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Tibetans riot after monk 'disappears'
Sydney Morning Herald - March 24, 2009
Malcolm Moore, Chengdu – Almost 100 Tibetan monks have been detained during a riot at a police station in China after a man held for advocating independence "disappeared".
The disturbance was the latest sign of anger in Tibet over a heavy-handed Chinese operation in the region during the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight into exile.
It followed the detention of Tashi Sangpo, 25, a Tibetan monk, by police on Friday in La'gyab township in the western province of Qinghai.
He was arrested for replacing the Chinese flag with a Tibetan one at his monastery on March 10, the anniversary of the uprising that led to the Dalai Lama's flight.
Trouble flared after he later disappeared from his cell and was rumoured to have drowned in a river, prompting accusations from Tibetans that his death was caused by the police. The Chinese authorities insisted that the monk escaped from captivity and the police played no part in his death.
They said six people had been arrested during the disturbance and 89 more had surrendered to police, all but two being monks from the La'gyab monastery.
Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, said Tashi Sangpo had "managed to run away from the police station Saturday afternoon on the excuse of using the bathroom". A crowd of monks then attacked the police station, it reported. "Police said the people were deceived by rumours."
A statement from the Tibetan government-in-exile, which is based in Dharamsala in India, said: "After the incident, the security forces have maintained strict patrol and completely locked down the monastery."
The monk's body has not been found and the situation in the region is "very tense", according to the Tibetans.
China has poured troops into Tibet and its surrounding provinces to maintain control. All foreigners have been denied entry into Greater Tibet, which includes parts of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai.
Farmers in a Tibetan area of Sichuan have begun a "farming boycott" to protest against the Chinese and more than 60 have been arrested, according to activists in Dharamsala. (Telegraph, London)
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