DHARAMSHALA, August 6: A Tibetan who was detained briefly last year for carrying out a solitary protest in the main market of Kardze County has been arrested again last month, days ahead of the 80th birthday of the exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama, reported the Radio Free Asia.
Passang Wangchuk, 38, a Tibetan businessman from Kardze, was arrested around July 6 this year as Chinese authorities stepped up security measures and banned the celebration of the exiled leader’s 80th birthday for fear of protests by Tibetans.
A Tibetan exile source who did not want to be named told the RFA that Chinese authorities have arrested Passang days before His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday that the authorities feared could be used by the Tibetans to protest against the Chinese rule.
While no verifiable information is available at the moment it is believed that Passang is held in a detention centre in Kardze County.
On October 4, 2014, Passang carried out a lone protest in a market of Kardze County raising slogans and making onlookers read out his protest demands written on a white cloth. He called for the return of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet among other slogans including “freedom in Tibet”. Few minutes into his protest, he was arrested by Chinese police and was held at a detention centre in Kardze County. However, he was released on November 3 the same year but warned against getting involved in similar activities failing which he would face arrest again.
In 2008, Wangchuk’s sister Poewang was arrested for her participation in a protest and was sentenced to two and a half year in prison. She was also subjected to a severe torture.
