An old photo of Drago county taken during winter season
Photo: CTA
A severe crackdown has been imposed in Tibet’s Drago [Ch: Luhuo] County in Kham Karze by the Chinese authorities, with the demolition of statues of the Buddha, and of prayer wheels, together with the removal of prayer flags and the arrest of a dozen Tibetans this month.
Following the destruction of a 99-foot high Buddha statue in December 2021, the religious crackdown has continued this month with the demolition of another three-storey high Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha of the future, also known as the Buddha of Jetsun Jampa Gonpo. The statue stood inside Drago Monastery. After two attempts to demolish it failed, the authorities deployed bull dozers to complete the demolition. “They demolished the whole three-storey temple that housed the statue,” reported local sources. Both monks and civilians have been detained and tortured for objecting to the demolition.
According to a report by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), those arbitrarily detained were known as Paga, the Abbot of Drago Monastery, his assistant Nyima, another monk by the same name Tenzin Nyima, and Tashi Dorje, both from Drago Monastery. Lhamo Yangkyab, a local sculptor and another man, Norpa Tsering Samdup, were also taken away and detained for unknown reasons.
“The demolition of school, Buddha statues, and prayer wheels in Drago, Kham and the cases of subsequent arrests and detention of Tibetans by the Chinese authorities are the show case of China’s belligerent attitude towards Tibetan culture, tradition and identity. Such are serious violations of human rights, including religious freedom. The Central Tibetan Administration condemns China’s ongoing atrocious policies in Tibet,” said Tenzin Lekshay, the CTA’s official spokesperson in a statement published by tibet.net, the CTA website.
In a separate report by UK-based Tibet research and advocacy group Tibet Watch, it is reported that at least ten Tibetans were arrested in Drago County in Tibet in November last year. Tibet Watch says that the news of these arrests has only just emerged from Tibet due to the communication restrictions imposed in the area. The ten were arrested on suspicion of sending information outside Tibet, and for objecting to the construction of a poultry and pig farming project in Yinya Township. They have been interrogated and severely beaten.
Tibetans arrested on suspicion of sharing information about what is happening in Drago have been subjected to beating and torture which includes being given inadequate food and being forced to stand in freezing cold weather without adequate clothes, says the report filed by the CTA.
“This sacrilegious act by an atheist state has caused deep anguish among Tibetans in the region. The demolitions are a direct assault on the religious freedom of the Tibetan Buddhists and an attempt to wipe out their history in the region. They contradict Chinese claims of protecting Tibetan cultural and religious heritage,” said Bhuchung K Tsering, Interim President of the International Campaign for Tibet, referring to the ongoing religious crackdown in Drago County.
Tenzin Norbu (L) and Wangchen Nyima (R)
Photo: Tibet Watch
There is also concern for the fate of two brothers, Tenzin Norbu and Wangchen Nyima, both Tibetan monks who were arrested five months ago on August 15. They are both from Nenang Monastery in Drago where their uncle, Tulku Choekyi Nyima, is a respected and revered abbot of Nenang Monastery. The brothers are being held incommunicado and reasons for their arrests have not been given. They are currently being held in Tawu County Prison in Karze. Though officials have not given any reason for their arrests, local sources report that they suspect that it is their involvement in the monastery where they have been running informal classes for local Tibetans, teaching them Tibetan language, culture and religion.
Schools and individuals that focus on education involving Tibetan language, culture and religion are increasingly being targeted by the Chinese government,and subject to surveillance and pressure.
Photo: Tibet Watch
The tense situation in Drago started last month with the destruction of a 99-foot high Buddha statue, costing 4,000,000 Yuan (US$ 630,000 / £470,000). The statue was built with money raised by local Tibetans and with the full approval of the local authorities; 45 nearby huge prayer wheels were also destroyed, and large vertical prayer flags removed and burned, this has been confirmed by another report by Tibet Watch. The authorities invalidated the documents for the statue, claiming that statues of this height are prohibited – although this fails to justify the destruction of the prayer wheels and other religious structures which, although large, are considerably smaller than the statue.
CTA’s Human Rights desk has said that tearing down Buddhist statues and structures is a “direct attack” on centuries-long Tibetan traditions, these traditions include flying prayer flags to lift one’s luck, erecting religious structures to ward off misfortunes and spinning prayer wheels to accumulate mantras for the well-being of others.
In November the Chinese authorities ordered the demolition of Drago Monastery’s Gaden Namgyal Monastic School after accusing them of violating the rules and not having proper documentation. Tibetan sources believe that Tibetan schools are being targeted in the recent surge of the Chinese government’s drive to sinicise Tibetan language, culture and religion.
“The forced closure of the Tibetan schools has not only deprived Tibetan children of their right to learn their language and culture, but has also coerced them to join Chinese government schools resulting in the continuation of cultural assimilation and language oppression,” said the Human Rights desk at the CTA. Large numbers of Tibetan children are now sent to boarding schools, at a distance from their families, where they are taught Chinese language and culture.
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