DHARAMSHALA, January 31: In the run up to the Chinese New Year which falls today (Jan. 31, 2014), China has stepped up military presence in Drango in eastern Tibet, where a major protest was witnessed on the Chinese new year two years ago, Jamyang Palden, a Tibetan monk living in exile said.
Situation in Drango remain tense as is depicted by images acquired from sources inside Tibet, Jamyang said.
On January 27, a large convoy of armed Chinese forces including tanks were seen heading towards Drango, where Tibetans find themselves increasingly being watched upon, according to the same source. Tibetans are required to produce public benefit access card and their government issued identity cards frequently as they move around. Public gatherings around restaurants and tea stalls are also restricted and vehicles owned by local Tibetans are stopped for random checking.
Hundreds of Tibetans had come out on the streets in Drango on January 23, 2012, the first day of Chinese New Year, calling for Tibet’s freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. Chinese security forces retaliated by firing indiscriminately on unarmed protestors killing and injuring several people. The protests flared after local Chinese Public Security Bureau officials began to arbitrarily arrest Tibetans on suspicion of their involvement in the appearance of leaflets and posters around the town following the wave of self-immolations in the region. The posters had warned of more Tibetan self-immolations if the Chinese government did not listen to Tibetan concerns.
Following the protests, Chinese authorities led a large-scale manhunt for suspected demonstrators, arresting over a hundred Tibetans and in one instance, killing two brothers in their hideout in the nearby hills of Drango.
