DHARAMSALA–The families and relatives of the Tibetan monks detained from Kirti monastery in northeastern Tibet have attempted to lodge their complaint to the regional government authority in Ngaba, Kanyag Tsering, a monk of Kirti monastery in Dharamsala, said.
The whereabouts of over 300 monks since they were removed from the monastery following a police on the night of 21 April, which left two elderly Tibetans dead due to police beating.
The families and relatives of those detained monks who hail from Khangsarma village in Chigdril district in Golog went to Ngaba to lodge their complaint over the arbitrary detention of the monks on 29 April, Kanyag Tsering said. He said they also intended to demand the immediate release of the monks.
As they were travelling to Ngaba in around 20 cars, Chinese security forces in 10 large military vehicles blocked them at some 5 km from the regional government office in Ngaba before being handed them over to the police in Chigdril district.
More Arrests
Meanwhile, there is no let up in the arbitrary detention of monks at Kirti monastery. Four monks, including Lobsang Kunchok, aged 28, a native of Thawa Ghongma, were detained at around 9 am (local time) on 28 April. The names of the other three monks and their whereabouts remain unknown, Kanyag Tsering said.
Moreover, another monk named Tsering Damdul has been taken into police custody for his alleged role in taking the burned body of Phuntsog into the monastery. Phuntsog, a 21-year-old monk of Kirti monastery, killed himself by self-immolation on 16 March to protest China’s brutal repression on the peaceful protests in Tibet in 2008. Phuntsog’s tragic death created resentment among monks of Kirti monastery and the general public, which resulted in the military blockade of the monastery.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration had made urgent appeal for restraint by the Chinese government in resolving the crisis at Kirti Monastery. The Central Tibetan Administration had also urged the international community, governments and parliaments around the world to make an appeal to the Chinese government to release the detained monks at once.
