Tibetan writer Lomig arbitrarily arrested in restive Ngaba County
DHARAMSALA, April 22: Chinese authorities have arbitrarily arrested an outspoken Tibetan writer on Apr 17 from restive Ngaba County, traditionally part of Amdo Province but presently incorporated into Sichuan Province.
Jo Jamyang, a 27-yr-old Tibetan writer popularly known by his pen name, Lomig was arrested by Chinese police from Ngaba County at around 11:30 pm (local time) on Apr 17 without providing any reason for his arrest or without having any charges filed against him.
Following his sudden arrest, more than 20 Tibetan writers have written about him to express their solidarity.
“Though the exact reason behind Lomig’s arrest remain unknown, local Tibetans and his acquaintances suspect his writings, talks and discussions on subjects considered sensitive by the Chinese government such as 2008 Tibetan uprising, self-immolation, environmental degradation, freedom of speech and expression could have led to his arrest,” said a source with contacts in the region.
His current whereabouts and condition remain unknown.
Lomig, a native of nomadic camp No. 3 in Meruma Township in Ngaba was born to father Dorkho and mother Zamkar. At the age of six, he enrolled as a novice monk at Kirti monastery. He had also studied Buddhist philosophy as well as other Tibetan studies such as literature at monasteries in Drango and Rebkong County as well as at the renowned Larungar Buddhist Institute in Serta County in Kardze Prefecture in traditional Kham Province of Tibet. At the time of his arrest he was a student of Pharchin (English: Perfection of Wisdom, Sanskrit: Prajñāpāramitā) at Kirti monastery.
Apart from writing numerous articles on Tibetan websites such as Choeme, Sengdor and Tsongon blog, Lomig had authored a book titled ‘Na Bun Ser Gi Chur Tang’ (Eng: Rise of The Yellow Mist) which was published from Xining. Lomig had also held various public discussions with other Tibetan writers such as Gosher, Sengdor, Gurung Pundol and Shokjang, who was arrested last month along with his brother in law for writing an article on his blog about the tense situation and Chinese government’s imposition of heavy restrictions in Rebkong County ahead of this year’s March Tenth uprising anniversary.
His recent articles include ‘Chag Drog Gi Kyig Pai Tam Gyue’ (Eng: Fastening of The Iron Belt Story), ‘ ‘Ngawai Yigewa Dag La Tson Gi Nuen Gi Yod’ (Eng: Writers of Ngawa Are Being Pierced With Weapon), ‘Nga Ma Shi Bar Du Tatsul Shoed Kho Thag Yin’ (Eng: Until I Die, I Will Express My Views).
