Chinese authorities arrested two monks of Khangmar monastery in Kardze in eastern Tibet on last Friday (17th June) after staging a peaceful demonstration calling on the Chinese government to respect human rights in Tibet, a monk from Sera Jey monastery in India said.
According to a report by Tibet Net, an official media of the Tibetan Administration, The two monks, Rinchen Gyatso and Lama Tsering, took to the street in Kardze town at around 12:30 pm on 17 June. The duo raised a series of slogans such as 'long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama', 'Tibet is a independent nation', 'invite Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay to Tibet' and 'ensure human rights in Tibet'. They were immediately detained and forcibly taken away by the police.
Lama Tsering, aged 22, is a native of Shilamnang village, Sungo township in Kardze. He was born Phurba and Choedon in 1989. Rinchen Gyatso, 21, is a native of Gyurga village, Sungo township. He was born to Namgyal Rinchen and Dolma in 1990.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has stepped up restrictions in both lay and monastic communities. The authorities have also ordered the monks and nuns in Kardze not to go out to the town without prior permission.
Those who need to visit hospitals for medical checkup could do so only with a written permission from the local authorities and must be accompanied by a government official. Failure to conform to the diktat would result in arbitrary arrest, the authorities have warned.
