DHARAMSHALA, December 29: A Tibetan writer and blogger has been arrested on Saturday by Chinese police in Ngaba County, a Tibetan exile source said.
Soepa, 21, was arrested from a bus on his way from Meruma township to Ngaba County. Soepa is a native of division 3 of Meruma township in Ngaba County. Others in his family include his father Gonkho, mother Palkho and a sister.
Meo Kungam, a Tibetan from Meruma now living here, said though the exact reasons for Soepa’s arrest is not clear local Tibetans say it might be linked to the various articles and essays published on a blog managed by Soepa, a second year student of creative writing at the Northwest University for Nationalities in Lanzhou.
A recent blogpost on his blog titled ‘raising hands in the air for freedom’ and ‘Pamo’ a tribute Tsepey Kyi, a 20 year old Tibetan girl who died after settling herself ablaze on Dec. 22, are some of the writings by Soepa that might have have led to his arrest, according to the source.
Soepa was forced to join the Chinese government’s drive to send children below 18 years of age to Chengdu for what the local Tibetans describe as “sinicization of ideology.” The same source said Soepa, with the help from his friends, also organized series of debates that dwelled upon issues of freedom of expression and speech, among others, during his vacations.
Soepa’s family ran a small shop called ‘Tibet audio video centre’ where they sell DVDS and CDs, said Kungam, who added that Soepa can’t walk properly owing to a motorbike accident he had in summer.
