By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, October 31: In continuing crackdown and arbitrary detentions of Tibetans in Tibet, two Tibetan monks were arrested earlier this week by Chinese authorities in separate incidents.
Jinpa Gyatso, a senior monk from the Mura Mayul Samten Choekhor Ling Monastery in Machu, Tibet was picked up on October 25 from a hospital in Chengdu city by Chinese security forces, sources in exile told Phayul.
The reason for the arrest of the 38-year-old monk and his current whereabouts are not yet known.
Jinpa, who earlier served in the Monastery’s administration, actively took part in the preservation and promotion of Tibetan language. Seeing the decline in the importance being given to Tibetan language and literature, in 2009, he formed a society for the revival of Tibetan language.
He stressed on the need for each and every Tibetan to speak in pure Tibetan and took out time to teach Tibetan language. During winter breaks, his society also gave classes and workshops on Tibetan language to students.
Jinpa, along with his friends began publishing a newspaper dedicated to printing articles and essays in Tibetan language. The newspaper was later banned by Chinese authorities citing ‘political reasons’ and Jinpa was detained earlier this year on March 30. During his detention he was tortured and interrogated and was released after paying a fine 40,000 Yuan.
In another incident, Tashi Norbu, 19, a monk of the Ogyen Damchoe Ling Monastery in Sog region of Kham, eastern Tibet was arrested on October 23 for the possession of an Apple iPhone.
Local Chinese Authorities appointed a team to check on the mobile phones possessed by the people in the region. Tibetans carrying Apple iPhones were questioned and checked for having contacts with outsiders.
There is no information on the well being and whereabouts of the arrested monk.
With the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet, eyewitnesses have used their mobile phones to take video and images of the protests. Smart phones have also enabled Tibetans on both side of the Himalayas to communicate faster and more easily.
