Monks arrested, expelled in Tibet/ENG

2012. február 18./Phayul.com/TibetPress

DHARAMSHALA, February 18: China on Thursday arbitrarily arrested three monks from a Tibetan monastery in the Tridu region of eastern Tibet according to the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.

The three monks- Sonam Gyewa, Lobsang Samten, and Lobsang Nyima were from the Zilkar monastery.

It is widely suspected that the three monks were arrested in connection with recent mass protests that occurred in the region.

Thousands of Tibetans in Tridu area had led a peaceful protest, carrying banners demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and respect for Tibetan lives, coinciding with the global solidarity vigil on February 8.

Around 400 monks from the Zilkar monastery had led the protest march to Dza Toe town, which later swelled to over a thousand.

The monks unfurled banners, written in blue and red ink, symbolic of the two protector deities of Tibet, calling for the Dalai Lama’s return, release of Tibetan political prisoners including the XIth Panchen Lama and respect for Tibetan lives.

No arrests were made during the protest.

In other reports coming out of Tibet, local Chinese authorities in the Pakshoe region of Tibet expelled four monks from the Rawu Shulten monastery for defying Chinese orders to fly the Chinese flag and display a portrait of China’s leaders in the monastery.

"Jampha Menlum, Jampha Dhondup and two other monks were forced to leave the monastery after they strongly objected orders from Chinese authorities to display the red Chinese flag and the Chinese leaders’ photo in the monastery," Konchok, a Tibetan in exile citing contacts in Tibet told Phayul.

“Chinese officials went on to force the senior monks to close down the monastery, after they rejected to display the flag and the portrait of the Chinese leaders,” Konchok added.

The renewed policy of communist propaganda comes after central Tibet’s Communist Party boss Chen announced a series of grass root tactics aimed at infiltrating as well as suppressing the traditional Tibetan lifestyle with communist ideology.

Last month Chinese authorities had distributed over a million Chinese flags and portraits depicting the four generations of China’s top leadership to monasteries, schools, offices, and rural households for mandatory display.