DHARAMSALA,India—Authorities in China’s western Gansu province have detained a monk forallegedly accessing banned media content and maintaining contact with exiledTibetans, a month after student proteststhere prompted several firings, Tibetan sources say.
Plainclothesprefecture authorities and security officials took Tashi Gyatso, 36, intocustody April 8 at around 4 a.m., before dawn prayers in Sarma monastery inMachu town [in Chinese, Maqu], according to two Tibetans based here who cited localcontacts.
“Hewas taken to the Machu county police detention center,” Tashi Gyatso's brother Jampa said.
Jampaand another Dharamsala resident, Dolkar Kyab, said witnesses described seeingTashi Gyatso being taken away one day after authorities visited the monastery April7 and warned the Sarma monks in a morning meeting to exercise caution and avoid"causing trouble."
“Theysaid they had learned that several monks from Sarma had been engaged indisturbing state and public security and had been involved in separatistactivities, so from now on they would be held responsible and all should bevery careful—or they would suffer consequences in the future,” Jampa said.
“Thenext morning, the monks saw two cars outside from the police and the securitysection, with several people inside. They came into his room and detained him [TashiGyatso], while most of the monks were sleeping,” he said.
Protests in March
Theauthorities gave no reason for the detention, but local sources said Tashi Gyatso was citedfor allegedly accessing and sharing banned Tibetan content on the Internet,speaking by phone with foreign contacts, and connecting a television in hisroom to watch foreign broadcasts.
Thetown where Sarma monastery is located, Machu, was the site of student protestsin mid-March that led to the sacking of a middle-school headmaster, along withhis assistants and the head of the county Public Security Bureau.
Dozens of students at the Tibetan Middle School in Machu staged a protest March14 on the second anniversary of a region-wide uprising against Chinese rule inTibetan-populated areas of western China.
“[They] were joined by 500 to 600 other Tibetans,” a local resident said. “Theywere shouting against their lack of freedom, and were calling for Tibetanindependence,” the source said.
Following the protest, the school’s headmaster, Kyabchen Dedrol, and twoassistants—Do Re and Choekyong Tseten—were dismissed from their jobs, sources said.
“[The Chinese authorities] also relieved Sonam Tse, head of the Machu PublicSecurity Office, of his title. It is feared that another seven or eightteachers from the Machu Tibetan Middle School will also lose their jobs,” a source said.
OnMarch 16, students at a second school, Kanlho Tibetan Middle School No. 3, alsoprotested, but were stopped from leaving school grounds by school securityofficials and teachers.
Securityhas been tight inside Tibetan since a peaceful protest in March2008 prompted a crackdown and ignited a region-wide uprising.
Originalreporting by RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated from the Tibetan by RigdhenDolma. Tibetan service director: Jigme Ngapo. Written in English by SarahJackson-Han.