DHARAMSHALA, January 8: Several Tibetans were detained in Derge earlier today by Chinese armed forces for allegedly disrupting the ongoing construction of an underground tunnel project in the region on Dec. 27.
A large number of Chinese armed forces arrived at the Derge monastery and Poenda this morning and detained many Tibetans for their alleged roles in disrupting the building of underground roadways.
Following the detention, relatives and local Tibetans appealed the Chinese authorities to release the detainees.
In May last year, China had announced the construction project of the tunnel.
Although local Tibetans protested against the construction project was carried out and Tibetans were forced to leave the construction site.
The Tibetan Government in Exile maintains that the self-immolations in Tibet “represents a new threshold of Tibetan despair” and attributes the current crisis in Tibet to China’s policies of “political and religious repression, economic marginalization, social discrimination, cultural assimilation and environmental destruction in Tibet.
