Protests, tensions escalate in Ngaba following self-immolation of monk: Kirti monastery under lockdown.
Peter Terpstra
International Campaign for Tibet
Protests, tensions escalate in Ngaba following self-immolation of monk: Kirti monastery under lockdown
There is a deepening climate of fear in the Tibetan area of Ngaba, Sichuan, as a result of a worsening crackdown by the authorities
following the self-immolation and death of a young monk called Phuntsog from Kirti monastery on March 16. The authorities have
now imposed a lockdown on the monastery, with a new barbed wire fence and wall being built around the back of the monastic
complex, and armed troops within the compound preventing monks from leaving and food from being delivered. All movement of
monks is restricted and monks are even being prevented from burning incense for religious rituals. There have been several more
disappearances of Tibetans from the monastery and lay community in the area, including the younger brother and uncle of the monk
who set fire to himself, and a rigorous ‘patriotic education’ campaign is being enforced, creating further resentment and despair.
In a further recent development, Ngaba people – who defied the authorities in celebrating Tibetan New Year (Losar) in February –
were warned prior to the Tibetan exile elections on March 20 that they would not be allowed to make incense offerings or light fire-
crackers. Even so, and despite a heavy buildup of troops in the area, some people in Ngaba still made shrine offerings and set off
fire-crackers on that day to mark the exile elections, according to Tibetan sources in exile in contact with Ngaba people. According
to reports from the area, some Tibetans were detained as a result, although ICT could not confirm any further details. There were
also detentions, including of a 16-year old boy, as a result of two further protests in the area following Phuntsog’s self-immolation,
which took place on the third anniversary of a March, 2008 protest and crackdown at the monastery in Ngaba (Chinese: Aba)
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province (the Tibetan area of Amdo). (ICT report, http://www.savetibet.org/media-
center/ict-news-reports/chinese-authorities-confirm-death-monk-after-self-immolation-military-crackdown-kirti).
There are serious fears for all the monks at Kirti after a lockdown has been imposed at the monastery, a huge complex with
concentric boundary walls that is now surrounded by armed troops. According to Tibetan exile sources, Kirti – one of the most
important religious institutions in the area with a population of more than 2,000 monks – can now be described as being under
“military blockade”. The authorities are now not even allowing food into the monastery, according to Kirti monks in exile.
According to the same sources, armed soldiers who had been guarding the monastery entered the compound and established
observation posts on the platforms of the monastery’s stupas. They also began to build a barbed wire fence at the back of the
monastery, where the boundary wall does not reach. Now Chinese construction workers have been moved in to build a concrete wall
in addition to the fence, and all doors to the monastery have been locked by the authorities, with no one allowed to leave or enter.
Even elderly monks have not been allowed to do their ritual circumambulation of the outer path of the monastery. “The purpose
seems to be complete restriction of movement,” said a Tibetan source from Amdo in exile who is in contact with exiled monks. “As
a result the monks are finding it very difficult to get enough food, and have been reduced so far to depending upon the tsampa (a
Tibetan staple of roasted barley), butter and so on donated by laypeople, which is distributed by the monastery administration.”
From March 19, according to the same sources, the monastery’s regular programme of religious observances was cancelled, and
monks are not even allowed to burn incense for their religious offerings. “Armed soldiers and police with dogs prowl around the
monastery by night, beating up any monks they come across,” said two Kirti monks now in exile in Dharamsala, India. “The monks
have to study scripture in the second half of the day, and are not allowed to sit outside. For the last few days, the village
committees in Ngaba county have been calling public meetings to praise and celebrate the Communist Party.”
In a sign of the broadening crackdown, on March 22, Phuntsog’s 19-year old younger brother Lobsang Kelsang, also a Kirti monk, his
uncle Losang Tsondru, and another Kirti monk called Samdrup from his home area, were detained apparently “under suspicion of
involvement in Phuntsog’s protest”. The whereabouts of these three Tibetans is not known. Kirti monks in exile said: “These days
the security forces are making arrests by night, and everybody is terrified of being arrested.”
