Tibetan man arrested for solo protest in eastern Tibet

DHARAMSALA, Dec 1: A Tibetan man was arrested by Chinese police in eastern Tibet for staging a solo protest calling for the long life of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Senge staged his solo protest on Nov 27 on the main street of Kardze county in the traditional Tibetan province of Kham.

“While marching on the street, Senge scattered leaflets in the air and called for the long life of His Holiness and freedom for Tibetans in Tibet,” a source said, adding “within minutes into his brief he was arrested by Chinese police and taken away.”

Senge’s current whereabouts and condition remain unknown to his family members who worry that he might get tortured in prison.

“We hope and pray that we will be able to know the detention centre where he is being held and that he’ll be returned to us in the same physical condition,” the source quoted Senge’s family members as saying.

Senge, a native of Tradab village in Zakhog township, Kardze county was born to father Loga and mother Bochag. Before his arrest, he was living with his wife, infant child and his wife’s mother at his wife’s parental home in Karab village in Dhardo township in Kardze county.

After watching a short video of His Holiness few days before the protest, Senge had repeatedly uttered while crying that “His Holiness is getting older and there is no point in living if you cannot meet your lama,” the source said.

China has ruled Tibet with an iron fist since 1959 and considers the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader a ‘dangerous separatist’ but the Tibetan Nobel laureate has repeatedly said he is not seeking independence or separation from China but autonomy for Tibet.

More than 140 Tibetans from inside Tibet have set fire to themselves since Feb 2009, calling for the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader and freedom for Tibet.

Click here to watch a video of Senge’s solo protest captured on mobile phone.