DHARAMSHALA, March 24: A Tibetan monk whose whereabouts were not known since his disappearance last month has been traced to a Chinese police station in Nagchu County, said Ngawang Tharpa, an exile Tibetan with contacts in the region.
Ngawang Gyaltsen, 41, was arrested on the night of Feb. 24. His family and relatives did not know why and where he was held until now, said Tharpa.
Ngawang was a monk of Shak Rongpo monastery which the Chinese authorities forced to shut down in July 2013 following an incident that the Chinese authorities term ‘the 2010 May 20 incident’. The incident refers to the arrest and eventual sentencing of the monastery’s senior figure Lama Dawa to 7 years’ imprisonment for alleged links with the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama regarding the reincarnation of the monastery’s patron Rongpo Choejey on May 20, 2010.
Tharpa said Ngawang was a very patriotic person and a good artist at traditional thanka painting. During the ‘the 2010 May 20 incident’, Ngawang was forced to quit the monastery and live a life of a commoner since.
Though the exact reason of his arrest remains unclear, Tharpa said his sources indicated the arrest was linked to Ngawang’s political standpoint while at Shak Rongpo Monastery. Tharpa added that Ngawang was known for his verbal spat against Chinese work team officials visiting the monastery for Patriotic Reeducation Campaign.
“The Chinese authorities kept a close watch on Ngawang who was required to seek permission from the authorities to travel around or meet people. He had also been threatened on the phone several times by the authorities”, said Tharpa.
