School students demonstration in Labrang County

A group of Tibetan school students staged a demonstration around 8 a.m. today morning in Labrang (Ch: Xiahe) County, Gannan “Tibet Autonomous Prefecture”, Gansu Province, according to reliable information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

The students started off the demonstration from their school, Xiahe Tibetan Middle School, and headed towards the county market area raising slogans. Reportedly the local Public Security Bureau (PSB) stopped the students in the outskirts of the main market area. According to sources on the ground, the students were driven back to the school and a strong contingent of Public Security Bureau Personnels and People’s Armed Police have surrounded the school barring anyone to go in or come out. The parents of the students have been summoned at the school. The students reportedly demonstrated against the authorities false practice of granting reserved seats for higher education meant for the Tibetan students to the Chinese students. The TCHRD will continue to monitor the situation and will issue updates as further details become available.
Monk arrested

In another information received from the area, a 36-year old monk, Tsayul Kelsang Gyatso, of the Labrang TashiKhyil Monastery has been arrested by the police on 13 April 2009. Kelsang was part of the group of monks who defiantly briefed a state managed media tour to the area on 9 April 2008.

Kelsang was lifted by a group of police officers waiting in a vehicle while he was travelling from Labrang to Tsoe (Ch: Hezuo) City in the morning of 13 April 2009. His current whereabout is unknown. Two monks, Thabkhey and Tsundue of Labrang Monastery who were also part of the monks briefing the media tour last year and who dissappeared soon after the daring act are still reported to be missing