Monks protest in Xining, 2 nuns arrested in Kardze

Monks protest in Xining, 2 nuns arrested in Kardze

Phayul[Friday, April 03, 2009 14:10]

By Kalsang Rinchen The banner reads "appealing to the court to conduct fair judicial proceedings in accordance with the law" Dharamsala, April 3 - Six Tibetan monks sat on a peaceful sit-in protest yesterday in front of the High People's Court in Xining, Qinghai province, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said today. The monks held a large banner with wordings that appealed to the court for fair judicial proceedings for Tibetan protesters. The monks who began the sit-in around 8AM (Beijing Time) were reportedly taken away by the local Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers, said the centre that monitors human rights situation in Tibet, adding that their current whereabouts are not known. In another incident, two nuns of Dragkar Nunnery in Kardze were arrested on March 24. Yankyi Dolma and Sonam Yangchen staged a peaceful protest at the main square of the market in Kardze county around 3PM (Beijing Time), calling for the ‘return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet,’ ‘human rights in Tibet’ and 'religious freedom in Tibet'. Yankyi Dolma (TCHRD photo) Citing unnamed sources, the centre said Yangkyi Dolma distributed handwritten pamphlets during the short protest. The Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) immediately detained both the Tibetan nuns and beat them indiscriminately with rods and electric batons before putting them in security vehicle. Around 7 PM in the evening, security forces stormed into Yangkyi’s home roughing up the portrait of the Dalai Lama and ‘rebuked the family members for being supporters of ‘separatist forces’. Two Chinese security officials summoned her brother Tsangyang Gyatso to the Kardze County government headquarters the following day (March 25), the centre said, adding that there is no information about what happened thereafter. Yangkyi Dolma was born to Hormeytsang Dargay (father) and Pema Khando(mother) in Roltsa Township, Kardze County, Kardze “TAP” Sichuan Province. Apart from sporadic incidents of protests a major civil disobedience movement is gaining momentum in Kardze with farmers continuing to defy authorities’ orders to till their farmland in protest against China’s repression, the centre said. According to sources, the local Chinese authorities in Drango County in Kardze have given ultimatum to the Tibetan farmers to till their farmland before 11 April failing which their farmland will be confiscated by the government. Since March 10, around 28 known incidents of protests were reported from Kardze alone with arrests of around 60 Tibetans, the center said, adding that many other protests, beatings and arrests went unaccounted for due to strict control on the flow of information.

Prince Charles urged to push Tibet cause

Prince Charles urged to push Tibet cause

The Press Association[Thursday, April 02, 2009 19:38]

The Prince of Wales has been urged to speak out in support of Tibet when he holds a private meeting with the Chinese president on Thursday. The Free Tibet campaign group has written to Charles listing a range of human rights concerns it hopes the heir to the throne will bring up during his discussions with President Hu Jintao. The Prince, who once described China's leaders as "appalling old waxworks", will meet the president at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London. The historic move will be seen as an important step in the Prince's previously uneasy relations with China and part of the general thawing of his dealings with the republic. China sent thousands of troops into Tibet in 1950 to enforce its claim on the territory, but over the decades has been criticised by human rights organisations for its governance of the region. Last year fatal clashes between anti-Chinese protesters and the authorities in the region led to 6,000 people being arrested but more than 1,000 are still unaccounted for, according to Free Tibet. A spokesman for the organisation said the questions they have forwarded to the Prince include asking President Hu to investigate the excessive violence it is claimed was used during last year's protests and urging that Chinese troops in the territory should not be used against unarmed protestors. The president should also be encouraged to hold meetings with representatives of the Tibetan people. Charles is a supporter of the Dalai Lama - Tibet's spiritual leader - who is seen by China as a separatist threat. The Free Tibet spokesman said the territory was now under "de facto martial law" and that the Dalai Lama had described the situation as a "living hell". He added: "Prince Charles is an extremely good friend of the Dalai Lama, I'm certain he's seen the Dalai Lama's comments and hopes that the letter we've sent to him very much encourages him to take action and show support for Tibet in the same way he has done in the past."

Monk dies of beating by Chinese Police: rights group

Monk dies of beating by Chinese Police: rights group

Phayul[Monday, March 30, 2009 18:53]

By Kalsang Rinchen Phuntsok, 27, was beaten to death by police, says TCHRD. Photo/TCHRD Dharamsala, March 30 - A 27 year old Tibetan monk has died after what some media reports call a "clash" between farmers and police but an exile rights group says is a "beating" by police. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) said today Chinese security police beat a Tibetan monk to death on March 25. Phuntsok, a Tibetan monk from Drango County, Kardze, was beaten severely for pasting anti government leaflets on walls of his locality, according to TCHRD. Citing sources, TCHRD reported that Phuntsok “pasted leaflets on the walls of a branch office of Drango PSB headquarter, on Shara Thang-do Bridge and on eucalyptus trees of roads and highways in Drango County.” TCHRD said that Phuntsok's protest was deliberately timed to express his solidarity with his fellow monks of Drango monastery who were tortured, ill-treated and imprisoned during protests last year in March. Phuntsok campaigned to urge the local Tibetans in Drango County to cancel farming activities as a “gesture of mourning for monks who were tortured, detained and imprisoned by the Chinese authorities.” Phuntsok was spotted by PSB officials as he was pasting his leaflets on the walls of an automobile service centre, sources told TCHRD, adding that he immediately fled on a motorbike but was caught and beaten up with batons. According to the TCHRD, the Chinese police describe Phuntsok’s death as suicide but a report by Reuters today said an employee at the People's Hospital in Luhuo county confirmed the death but attributed it to a motorbike accident. On March 27, the People's Armed Police (PAP) arrested 11 Tibetans from Da-do Village for defying the Chinese authorities’ order to till their farm lands, the TCHRD said. They were paraded in the village, according to the TCHRD, which said their whereabouts are unknown except that they were last seen in a hospital surrounded by PAP officials.