DHARAMSHALA, January 10: The Amnesty International has taken initiated a campaign for the release for 17 Tibetans including Khenpo Kartse, a Tibetan abbot of Jhapa monastery in Tibet’s Nangchen area.
The global rights watchdog has appealed the international community to write to the Director of Tibet Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau appealing Chinese authorities to release Khenpo Kartse and the 16 Tibetans arrested in the aftermath of a protest march by local Tibetans seeking Kartse’s release.
The rights group also asked Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the Tibetans; ensure they are not tortured; disclose Khenpo Kartse and other Tibetans’ whereabouts and to uphold their right to be represented by lawyers of their choice.
Khenpo Kartse was arrested by Chamdo Police on the night of December 6 from Chengdu where he had traveled with regard to a purchase of a new idol for his monastery.
On December 21, sixteen Tibetans including monks were detained for their involvement in a protest demanding his release.
Following the abbot’s arrest, hundreds of monks and lay people in Nangchen walked with placards and banners demanding the release of the abbot. “Please look at the anguish of students separated from their teacher,” read a banner carried by the monks.
The rights group also accused China of stepping up repression in Tibetan areas and imposing intrusive military and security controls on the Tibetan people. “The authorities also continue to subject Tibetans to humiliating “patriotic education”, which forces them to denounce the Dalai Lama and express support for the Chinese Communist Party. Tibetan monks have been a primary target of the crackdown,” said the right group.
In a letter sent through Nangchen police team, Khenpo assured fellow monks of the monastic community and local Tibetan communities of Nangchen that he was healthy and that he was not subjected to any torture in detention.
“No one should suffer because of me, I appeal fellow monks to concentrate on your routine monastic education. I also request everyone to remain calm and not take any steps in haste,” Khenpo Kartse wrote in a letter he sent from Chamdo.
