Dharamsala: - On May 27, two men from Ngaba county - Tseten Dorjee and Dhargye - self-immolated in Lhasa. While Tseten Dorjee succumbed to his injuries, Dhargye's whereabouts are unknown, even though the state media has reported that he is in hospital recuperating. Now fruther information has surfaced regarding Dhargye, the aftermath of the self-immolations and the brutal crackdown in Lhasa.
Dhargye, who is around 25 years old, is from Sorima village, Ngaba County. His father's name is Lode and his mother's is Chekyi. He has six siblings of which he is the youngest.
When he was younger, he attended Kirti monastery in Ngaba. A few years ago, he went to Lhasa to work at Nyimi Ling restaurant, where he served as cashier.
After Dhargye's self-immolation, the owner of the restaurant, Chukal, and his wife were arrested by the Chinese police. It is reported that the restaurant has been shut down and all the workers detained.
In a security crackdown, the Chinese Police have arrested many natives of Ngaba who live in Lhasa, including Chepa Dormajyab, Nyer Jok, Tazen Gyab and Sang Dhar.
People from Amdo and Kham were questioned and their papers and documents checked. Whenever people from other regions move to Lhasa, they are required to state their duration of stay, job status, place of residence, etc. All people found to lack the correct documents have also been detained.
Most of these people's cameras and mobile phones were checked to see if there were any photos or videos of the self-immolations. Since then, controls have been enforced on internet cafes and phone booths to keep the news from spreading. Phone calls are not permitted to Ngaba or any of the nearby cities.
Residents of Kham and Amdo now face problems acquiring the necessary documents to move to Lhasa. Three of the largest monasteries in Lhasa used to house monks from Kham and Amdo. Following the protests in 2008, these monks were required to return to their native villages.
Recently, a 49-year-old businessman from Gomang village in upper Ngaba was arrested by Chinese Police. He was charged with serving as a guide for those escaping from Tibet to India. He has been sentenced to four years imprisonment and is serving his sentence at Drapchi prison in Lhasa.
Information sournce by Lobsang Yeshe and Kanyak tsering from Kirti Monastery in Dharamsala, northern India.
