China arrests three monks, closes school in Qinghai
Three monks of Ditsa Monastery including a reincarnated lama was arbitrarily arrested and detained by the Chinese security forces under suspicion of their involvement in pasting political pamphlets in the monastery and a school run by the monastery was forcibly closed for unknown reason, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
According to source, on 14 March 2010, numerous pamphlets calling for the “swift return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet” and “end to the repression in Tibet” were pasted around Ditsa Monastery. The monastery is located in Ditsa Township, Bayan (Ch: Hualong) County in Haidong Prefecture, Qinghai Province, Following the incident, Hualong local government staff along with the Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials and People’s Armed Police (PAP) arrived at the Monastery and cordoned off the entire monastery. Following which three monks: Tulku Woeser, Yeshi, 20, and Jamyang, 19, were arbitrarily detained under the suspicion of their involvement in the incident and took them to Hualong PSB office for questioning. According to source, Tulku Woeser was released after two days of detention and questioning while Yeshi and Jamyang still continue to remain in PSB detention.
Yeshi and Jamyang were born at Lobha Gyatsa Village, Tsigorthang County (Ch: Xinghai), Tsolho (Ch: Hainan) “Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (āTAP’), Qinghai Province.
As of now, a number of PSB and PAP forces are stationed inside the monastery, calling off the daily religious practices of monks inside the monastery and placed restriction on gathering of monks. Similarly, Sherig Rinchen Norling School established and run since 1992 by Ditsa Monastery was forcibly ordered to close down on 8 March 2010 for unknown reason. The monastic school which caters to the basic education needs of young novices are taught Buddhist philosophy, Chinese and English language. At the time of its closure there were around 70 students. There is no information on the fates of those young monks studying at Sherig Rinchen Norling School.
TCHRD expresses serious concern over the wellbeing and safety of Yeshi and Jamyang and calls on the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to immediately and unconditionally release both of them since their detention is arbitrary. The government should guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of two detained monks as well as of all Tibetans who were arbitrarily detained over the years. Freedom of expression, opinion and assembly are fundamental human rights enshrined in the Chinese constitution and in international human rights instruments ratified by the PRC government.