Chinese authorities in Tibet have raided a large nunnery in Sichuan province afterits leader refused to condemn the Tibetan exiled leader, the Dalai Lama,Tibetan sources say.
Security forces aresurrounding the Buruna nunnery in Kardze [in Chinese, Ganzi], Sichuan province andhave detained 52 of its nuns, the sources said. Security policeraided the nunnery, and the 21 nuns left behind were kept inside thenunnery all day.
“They were restrained withtied hands and detained for the whole day. Then their hands were untiedand they were released after being held for one day, but still they arenot allowed to leave the nunnery,” one source said.
“The nunnery is surrounded.Many security officials have entered the nunnery and placed it undervirtual siege.”
Buruna nunnery—destroyed inthe 1959 uprising, but rebuilt in 1983 and expanded in 2000—is locatedon a hilltop near Kardze. Belonging to the Gelugpa sect, it usually has89 nuns. Its leader is Tulku Phurbu Tsering, commonly calledBuruna Rinpoche.
Nuns at Buruna “were forcedto criticize His Holiness the Dalai Lama and their teacher, who is knownas Buruna Rinpoche. He is respected and revered throughout the Kardzearea. He founded both the Burunga and Lhatseg nunneries in theKardze area,” another source said.
Another Tibetan source saidBuruna Rinpoche was detained May 18 at 4 p.m., after he rejected theChinese “patriotic education” campaign, which is aimed at stamping outsuspected Tibetan separatism.
Nuns detained
“Today, Chinese officialscame to our nunnery and tried to force us to condemn and sign criticismsof His Holiness the Dalai Lama and our Rinpoche, Buruna Rinpoche,” one of thenuns said on May 20.
“We refused, and 52 nuns wentto Kardze town in two groups and protested, calling for the long life of GyalwaTenzin Gyatso [the Dalai Lama.]. They also threwprotest leaflets and protested. Now, I have heard that 52 nuns who went to theprotests were detained.”
“Right now, no one is being allowed in Kardze town. Allshops were ordered closed. The town isfull of security forces. I have only two wishes, and those are longlife for Gyalwa Tenzin Gyatso and independence for Tibet.”
‘Separatists’ held
A local Public SecurityBureau official, contacted by telephone, confirmed only that“separatists” had been detained.
“Several separatists weredetained. They were detained according to the law of the country. So youcan tell anyone you want,” the official said.
Tibetan sources too said thatthe number of detainees in Kardze prison had grown too large and thatmany detainees had been moved. “No one knows where they are beingsent,” one man said.
Residents of a home for theelderly tried to appeal for the nuns’ release, since no one islooking after them now, but police stopped them before they could enter theKardze town center, sources said.
Nuns play quiet role
Tibetan Buddhist nuns haveplayed a quiet but pivotal role in protesting China’s heavy-handed rule in theregion, including widespread protests thaterupted in Lhasain March and then spread to neighboring provinces.
Just last week, authoritiesin Kardze detained 14 nuns for protesting despite a massive securitypresence and handed jail terms to seven others for joining the Marchprotests.
The 14 nuns from nunneries inKardze demonstrated May 11-12 in a central area of Kardze, near thelocal television station, witnesses said. They were protesting the detentionof two nuns from Drakar nunnery on April 23.
Original reporting by RFA’sTibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Servicedirector: Jigme Ngapo. Written and produced in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.