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| Tashi Sangpo, a monk of Ragya Monastery who committed suicide by jumping into Machu river on 21 March 2009 (Photo source: AP) |
The official Chinese state media, Xinhua News Agency was quoted as saying that the Chinese authorities arrested 95 Tibetans who protested against the Chinese government, in the aftermath of a Tibetan monk who committed suicide by drowning himself into Machu River (Yellow River) on 21 March 2009.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese authorities have arrested six monks while 89 others surrendered to the local police station. Xinhua also says that 93 were monks and while 2 were lay people. It also says protesters "assaulted policemen and government staff".
Xinhua News Agency maintained that Tashi Sangpo’s whereabouts still remain unknown and his body still yet to be found.
However, according to the information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy from various sources stated that the monk Tashi Sangpo, 28, plunged into Machu River and drowned himself out of sheer desperation and frustration. He hailed from Gyulgho Township, (Ch: Lajong), Machen County, Golog "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture" ("TAP"), Qinghai Province.
TCHRD learnt from numerous sources that Tashi Sangpo was detained in a local police station since 10 March 2009. Somewhere around 3.30 PM (Beijing Time), he was permitted to visit a toilet, and it was at that time he drowned himself into Machu River as an act of extreme sign of defiance and desperation.
Ironically, in a very poignant sight, Ragya Monastery was sealed off since March 10 and stood helplessly at the background of Machu River (Yellow River) when Tashi Sangpo made his fatal leap into Machu River, one of the largest rivers of Tibet. The Chinese security forces had been maintaining a close vigil and patrol since March 10 of this year after political pamphlets and literature were seized and a banned Tibetan National Flag hoisted on the Ragya Monastery.
Moments after Tashi Sangpo's death, several thousand monks and local Tibetans in and around Ragya Monastery gathered to carry out strong protest on the streets of Ragya Monastery, at a local police station and the County government headquarter, chanting a slogan "Bod-gyalo" (victory for Tibet) while crying bitterly. Some sources told TCHRD that the protesters shouted slogans such as "Independence for Tibet" and "Long Live the Dalai Lama".
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| "Palden Gyatso, a disciplinarian (Tib: Gekoe) of Ragya Monastery" |
In the aftermath, a disciplinarian of Ragya Monastery, Palden Gyatso and four other monks were arrested by the Chinese authorities. The situation remains very tense at Ragya Monastery and surrounding Tibetan communities. In an attempt to clampdown on the angry protesters, seven military trucks carrying security personnel were sent from Xining, the provincial city of Qinghai province.
Few days ago, the Tibetan government in exile released rare video footages exposing the brutality of China's crackdown on the peaceful protesters during and after the March 14, 2008 protest in Lhasa city. Tendar, one of the torture victims with severe wounds and cuts, died after he was locked up in a detention cell unattended with no medical treatment. He later died under gruesome and pitiable condition as wounds rot beyond cure. There are many cases of torture deaths whose fate remains unknown to the outside world due to the secretive nature of the Chinese regime, curtailment of the flow of information, censorship currently placed inside Tibet. Hence, TCHRD is entitled to presume that there might have been many other cases of torture deaths in the Chinese prisons and detention centres. Tendar's fate highlights the urgency of protection and international intervention needed by Tibetan people in Tibet, as the situation inside Tibet deteriorates at an astonishing pace, in the face of the muted silence, feigned ignorance of the United Nations and its vital organs.
At this point of time, inside Tibet, the Tibetan people are not able to defend even the most basic and fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Hence, TCHRD urges the international community to intervene immediately and help protect the dignity of Tibetan people.
Videos footages available with TCHRD
