Dharamsala, January 12 – Two schools in Tibet’s Machu County have been forcefully shut down by Chinese authorities for planning to hold an education seminar. Dolkar Kyap, a Tibetan exile with contacts in the region, told Voice of Tibet radio service that the Chinese authorities in Machu County have closed down an intermediate school (Lobding) and an elementary school (lobchung) due to “fear of protest. “
An education seminar on Tibetan language by a noted Tibetan scholar Dong Yonten Gyatso was to be organized jointly by Bhoerig Lobda Dringwa, Mangtroe Phakey Tsokpa (a group for preservation of Tibetan Language) and Mani tsokpa. The seminar has derived its name, “Bhoemii Kyiduk Nyamnyong” (Eng: Tibetan people’s happiness and suffering to be experienced together) from a major slogan of protest in 2008 by students of the county. The slogan was seen on banners that were carried by protesters in Machu County who rose up against the Chinese government as Tibet reeled under anti government protests in 2008.
Kyab further said the Chinese government might have been apprehended by the sheer nature of the seminar that was expected to draw a huge number of people. “They might be suspicious that the seminar would attract Tibetans in large number and would eventually turn hostile against the government “, Kyab added.
