Two monks arrested after separate incidents of solitary protest in Ngaba

DHARAMSALA, Sep 14: Two Tibetan monks from Kirti monastery were arrested by Chinese police on Sep 10 in two separate incidents of solitary protests against the Chinese government in Ngaba county in the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo.

Adrak, aged around 20, took to the streets of Ngaba in morning of Sep 10 and shouted slogans such as “freedom for Tibetans” and “His Holiness the Dalai Lama should be allowed to return to Tibet”.

An undated photo of Adrak.
An undated photo of Adrak.

“Within minutes into his protest, Chinese police in complete riot gear arrived at the scene and beat him up. Local Tibetans, who witnessed the incident, joined in the protest and started shouting slogans. Chinese police responded by arbitrarily beating the lay Tibetans and even arrested several of them,” Kanyag Tsering, a monk at Kirti monastery in Dharamsala said.

“Due to restrictions in the area, details such as whereabouts of Adrak and the names of those arrested along with him could not be ascertained,” he added.

Adrak, a native of Soruma village in Choejema Township, Ngaba County and is the youngest of nine children born to Zampa (father) and Rigkho (mother). Adrak’s cousin, Lobsang Tsultrim, also a monk from Kirti monastery, was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment for alleged links to self-immolation protest in 2012.

In a separate incident on the same day, another monk of Kirti monastery, Lobsang was arrested by Chinese security forces after he staged a similar protest at around 6 pm on the streets of Ngaba. Lobsang also called for freedom for Tibetans and the return of His Holiness to Tibet.

An undated photo of Lobsang.
An undated photo of Lobsang.

Lobsang, 22, is a native of Chuklay Gapma in Ngaba county and the fourth son of five children born to his parents, Gatsey and Nekyi.

Adrak and Lobsang’s arrests follow the arrests of two other fellow monks earlier in the week for staging similar protests.

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