Tibetans detained for chanting long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Monday, 25 February 2008, 2:41 p.m.
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Dharamshala: According to
media reports, Chinese police on 21 February has taken into custody
some two hundred Tibetans for chanting “Long Live His Holiness the
Dalai Lama,” during the Monlam Chenmo Festival (Greater Prayer) held at
Rebkong Monastery in Amdo, Tibet.
The reports further said, although Chinese authorities had
released all the detainees, but the Tibetans were severely beaten
during the protest.
Some 20-thousand Tibetans had gathered at the monastery to take part for this year’s Great Prayer festival.
The Chinese government has banned the Monlam festival during the
cultural revolution, but it has been gradually revived in the newly
established monasteries in Tibet.
The Great Prayer Festival, which falls from 4th -11th day of
the 1st Tibetan month, was established in 1409 by Je Tsong Khapa, the
founder of the Gelug tradition.
During the festival, communal prayers were offered with great
devotion, to help overcome obstacles to peace and generate conducive
conditions for everyone to live in harmony.