Update on Tibet, 21 June 2008
Saturday, 21 June 2008, 4:27 p.m.
Dharamshala: Update on Tibet, 21 June 2008
Last updated 2 pm (IST) Re: Tibet Demonstrations
18 June 2008
Lhasa – Protests seemed to have occurred in Drepung and Sera monasteries
A gunshot was fired in Drepung monastery, in Lhasa, on 18 June or 15th
day of the 4th month of Tibetan lunar calender which is considered the
most holy day of the year.
Our local source received this information through an
eyewitness. It is reported that the People’s Armed Police (PAP) had
opened fire in the air to warn the monks from protesting in the Drepung
monastery. No further details available.
During the same night, the PAP arrested 12 monks from Sera monastery, in Lhasa. Details are also not available.
14 June 2008
Karze (Ch: Ganzi) County, Karze “TAP”, Kham (incorporated into
Chinese province of Sichuan) – A monk from Khangmar monastery severely
beaten and arrested for staging a peaceful protest
Yeshi Palden, age 27, from Khangmar (Gaeden Samdupling) monastery in
Karze County, was severely beaten with metal batons and arrested by the
Public Security Bureau (PSB) for staging a peaceful protest in front of
the county PSB office on 14 June.
During the protest, he shouted slogans such as “release all the
political prisoners”, “His Holiness the Dalai Lama must be welcomed to
Tibet”, and also wished “long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama”.
An unidentified Tibetan has also carried out a protest in Karze county on 15 June. Details are not available.
9 June 2008
Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County, Ngaba “TAP”, Amdo (incorporated into Chinese province of Sichuan) – Many monks fled the Se monastery
On 9 June, many pro-independence posters were found pasted at
roadside near the Se monastery in Ngaba county. The Tibetan flag was
also found hoisted there. As a result, the PAP surrounded the monastery
and heightened its restrictions on 11 June. A thorough raid was also
conducted in the monastery. Such repressions forced many of its monks
to flee the monastery.
2 June 2008
Barkham (Ch: Ma’erkhang) County, Ngaba “TAP”, Amdo (incorporated
into Chinese province of Sichuan) – Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti monastery in
critical situation
A contingent of the PAP arrived at the Gyalrong Tsodun Kirti monastery
in Barkham county and hoisted a Chinese flag on the monastery on 2
June. However, the monks secretly destroyed the flag with its pole the
next night.
As a result, the PAP has heightened restrictions, and no one is
allowed to leave or enter the monastery campus. More numbers of PAP
have been deployed in the monastery. The monks are being interrogated
to find out who committed this “serious crime” of destroying the
Chinese flag and the pole. The monastery is reported to be in a
critical situation.
No Specific Date”
Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County, Ngaba “TAP”, Amdo (incorporated into Chinese
province of Sichuan) – “Patriotic re-education” being forced intensely
in Kirti Dhongru monastery
The monks of Kirti Dhongru monastery in Ngaba county are severely being
harassed as they are forced by the Chinese authorities to undergo the
“patriotic re-education” in full intensity. The PAP, which has camped
near down the monastery, imposed heavy restrictions on the movement of
monks.
Five of its monks, who were arrested in March, are now
transferred to Kakhog (Ch: Hongyuan) county prison from Maowun (Ch:
Maoxian) county prison. Members of their families or relatives are not
allowed to meet them.
Lhasa – Details of one more person, who was shot during a Lhasa protest, identified
Sonam, a woman, was shot in her neck when the PAP opened fire at
the protestors on 14 March in Lhasa. On third day of her medical
treatment at the Tibetan Medical and Astrology Institute, she was
arrested by the PAP in their attempt to arrest all those wounded with
gunshots. She was released at the end of May after having been
interrogated a number of times.
When she was shot, her daughter Choelak (full name not
available), who is a school graduate from China, was arrested and
severely beaten by the PAP. Though she was also released at the end of
May after being detained for over two months, her health has
deteriorated due to torture. Both the mother and the daughter were born
in Lhasa.