By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 20: A monk from the Kirti Monastery in the restive Ngaba town in eastern Tibet has reportedly been beaten and subsequently hospitalized after he staged a solo protest. RFA cited a local source who claimed the Tibetan monk has been detained and hospitalized as a result of being severely beaten by Chinese authorities.
The monk, identified as Lobsang Tsultrim, was apprehended by Chinese authorities around1:00 p.m. on Monday (Oct. 17) after he shouted slogans while walking on the street in Ngaba town. The source said, “He called out for Tibetan freedom and for the long life of [exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama as he walked, and when he arrived at the street in front of the Tibetan Language Middle School he was stopped by police and taken away.”
After his detention, Lobsang was beaten severely by Chinese authorities that he had to be rushed to the hospital the next day. “He was rushed to Ngaba Hospital the next day and is now reported to be in critical condition,” the same source said.
The day after his arrest on Oct. 18, Chinese police have strengthened control in the region and even questioned monks at the Kirti monastery about the incident.
Observers associate the restive Ngaba region as being the epicenter of the Tibetan resistance in the recent times with the bulk of self immolators and solo protestors hailing from the region.
