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in October 2010 |
“Then,
at about 7:00 a.m. On 15 June, he went to downtown Kardze and chose a
spot where the largest number of people had gathered for the holiday.
He threw leaflets into the air and knelt down, folding his hands in
appeal and calling out for a few minutes for the long life of the Dalai
Lama and for the freedom of Tibet,” the man said.Shortly afterward, the protesting monk was detained and taken away by Chinese security forces, the man said.A Chinese police official in Kardze answered a phone call from RFA confirming that “many” had been detained. “But I don’t know the reasons why. I am busy,” he said, before hanging up.Meanwhile, a local Tibetan said that Chinese police had blocked Kardze’s downtown area from two sides.“Monks
and nuns are not allowed to enter the city area,” he said, adding that
Tibetans traveling from outside villages and nomadic areas must seek
permission from local officials before entering Kardze.
