A 21-year old monk called Kunga was shot dead when police fired into the crowd, and at least ten others were wounded, according to at least two Tibetan sources, one of whom witnessed the death. This apparently followed a clash with a work team requiring them to sign a written document denouncing the Dalai Lama. In Drango itself, monks, nuns and laypeople were fired upon by security police on March 24 last year when they held a peaceful protest. The unusual move in Kardze follows a military crackdown and an intensified political education campaign in the area, where Tibetans have continued to express their dissent against Chinese rule with bold protests since a wave of demonstrations broke out across Tibet on March 10 last year. Even so the monasteries and villages are still under tight control.” The Tibetan said: “It is not clear if this is an initiative by the central or local authorities it would seem too risky for the latter but perhaps new ways are being developed to manage the situation. Most people are in doubt about the purpose of this new campaign.”Ī Tibetan who visited the area in July told ICT that while they did not hear about Dalai Lama images being offered to local people, it was clear that his pictures are allowed in some places and still banned at others. This has never ever happened before in Tibet over the last 60 years since Chinese occupied Tibet. But this time some officials just came along with some pictures of the Dalai Lama and spoke to local Tibetan people publicly in praise of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This follows a campaign of ‘patriotic education’ in all the monasteries that has been very severe. One of the Tibetan sources told ICT: “The villagers in the area were very surprised and confused that the Chinese Communist officials gave a speech in praise of the Dalai Lama. A work team of around five or six officials with a very different message to the usual hardline approach visited most townships in Drango county in Kardze in June, and is now visiting neighboring Kangding county also in Kardze prefecture, according to the same sources. Some Tibetans have described it as a “temporary tactic” as part of an attempt to prevent unrest to coincide with the upcoming 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1.Īccording to several Tibetan sources with contacts in the Drango area in Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, monks, nuns and laypeople were allowed to gather at Drango monastery to chant long-life prayers to mark the 74th birthday of the Dalai Lama. Lama pictures trial#Although this is a radical departure from usual practice, it is still an isolated initiative in a climate of deepening state repression and the hardening of the Chinese government’s position on the Dalai Lama, and there is no evidence that it represents any shift in approach at a higher level or trial of a new strategy. According to several Tibetan sources, one ‘work team’ of a handful of officials who visited the area even brought pictures of the Dalai Lama for local people. Any attempt to publicly mark the Dalai Lama’s July 6 birthday is generally banned in Tibet. Although any image of the Dalai Lama is prohibited, many personal shrines in monasteries and private houses display photos and posters.In a move that has provoked some speculation, the Chinese authorities recently allowed Tibetans in Drango (Chinese: Luohuo) county in Kardze, eastern Tibet (part of modern-day Sichuan province) to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s birthday with a prayer ceremony and to display images of the Tibetan religious leader.
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