The same sources said that from March 20 onwards, a stringent patriotic education campaign was launched at Kirti. March 20 was
also the date of the Tibetan exile elections across the diaspora, in which exiled Tibetans voted for a new Kalon Tripa (head of
government) and new Parliamentarians. Some Tibetans in Ngaba marked the day by saying prayers and setting off fire-crackers,
according to exiled monks from Kirti, despite the buildup of troops and imposition of political campaigns.
Peaceful protests following self-immolation result in more detentions
According to information from the same Tibetan exile sources, two peaceful protests followed Phuntsog’s self-immolation, beginning
on March 17, when pupils at the upper middle school in Barkham (Chinese: Ma'erkang) county in Ngaba staged a hunger strike in
sympathy with local people suffering in the crackdown. The current situation at the school is uncertain, because of the local
authorities’ attempts to block all information. Students’ mobile phones were confiscated, and there was a ban imposed on
movement into and out of the school.
On March 23, according to the same sources, more than 100 people in Namda township in Dzamtang (Chinese: Rangtang) county in
Ngaba prefecture staged a protest calling for freedom, and also for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. The protest was broken up by
police who subjected Tibetans to severe beatings and arrested eight people. Four of them have been named as 40-year old Palko, a
teacher at the township school; 35-year old Dorje, a local man; Ador, a 35-year old local man and Osel Dorje, a 28-year old man.
The names of the others are not known, and the whereabouts of all eight is not known. There was no recorded protest in this area
in 2008.
The authorities have begun to implement an intensified patriotic education campaign at Kirti. According to the same Tibetan source
from Amdo, “Local officials have said that the government is very ‘disappointed’ in the attitude of people in Ngaba, especially in
Kirti monastery. They have indicated that they will continue with the patriotic education and tight security for as long as it takes for
the people to change their attitude.”
Officials who arrived at Kirti monastery on March 21 to begin the patriotic education campaign repeated the false allegation made in
the Chinese state media that monks had forcibly taken Phuntsog out of hospital and so were guilty of murder, according to exile
sources. After Phuntsog set himself on fire on March 16, police put out the flames and were then observed beating him. At that
point, Kirti monks intervened and sheltered him at the monastery before ensuring he received medical treatment at hospital,
despite fears that he would be detained. Chinese official media reports in the days following the self-immolation confirmed the
death of Phuntsog, but sought to distort Western media coverage of the incident and its aftermath through misleading and
inaccurate reports.
According to the same Tibetan sources in exile in contact with the area, 20-year old Phuntsog’s body was handed over to his family
after he died in the early hours of March 17 following his protest in the main area of Ngaba county town near Kirti, which is on the
western edge of town. Monks gathered at Kirti monastery at 8 am local time on March 18, according to the same sources, to make
offerings and pray for Phuntsog, in accordance with tradition. The same sources said that “thousands” attended, saying: “Monks
laid khatags (traditional white blessing scarves) on Phuntsog’s body, and so many were weeping. They took his body to a place
around three kilometers from the monastery, followed by laypeople as well, to cremate Phuntsog. It was a vast crowd, with so many
people following the Kirti monks.” A Tibetan from Amdo who is now in exile and who spoke to some sources said: “They really
wanted to show their respect for this young monk’s sacrifice for his country and freedom.”
On March 22 a 16-year old Tibetan called Losang Jamyang from upper Tawa in Ngaba county was detained at his home late at night
on March 22. Armed police broke down the door of his family house, and two friends who were with him, Wangchuk and Sonam,
were also detained. Other residents of the pastoral communities of Tawa were also detained, although no further details are yet
known of their identities.
Two days later, on March 24, 24-year old Kirti monk Losang Choepel, from the pastoral area of Kanyag Dewa in Ngaba county, was
detained and taken away from the monastery. On March 25, 27-year old Losang Tsepak, a former Kirti monk who had been studying
at university in Beijing, was detained, and his whereabouts are unknown. At around the same time, 32-year old Kirti monk Losang
Ngodrup, from Cha township in Ngaba county, was detained. Neither their current whereabouts nor the reasons for their detention
are known.
