Security Stepped Up Following Abbot’s Death
Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok (right) with the late 10th Panchen Lama |
Dharamsala, 8 January 2004: Security has been beefed up in the Tawu and Barkham Counties of Karze in eastern Tibet following the passing away of Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, abbot of Serthar Buddhist Institute, yesterday.
Sources from Tibet say that severe restriction has been imposed in Serthar County and Larung Gar monastery after the authorities knew that Khenpo’s body had been taken to Larung Gar monastery. The devotees are being restricted to pay their last respects to the departed soul.
Khenpo had become a target for the Chinese authorities since 1996 when Chinese authorities began to monitor stricter control on Larung Gar monastery and Khenpo’s movement. He was then held incommunicado in a Hospital in Chengdu for about a year.
Khenpo’s followers and close aides believe that Khenpo’s heart ailment was a result of the massive destruction of Serthar institute and brutal crackdown on the students of the institute.
Khenpo had met His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his visit to India in 1990.
Meanwhile, some former students of Serthar institute residing here have appealed to the Kashag to work towards urging the international community to send medical teams to Tibet to probe into the death of Khenpo.