DHARAMSALA, October 8 – A 68 year old Tibetan man has been sentenced to two years and five month in jail for shouting slogans of independence for Tibet in Tibet’s Driru region that has lately seen heavy Chinese crackdown on Tibetans, said Ngawang Tharpa, a Tibetan living in exile with close contacts in the region.
Dayang shouted slogans demanding independence for Tibet during a cultural performance organized by the Chinese government on September 3 as part of its political reeducation campaign. Dayang was reportedly beaten by security personnel. He was brought to a hospital in Lhasa amid strict surveillance by Chinese police.
Dayang is a native of Dongla Rudo village in Tsachu township.
Several Tibetans injured in Chinese firing
Meanwhile, several Tibetans have been severely injured after Chinese armed forces opened fire and used tear gas to disperse a gathering at local government office Sunday to appeal for the release of Tibetan man named Dorjee Dragtsel in Driru, eastern Tibet.
Around three hundred Chinese armed fired gun shots at Tibetans gathered at the local office. Those identified among the severely injured are Tagyal, Tsewang, Lobsang Wangchen and two sons of Pador Dalha, said the same source. “Tagyal sustained broken thighbones due to gunshot leading to excessive bleeding and Tsewang had broken jaws. Both of them were brought to a Lhasa hospital yesterday for treatment. Their condition is critical”.
On September 28, Tibetans of Mowa village clashed with Chinese security forces after defiant Tibetans refused to raise the Chinese flag and threw them into a river. The authorities propagated that the Tibetans must love their motherland and hoist Chinese national flag on their houses, leading to a standoff between the government authorities and the locals.
Chinese authorities have issued orders restricting TIbetans from Driru living in Lhasa to return, according to the source. Several others have been denied treatment by hospitals in Lhasa, he added.
A Tibetan man named Choezin from Driru is reportedly missing after he had gone to see another injured Tibetan named Tsering Gyaltsen, also from Driru, at a hospital in Lhasa. Gyaltsen was injured in the firing on October 6 in Driru.