There are fears that tension in Ngaba will escalate still further if the current crackdown is not eased. Repression in Ngaba has been
particularly severe since March, 2008, when demonstrations broke out across the Tibetan plateau including in Ngaba, where at least
ten people were killed. Ngaba people are known for their strong sense of Tibetan identity and resistance to Chinese rule.
Kirti monastery, founded in 1472 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa, is one of the most important in the area. At its entrance is one of the
largest stupas in Amdo, which is a major destination for pilgrims from all over Tibet. Following the March, 2008, protests, armed
police raided the monastery and defaced religious images, including of the head lama, Kirti Rinpoche, who lives in exile in India.
This is the second self-immolation by a Kirti monk following the crackdown that was imposed after the demonstrations in March,
2008. Tapey, a monk in his mid-twenties, set himself on fire on February 27, 2009 as a form of protest after local authorities told
monks at Kirti monastery that they were not allowed to observe Monlam, a traditional prayer festival that is held after Tibetan New
Year (Losar).
According to several sources from the area, police opened fire on Tapey as he was surrounded by flames. The official Chinese press
reported the incident, but denied reports that police had opened fire on Tapey. Tapey survived, but was taken into custody and his
whereabouts remain unknown.
http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/protests-tensions-escalate-ngaba-following-self-immolation-monk-kirti-
monastery-under-lock
--
Demystifying Mao
MAO: The Unknown Story.
by Jung Chang & Jon Halliday Jonathan Cape Pages 814. £ 25
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050717/spectrum/book6.htm
rst9
bigoted Tibetan Clowns confirm again that they are a China haters,
and want to see China destroyed as a nation:
Now, go suck your dalai and fuck your yaks and kiwis.
AntiDabianchenVirus
hater, and wants to see China destroyed as a nation:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/681bd104719b66a4?hl=en
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.singapore/msg/dc563333f233affd
He claims he does not have a country to call his own, and for lack of
anything better to do in his miserable life, he is content with being
the Dalai's ass wipe, posting anti-China propaganda on these
newsgroups, in the hope of irritating any Chinese who may read them.
How pathetic.
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/b7ec90ce835777b6?hl=en
Tibet is part of China:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/us-says-tibet-belongs-to-china-beijing-smiles/105389-2.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CSbsyX9IkI
The Dalai should be arrested and shot for treason.
Peter Terpstra
> Peter (the old Dutch faggot) Turd confirms again that he is a China hater,
> bent on destroying China.
Thanks for the compliment, but you cannot censure me.
Your harrasment wil bite the devil in its own tail, it wil not make you happy, but unhappy.
In the western world different opinions are apreciated and this is the World Wide Web not China.
May you find happiness and peace!
Peter
rst0wxyz
bigoted Tibetan Clown confirms again that he's a China haters,
AntiDabianchenVirus
> AntiDabianchenVirus wrote:
> > Peter (the old Dutch faggot) Turd confirms again that he is a China hater,
> > bent on destroying China.
>
> Thanks for the compliment, but you cannot censure me.
>
> Your harrasment wil bite the devil in its own tail, it wil not make you happy, but unhappy.
>
> In the western world different opinions are apreciated and this is the World Wide Web not China.
>
> May you find happiness and peace!
>
> Peter
You have admitted yet again, that all you are interested in is to
destroy China.
Who is censoring you? Not me. I'm merely exposing you to everyone, so
they can see what your intensions are. So, you have your opinion, and
I have mine. What's the problem? You live in The Netherlands and I
live in the United States. Did you think that this is China instead of
the internet? How stupid of you, but then that is the problem, isn't
it? You *are* stupid. Who do you think would listen to what you say?
Your bum "Jig Me" boy? ROTFL!
May you die soon in long-drawn-out agony.
