China arrests two nuns of Dragkar Nunnery in Kardze

Chinese security forces in Kardze County (Ch: Ganzi), Sichuan Province, has severely beaten and arrested two nuns of Dragkar nunnery for shouting slogans, according to information received by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) from reliable sources.

Two nuns, Yangkyi Dolma and Sonam Yangchen, of Dragkar Nunnery in Kardze County, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi)”Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture”(“TAP”), Sichuan Province, staged a peaceful protest at the Kardze County main market square on 24 March 2009. The protest was staged at around 3 PM (Beijing Standard time) at Kardze County shouting slogans calling for”swift return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet,””human rights for Tibetans in Tibet,” and”religious freedom in Tibet.”

According to sources, Yangkyi Dolma distributed handful of handwritten pamphlets during the short protest. The Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) immediately detained both the Tibetan nuns from the site of protest and beaten indiscriminately with rods and electric batons before being thrown into and driven away in a security vehicle. Following the incident, at around 7 PM in the evening, a group of security forces stormed into Yangkyi’s family home ransacking the portrait of the Dalai Lama and rebuked the family members for being the supporter of separatist forces. Early next morning (on 25 March), two Chinese security forces arrived at Yangkyi’s home and told his brother Tsangyang Gyatso to report at the Kardze County government headquarters. There has been no information on what ensued after that incident.

Yangkyi Dolma was born to Hormeytsang Dargay (father) and Pema Khando(mother) in Roltsa Township, Kardze County, Kardze”TAP”Sichuan Province.

Apart from sporadic incidents of small protests in the past few months, a major civil disobedience movement is taking a firm root in Kardze with farmers continue to boycott tilling their farmland to protest against the Chinese repressive measures in Tibet. According to other sources, the local Chinese authorities in Drango County, Kardze “TAP” have given ultimatum to the Tibetan farmers to till their farmland before 11 April or their farmland be confiscated by the government.

Since March 10, around 28 known incidents of protests were reported from Kardze “TAP” with the arrest of around 60 known Tibetans with many incidents of protests and arrests unaccounted for due to severe restriction put on the flow of information from Tibet to the outside world.

TCHRD strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest of Yangkyi Dolma and Sonam Yangchen for their peaceful exercise of the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression, though and opinion enshrined in the Chinese constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Centre calls upon the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to immediately stop using excessive force against unarmed protesters.