Tibetan Uprising

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy released photos yesterday of hundreds of Tibetans holding a solidarity march in Holkha Township, Tsigorthang County (Ch: Xinghai Xian), Tsolho TAP, Qinghai Province on March 25. The march and prayer session were held for those who lost their lives in the recent series of protests in Tibet.

The marchers called for an immediate end to the brutal crackdown on the Tibetan protesters in Lhasa and in other parts of Tibet. In a unique display of their support for those who have lost their lives and were injured in recent protests, many marchers carried traditional prayer wheels while reciting prayers (Mani Mantra). Others held a huge banner that read, “Peace, Democracy. We mourn and pray (mani mantra) for our people who lost their lives” in both Tibetan and Chinese.

The marchers finally ended their procession at the Holkha Township government headquarters where they held a sit-in protest, reciting prayers throughout the day. Although People’s Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials were seen in their combat gear during the entire peaceful solidarity march, there was no report of arrest or detention of Tibetan marchers that day. However, the following morning, three Tibetans were arbitrarily arrested in an early morning raid on their homes by PAP and PBS officials. Those arrested were: Rinbum Gyal and Tsewang, both in their late 20’s, and an unidentified female.

A Public Notice imprint with the official stamp of PSB was issued demanding protesters of the ‘illegal’ March 25^th protest to surrender voluntarily for leniency. It warned of severe punishment for those protesters who failed to surrender to the authorities within three days.

According to sources, following their arrest in the early morning raid on March 26, more than 600 Tibetans from nine villages in Holkha Township staged a peaceful sit-in protest in front of township government headquarters demanding immediate release of those arrested. The protesters sat for the entire day demanding the authorities to heed their demand. After a day-long protest, the protesting crowd finally dispersed after township authorities agreed to secure their releases. The sources confirmed that protesters pledged to undertake a similar protest at the government headquarters if authorities fail to deliver their promise.

Although there was no report of protest by Tibetans on March 27 in Holkha Township, around 3pm (Beijing Standard Time) hundreds of additional PAP and PSB officials in military trucks flooded into the market place to check a further outburst of protest by Tibetans. Military troops in several rows were seen patrolling the streets of Holkha Township. Later that day, four people, Malle and Tsekyab Gyal, both male in their late 20’s from Holkha Township, and two Tibetan businesswomen from other parts of Tibet were arrested by the security forces for unknown reason. There is no information on the location of their detention. The present atmosphere in Holkha Township is known to be very tense with heavy presence of military forces.