The Progressive Voice
wrote:
your opinion is not the majority cut and paste CCP talking head. Why
dont you go live in china if you love the CCP form of government. You
wont because here in a democratic society there is more oppurtunity,
freedom, and less corruption and nepotisim. Just because we criticize
the CCP doesnt mean we hate china. That's a ploy you 50 cent party
brigade members make to sheild yourselves and your CCP sponsors for
calls for political reform.
rst0wxyz
nut sicko SOB and racist bigoted Tibetan Clowns confirm again that
they are China haters, and want to see China destroyed as a nation:
AntiDabianchenVirus
wrote:
Ha-ha! And you think yours is?
Your whole life has been NOTHING but wild guesses, wrong assumptions,
and infantile insults at people who don't share your ignorant views.
That is why you need consolation from an alien "mystic" who promises a
better life than the miserable one you are living.
Proof that you are a LIAR, Tom Jigme Wheat - nothing you say is of any
value:
On the 17th of February, 2011, you accused me of advocating the
overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud mouth with a one
inch rice dick":
http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.tibet/msg/3535c4db40a0115c?hl=en
I have since then asked you to prove it and you couldn't. All you
could do was beat around the bush and assume:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/555a9caec9d9e24b?hl=en
making further accusations: "that makes you a foreign agent of the CCP
in my book. If your here on a visa it will be soon revoked":
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/f7d716c7958c0743?hl=en
, knowing full-well That I am an American and that I support the
American democracy in the USA:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/8e211f9563fe6443?hl=en
.
On the 5th of March, 2011, you finally admitted:
"I cant prove that you want to see america overthrown"
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/eca9ae060e064bc3?hl=en
You are so dumb that you didn't even know the United States has
different time zones:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/9353ea9cd1e264ba?hl=en
When confronted again, all you could say was "go suck up to your
racist friend house nigger"
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/4da8eea9e620ae9e?hl=en
You yourself have thus proven that you are a LIAR!
Quod erat demonstrandum.
Catherine Jefferson
> your opinion is not the majority cut and paste CCP talking head. Why
> dont you go live in china if you love the CCP form of government. You
> wont because here in a democratic society there is more oppurtunity,
> freedom, and less corruption and nepotisim. Just because we criticize
> the CCP doesnt mean we hate china. That's a ploy you 50 cent party
> brigade members make to sheild yourselves and your CCP sponsors for
> calls for political reform.
Bingo. :-) I do, however, wish that you wouldn't quote the vomit of
that obnoxious thing that call's itself "AntiDiabchenVirus" (I think)
here. I'd rather not read that spew; that's why I have it filtered. By
quoting it, you defeat the filters.
--
Catherine Jefferson <tw8...@ergosphere.net>
Blog/Personal: http://www.ergosphere.net
rst9
faggot Turd and crazy nut sicko SOB and racist bigoted Tibetan Clowns
destroyed as a nation:
AntiDabianchenVirus
wrote:
> Bingo. :-) I do, however, wish that you wouldn't quote the vomit of
> that obnoxious thing that call's itself "AntiDiabchenVirus" (I think)
> here. I'd rather not read that spew; that's why I have it filtered. By
> quoting it, you defeat the filters.
So, anyone expressing his opinion that doesn't agree with yours is an
"obnoxious thing" and writes "vomit", Is that it ? Where is this
Paradise you live, where everyone agrees totally with one another?
Shangri-La? It can't be here in the USA, because everyone has an
opinion of his own and is encouraged to speak out - Democracy and
freedom of speech, remember?
Both Peter the Turd and Jig Me are writing posts in Soc.Culture.China
inciting Chinese people to destroy their country by rebelling and
overthrowing the Chinese government. What do you call that, if not
"vomit" and "obnoxious things"?
ltl...@hotmail.com
wrote:
> On 4/12/2011 8:28 PM, The Progressive Voice wrote:
>
> > your opinion is not the majority cut and paste CCP talking head. Why
> > dont you go live in china if you love the CCP form of government.
