Tibetans in Drago county in Kham [Ch: Sichuan] continue to face monitoring and surveillance, with the authorities on the lookout for any sharing of information regarding the destruction of the 99-foot Buddha, along other major religious structures,over the last two months. The latest update on their situation, reported by Radio Free Asia on February 4, confirmed the news that eleven Tibetans were arrested and beaten by the Chinese authorities in January for spreading news and photographs of the demolitions, and then sent to labour camps in the region.
Those arrested were monks Tashi Dorjee;Tsering Samdup;Nyima Lhamo and Abbot Pelga, along with his assistant Nyima; along with six other unidentified Tibetans.RFA’s source reportedthe news of their arrests and detentions in labour camps. The source confirmed that some of them have sustained beating and torture, but is unable to provide any information about their current condition.
Photo: Tibet Watch
The statues, prayer flags, and other structures which were demolished by the Chinese authorities had been built at the expense of local Tibetans; despite having full documentation they were demolished by the authorities. Currently, the activities of monks and laypeople in Drago monastery are being closely watched and their activities restricted. RFA reports that a police station has been set up near the prayer wheel which was destroyed along with the first statue of the Buddha to be demolished, and quotes their source as saying, “A few monks from the monastery and a few other individuals are stationed in this police station to keep an eye on the daily activities of local Tibetans and the monks of Drago Monastery”.
In a separate update published on February 2, it was reported that three more Tibetans, Asang, Dodra and Nortso, were arrested and interrogated by Chinese police on January 10 while returning home from a pilgrimage to Larung Gar Tibetan Buddhist Academy in Kardze. RFA’s report quoted their source as saying, “The police looked into all the group chat apps on their cellphones and charged them for keeping videos and pictures of the recent destruction of the Buddhist statue in Drago and also using those images as their screensaver wallpaper.” The three arrested have been charged with being “in possession of ‘politically sensitive information’ as they returned from a pilgrimage”, said RFA’s report. They were reported as being held at Chamdo Police Station.
News of these arrests has been picked up in Japan where representatives of the Super Samgha Association of Japanese monks have submitted a written statement to the Office of Tibet in Japan expressing their “shock and dismay over the violent destruction” of the Buddha statues and other religious figures by the Chinese authorities. Tibet.net, the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration, reports that the Association “submitted a written statement […] expressing their solidarity with the Tibetans in Tibet suffering under the brutal Chinese regime”.
Tibet.net’s report continued, saying that the Japanese Super Samghamonks “joined the protest and demonstrations with the Tibetans, Uyghurs, South Mongolian, and Hongkongers at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo on February 4, the opening day of the Beijing Olympics”.
The destruction of giant Buddha statue, another one from Drago Monastery and other religious structures in the Drago county and also forced demolition of Drago Monastery’s Gaden Namgyal Monastic School in November has caused unrest among the Tibetans leading to arrests and surveillances in the region.
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