DHARAMSHALA, July 13: The list of people critically injured in Chinese firing on an unarmed crowd of Tibetans gathered to offer prayers for the Dalai Lama on July 6 in Tawu region of eastern Tibet continues to grow.
A senior monk and administrative staff (Tib: chanzoe) at Nyatso Monastery, Tsewang Choephel, is the latest to have been identified among those injured, taking the toll of those critically injured to ten.
The Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said Tsewang Choephel was shot at multiple times on his hands and legs and remains in critical condition.
Hundreds of local Tibetans including monks from the Nyatso Monastery had assembled on the morning of July 6 at the sacred Machen Pomra mountain to offer prayers on the 78th birthday of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Truckloads of Chinese People’s Armed Police arrived at the scene and without provocation violently disrupted the prayer offerings with shootings, beatings, and teargassing.
Tashi Sonam, a monk and teacher at Nyatso Monastery, was shot in his head while Ugyen Tashi, a layman, received eight bullet shots. Both of them are reported to be in critical condition and are undergoing treatment.
Gyaltsen, a Tibetan environmental activist, was also severely beaten and two of his ribs were broken. He was among a group of 14 Tibetans who were savagely beaten at a bridge near Machen Pomra mountain and were detained by Chinese authorities only to be released on the night of July 7.
TCHRD said that following the bloody confrontation and detention on July 6, local Tibetans gathered at the courtyard of Nyatso Monastery and held a vociferous protest condemning the shootings and beatings, and calling for the immediate release of the 14 Tibetans.
The group cited one unconfirmed eyewitness account claiming that “PAP soldiers not only addressed but also kowtowed before the courtyard protesters asking apology for their excesses” in addition to a issuing a verbal apology.
“The courtyard protest at Nyatso Monastery led to an emergency meeting on 7 July in Tawu County, attended by the governor of Sichuan Province, county government staff and representatives from Nyatso Monastery,” TCHRD said. “A decision was reached at the meeting to release the detained Tibetans.”
Meanwhile outside Tibet, Canadian Tibetans and supporters protested against the July 6th crackdown outside the Chinese consulate in Toronto and demanded China immediately stop its “heinous attacks” against Tibetans. Also, Tibet supporters in Bay Area led protests against the shootings outside the Chinese consulate.
Reacting to the crackdown, Tenzin Jigme, International Coordinator of the International Tibet Network, a coalition of 185 Member Groups, had said the incident has “shaken the Tibet movement to the core.”
“Tawu has seen five fatal self-immolation protests by Tibetans, suggesting intense frustration in this area. This most recent example of disproportionate lethal force from Chinese security personnel will do nothing but further aggravate the fundamental grievances of the Tibetan people,” Jigme said.
