DHARAMSHALA, July 7: Chinese authorities have detained a young Tibetan monk after he disrupted a major Chinese official celebration in eastern Tibet by shouting slogans calling for Tibetan freedom.
Lobsang Gendun, 20, staged a lone peaceful protest disrupting official celebrations marking the 92nd anniversary of the establishment of the Communist Party of China on Monday morning (July 1) in Pashoe region of the traditional Tibetan province of Kham. His whereabouts remain unknown.
According to London based Free Tibet, Lobsang Gendun called out for the long life of the Dalai Lama and for freedom for Tibet.
“He shouted slogans in the crowd for more than five minutes before being arrested by Public Security Bureau personnel,” Free Tibet said in a release this week. “His relatives and monastery officials do not know where he is being held.”
Shortly after his arrest, Chinese security forces arrived at Drongsar monastery and ransacked Lobsang Gendun’s monastic quarter before carrying on another search at his home, the group said.
“Security forces also visited the family home and ransacked it. Doors and windows were broken and they broke into Lobsang Gendun’s room; which had been locked. It is believed that they discovered pictures of the Dalai Lama in the monk’s room,” Free Tibet said.
“Communication restrictions have been put in place at the monastery and in the county since the protest.”
The events in Pashoe come just days after US Ambassador to China Gary Locke went on a rare visit to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa and reportedly called on local authorities to preserve Tibet’s language, culture, and religion, and expressed deep concerns over the ongoing wave of self-immolations.
“China’s attempts to silence Tibetan dissent continue to fail. Just days after the US Ambassador to China was presented a picture-perfect view of Tibet, a monk was arrested and his family home ransacked, simply for shouting slogans,” Free Tibet Director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren said. “This is the true face of China and as long as it exists brave Tibetans will call for freedom for Tibet.”
