Chinese authorities have sentenced an elderly Tibetan man and disappeared two others even as crisis escalated following protests against Chinese flag-raising campaign in Diru (Ch: Biru) County in Nagchu (Ch: Naqu) Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
According to information received by TCHRD, a Tibetan layman called Dayang, 68, was sentenced to two years and five months for shouting slogans for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibetan freedom at a cultural show in Tsachu Township in Diru County. On 3 September 2013, during a cultural show organised by the Chinese authorities in Tsachu, where Tibetans were required to wave Chinese flags and appear happy, Dayang raised slogans challenging the spectacle of forced happiness on local Tibetans.
The same day, Dayang who hails from Dongla Rudo Village in Tsachu Township was allowed to return home. But at around 2 am, a group of Public Security Bureau officials suddenly entered Dayang’s house and took him away as other officers put a cloth over his wife’s head. For the next few days, the whereabout of Dayang remained unknown until it was learned that he was admitted at Diru County hospital getting treatment for injuries he sustained during his secret detention. On 7 October 2013, more than a month after his disappearance, he was taken to Lhasa People’s Hospital for further treatment. Sources said Dayang is kept under strict watch and no one is allowed to visit him. The details of his injuries also remain unknown.
On the evening of 3 October 2013, police detained a Tibetan layman named Dorje Dragtsel in Nagchu area and since then has gone missing. Dragtsel hailing from Yangthang Village no. 4 in Dathang Township had gone with some friends to Nagchu but was detained from there. Dragtsel had been involved in earlier protests against the government’s move to station permanent cadres in Diru County. Sources said he was especially vocal about his disapproval of Communist cadres running political education sessions and other propaganda campaigns in Diru County.
On 6 October 2013, Dragtsel’s secret detention triggered a protest among the local Tibetans in Dathang Township. Local Tibetans defied official orders and called for the immediate release of Dorjee Dragtsel. The protest was violently suppressed by about 300 security forces using guns and iron batons. Sources told TCHRD at least four Tibetan men have sustained gunshot injuries. Tragyal has sustained a broken thighbone and Tsewang had both his jawbones broken. Police also used teargas which caused many to become unconscious. About 60 Tibetans have sustained serious injuries during the crackdown in Dathang Township, according to sources. Dorje Dragtsel is the only son of his 78-yr-old mother.
Sources have also identified another Tibetan man, Tsering Gyaltsen, 25, who was among the 40 Tibetans beaten during the crackdown in Mowa Village on 29 September 2013. Sources quote eyewitnesses as saying that Tsering Gyaltsen was especially targeted by the security forces, with some officers shouting, “He’s the main splittist”, and egging other officers on to beat him more severely. On 5 October 2013, it was learnt that Tsering Gyaltsen had been admitted to Lhasa People’s Hospital. He remains on Bed # 18 in the outpatient ward on the fifth floor of the hospital. Sources said police detained him without treatment until 5 October even when they knew that his injuries were serious. Family members and friends fear that he has sustained serious internal injuries as he has been passing blood in his urine and stool. Sources said hospital staff are being secretive about Tsering Gyaltsen’s exact condition. Hospital staff insist that it’s just some superficial injuries but sources suspect the worst. Tsering Gyaltsen is the son of Mr Gyaltsen and Mrs Dharkyi.
Another Tibetan layman, Choezin, has disappeared after he went to see Tsering Gyaltsen at the Lhasa People’s Hospital. A friend of Choezin (name withheld) who went with him to the hospital is still clueless about the disappearance. According to the friend, both he and Choezin had gone to the hospital together but somehow while in the hospital premises, Choezin disappeared. Sources fear that Choezin was most likely picked by secret police for questioning.
In Tsachu Township, about 100 Tibetans have sustained injuries after they were beaten up by security forces for protesting against police violence and the secret detention of Dayang. The protesters, hailing from Taklha, Lahog, Kona, Baro and Bhalag villages in Tsachu Township, have been injured but they are not allowed to go outside their houses to seek medical treatment.
Restrictions are especially severe in Mowa Village, which has been under lockdown since 28 September 2013 when local Tibetans refused to fly Chinese flags on their rooftops. Since 28 September, for more than 48 hours, about 30,000 residents in Mowa Village were left with no access to food and water. Security forces stopped Tibetans from going outside their houses; Tibetans were not allowed to graze their cattle or feed their pets. It appears that the whole village was put under house arrest.
Diru County has been brought under total lockdown. Sources said all communications lines including the phone and internet have been blocked since late September 2013. Moreover, residents of Diru living in Nagchu and Lhasa are not allowed to visit their homes in Diru County. Many residents of Diru have been stranded in Nagchu unable to return due to strict restrictions on movement placed by security forces.
Official Chinese media reported that since 8 July 2013 authorities have been implementing the party’s “adhere to mass line and building harmony” campaign for the third time in Diru County. Many controversial mass propaganda and surveillance campaigns are being enforced in the name of building a “stable and prosperous” Diru. According to the official website of Nagchu County, the campaign has been carried out in 21 different monasteries and villages in Diru County covering more than 29986 people. The report said the campaign covered Tsachu Township, Dathang Township, Diru Township, Bekar Township, Shagchu Township, Tsalha (Ch: Zhala) Township, Shamchu Township, Lanchu Township and Chaktse Township among others. Mowa Village, where protest against Chinese flag-raising campaign first occurred, is located in Diru Township. The Propaganda Department head of Nagchu Prefecture Dorjee Gyaltsen has been charged with the actual implementation of the controversial campaign all over Nagchu. On 27 August 2013, a cultural dance show organized by the government in Diru County saw about 3000 people waving Chinese flags, flowers and clapping hands to welcome the campaign, claimed the official report. Organising similar cultural dance shows is part of the campaign, which also includes holding political education campaigns and forcing people to fly Chinese flags on their rooftops. Dayang was sentenced for raising slogans at a similar cultural dance show in Tsachu Township.