Dharamshala: Two Tibetans, Geluk and Wangchuk from Dege Jodha county, eastern Tibet, have been sentenced to one year each in prison on charges of refusing to sow crops, in protest against the Chinese government's policies towards Tibet and Tibetans.
"The latest information tells us that Gelug was sentenced to one-and-a-half years and Wangchuk to one year," Geshe Monlam Tharchin on Saturday told The Tibet Post International.
Ven Tharchin further reported that, "In 2009 many Tibetans have been arrested by the Chinese armed police in Gojong County, Dege area, Eastern Tibet."
After the crackdowns that took place in 2008, Tibetans from many areas in Dege Jodha district have continued to refuse to farm, to show solidarity for Tibetans from all over of Tibet. They resist Chinese pressure to plant, sow and toil in order to remember those who have lost their lives under the Chinese, those who have been brutally beaten and arrested, and those who are missing.
Local Chinese officials have informed Tibetan farmers that they will be awarded 10,000 Yuan if they sow crops, and have even announced that they plan to reward Tibetans who follow government orders with luxury cars during the horse-race festival. But instead of taking advantage of these offers, farmers continue to show solidarity with those Tibetan countrymen and women who have suffered under the crackdown.
The sources say that Chinese officials continue to practise the 'patriotic re-educating law', which forces local Tibetans to denounce spiritual leaders, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The sources also say that, during the spring prayer festival, many Tibetans were brutally beaten and arrested after burning wild-animal skins, and that many are still missing .
Last year, Tibetans in the following areas of Dege Jodha district refused to plant crops or tend their fields for one month: Jiwariwa; Dragan; Tsanbha; Ambha; Godha; Dhotrengdha; Ketreng; Jodha; Washul; Gazi; Shilu; Nguldha; Thartse; Bhothang; Khathang; Radhoruwa.
