Religious freedom further stifled in Tibet: China deploys hundreds of troops at Larung Gar
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA 30 Dec: China has deployed approximately 400 Military personnel at Larung Gar, the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist Study Centre in occupied Tibet on 20 December, according to a report by the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA).
Citing sources inside Tibet, the report stated that Military personnel were sent from Drakgo(Luhuo) and neighbouring counties in Karze(Ganzi). It further revealed that helicopter surveillance has been employed to intensify the monitoring of activities at the religious site.
The report noted the development as China’s plan for stringent new regulations for 2025 that reportedly include policies that will “limit residency at Larung Gar to a maximum of 15 years and require registration of all monks and nuns”.
The Center located in Kham, one of three Traditional Provinces of then Independent Tibet which is now co-opted into Sichuan province has attracted both Tibetans and Chinese students. However, sources told the CTA that Chinese students were also asked to leave, reflecting China’s broader framework to reduce Monastic population to eliminate traditional Buddhist institutions which violates the basic religious Freedom of the Tibetan people and Buddhist in Tibet and China.
Larung Gar, a Buddhist academy and a monastery has been the biggest hub of Buddhist studies since its inception in 1980. However, the Chinese Government under euphemism of “renovation” and “overcrowding” started demolishing the monastery from july 2016 while repressive measures to downsize its size and population has been active since the massive crackdown on the site since 2001.
According to the BBC, Chinese authorities during the 2016-2017 Crackdown, have said the population of the monastery must be reduced from 10,000 to no more than 3,500 nuns and 1500 monks by October 2016. As of today, the population of Larung Gar has been reduced to half of its original size of ten thousand.
The CTA said the current developments in the site “represent an escalation in China’s broader campaign to restrict religious freedom in Tibet aimed at controlling religious practice and education”.
The heavy surveillance at Larung Gar and potential risk of further destruction is not an uncommon sight in the Tibetan region. China, in recent years, has heavily increased its digital surveillance on Tibetans . Tibet Watch and a Tibet-focused network,Turquoise Roof found that authorities made it mandatory to install an app called “National Anti-Fraud Center” at police checkpoints which could allow app operators to access sensitive user data to suppress dissent and cultural expression.
“Our analysis suggests that data controlled by the Anti-Fraud app could connect into wider systems operated by the Criminal Investigation Bureau [and] the mandatory installation of the app at police checkpoints could serve as a platform for harvesting a dataset used for monitoring and controlling the population, particularly in suppressing dissent and cultural expression,” read a report published by the Tibet Watch and Turquoise Roof.