This is really a stupid question.
First of all, point out your mistake is not the same as China is a
perfect place.
Secondly, unless he or she is not being useful in his society, he may
not be
free to go elsewhere. In contrast to many "human rights activists" who
are
alienated from their own society, most people have more average lives
and
they have various obligations to his family as well as his society.
Let me turn the table and ask you this. Do you really think China or
the
Chinese people including the Tibetans really need your help? If so,
why
don't you go to China and live among the Chinese people for a while?
Be
one of them and be their leader. In case you don't know what human
rights
really mean, or where should they begin, let me quote Eleanor
Roosevelt
again:
"Where, after all, do universal rights begin? In small places, close
to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of
the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the
neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the
factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where
every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity,
equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning
there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen
action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for
progress in the larger world."
–Eleanor Roosevelt, “The Great Question,” remarks delivered at the
United Nations in New York on March 27, 1958.
Do you agree with her? If not, please explain your disagreement. If
for
some reason, you find yourself cannot find satisfaction by improving
your local community, you are showing symptoms of alienation from
your
local community. Have you considered seeking psychological help?.
> You
> > wont because here in a democratic society there is more oppurtunity,
> > freedom, and less corruption and nepotisim.
If you made the above statement because of you had lived in both
societies
for extended period, please share your experience. If not, please
support
your claim with objectively obtained comparative data.
Unsubstantiated
and unsubstantiable information from witness of unknown quality is
really
not useful.
> Just because we criticize
> > the CCP doesnt mean we hate china. That's a ploy you 50 cent party
> > brigade members make to sheild yourselves and your CCP sponsors for
> > calls for political reform.
In case you don't already know, the CCP members are all Chinese. If
you
accused the CCP and China of various many serious crimes over an
extended period of time without substantiating your accusations, yes,
many
Chinese would conclude that you hate China.
As for the 50 cent party accusation, again, you need evidence to
support
your accusation. Having a different opinion from yours over Chinese
issue
per se does not make anyone a member of the alleged 50 cents party, if
such
party exists.
>
> Bingo. :-) I do, however, wish that you wouldn't quote the vomit of
> that obnoxious thing that call's itself "AntiDiabchenVirus" (I think)
> here. I'd rather not read that spew; that's why I have it filtered. By
> quoting it, you defeat the filters.
My question to the other poster applied to you too. Before you had
cried
"Bingo", why don't you ask yourself this question, "Do you have solid
evidence to support your accusations against the China/CCP?" If you
do, please share. I have been waiting to see these evidence for a
long
time..
In addition, does Eleanor Roosevelt's recommendation make sense to
you? If you think your society is a perfect place such that human
rights
activism has no please, please let me know. I certainly would like to
move
there if possible.
>
> --
> Catherine Jefferson <tw86...@ergosphere.net>
> Blog/Personal:http://www.ergosphere.net
Peter Terpstra
> This is really a stupid question.
If the Chinese people *really* know about you, don't you think they feel offended and ashamed?
With love,
Peter Terpstra
>> This is really a stupid question.
>
> If the Chinese people really know about you, don't you think they feel
> offended and ashamed?
I know many Chinese people, we do not always agree but they are very decent people(!),
not like those garbage bags here.
Do some profit with this and quit your 50 cent job!!!
rst9
rst9
Peter Terpstra
[cut compliments...]
> May you die soon in long-drawn-out agony.
Thats not so likely :-)
May you find peace in your heart & mind.
I do not blame you anything, i know how wrongly the mind can work.
With love,
rst9
AntiDabianchenVirus
> AntiDabianchenVirus wrote:
>
> [cut compliments...]
>
> > May you die soon in long-drawn-out agony.
>
> Thats not so likely :-)
>
> May you find peace in your heart & mind.
> I do not blame you anything, i know how wrongly the mind can work.
>
> With love,
>
> Peter
You do, do you? So you have seen and understood your inner self and
saw all the mistakes?