By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, July 22: The Tibetan woman who was arrested following a brief stint of solo protest against the Chinese regime in Ngaba last week has been identified as Kunchok Dolma, a mother of two. She was detained around 4pm local time on July 14 by a Chinese police on patrol nearby.
Wearing a white dress, Kunchok held above her head a portrait of the exiled Tibetan leader Dalai Lama, reviled by China as a “separatist”, and walked the well-known Pawoe Sanglam (Martyr’s lane) in the Ngaba town. The street name infamously accorded after many local Tibetans had either self immolated or protested on their own calling for Dalai Lama’s return and speaking out against China’s occupation and repressive policies in implementation on the same street.
Sonam, a Tibetan from Ngaba now based in Switzerland told Voice of Tibet Radio Services that Kunchok was born in Chugle- Gongma region in Ngaba. The source also mentioned that she is a house wife with a seven year old boy and a four year old girl. Her family included her mother Tamding Kyi and two brothers and two sisters.
“According to the information that I received, she had been arrested shortly after her protest. Her current condition and whereabouts could not be ascertained,” said Sonam.
In the last few months, over 11 Tibetans have staged solo protest against the Chinese rule in Tibet and called for ‘Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet’ and ‘Freedom in Tibet’.
Solo protests are seen by experts as an increasingly viable means to protest against Chinese rule and the policies implemented inside Tibet. Due to the criminalization of self-immolations by Chinese law and the harsh punishments including imprisonment meted out to family members by Chinese authorities, more and more incidences of solo protests are emerging from inside Tibet. Observers also believe that the Chinese government’s restriction on the assembly of Tibetans, solo protests emerge adding spontaneity to their actions without the need for premeditated planning among protestors.
Ngaba is a hotbed for protests against the Chinese regime and self immolation protests since 2009. So far 143 Tibetans have resorted to self immolation as a form of protest against the Chinese government.
